The Dental MeTaMorphosis - The Profitable Dentist

1. Think lemonade.
Don’t complicate things. The business of dentistry is
like a lemonade stand – you recognize customers’ needs,
you offer a great product and service, you make the consumer
aware of your product, then you make it affordable and
convenient. You must manage your plan, your resources, and
your finances for success.
Compete for customers; don’t let them wait to find you.
Strive for 100 new patients a month and don’t make excuses
why you can’t. Watch what Fortune 500 companies are doing
relative to branding, marketing and customer service, and
then copy them on a smaller business scale. Look outside of
dental trends to stay edgy in business tactics.
2. Manage well.
You’ve heard Benjamin Franklin’s saying, “Drive the
business or the business will drive you.” Think about it –
build your business like a high-performance car. Engineer it,
put every part in its proper place, give it great aesthetics, and
make it different and better than the rest. When everything
is centered on maximum performance, you will easily climb
into your office and gently manipulate the wheel. Everyday
business can and should run this smoothly with patients
enjoying the ride.
My staff and I don’t come in early for morning huddles
or stay late for meetings. Expectations are clear, a business
model is in place, everyone is accountable to perform… so
I come to work, drink some coffee, scrub up, do dentistry,
have fun, and make a ton of money. If you manage well, you
live well!
3. avoid micro-managing.
Superior management depends on leadership and requires
little more than motivating other people. Many dentists
complain that their staff is just not motivated and they blame
them for problems and poor results. An unmotivated staff is
symptomatic of weak management. Dentists are only as good
as the people around them so find quality staff, with positive
chemistry, and delegate as much responsibility as possible.
If you are micro-managing then you do not trust your
team. You’re probably choking the life out of them and getting
poor performance. You have a boss-centered business
rather than an employee-centered business. You invest a
lot of effort, time and stress into management that seldom
results in lasting change.
Try a new leadership style. Get a fresh vision and prove
the way with character and enthusiasm. Remind yourself that
a man’s character is his fate. Don’t be a controlling dentist, be
a dentist in control. Let go and empower your team to take
your business to the next level.
4. Keep evolving.
What I thought was a negative early in my career, eventually
became a positive. Because it took me awhile to find
a home – somewhere to settle in and do the type of dentistry
that was fulfilling to me, I spent time in several practices. At
the time it seemed unstable, but it proved to be an excellent
opportunity to learn from others successes and failures.
I’ve always had a passionate interest in dentistry and
business. This passion fuels a lot of questions. I search for
answers from multiple sources and study the cause and effect
of business successes and failures.
As dentists, we struggle with the awful evil of pride. It
keeps us from happiness and hinders our ability to succeed.
We find it uncomfortable to listen to the advice of others. All
advice, whether wise or foolish, is profitable. To be honest
with you, I owe much of my success to “having listened
respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away
and doing the exact opposite” –novelist G.K Chesterton.
5. Get help.
The reason most dentists are struggling in business is
because they are ill equipped with a lack of formal education,
are too busy to engage in mentorship, and are not learning
modern practice management ideas to prosper in the midst
of drastic changes in the business of dentistry.
Dentists are compromising clinical success because
they’re stressing over business. When it comes down to it,
business is like any other learned skill. Very few have a natural
aptitude for it. If you are a dentist who is not a “natural,”
understand that the next best thing to handling business
yourself is having the intelligence to find someone who can
handle it for you.
So let’s face it, dentistry and business go hand and hand
and we no longer have the luxury of separating the two.
Dentistry is becoming an increasingly more competitive
business and those who fail to morph: to transform quickly
between the roles of clinician and business person, will
struggle. Those who do morph will enjoy a new kind of
success and prosperity.
Dr. Moore is the founder of Aegis Progressive Solutions and has been practicing
dentistry for 12 years. Linda Camoriano is Vice President of Aegis and has
years of experience as an EFDA and educational and professional experience
in marketing, communications and public relations. You may contact
them by phone at 260-414-4857 or online at www. aegisprogressive.com
Seminar Opportunity
Because of a high demand for Aegis services, a seminar
(CE credits) will be offered Sat., June 7, 2008 in
Chicago, IL. Space is limited. Contact Aegis now to
pre-register or to acquire a free informative package.
Aegis Progressive Solutions 260-414-4857
aegisprogressive.com
Be sure to stop by the Aegis booth
at DESTIN 2008!
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