The Most Important Number In Your Practice

If you ask any Dentist to “tell you their numbers” usually they will immediately start talking about Production. Unfortunately your production is about the most historic number of all inside of your Practice.

The nature of discussing production and trying to make decisions about growth, changes, what’s next, or anything else for that matter, is the problem that gets most Dentists into trouble to begin with.

For example…

You can have $1,000,000 in production with 3 Team Members, 5, 7, 9.

You can have $1,000,000 in production with Hygiene being 40-50% or 0%.

You can have $1,000,000 in 2 ops or 6 ops, in a big city or small city.

You can have $1,000,000 in 2 days, 3 days, 4 or 5 or 6 days. Short days, long days.

You can have $1,000,000 seeing 20 patients a day or 2 patients a day, you can be stressed or just coasting along.

You can have $1,000,000 in production with implants, without implants, with ortho or without ortho, really pure and simple bread and butter stuff or more comprehensive Dentistry.

And here’s the crazy part, you can change it to $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 and all the same concepts apply.

Production really tells you absolutely nothing about a practice. It’s not about how much, it’s about HOW you make your production, as I have mentioned to you many times before.

This is a TRAILING indicator.

And collections, though that’s all that ultimately matters, that too is a number based on the past. It tells you nothing about the future of the practice.

If you want to change your life, transform your practice, truly explode your practice to new levels of success – you have to look at all of the above.

Next week I’m going to tell you 3 different stories, real actual live example stories all within the last 2 weeks of how we expanded and created 2x, DOUBLE production inside of 3 VERY VERY VERY different practices all without a single new patient or one extra hour of Doctor time. It could very well blow your mind apart into many small pieces if you have a stubborn-minded, short-sided, lack-of-creatively thinking outside of the box.

So, what’s this elusive number I’m talking about.

The magic number in your Practice is one that 99 out of 100 Dentists have absolutely no idea what it is – it’s not easy to track – software doesn’t accurately depict it and you’ll never know how well you are doing unless you really pay attention to it.

There is one other thing you should know.

You can’t hide behind it, it’s what I call an EQUALIZER, it’s the place where EVERY DENTIST no matter age, gender, specialty, skill, or anything else strips down naked and let’s the truth be known…it’s the number that changes everything – forever.

TREATMENT DIAGNOSIS

Bam, Pow, Smash, Boom!

That’s right. Don’t act so underwhelmed. Ask yourself, ask every member in your team exactly (down to the dollar) how much treatment was DIAGNOSED yesterday, last week, last month, since January.

How much per Hygiene Patient, Restorative Patient, New Patient, Emergency Patient, Patient who has been in your Practice for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 years.

I did not say how much Treatment was presented or accepted. Because it can’t be presented and put into your fancy software program until it is Diagnosed.

There are many things that contribute or take away from your daily patient-by-patient diagnosis. Your focus and attention, your haste or patience, you Team’s support and how receptive and comfortable you have made the patient to be open and share.

I want this to sink in for you today. Really let it sink in. How effective are you, really, at diagnosing treatment…I’m certain you are great at being a Dentist, probably especially great at the things you love to do, feel confident doing, and enjoy…and you probably diagnose a whole lot more of those things now don’t you.

What about everything else? Go ahead and ask yourself today, what two or three things do you know you could improve on to become better and more complete at diagnosing treatment?

I have 5 tips to get you started…

1 – Get your Team involved.

2 – Questions are the Key.

3 – Measure it…track it…make it visible to everyone.

4 – Practice, create weekly focuses, provide incentives.

5 – Most of all, lead by example.

Here’s what we both know, you can’t do it all…the key is to train your Team to be your conscience, make it okay for them to suggest or question and expand treatment by cross examining both the Patient and you.

Next week I will share with you some more advanced concepts that I teach when helping Practices diagnosis more treatment.

Triangle of Trust

Patient Advocate

Working in Concert
This might be the most important and impacting Profit Report I’ve ever written I would strongly encourage you to take time to think through it, do some personal reflection, and see where the gaps are in your treatment diagnosis.

Remember this…

Before it’s collected, it has to be produced.

Before it’s produced, it has to be scheduled.

Before it’s scheduled, it has to be accepted.

Before it’s accepted, it has to be presented.

And above all else, before it’s presented it has to be diagnosed!!!

Have a great weekend!

Scott

You can always get my complete Practice Prosperity and Lifestyle Blueprint Package packed full of all kinds of ways you can diagnosis more treatment and improve your overall Patient Experience, Team Member engagement, and overall Practice Profits.

Hey, don’t forget… Next week’s private Tele-Class Training Call on Team Transformation and Alignment to empower your Players and achieve consistent daily victories elevating your Practice to realize it’s fullest potential serving your Patients in the most complete way. You can get on the VIP announcement list by emailing Info@DentalSuccessToday.com and you’ll be the first to know when the complimentary registration is available in the next couple days.