1. Become Your Own Coach of Your Practice - sit down and take inventory of who does what well in your practice, what is missing, what would be ideal, set written goals and make them specific, such as we will produce and collect $xx,000 per month by January 31st. If you feel as if this is something that you cannot do by yourself at this point, make it a goal to become your own coach by a certain date and take the steps necessary to make it happen.
2. Pick 2 or 3 new services (procedures) that you can offer - sleep appliances, implants, Invisalign, endodontics, sedation and work toward the GOAL of adding these to your practice. The most successful practices keep a large majority of treatment in-house. OK, so this might not be immediate, but you need to be always thinking of it and acting on your next GOAL.
3. Read books on marketing or business - some of my favorites are I Power by Martin Edelstein, The Ultimate Marketing Plan by Dan Kennedy, E-Myth by Michael Gerber, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, The Business of Dental Practice by Marc Cooper, Happiness by Tony Hsieh. If you want more ideas, please let me know. If you commit to reading one book a week, you will see an immediate difference in your practice. I can't tell you how many things we have incorporated into our practice from books that I have read that are outside of dentistry, but completely applicable.
4. Add Fluoride To Adult Re-care Visits - we charge for it in our practice and nearly 80% of our patients accept. We find that the more you believe in this, the more patients will as well. The confidence this is presented with is crucial to patient acceptance. We use Fluoride varnish that has a pleasant taste and dries clear on the teeth. Even if you add just 5 per day with one HYG, you would add nearly $130,000 income to your practice, with very little added cost. Try it you might like it.
