Posts Tagged ‘dental practice management’
Wanting to bring in new patients for the new year?
January 3, 2012 | 
Author Low Cost ways to Increase New Patients Numbers
Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
Every dental practice can increase new patient numbers by connecting and staying connected with their patients.
How? You’ll need key staff, a systematic approach, a budget, a personable doctor(s) and consistency.
The method: Put your patients and the relationship ahead of your product (the dentistry). Deliver quality care in a warm environment, going above and beyond what the patient expected.
How many new patients do you need? It depends on your demographics, your type of practice and your practice philosophy. For a general practitioner, you need 10-20 new patients a month just to maintain your patient base. If you need to grow your practice, you’ll need, minimally, 25-40 new patients/month/doctor. A specialist or a general dentist that provides comprehensive care will have a higher need for new patients.
Internal Marketing:
Value the relationship: The number one determining factor is warmth. Maintaining a good relationship will set you apart and patients in your practice. A relationship means you need to “give them a little piece of you” at every appointment. As you talk with them, be sure to tell them something small that is about you personally. To the patient, the relationship is more important than your product, “the dentistry”.
When your patient receives great service in a warm, caring environment, you then have the ability to ask for a referral. Say: “If I can help you in any way, just let me know! And if you happen to know any friends or associates that could use my services, I’ll treat them just as I’ve treated you. This is how I do business.”
Here are some marketing ideas to implement in your practice. These ideas will help you develop “The Warmth Factor”:
1. Have a nicely decorated cork board in the reception area and the team puts up personal pictures. Pictures may be of travel, family, hobbies, pets, staff events or sports participation. This gives the patient something to break the ice and start things off on a comfortable personal level.
2. Deliver quality care in a warm environment: Warmth and connecting is very important throughout the practice and especially at the chair. I understand how hard it is to be the boss, deliver the dentistry and manage a business. Stresses can add up, coming out in frustration with your employee. You will anti-market the practice, however, if you let your frustrations boil over at the chair or come out with negative body language.
3. Listening skills: Good listening skills make your patient feel special. Great eye contact, smiling and taking the time your patient needs will increase your case acceptance and referrals from patients. Toast Masters International is a resource for becoming a better case presenter, increase your listening skills and learn to answer questions under pressure.
4. Be an on-time doctor: Patients today are more impatient than ever before!
If your patients are waiting on a regular basis, you’re actually anti-marketing your practice. If you do keep them waiting, give them a small token of appreciation for their time: A $5.00 Starbucks card, a gasoline card, movie tickets or ice cream coupons are some ideas.
Do not routinely move patients appointments to fit your own schedule.
5. Stay in touch (newsletters, recall/reactivation, calling recare patients and sending cards/gifts.)
Have a graduated system of staying in touch. Develop a budget and don’t be cheap! 80% of your referred patients will come from 20% of your patient base. Paying $60 for a gift when a patient spends thousands is nothing!
6. Send thank you cards, get well cards, birthday cards, Happy New Year cards, 4th of July and Thanksgiving cards. Use Plaxo.com to send cards by e-mail inexpensively. It’s a great opportunity to routinely collect email addresses from patients and increase your ability to contact them.
In today’s world, you cannot be 1000 times better than your competition, but you can be better in 1000 small ways. How is your practice different than the competitions.
Getting new patients is always a good thing, but what about maintaining the current patients within your practice?
To learn more be sure to register and attend our upcoming webinar “Total Recall“ which will be:
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 @ 1:00PM(Eastern)/12:00PM(Central)/11:00AM(Mountain)/10:00AM(Pacific)
Staff or staph: asset or infection?
Staff or staph: asset or infection?
By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
You have heard the old saying “Walk a mile in another person’s shoes before you criticize them.” Here’s a fun twist: “Walk a mile in another person’s shoes before you criticize them. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes!”
I’d better start walking now, because I plan to be critical. I’ve heard people say, “Don’t call them staff. That’s an infection.” I respectfully disagree. Walk with me and let me know what you think.
As a former dental assistant and front office person, I know how hard the dental staff works. I also know the challenges dentists face daily. As someone who’s been in nearly all levels of the profession, I personally don’t understand what’s wrong with the word “staff.” In fact, I believe the term staff should be a badge of honor and worn proudly. Patients trust staff opinion and follow their directions. Doctors cannot do what they do without the staff. Staff is a great word.
Read the rest of this entry »
Dental Practice – Developing a Preventive Periodontal Protocol
By Rhonda R. Savage, DDS
Click here for Audio
Part 1
Do you place your dental patients’ best interest first? If you do, the money will follow! You’ll lower your risk of malpractice and increase your income! But most importantly, your patients will receive the care they deserve and expect!
Times have changed with regards to periodontal disease. Most people now agree that there is a connection of the mouth to the body! Hurray! While science isn’t exact, the majority of research agrees that periodontal disease is linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, low birth weight babies, hormonal changes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, smoking, nutritional deficiency and autoimmune diseases. Is your practice “up to snuff”? Patients are more knowledgeable today than ever before because of increased publicity surrounding periodontal disease.
How do you evaluate your periodontal protocol? Ask yourself these questions:
Dental Practice Management – Teams, Part 4
Why Some Dental Teams Click and Some Don’t
Click here for the audio: Teams Part 4 Dress for Success
Part 4 – Dress for success:
Image is critical: Dress for success! You’ve heard this a million times; what does it mean?
Project a positive, can do, confident image. Get the training you need and if necessary…fake it until you make it!
If you need to, get an expert to help you with your image. Image contains SO many variables.
One example: How do you shake hands? Is your handshake weak? This projects a lack of confidence. Is your handshake too strong? Do you hurt the other person’s fingers? Not good! Where is your thumb placed during the handshake? A thumb up during the handshake expresses dominance and confidence.
Or, another example, for male doctors: Are your eye glass frames current? Men seldom update their eyewear. The new eyewear, just like your new Cerec or E4D, says “I’m current with the times.”
Why Some Team Click – Part 3
Take your job seriously:
Click here for audio: Why Some Teams Click Part 3 Audio
How passionate about dentistry are you? Draw a line in the sand: From a scale of 1-10, where do you put your mark regarding dentistry? No one will be as enthusiastic or passionate as you are; you will not be influential unless you are passionate.
Ask your team: “If this was your practice, what would you do to increase production and decrease overhead?”
Ask them to write down their answers and bring them to the team meeting. Use this as a discussion, an open forum, to talk about improving your practice.
Why Some Dental Teams Click – Part 2
Part 2 of 4
by Dr. Rhonda Savage, Dental Consultant
Streaming Audio Focus on Work
Focus on the work:
There is ALWAYS work to do in a busy dental office. If you’re not busy…do this work and you WILL be busy!!
Closely examine your effectiveness regarding the Accounts Receivables, the Past Due Insurance, the Recare effectiveness and your systematic way to follow up with patients. Clinical team: look at your space from top to bottom: clean it quarterly in depth. Stocking, laboratory work, sterilization, supply ordering and helping up front…the work is NEVER done. There is no reason to be standing around….which leads to gossip. Gossip is the number one detrimental thing that drives morale down. Read the rest of this entry »