DYNAMIC DATA NEWSLETTER tm - Winter 2003

A complimentary e-newsletter from Linda Miles for the professional dental community.

For subscription (or unsubscribe) details, as well as Miles& Associates contact information, please see the end of this newsletter.

Miles & Associates
P.O. Box 6249
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
757.721.3332
757.721-2892 (Fax)
800.922.0866 Toll-free
www.DentalManagementU.com

Dynamic Data, Winter 2003

Dear Doctors and Staff,

As the year 2003 comes to a close, I hope this finds each of your practices enjoying the fruits of your labor. Practicing dentistry, just like many things in life, is not as simple as it was twenty or thirty years ago. Remember when family life was easier when parents and children were not going in a dozen different directions every week? Leaving a busy practice each day and going into chaotic “down time” has added to the stress of working parents. Remember when all you had to do is place an ad for dental staff and the hardest part of all was selecting from the top three applicants. Now you are lucky if you get three applicants at all. And if they are breathing, you interview them and hope one of them will be adequate. Technology was supposed to simplify our personal and professional lives. While we agree that we cannot live without it, the learning curves, updates, breakdowns and service headaches, add more stress. While many of us who have been in dentistry more than 40 years have seen the highs and lows of these stress producing changes, we can also attest to the fact that we have never seen such potential in dentistry as in the past five years.

It is not uncommon for practices to double their production when the entire team is sharing the same goals, speaking the same positive language (verbal skills), and improving the customer service within the practice. Dentists have always been great employers over all other professionals. Today, dentists are better leaders, better businessmen/businesswomen, and by all accounts, more enthused about practicing dentistry. What has created this welcome change? It is a combination of things, but uppermost, they have developed an awareness of the skills that they didn’t learn in dental school. See the following article I wrote after visiting some pretty stressed out dental practices over the past twelve months.

STRESS IN PRACTICING CAN BE ALLEVIATED

The more time my consultants and I spend in dental practices, the more we realize why dentists and staff members are stressed about practice management issues. In dental school, dentists were not trained how to hire, train and manage personnel. They had very little training in communication skills for presenting dentistry and no leadership training in how to set goals and lead their team to victory. They had perhaps, one or two very brief classes in practice management systems such as collections, insurance, scheduling for maximum productivity, time management, hygiene department efficiency and overhead control. It is no wonder practices operate at a range of 3o to 80 percent effective. Some of the luckier dentists had more extensive training or were born with the intuitive management skills to figure out most of it. But remember, it can be the top 10% of efficiency that generates another 40% of productivity. So…..no matter how good the practice seems, there is always another level (or many) to attain.

Staff members blame their dentist(s) for not training them in the clinical and business areas of the practice. Dentists blame the staff for not being more efficient, better communicators and more accountable. Who’s to blame???? NO ONE. The schools have problems trying to teach the clinical requirements in four years to graduate their students. Besides……if the schools offered courses on these subjects, “until there is a management or staff problem, the students would not be interested in knowing how to fix them”. Learning to discourage broken appointments, reduce accounts receivables, build a hygiene department, how and when to hire the next employee and what to look for in personnel, is total Greek to them. The staff can’t perform at a 10 on a scale of 1-10 without proper training, yet most often, having the dentists train their own employees is not effective and the training often falls on deaf ears. Besides, if the dentist doesn’t know these managerial skills, they can’t teach their team to do them with perfection.

Since the inception of dentistry’s first and foremost practice and staff development program (DBCs) in1985, Linda Miles and Associates have taken the mystery out of managing a dental practice with easy-to-implement effective systems. The two-day Dental Business Conferences allow dentists and staff to leave the course with a PhD in communication with patients and each other. They will discover when a system in their practice is not healthy and “which string to pull” to get it back on target. More importantly, they will marvel in how to market their services and create a schedule that will, in many instances, double the practice in one to two years. While nothing takes the place of our custom-designed in-office consulting programs, the two-day Dental Business Conference is second to none for those dentists who realize their practice is not reaching it’s full potential. Or, for those who realize neither they nor their staff are excited about facing another week, month or year the way things are.

Register today for our two-day Dental Business Conferences taught personally by Linda Miles in Norfolk and Virginia Beach in March and September ‘04. These same DBCs are taught throughout the US by our DBC Certified Presenters, Janelle Kent, Susan Kulakowski, Gayle Christensen, and Lisa Grothouse in the two-day or a concise one-day format for those dentists and staff that find being away from home or office overnight is an obstacle. They can also be designed for Study Clubs or Dental Associations for 50 plus attendees in the city or town of choice, offering a 20% courtesy to members in exchange for marketing and having 50 or more attendees. Call Lee Tarvin at 800-922-0866 (9-12 AM ET) for full details, or visit our web site and leave a message of interest at www.DentalManagementU.com

End of article.

