Many offices come to us asking for a “marketing plan”. You may hear them say things like “I need more patients” and “I want to do more implants”. This may be one of my favorite moments when talking to doctors because I get to challenge most of them on a totally different level.

Yes, you may in fact need a marketing plan; however, we find more times then not an offices primary needs in this area has nothing to do with a need for marketing rather a need to focus on case acceptance and their retention rate. Let’s consider the following for a moment, if every single patient that you presented ideal treatment to said yes, would you need a marketing plan or would you have so much work to do you would not know what to do? If you retained a healthy static on patients returning when they should for what has been diagnosed or for any healthy re care would you have less of a need for a “marketing plan”?

There are a lot of things that go into feeding the pipeline of business into a dental office and what we typically find is that marketing ends up to be one of the last things we need to focus on. I think you would be surprised to find that most offices have the patients they need in their practices already in order to have a thriving practice, they just are not getting as many people to say “yes” as they need to. Who are you talking to when it comes to this? What data are you pulling? It's all at your fingertips, we just need to start to dive in.

Have you ever played the ‘hurry up and wait game?’ Typically, when I ask this question to hygienists they furiously nod their heads and proceed to share that one of the biggest challenges for them and their Dr’s is in hygiene checks. Often times the hygienist and the patient are waiting on the Dr who is knee deep in a patient procedure they cannot step away from. Then the doctor feels stressed and rushed as the schedule starts to get behind. When this starts first thing in the morning it can be very challenging to get back on track.

Traditionally hygiene tends to do Dr exams at the end of the appointment which can create traffic jams throughout the day. Dr’s, what if I shared with you a more efficient method that empowers your hygiene team, increases patient communication and acceptance of treatment, and eliminates scheduling road blocks?  If you are ready to remove those hygiene traffic jams from your schedule there are three key areas to address. These will delight your hygienists and patients as well as alleviate stress!

Follow these 3 key points:

1. Time management. Can you and your hygienists explain step by step what is done during the patient’s recall visit? Consistency is key ensuring a wow factor experience along with time management skills. By incorporating the hygiene time grid (see pie graph below) you and your team can anticipate when you will be needed for exams and start working around that accordingly. Notice that all needed info and diagnostics are taken within the first 15-20 minutes of the appointment so that the Dr may come in to do an exam at any time afterwards versus waiting until the very end when the clock is ticking.
2. Communication with the patient and each other. At AMP we teach hygienists how to pre-heat patients prior to Dr exams thus eliminating how much time the Dr needs in the room answering questions or explaining treatment. The most powerful tool you can hand your hygiene team is in using intra-oral cameras on every patient every time. Like the old saying goes, a picture truly is worth 1,000 words!
3. Handoffs. Do you and your hygienist do this at the start and end of your examinations? A brief summary of findings, concerns, and celebrations of what the patient is doing well create value and reinforce patient loyalty.

Follow the above three points and watch how your hygiene department transforms. This is sure to put a smile on everyone’s face- even yours! We love to hear your celebrations and help you through any challenges. Emails us at: [email protected]  so we can guide you through this process and keep you on the road of success!

Incremental Revenue is easily misunderstood. What if we told you that in 3 Years You'll have $823,600 in Your Bank Account!

Now, would an extra $120,000 in growth really help you? Especially if you have to pay someone like the AMP team to accomplish it. This thought is totally fair and legitimate.

Here is the challenge, many react to it emotionally and not mathematically. So let's dig into the math and find out.

Misconceptions First!

Many know that there overhead runs somewhere around 65% or maybe higher. Thus they assume, if you grow me only $120,000 and I have to pay overhead and your fees, there is nothing left for me.

This thinking looks something like this:

$120,000 in growth
less 65% overhead x65%
_______________
leaves in profit $42,000
less a consulting fee leaves nothing for me!!

Reality!! Reality!! Reality!!

Here is why this is flawed thinking. If you grow $120,000, will your rent, electricity, payroll and other fixed expenses change? No is the answer. Will your overhead increase in some areas, absolutely yes. It is called your variable overhead. This is composed of supplies, lab fees, and credit card fees. All in these total 15-20% of your incremental growth. So let's use the high end of this can calculate how $120K in growth could impact your practice.

$120,000 in growth
less 20% in variable expenses x20%
_______________
$96,000
less the consulting fee of $50K -$50,000
______________

Incremental profit in year 1 $46,000 more in your bank account

Here is where this gets fun, what if you simply maintain your new level of productivity and do nothing else??

