Accelerate My Practice Blog

Don't let the title of this show scare you off; it has great information on how to bring value to your practice by the entire team. Nobody on your team should ever say, "It's not my job;" it's everybody's job. When was the last time you revaluated your approach to answering the phones or getting to know your patients? 

If you haven’t done it by now, you are probably a little late.  However, better late than never!  It’s time to remind your Dental Patients that if they don’t take advantage of their unused insurance benefits by the end of the year, the benefits will not roll over to next year.  They will “waste” the benefits they paid for and the needed dental work that could have been done.

To be successful, it is vital to set goals. I often tell my dental offices, that don't believe in setting goals, you are rowing a boat with one oar; the only place you are going is in circles. As kind of a goal setting 101, I recommend these steps:

I don't know about you but it seems like I can never learn enough about treatment presentation; I'm constantly looking for more. It is an acquired skill with a vast number of variables. In my opinion, treatment presentation is what gives you case acceptance. Treatment presentation starts with the first contact the patient has with the office; usually the first phone call.
It also starts with trust, the patient trusting you. In order for your patients to trust you, they have to feel comfortable with you.

You can help your patients feel more comfortable by taking care of "The 5 C's" in Case Acceptance:

While I was in an office today I ran into one of my top pet peeves; It's not my job! I'm sure all of you have worked with someone with that attitude somewhere in your career. Please don't tell me it's you. This is not the mindset of a team player; this is somebody clocked in from 9-5 and doing the minimum amount of work to get by.

Recently on a trip to Belize, I chartered a boat with a group of friends to go diving and snorkeling. We had traveled a good distance when the the boat arrived at the edge of the barrier reef and close to neighboring island. We noticed quickly that the island did not look like it was inhabitable; however, there was a man all by himself walking down the beach. We asked our guide what the story was with this situation and he quickly said "Oh, thats Joe and thats his island. He has lived on it his entire life with his father".

As I listened to the AMP TV show called The New Year and The Power of Coaching I thought a lot about Darrens examples of athletes and how they are coached as it relates to the coaching we do and some of the offices that we work with. These top athletes that will be in the Olympics are coached by people that do not compete at the same level as the athlete; however, they get these athletes to preform at such a high level much like a dental coach may not practice clinically; however, we are able to understand how to get them to preform at a high level.

When listening to the AMP TV show about sharing the same vision and embracing opportunites as a dental team. I tend to think about Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple, his extraordinary career and how he grew his company into the business that revolutionized the tech industry.

We all understand the magnitude and impact that Apple has had on the world today and I can not help but think that this company did not become what it is today without a very clear team vision of where he wanted it to go. A vision that every single employee knows, lives and communicates every single day though their work.

"Personally, I have transitioned new doctors into dental practices over my career and I must say the first time I did it was not nearly as smooth as the last time I did it. As I watched the AMP TV show about the transition for an Associate Doctor it brought back so many experiences and lessons I have learned.