In less than 48 hours, 2022 will be in the history books. No time left to reflect, it’s time to get moving into the New Year in order to make the most of every day and every opportunity.
I’m often asked, “What are the key things that a doctor should do or be ready for to put themselves on track for record results and increased profits in their practice?”
Usually someone poses the question in a way that implies they are searching for “the one thing,” “the magic pill,” “the silver bullet,” or “an easy button.” They are hoping there is some revolutionary answer that will make all the difference.
Good news… There is not.
And I say good news because why on earth would you want there to be ‘one thing’ that anyone else could use or copy completely. Essentially commoditizing what you do and making your existence irrelevant (certainly not special or unique).
Success isn’t easy… that’s why so few people actually ever achieve it or do anything of great magnitude. Even when they and you get to make up your own definition of success; most still never even come close.
So today, I bring you not one, two, or even three but five levels to success that will work for you all throughout the year. Now, these are not easy buttons or quick fixes. They require effort but will pay substantial dividends.
Each level will build upon the last, meaning if you conquer all 5, you will be in seriously enviable position.
These are usually overlooked and underutilized, when in fact they are some of the most critical components of a successful practice. If you stay focused on these and master their execution, their impact can be incredible and have momentum that will continue to compound for years.
Before I jump into the 5 steps for 2023, click below real fast and take my super brief survey that will help me put together some new resources and added value for my Weekly Report doctors like you. I really appreciate your feedback…
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Now on to your goals and making 2023 the best year of your life!
1st – Define Your Goals
I know it is seems so simply stated but without specific goals you can be sure you won’t hit them. They are important and not just for you but for your team. And the real secret isn’t in coming up with a number but determining what success you want to achieve and then working it backwards.
Here’s an example… it’s crazy to me that every single day in your practice you are not pushing hard to find an extra $1,000, $3,000, $7,000, or $10,000 or more of cash. When you have so many team members who would each, in their own way, be able to secure an extra grand a piece during the day that would net you nearly $1,000,000 having just five people in your practice.
Why don’t more people think like this? Why don’t more practices have this as a goal? One that is specific, defined and significant; one that motivates you and your team.
The most important part about your goals is that they are clearly defined; baked into your daily, weekly, monthly action plans; and most of all taken all the way down into the specific protocols of roles and responsibilities for patient interactions.
To state the obvious, everyone must know what the goals are and also set some additional goals for themselves. Then, have them displayed somewhere for all to see, track, and report on frequently.
2nd – Attach Rewards
If you do not, right now today, have rewards both for yourself and for your team members that they will receive if you hit your goals, then you are not running a real business and not managing a real team.
Employees show up and punch the clock, get paid either way. You don’t want employees; you want dedicated, career-driven team members. Often practicing-owning dentists even treat themselves as employees.
People need to be motivated. No way around it and you shouldn’t want it to be different. Motivation and goals tie into rewards and drive performance.
You get to have fun with this. A Winning Team wants to win not just to play the game. They want to feel the pride of victory and enjoy the celebration of success. Make peak performance fun, make achieving your goals a big deal, and remember if you pay attention to the small ones the big ones are a lot easier to come by.
3rd – Track Diagnosis and Case Acceptance
You must know what your daily diagnosis and your average new patient diagnosis is. You must know, based on those numbers, how much treatment is accepted on the first visit, second visit, first 30 days, first 90 days, first 12 months of the patient relationship.
If you do not know these numbers and work hard to make them better, bigger, and more consistent, then you are filling up a bucket with water that has holes in it. Yielding a lot of wasted opportunity as profits leak out the bottom.
This is everyone’s responsibility but it starts at the top. And if the doctor isn’t obsessed over these numbers then no one else will be either.
There really isn’t a more important set of metrics in your practice to go to work on than you average new patient value, average visit value, average treatment out of hygiene / patient value.
This is about delivering health to your patients, where everyone wins.
Simply begin by answering this question: what more can we do to help our patients this year be proactive, preventative, and achieve optimal health.
Think deeply about your protocols and use these last steps to make this target possible.
And remember it doesn’t just have to be about the numbers. Actually, it never is about that. It’s about the experience and education of the patient and deciding to make a bigger impact on your patients, on purpose. The numbers just help quantify and track precisely the kind of impact you are having.
4th – Calculate Revenue/Treatment per Team Member
In their own way, every single team member touches the flow of money, patients, and treatment in your office and you should know how productive each person is. How much they are worth to you.
Every person must have a return on investment for the time and compensation in your practice.
You can’t really know what’s going on, what’s going well, and what’s not working without knowing this. This is the point of my Five Bucket System for tracking. And why it works is because it drives column by column and patient by patient accountability for each team member.
When you get this deep into your practice, you will see amazing ways to have powerful breakthroughs by leveraging your people and their skills to help achieve more of the first three items listed.
If you want to take this to the next level, go to work assessing each Team Member’s personal roles and responsibilities to make sure everyone is clear on their highest value priorities every day from the morning huddle to patients to finishing out at the end of day huddle.
The more everyone is involved and focused on divide-and-conquering, the more you will find leverage from your people to achieve your goals.
5th – Narrow Priorities and Focus
Last but not least (and I could continue making a list but five is enough to focus on for now), I want you to commit to specific priorities of improvement that you know you and your team need to work on.
I find it ridiculous when someone says to me, “Well we used to take pictures but we don’t do it all the time.” What does that mean? At one point you thought it was important but for no reason at all you decided not to take pictures with every patient?
Or I’ll hear, “Once in a while we focus on a treatment that every team member talks about with patients.” Which would suggest to me that you know there is value in this tactic but it does not happen consistently enough, again with not rationale attached.
I tell teams that everyone must show up and choose to be a professional which means following the success system and proven protocols in order to achieve the results and goals we as a team have agreed to.
Too often practices know exactly what they should be doing to be more effective but fail to consistently implement.
So, whatever your top 2 or 3 priorities are that you want to go to work on and improve inside of your practice… plan it, commit to it, and make it happen – without exception.
This list is important because the point is to master one and then move on to the next and keep going through as many priorities as possible. You will of course have to practice and refresh on each critical item regularly, but for now start with the big ones that you know would lead to a better and more complete experience for your patients and treatment acceptance.
At any point throughout the year, you can revise your priority list or add to it. There is no such thing as perfection, so keep working on something that drives your practice forward.
Lastly, as we turn the corner on another year, I want to thank you for being here. These are exciting times ahead. There will so many opportunities in dentistry next year, that I promise you.
I will leave you with more than just a ‘Happy New Year’ wish because I believe we decide and make our own happiness and prosperity in the new year. Instead, I will leave you with my favorite saying that I have sitting on my desk and look at every day…
Stay Focused. Stay Hungry.
If you do those two things, you will keep your edge and may even surprise yourself with all you are able to accomplish. Especially when you have these five things dialed in and you are focusing on the right things which are the highest and best use of yours and everyone else’s time, energy, effort, investment, and expertise.
I’m excited for you and your team. I’m confident this will be a memorable and meaningful year in every way. Just remember it’s not about growth for the sake of it, it’s not about bigger or better just because you can. It is about taking the initiative to define what ‘better’ means to you, your team, and your patients.
The same goes for your life, health, wealth, and family. Do this work and you’ll be amazed at all that you’ll make happen in the year ahead.
And as long as you stay right here with me, I will keep you motivated, hungry, focused, and being your best all year long!
Welcome to 2023… now, go get ‘em!
There is one more step to take before the ball drops. I would really appreciate you taking my 3-Question Survey to get your feedback on where you’d like more help and focus from me in 2023.