Year 2 Incremental Profit $96,000
Year 3 Incremental Profit $96,000
______________

Total 3 Year Incremental Profits $238,000 more in your bank account

This is all based of of your doing only $120,000 in growth. What if you met our average of $364,000 in growth? How much would you have in the bank at the end of 3 years?

$364,000 in growth
less 20% in variable expenses x20%
________________
$291,200
less a consulting fee -$50,000

Incremental profit in year 1 $241,200
Incremental profit in year 2 $291,200
Incremental profit in year 3 $291,200

Total 3 Year Incremental Profit $823,600

When looking at the longer term outcome of getting help, this nearly a MILLON DOLLAR decision for you. What would you do if you could pay down your debt, invest in your retirement almost a million dollars in the next 3 years. How much would that help.

We hope you fully understand his math, if you don't, please contact us to discuss it. If we are wrong, please tell us how. We have seen this in reality many times.

Somedays our personal baggage feels heavier than others and it sure can weigh you down. Have you ever stopped to reflect upon how that baggage effects your ability to serve others whether at home or work? What about those around you- your significant other, your kids, your patients, and co-workers? Is it possible that in our society it has almost become a culture norm to carry those bags everywhere you go?

I’d like to share a recent experience I had at an established dental practice in Mississippi. The lady up front did not know who I was nor that I was there to meet with the Doctor. Yet within 30 seconds of walking into the reception area she unloaded her life story on me and my colleague along with 2 elderly patients waiting to go back for treatment. Before I share the details please hear my heart loud and clear- this was a scream for help from an overwhelmed employee drowning in heavy baggage with no where to put it down and as a dental coach this is certainly an area of expertise where we can help. The concern here is that work is not a healthy outlet to voice such frustrations such as her being a single mom, recently moving, and being involved in a hit and run.

Five minutes after I walked into this practice and awkwardly sat in silence while she continued to rattle away her list of life problems I realized I knew this gal’s life story yet I didn’t even know her name nor did she know mine. As she loudly shared that she told her attorney she was “out for blood” I started to imagine I was one of those cartoon characters who could slide out of their chair, slink down onto the floor, and slowly back away. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks- if I as a dental insider felt this way how were the patients feeling? What if one of those patients is already fearful of being at the dentist office does this put them at ease and give them a reason to come back? What if the gentleman sitting across from me was a new patient; what kind of first impression does that make? What are the chances of the rest of the team being set up to connect or fail based upon the stage set by the front desk?

Ever heard of the butterfly effect? We see it all the time in practices and it can truly make or break a person’s day. I’d like to share a few go to’s in how to address those dreaded bags. The first step in moving forward is not so much leaving the bags at the door as it is learning how to make them lighter. That’s where AMP comes into play with one on one coaching and guidance on health outlets to use when needed. Our unique focus on mindset coaching sets you and your employees up for transformational days whether for self or others.

We have the pleasure of gifting your practice with state management tools that they can always carry with them. We have found that when someone gets overwhelmed, such as the example of the front desk lady above, there is an automatic fight or flight response that takes place in the brain. This automatic response in the amygdala cannot distinguish between a real threat and a perceived threat meaning the response triggered is a false alarm. Once this occurs it can be challenging to take a step back for perspective much less manage one’s thoughts or feelings. Therefore, it is essential to shift the blood flow from the amygdala back to the prefrontal cortex in order to make better decisions.

There are 3 key points to focus on in order to do so:

1. Change your physical state through movement.
2. Change your focus.
3. Change your language.

Our most successful clients know these techniques well, what is behind them, and why they work. It is not uncommon to get a text mid-day from one of our clients sharing they are challenged with something internally or externally of the practice and shifting the way they respond by taking a brisk walk or doing push-ups or jumping jacks. This first line of defense is the quickest and easiest way to break out of the fight or flight state. While it may feel uncomfortable or perhaps even silly at first once this becomes a go to utilized technique we typically then see profound personal and professional growth resulting in long lasting change. My challenge to you is in being aware of how you and your team affect one another and those around you at work and home and then utilize change through physical movement to get a different outcome. You never know, all those walks and push ups may have your significant other thanking us later too!

A morning huddle can be the single most important meeting that you can have with your team because it encourages efficiency and high performance within your practice. It sets you on the right path, helps everyone to avoid obstacles, and sets the tone to deliver high quality care. The key lies in the purpose of the team huddle. A good huddle reviews the previous day and current days schedule, identifies problems, and determines the course of action for unexpected issues. Often, many surprises can happen in a practice, which can create frustration and stress, use your morning huddle to avoid these curveballs.

