By the way, just so we are clear, when your team hits their bonus that means you hit yours; and that is, after all, the entire point.
Show me a practice with no way for their team to win and I will show you a practice where they do not win very often or at all.
Playing not to lose is not playing to win. The only way to achieve goals in your practice is by refusing to accept anything less than playing to win.
The secret is, it has to be a victory for everyone involved – not just one person: You.
So, this week I’m going to pull back the curtain and tell you the dirty truth about what you do to sabotage yourself and this comes straight out of the mouths of your team members.
Actually, there are many common complaints we get from teams about their Doctor. Usually these all resonate around the idea of lack of or ineffective communication.
Then you have the times when Doctors talk to patients too much about clinical things or confuse the patients with too many options. Or you have the exact opposite where Doctors don’t talk enough to the patients to ensure there are no more questions before sending them out into the line of fire to talk about money.
I could go on and maybe this topic of “team pet peeves” would be a great topic for another week’s huddle. And to be fair we should probably reverse it also and have “doctor pet peeves” to help hone our Team Members in on some of the nuances of daily tasks, actions and responsibilities that drive the doctor crazy.
Today, however, I’m going to give you the one we hear the most…literally every single day in some way, shape or form our team members from superstar practices to those trying to make it over the hump to their potential – they all say this one thing…
The doctor gives away too much free dentistry!
Can you imagine? Your team members trying to help you help yourself make more money; who wouldn’t want a team like that?
Well there is a good chance that is your team and you are that doctor.
There are lots of ways that you cost yourself money by giving away free dentistry. And the least of it is actually making something free.
You may or may not do that; and justifiably it is your prerogative. But, you can’t expect your team to work hard, stay focused, build the money collections to their bonus levels and beyond if you are working against them.
Stop doing that. You are not only robbing from yourself, you are stealing from your team. And above all else you are training your patients to not value their relationship with you and to not value dentistry.
The result will be conditioned patients to expect deals, discounts and delays … the three worst things you can ever ingrain in the minds of your patients.
Again, I say, please stop doing that.
Now, your homework is very simple, let’s have everyone hold an open conversation about the places where free dentistry creeps into your schedule, your days, your patients’ minds, your doctor’s mouth; and all the places where the team costs us money on valuable dentistry too.
Both sides are at fault in many ways. I’d like for you all to do a little self-assessment this week and make your action list of what to change, how to adjust and to help each other get paid more for what you are doing.
Next week, I will outline for you all the ways you give away free dentistry and squander away valuable profit (and meaningful treatment) every single day.
If you take this seriously, then you will get paid for what you do and then you can give all the free dentistry away you want to those who are in need of it.
You can pick up enough extra money every day to hit your monthly goals just by getting paid on what you are doing and what you are diagnosing, that I promise you.
