Well, that struck a chord. As it should have. It\u2019s great to see so many get fired up. Last week was one of the most timely Weekly Reports I\u2019ve written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bottom line is most sit around playing victim instead of doing what is necessary to become the victor. The most successful people find a way to thrive all the time; not just once in a while during the good times. Sure, things ebb and flow, but winners find ways to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the best news I can share: the principles never change. The strategies can adjust, the verbiage can be relevant to the times, but the principles remain as the bedrock to your success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Controlling the schedule. Building better patients. Doing more with less. Fewer distractions. Creating leverage. Being on offense. Belief in abundance. Never acting out of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And how about the most fundamental principle of the business of dentistry\u2026 you can\u2019t earn more or produce more than you get accepted and you can\u2019t get more accepted than you diagnose and present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has nothing to do with the volume of patients or quantity of team or ops or anything else. Some doctors would prefer to masquerade variables as excuses for why \u201cbetter\u201d is not possible for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In reality, if you decide to succeed then you can be determined to no matter the circumstance. Not deterred \u2013 determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s carry on with our mission here that we began last week with some tactical strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, people are feeling the squeeze on their incomes and soon enough incomes will also be squeezed so they\u2019ll have even less to spend while everything costs more. It will be a double whammy on families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, this doesn\u2019t mean that people won\u2019t value their health and in fact they will find it essential to stay healthy because they can\u2019t afford not to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You see, that\u2019s the message, you can\u2019t afford not to be healthy. Imagine the financial burden of an emergency when you can least afford it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s easy to sell \u2018you deserve this\u2019 when everyone is fat and happy with cash burning holes in their wallets. When it is a little tougher, you sell \u2018you really have no other choice \u2013 especially right now \u2013 because the alternative is far too risky and costly.\u2019 The excuse is actually the reason. The objection is actually the best motivation. The circumstances are the greatest driving factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s my five-part action plan to double down and execute on top of the four pillars I laid out last week. All of this designed to keep you on offense and counteract the economic forces \u2013 and win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, against your gut instinct probably, do not discount your fees. With the rising costs of doing business, you might even need to raise your fees. Of course, you can be strategic and focus on the things that will make the biggest impact. Then, even if you have to be creative with the financing of a patient\u2019s treatment plan (more on that later), you\u2019ll be doing so from a position of greater profitability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll discount your way to the bottom and just end up with less all the way around if you go the other direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, tying into number one, incentivize the behavior you want. Faster decisions. More bundled treatment. Pay for it all now. Whatever you want more of, make it easier for the patient. Don\u2019t do one unit when there are two to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, choose your battles, but the point was choose ones that you can win. This one you can win and you\u2019ll build more profitable days and patients by simply allowing nothing less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You get a multiplier effect and you end up more profitable and you have additional cash off even if the number ebbs and flows during the next months or years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which means you are focused on the number that matters, by the way, and not judging success by the wrong metric. That in and of itself is a lesson in winning when times might be tougher than usual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same goes for new patients, it\u2019s never about the number, it\u2019s about the value. Go to work on the value and you\u2019ll need less of the number. Oddly, it often ends up with more wanting to get in anyways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s number three\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s all about demand. I talk about this a lot but I\u2019m going to say it again. You can\u2019t come off desperate. You must maintain positioning and authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone wants to \u2013 and especially the team but sometimes even the doctor \u2013 start breaking every rule and pandering to patients by letting them come whenever they want or giving in on all the protocols you\u2019ve worked so hard to put into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially now, you need to stick by your principles. It\u2019s easy to start bending all of the rules until there is nothing left to stand on. Trust me or learn the hard way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before you give in on anything, check yourself and make sure it\u2019s actually going to result in what you want more of, not less of. You will make it very easy to fill up your practice with clutter or end up making it harder to hit your goals as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said there is one place you can consider playing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourth is strategic, somewhat flexible, individualized \u2018financial plans\u2019 that coincide with treatment plans for patients\u2019 pathways to health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I covered this in great detail on our Practice Profit Accelerator call this week. It is the same structure I have been teaching for twenty years on how to breakdown money while maximizing case acceptance and cash up front on comprehensive treatment plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It works all the time but it becomes even more critical today because you have less room for error. You might have fewer opportunities to maximize, therefore you have to make the most of every one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do that be manipulating the money so that the patient can still accept and move forward with as much of the total pathway to health as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifth, and finally for today, think through each of these from the perspective of your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Incentivize your team even more\u2026 double down on your bonus, don\u2019t cut your bonus, you are the one who loses most when they lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t have to cut your profit, but increase goals and increase bonus. Come up with more ways to win. Do more, more, more to get the team on offense and believing in abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reset the team\u2019s mindset every day. Challenge them to remove news and social media from their lives (unless they are using it to promote your practice). Instead, turn inward not outwards. That\u2019s the only way to protect your own principles and values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now is the time to strength resolve in every way. No sloppiness, no mistakes, no exceptions, no compromise. We don\u2019t break schedule protocols ever, and especially not now. We don\u2019t give in on pre-payment of treatment ever, and especially not now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t take more to win and it doesn\u2019t take different approaches to win when times are more difficult \u2013 it actually takes less of these four things. Which means you don\u2019t need any \u2013 more \u2013 of anything else you don\u2019t want. In the end, you might actually be more profitable than ever before because you\u2019re focused to on the minor details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, it gets even better\u2026 when things break back to the easy street, you\u2019ll be in a position to capitalize and grow your practice even further. You\u2019ll find giant breakthroughs and leaps to a level you didn\u2019t even know existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the while, everyone else will be trying to figure things out all over again; rebuilding what was after they dismantled what worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m famous for saying, \u201cSuccessful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.\u201d That\u2019s why you will achieve what others don\u2019t because you will do what others won\u2019t – just by following these 5 steps to counteract the economic forces at play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"