We applaud those dentists who realize their staff make or break their practices’ success. They can also add to your stress or be part of the every day harmony enjoyed by strong dental leaders. Life is too short to have half-committed employees. Either they are “on your bus or off”. Recently when I asked a dentist why he had a non performing negative person on board for 13 years, his answer was the common, “I don’t know, except the person I have may be better than the person I have yet to meet”. These employees typically have their doctors held hostage and believing if they left, the practice would fail.  When I asked him if she was worth the minimum $10,000 per month loss ($120,000 per year) plus her salary, his answer was “NO WAY”. Over the 13 years of being a non-performer and the root cause of a dozen other good workers leaving due to her negativism toward change and others personally, this doctor has lost over 1.5 million dollars and had no idea in dollars and cents what it had cost him. While my message is usually, “it’s a lot easier to mend the fence than to keep finding and training new horses”, I will also add, “if the horse is dead, get off!”

If your practice is in dire need of an assessment from the business systems of scheduling, collections, insurance, broken and failed appointments, hygiene department effectiveness, reactivation of lost patients, fees, staffing numbers and performance, leadership, communication and overhead control, call our office before the end of   the year to reserve a two or three day consultation by two of the leading practice management experts in dentistry (Janelle Kent or Susan Kulakowski), my two senior consultants. We are having a fee increase January 1, 2004 which still has our fees at a very reasonable rate versus some of the other “leading management companies” that total package fees, after all travel and days missed from work, can total $50,000 to $100,000, with debatable results. Susan and Janelle have over 20 years each in dentistry and I have personally worked with them for over ten years. Having our clients call and leave messages of thanks for sending them into their offices and that “they have changed not only our practice, but our lives,” makes me very proud of these ladies. Even if your consultation is held in 2004, reserving your dates now and having your retainer paid by December 20th will secure the 2003 fees.

While at the ADA in San Francisco, I was privileged to meet the CEO of a dental survey company and his spouse who own DrevLamb Research. See full information below which explains how these surveys reveal to DrevLamb exactly what dentists need to know about patient satisfaction regarding their care, the dentist and the staff. In the staff surveys, dentists will be shocked and/or amazed at their staff’s true feelings about the practice as a place to work and their dentist as an employer/leader. E-mail me directly for a brochure, or call Drev/Lamb directly mentioning you saw this in Dynamic Data’s News. In my opinion, this is the best business information you can gather to start the new year. Many dentists say, I have my own surveys, or my consultant has already done that for our practice. That may be true, but with the creativity of this company, this vital information has never been more complete or presented in such a way that you can use it in a flash to rectify the problem areas. I’ve researched dental survey companies for two years and none hold a candle to these. To say I’m impressed with the results I saw would be an understatement.  As General Schwartzkoff said at Discus 2001, “A leader is not a true leader until he (she) admits they have a problem. For it is only then that they can go about fixing it.”

DrevLamb Research  (12/01/03)

A diagnostic tool is now available for dentists who want a refreshing, valuable look at their practice.  DrevLamb Research, a market research firm based in New Orleans, specializes in dental surveys and practice area profiles.  Patient feedback surveys provide a convenient and confidential way for your patients to honestly evaluate key aspects of service, express their opinions, and provide useful information.  Patients appreciate the chance to give feedback, boosting their satisfaction, retention, and referrals.  (A parent feedback survey is also available for pedo/ortho practices.)  Staff surveys allow team members to anonymously evaluate your practice, which can boost morale as well as reveal hidden sources of inefficiency or conflict.  The user-friendly patient and staff survey “report cards” give high marks for areas of strength and provide constructive feedback for areas that can be improved.  For specialists, referral surveys help maintain a healthy referral network by gathering valuable feedback from doctors who refer patients to your practice.

The practice area profile is a tool that can increase your chances for success if your practice is in transition or is developing a strategic marketing plan.  Based on your particular needs, profiles can map the geographic dispersion of patients, identify areas for relocation or targeted marketing, and describe key demographic and economic trends of the area surrounding your current or proposed practice.  All survey and profile reports are in full-color and customized for each practice.  For more information, please contact DrevLamb Research at 504-899-2814, or visit www.DrevLambResearch.com.

My 2004 speaking dates are 95% filled with 2005, 45% booked. I personally consult with 10 client practices each year, which is a great joy to meet any new staff that may have come on board since my last visit, to celebrate their success and to offer additional ways to make their five-year business plan a reality. Some of my clients are building new offices, some are focusing on total fee for service practices, others are involved in new clinical procedures that changes the marketing mix, and others just want a fine-tuning of an already wonderful practice. This year I’m doing a private consultation cruise with a very large group practice, doing a one-day private seminar for another large group practice in Virginia with which I’ve had a long-term relationship, and in 2005 I’m doing a follow-up consultation in Jamaica with a wonderful long-term client.

EXCITING NEWS FOR 2004:

Our fabulous four day SunFun TOTAL TEAM APPRECIATION cruise aboard the IMAGINATION out of Miami is March 11-15 is still taking registrations. This is the trip that pays dividends all year long and keeps the office totally focused on appreciation of patients, the employer, each other and enhances the doctor to staff appreciation, which results in happier, accountable staff. It also outlines the value of appreciation for lab techs, sales reps, accountants, attorneys, financial advisors and all other non-salaried parts of the dental team. Dentists who are registered before January 15th will have the opportunity of a personal mini consultation to discuss their three major areas of practice concern with me personally or one of our consultants. Our ports of call are Key West and Cozumel. Call our cruise director directly at toll free (877-673-4270). What a nice holiday or end of the year gift this would be for a deserving team.