So how can you make your morning huddle outstanding and highly effective for your patients and your team? Here are a few things you need to consider if you want to run the most effective morning huddle.

Your goal is to check in with team members about what your day should look like, how you can improve, and how everyone can help one another be successful. An effective morning huddle is a chance for your team members to share information with each other and arrive on the same page for the day. The doctor should be present for the entire huddle because he/she is the leader in the practice and thus can set the tone for the entire day. It is also essential that all team members participate, staying mindful that a positive attitude and ‘can-do’ work ethic are essential to a successful huddle. 

Keep the huddle short and to the point. Keeping in mind that the purpose of the team huddle is to engage with your team. It is so that team members can communicate with each other, pull together and know what is going on with each patient for the day. The shorter your team huddle, the better. Keep it under 15 minutes, but also allow each team member to touch on all the points you’ve decided to include in the meeting. If the practice sees their first patient at 8am, the huddle should start around 7:40, ending at least five minutes before the first patient appointment.

Find a good time that works for everyone on the team. It’s best to have a regularly scheduled meeting time and a dedicated meeting place that is already set up and ready for action. All team members should be present and involved in the morning huddle. Vocalizing patient updates and information in front of the whole team will lead to greater commitment and accountability from each team member.

Here are some ideas of what to share during the huddle:

• Upcoming appointments
• Doctor schedule
• Openings
• Daily production numbers (previous day and current day)
• Hygiene and Doctor chair opportunities
• List of new patients
• Emergency patients and available openings
• Referrals
• Family members without appointments
• Hygiene schedule
• Repeat no-shows, cancellations, and late patients
• Patient medical alerts
• Personal patient details
• Unaccepted treatments
• Upcoming appointments, lab cases, and materials
• Billing, balances, and copays
• What went well yesterday and what can we do better

Review your morning huddle process regularly to ensure that it’s still fulfilling your team’s needs. After a while, you might find that as your practice and team have evolved and you may want to add new things you’d like to communicate during your huddle.

When your morning huddle breaks, everyone will know exactly what needs to be done today in order to provide a positive patient experience and a healthy work environment.

After being in the dental field for sixteen years and working with offices on the exact topic of cashflow I have come to the conclusion that this is one of the most critical things to understand in your office on a daily basis.  Lets start with understanding what cashflow actually is.  In basic terms cash flow is the difference between the money generated by a business and the cost to run the business.

Lets do some quick math. If you collect 150k a month over a 20 year long career you are looking at operating a business that will see 36 million dollars pass though the doors.  Or, if you collect 75k a month over a 20 year long career you are looking at operating a business that will see 18 million pass through the doors.  So, no matter what size practice you have you will see a tremendous amount of money come and go and knowing how to manage your cashflow properly needs to be a priority.

Keep in mind, even if you do not have cash flow problems today, it does not mean that you could not in the future.

Why I appreciate AMP so much and our approach on this subject is that we do not only focus on the areas of your practice where you can improve cashflow we then help you manage what can be done with the increased cashflow to see profit also increase. 

All of the coaches at AMP have unfortunately seen offices that wait way to long to address this critical topic and then ending is not always pretty.  I would strongly encourage anyone who is starting in this field to work with someone that understands this aspect of your business so your story ends the best way possible.

One of my greatest pleasures in life has been that of a coach. Whether on sports teams or within the dental industry it is something that constantly stretches me to grow so I can be more effective in coaching others. Often, we can enter a scarcity mindset causing us to act out in a sometimes irrational or primal manner also known as fight or flight but I believe there is one other reaction we don’t talk about which I call freeze.

You know that experience when your heart rate increases, your palms get sweaty, and as much as you would like to move or speak or do something you feel like a deer in headlights? It is as if the bottom of your shoes and your entire body have somehow been superglued together and you just cannot react; this is frozen or what we call stuck. When fear paralyzes us or those we care for it spreads like a cancer and can often cause more destruction than when we act. So, the question becomes how do you know when you are frozen and how can you get unstuck?

With an AMP Dental Coach, we are your first line of defense teaching you through state management how to identify triggers, change behavior, and create your desired outcome. I won’t blow smoke and tell you it is easy. While it is simple and produces profound results, you get what you put into our time together. My favorite thing about being coached by our CEO, Darren Kaberna, and in coaching others is the expectation to be coached through truth, love, and restored hope to change. We teach our Doctors and in turn they teach their teams how to work through scarcity mindset, break old stories and habits, and create the life they truly desire.

