Guarantee prosperity in your practice regardless of outside situations

Aug. 4, 2010
How can you guarantee your success in the midst of these economic times? Jay M. Geier suggests five things to focus on that are under your control.

By Jay M. Geier

The media seems hell-bent on “keeping us in a recession” no matter what the truth is or what’s best for our country. The only way to guarantee your success in the midst of this is to put your head down and stay focused on what you CAN control.

1. Set clear goals and create a solid plan to support them.
Goal setting must start with you, and EVERYONE involved in your practice must have faith in the goals and the plan and be on board to help make them happen. Those who are not on board must go. You can’t afford to carry dead weight.

2. Take advantage of the “thinning of the herd.”
Right now there is less marketing competition, so marketing becomes easier. Fewer dentists in the Yellow Pages, less direct mail being sent out, less money being spent to get new patients ... all this means YOU can stand out more. Add to your marketing and do not follow the herd — they will decrease.

3. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!
When there’s less competition, don’t pay full price for anything — especially advertising. Take the opportunity to renegotiate prices with all of your vendors.

4. Eliminate waste and add more of what’s producing.
This goes for both marketing and employees. Everything you invest in should be held accountable for producing results. Schedule time to sit down at least once a month to review results with your team.

5. Focus your energy on the low-hanging fruit.
Your active patients and former patients are the low-hanging fruit. You should be communicating with them regularly. The number of dentists who don’t regularly communicate with these groups is staggeringly low. Create special incentives and offers for your patients to come in for service.

Author bio
Jay M. Geier is the founder and president of the Scheduling Institute. He is a well-known dental speaker and has helped more than 10,000 doctors nationwide grow their practices. Jay offers a free practice analysis on his Web site. If you’d like him to do this for your practice, go to www.SchedulingInstitute.com and click on “Take the 5 Star Challenge” at the top. Jay can also be contacted at [email protected].