Besides our SunFun Cruise to Mexico in 2004, other out of country speaking engagements for 2004 include Toronto, Canada on Thursday, May 6th and the Masters of Dentistry Extravaganza in Sydney, Australia, October 22-24. See their site at www.Mastersofdentistry.com.au  As of November 2003, I am planning to open a speaking /consulting division in India with a health care consultant there, and have tentative plans to do a three city speaking tour in India late 2004 or early 2005. Kathy Metaxas, founder of the Masters of Dentistry Extravaganza in Australia, has been very successful with our two day Dental Business Conferences throughout AU and NZ and will be taking our Women Working With Women program there in 2005. My two senior consultants in the US (Janelle and Susan) started their long-term contract with the AF Dental Clinics worldwide this month and are very proud to be part of this exciting AF Dental Clinic Optimization program.

The Speaking/Consulting Network in it’s 8th year will be held in Vegas from May 22-24 for new attendees and May 23-23 for returnees. If you have any desire to enhance or start your speaking, consulting and writing business, this course is for you. See our web site for full details. Register now for easy payments each month deducted from your credit card. Remember, after the first year the tuition goes in half and the third year of attendance, it goes in half again. We want to only attract those who are SERIOUS about the speaking, consulting and writing business. We also attract those without egos who don’t think meeting planners and audiences are “blessed by their presence”. We attract only those who open their hearts and minds to further the profession of speaking and consulting, and those who are willing to replenish the well after they drink from it! It’s so exciting for me to open the journals and read our SCN members’ articles each month and see their names as speakers on major meetings. This year our Spotlight on Speaking will be a half-day on Sunday afternoon, facilitated by our Board of Directors Chairman, David Reznik. Twelve lucky SCN members will showcase ten minutes of their best material for other attendees to critique. A limited number of meeting planners and editors of dental journals will be there to “shop” for upcoming speakers and authors. If you are a meeting planner and wish to attend the 1-4 PM session on Sunday, May 23rd, please let me know by return e-mail or call Lee at 800-922-0866. This year we have two “VIP Guests” and dozens of exciting sessions planned to propel the speaking and consulting business to new heights for those who attend.

Our Women Working With Women programs for 2003 were all home runs with dozens of happy dentists and hundreds of enthused staff whose only complaint was, “I wish we had brought our entire team”. Our extended program for 2004 and beyond is at the printers now and the dates will be on our site as soon as the hotel contracts are back. If you would like this program to come to your area, it is not too late to add another location to the three we have planned. We are offering our WWWW members to have 10% courtesy off ALL our products AND services in the future. There will also be a 2005 Annual Retreat for everyone who has attended in 2003, or for those who will attend in 2004. Our annual retreats will be in Jamaica, Cancun or Bermuda on a rotating basis. Your vote (as an attendee in 2003 and a proposed attendee in 2004) will help us select our first site for February 2005. We will work hard on Friday and Saturday mornings with afternoons free to enjoy the locale, and our work families in a non-working environment. Someone mentioned having a tea party one afternoon on the beach like the Ya-Ya Sisters. (Long Island Iced Teas on the menus…….). It will be rewarding to have group consulting with others with the same practice concerns and also the fun of fellowship in the afternoons. See our contact numbers below for voting on the retreat of 2005 location or a free brochure. 10% off our consulting services can be a huge savings for our members. The big question is: Can male dentists and male staff attend and be a WWWW Member? The answer is YES! We need men who support and work with women. Who knows…. along the way, it will improve males’ relationships with their spouses, their daughters, moms, and sisters in addition to their female staff. As one male dentist in Atlanta said in our opening statements, “I’m here to learn how to control my thermostat”!!    

Here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful and blessed 2004. Also, we would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients, seminar attendees and their staffs. The most exciting part of my month is reviewing client monitors to know our consulting information is working even beyond the goals originally set. (Perhaps we only accept outstanding clients?) Thanks also to my wonderful meeting planners of 2003 and the many hosts at these meetings who rolled out the red carpet treatment. And a huge THANK YOU to publicly thank Mrs. Lee Tarvin for being my right hand at LLM&A for the past twenty years in February. If I did not have Lee’s assistance and my husband, Don’s support and assistance (for 42 years), I would accomplish only half what I do. Please feel free to call us at 800-922-0866 (AMs best), or e-mail me at the address below.

Sincerely,

Linda Miles

Please keep in mind this newsletter is being offered complimentary in response to the many requests to stay in touch with our clients and followers. If you wish to unsubscribe to Dynamic Data please send an e-mail message to lindamiles@cox.net to let us know.

Miles & Associates' corporate headquarters may be reached at 800.922.0866. Fax us at 757.721.2892. On the web at www.DentalManagementU.com, or via email at lindamiles@cox.net.

Miles & Associates – Winter 2003

Miles & Associates
Linda L Miles & Associates
P.O. Box 6249
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-0249
Phone: 757.721.3332
FAX: 757.721.2892
800.922.0866 Toll-free