When they get stuck we coach through the pain to get to the other side; hence we were take the approach as a dental coach versus a dental consultant. What I want to leave you with in reading this is the understanding that your coach will always fight for you but not without you. Show up, step up, and be ready to work. If you truly want to change your life, change your business, and change your relationships then get ready to have a life and business coach who “honks” the horn when you go deer in headlights frozen. We love our clients and the transformations they share with us help us see them and one another through any challenging coaching situation. Don’t believe we can? Then call us and try; that is, if you want to get unstuck.

Back in October Jeff Haden wrote an article on how what you do can make you extremely likeable, but so can what you don't choose to do. When you sit down and look at your personal and professional life, your life at home vs your life in the dental practice are you paying attention to what it is that you do that make people like or dislike you?

Jeff Haden says that there are 10 key things that likeable people never EVER do and why you love them for it.  While you're reading this article think about each of these things as they may or may not pertain to your life. In order to be a good leader in your practice, you need to be able to lead yourself down a healthy and happy path! Let's see how you do...

"___

1. They don't blame.

Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic; it's empowering, because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time.

And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier.

2. They don't control.
Control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself.

Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships.

And all of you will be happier.

3. They don't try to impress.
Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll form genuine relationships only when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

4. They don't cling.
Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will.

Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

5. They don't interrupt.
Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say.

They'll love you for it -- and you'll love how that makes you feel.

6. They don't whine.
Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself.

And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't be just the shoulder they cry on.

Friends don't let friends whine. Friends help friends make their lives better.

7. They don't criticize.
Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people -- and yourself -- in a better light.

8. They don't preach.
Likable people listen. They already know what they think -- they want to know what you think.

9. They don't live in the past.
The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.

10. They don't let fear hold them back.
Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today. ___ "

---

Inc. 10 Things Incredibly Likeable People Never, Ever Do (and Why You Love Them For It). Oct 2017. Jeff Haden. Inc. https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-things-incredibly-likable-people-never-ever-do-why-you-love-them-for-it.html

Nutritional counseling plays an essential role in dentistry and in the overall health of our patients. There is an unquestionable relationship between dietary factors, dental caries, and the correlation of multiple health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. It is our responsibility as excellent clinicians to educate all of our patients on how a healthy diet is not only is good for our body but can also help to preserve our teeth for a lifetime. Nutritional counseling is a crucial component to the practice of dentistry and should focus on reducing oral risks from diet and promoting good nutrition for health. It can be defined as a combined approach between patients and health care providers geared at encouraging patients to adopt healthy dietary behaviors paralleled with improved health outcomes.

We need to first teach our patients how and why dental caries form. In order to help them understand this, we initially need to discuss plaque, the first phase of dental decay involves plaque formation. Plaque is made up of bacteria naturally occurring in the mouth, food particles and saliva. It is a very sticky film that covers the teeth and can only be removed by mechanical means, brushing and flossing. Some strains of naturally occurring bacteria in your mouth are called strep mutans and lactobacilli, these thrive when we consume food and drinks that contain sugar. When sugars aren't cleaned off of your teeth properly, these bacteria feed on them and produce an acid. The acid then eats away at tooth enamel leading to the formation of a cavity.

After the patient has a clear understanding of how dental caries are formed, it will be much easier for them to understand why a healthy diet in order to maintain not only their oral health, but the overall health of their body is important. As dental professionals, we always need to keep in mind our patient’s cultural influence, education, current health status, and any financial restrictions that may hinder the food selection or cause frustration for the patient. When diet changes are indicated for your patients, try and keep it simple for them. Make small changes, and let the patient choose one or two goals to aim for between dental appointments. This will keep them from being turned off by the suggestion of a healthier diet and from getting discouraged when they try.

When counseling, remind your patients that being thorough and consistent in their oral care along with healthy dietary practices can go a long way in guarding against cavities. Teach them that eating tooth-healthy foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese and other dairy products along with staying away from frequent snacks throughout the day can help. Point out that it’s not so much the quantity of sugar that they consume as it is the frequency that affects the teeth the most. Tell them that avoiding sweetened beverages is best because the sugar they contain will fuel the cavity-forming process, drinking water throughout the day is a much better option. All of these tips will help to prevent putting your teeth under assault from the acids created by the bacteria in your mouth.

Using education and nutritional advice will help your patients to be encouraged to make these small changes and help them to maintain a healthy mouth for a lifetime. Remember the age old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!