Hold on a second. Before we get to that answer, you’ll need an answer of your own…
What is the outcome, the end results, the purpose of these New Patients you want?
Is it cleanings and check-ups, routine hygiene practice built on volume, it is complete dentistry founded on restorative procedures, or holistic dental health and its impact on the entire human body, cosmetic, or maintenance driven.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR NEW PATIENTS?
Every Dentist would say they want “MORE QUALITY NEW PATIENTS”
What does that mean to you?
Non-Insurance usually (or at least not dependent on insurance), what else?
It’s imperative before you go just trying to get ‘new patients’ you determine what you want to do with these patients once you get them.
And then – we must design and create ‘something’ to attract them – we have to convey and communicate WHY they should choose you.
Before you go there…let me remind you…being a Good Dentist or even a GREAT Dentist isn’t enough to get New Patients.
Did you know that every Independently Owned Dental Practice in North America, if you asked them if they are focused on Patient Service and Quality Care, they’d all say yes. I mean, this seems like an obvious statement…it comes with some very important realities.
First.
If everyone believes they are providing Quality Care and Patient Service, that means YOU CAN’T rely on this as your differentiation or what makes you ‘better’ than anyone else.
At least you can’t rely on just saying it, because EVERY Dentist says the same thing.
In other words you have to dig deeper and go beneath the surface to unearth the marketing message of your Practice.
There are 4 Key Components of your Practice that can actually make you extraordinary (and you can use to stand out and give your Patients a reason to choose you versus someone else)…
Your Personality and Team Energy
This one is pretty simple, it should be your favorite. It happens to be the ONE thing no other Dentist can replicate. YOU ARE THE ONLY – YOU. Same for your Associates or any one else in your office.
Besides, it’s a whole lot more fun to be who you are, share your likes, interests, accomplishments, personality with your Patients.
Of course Patients care what’s in it for them – however – you will always get Paid MORE for WHO YOU ARE than for WHAT YOU DO. Always.
Now, here’s where this gets fun: your practice also has a personality, it may not be a great one at the moment, but you’ve got one – and the good news is you get to choose exactly how and what it is.
This is your OFFICE Culture of course. The combination of your Personality, Leadership style, Team Member Personality and Patient Communication all put together.
Bad News – if you aren’t deliberately designing, creating and cultivating it – it’s probably not very good.
I’d be careful inviting a flood of new patients into your office and especially wouldn’t be investing money on it until you have this very well defined.
The Actual In-Office Experience
Now…I’m going to make this very simple. The most successful and profitable Dental Practices in North America have a scripted, choreographed, step by step New Patient EXPERIENCE: from 1st point of Contact, website / phone call through Case Acceptance and Treatment Presentation Follow-up – THROUGH getting of Referrals.
This does take time, of course, usually it’s a 3-6 month refining process, however the blueprint is essential and it will make all the difference.
This is the KEY FACTOR in conversion to treatment and your follow-through on making sure each of your New Patients feel that Quality Care and Service you are talking about.
Your Referral Culture
Okay, I’m going to state the obvious. Your Practice should be built on Referrals. Why? Because these are the best patients, they already know you by recommendation and they trust you for the same reason.
They do not come in to “shop” they come in to “buy”.
I do not know a Dentist Office who does ENOUGH to get a steady stream of referrals – because – you can NEVER do too much.
This is about relationships – NOT WORD OF MOUTH – that is NOT a Strategy. A SYSTEM is a Strategy: that means reliable, dependable always in motion day-in and day-out.
Each of these tie together…with every step of perfecting your Patient Experience, adding in your Personality, and being about SOMETHING and for SOMEONE specific. Through this you will generate high quality referrals.
You won’t be able to stop.
If you are doing everything right, just look at your referrals, the size of their cases, and their Treatment Plan acceptance, and you will be able to tell if you are on the right track with referrals.
If you are, go get more, if you aren’t FIX IT FAST.
Being Specific about WHO You are For and WHY
Of course you know this. Every Dental Office is different. There are not cookie cutter independent Dental Offices, and there shouldn’t be – who wants to take the art out of dentistry, the personality out of the practice, the customization and individualized relationship out of each patient.
Hey, celebrate the fact that your Patients still have to show up, walk into your office, sit in your op and EXPERIENCE Dentistry.
You ought to think strategically, carefully, methodically and make a clear concise and profitable decision about WHO you want to invest your time, days, life into.
Your path to achieving a Lifestyle based Practice and attracting as many New Patients as you could ever possibly want comes down to this..
Bringing it out in your Daily Operations and Visit by Visit Interaction with Every Patient – all 4 for these Key Relationship Factors.
If you really are Patient Centric, if your belief is about Comprehensive Dentistry and Quality Care then you have to embrace each of these components.
And create what I call OBVIOUS Differentiation.
And when you do you will automatically place yourself among a secret society of Dentists in North America that occupy a small percentage of actually being Patient-Centric and achieving a Lifestyle Based Practice for themselves and their team.
Here’s the best news of all, when you do this, you break free of critical limitations, remove obstacles that stunt growth and diminish profitability, and you will begin to see a shift in momentum and literally an effortless flow of new patients and steady increase in production MONTH after MONTH.
I’ve expanded on this concept with a 7-step approach you can take to begin your own transformation. You can download the report here >>>
Or if you prefer the complete experience, you can get it as part of my The Dentists Prosperity Lifestyle and Practice Profit Blueprint Package here >>>
