Cliff's Notes

You Want the Truth? You Can’t Handle the Truth! Or Maybe You Just Don’t Want to Know?

Cliff’s Notes for October 18, 2015

Cliff Marsh, Henry Schein ……Cell: 201-321-7494……Fax: 201-262-2210

E-mail: cliff.marsh@henryschein.com

http://www.cliffsnotesblog.me

http://www.youtube.com/cliffmarsh100

It may have been one of the best rants in movie history. Jack Nicholson facing off against Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men”. Maybe the correct reply would be “why can’t you handle the truth?”.

“Why” is the first and last question you need to ask yourself whenever trying to solve a problem in your practice. You need to know why something is happening before you can fix it. Quite often, “why” , is not an easy question to answer. Sometimes it is just hard to admit that you don’t know.

One of the “why” questions may be answered if you would walk in your front door and look around. When was the last time you put a new coat of paint on the walls? Is the carpet stained and worn? What about the reception furnisher? Gandhi once said “you are the language you speak”. If your office looks old, the dentistry looks old. Think about what your patients see as general consumers. High tech video and designer pets are the new normal and if you don’t look like a modern professional engaged in the “new and exciting” you will never grow your practice. I said it before (marketing 101) packaging is 95% of the sale. You may be the best at what you do but if you don’t look the part, you are old or out of touch.

So, what is the truth that you are having difficulty handling? Maybe it’s the need to invest in your practice. Investment is not always clinical technology. Give your environment a facelift. The most successful dental practices I work with present themselves as a modern healthcare facility. New patients schedule at a rate for sustainable growth and that increase in revenue helps fund the investment in clinical technologies that also increase revenue. Get back to basics, don’t leap frog past the front door. Your business is your house and how you live is the image that you project of what you are.

Businesses that up-grade their environment tend to see an increase in treatment plan acceptance and patient compliance. Team members become more energized and preform at a higher level. Investing in your non-clinical surroundings is a great place to start in transforming your practice into a modern healthcare facility.

Now that the office looks great, it’s time to focus on investing in your team. That’s another area where you can’t handle the truth. Pay peanuts get monkeys. You need a competent and fully engaged team to complete the transformation of your business. You need to have established procedures and protocol that your team follows to the letter. Let your team make money by being part of your transformation and expansion (bonus on production) and they will help you get to your promised land.

It’s time to face the truth. Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns.

October 18, 2015 - Posted by Cliff's Notes Blog | Uncategorized