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Archive for the 'dentist and business world' Category
Healthy smiles magazine
A Succes Story of A Dentist
Dr. Tamara L. Bailey moved to a new town, knew nobody, but turned her practice into a local success in two years
This month, we paid a visit to Dr. Tamara L. Bailey’s two-year-old practice in Weston, Wisconsin. Dr. Bailey discusses the challenges of opening up and marketing a brand new practice, how new technology has aided in her care for patients and her patients’ perceptions of female dentists.
Why did you move to Wausau, Wisconsin? Where were you practicing before you moved?
I moved to Wausau because my husband (a physician) was recruited for the newly constructed hospital in town. My office is about two miles from the new hospital. The hospital opened about six months after my office opened. They are doing a lot of recruiting to the area and a lot of young professionals are moving to this end of town because of the hospital. I practiced in the Cleveland, Ohio, area before I moved here.
What process did you go through to select your location and start your practice from scratch? Did you consider purchasing an existing practice?
I met with the president of the local dental society before I moved up here and talked with him about practice opportunities in town. He told me that there really weren’t any existing practices currently for sale; they were usually absorbed/purchased by a dental group practice in town. He also told me that there were plenty of patients in town for everyone and they welcomed a new dentist! What a refreshing concept! Many of the more established docs in town had closed their practices to new patients. We moved here at the end of August 2004. I got my kids settled in their new schools the following week. I got a map of the area and spent every day driving up and down the streets in Wausau and surrounding towns. I looked for good visibility and location. If I got lost finding the street, I didn’t think it would be a good location. I also looked in the surrounding neighborhoods for new home construction. I found four locations that fit the bill and called the management companies and went from there.
Continues at this link, plz. read…
http://www.docere.com/Dentaltown/Article.aspx?aid=1406
Hi my dentist colleagues and dear student friends,
Your first target is trusting yourself and your abilities…
And your first duty is,to know your talents and to
perform them in usefull places…
You have to be number one and it must be the reality for you.
Don’t think to be stay casually.
We are all talent and have responsibilities otherwise we didn’t
choose dentistry which is difficult and full stress job…
Our job is like to climb a mountain…
If we dont have necessary equipments, only we can walk on
the foot of the mountains…
We can find a sample or samples who are succesful and we
have to learn to imagine to be like them…
All things begin with us and they all finish with us too…
Yesim Kale, DMD Istanbul-Turkiye
People are interested in themselves. So are you. Prospective patients are not interested in you or your practice except for the benefits you can give them. Yet most dentists’ ads say little more than, “This is my name. This is my address. These are all the procedures I do. And this is my phone number.”
Don’t worry so much about “white space” in your ad. Don’t hesitate to pack your ad with the juicy benefits of being your patient. Here’s your next staff meeting:
Make a list of all the reasons anyone should be your patient instead of seeing the dentist down the street. Any one of your ads should elaborate and focus on any one of these reasons.
The one message all of your communication should send is that your practice is “all about the patient!” Do this right, and you won’t just build your image; you’ll build your practice with new patients!
Patients Not Following Through? Here’s What You Can Do
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Discussing fees and payment options is a good thing. Do it all you can. Remember, though, that having this discussion doesn’t mean the patient has necessarily agreed — or understood — how and when payment is to be made.
Here’s the missing ingredient: The patient must actually choose a specific option before an arrangement can be considered made. Then, you must repeat the chosen option back to the patient. “So, Mr. Smith, you’ll be saving $45 by taking advantage of our 5% courtesy, and $855 will be due on the day your treatment begins. You can pay by cash, check or credit card. Will the payment be comfortable for you?”
Follow a consistent pattern for best results. Offer your patient your favorite and best option first. If the patient agrees, stop.
If the patient needs to hear other choices, continue on. Once all options have been described, ask your patient, “Which option would be best for you?” After the patient advises you of his or her selection, repeat it back. Then, all systems are go!
Know Your Potatoes
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There is an old story about two wagons in a public market, both loaded with potatoes. A housewife stopped beside the first wagon and asked, “How much are your potatoes today?”
“Dollar and a quarter,” replied the farmer.
“I only paid a dollar last time,” the woman protested.
“Taters have gone up,” grunted the farmer and turned aside.
At the next wagon, the housewife asked the same question, but Ma McGuire knew her potatoes. “These are especially fine white potatoes,” she said. “We raise only the kind with small eyes so there will be no waste in peeling. Then we sort ‘em by sizes. In each bag you’ll find a large size for boiling and cutting up, and a smaller size for baking. The baking size cooks quickly and uniformly.”
“These potatoes are clean, too.” she continued. “You could put a bag in the parlor without soiling your carpet — you don’t pay for a lot of dirt. They’re a good buy at $1.65. Shall I have them put in your car?”
The woman who thought that the first farmer’s potatoes were too high bought two bags from Ma McGuire at a higher price.
All of which proves that there is nothing wrong with quoting your fee, even if your fees are high. Quoting the fee gives you the opportunity to explain the value you offer
21 Ways to Say “Well Done!”
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1. I’m proud to have you on our team.
2. You are a bonus!
3. Congratulations on a terrific job.
4. You are so helpful. Thank you.
5. You continually improve. Well done.
6. Thanks so much for your consistent effort.
7. I really admire your perseverance.
8. Your cheerful mood lifts the spirit of the office.
9. You are a champion!
10. Wow, what an incredible accomplishment.
11. You make us all look good.
12. I have so much confidence in you.
13. You’ve grasped the concept so well.
14. Your people skills are sensational.
15. I need your help.
16. I appreciate your effort.
17. Your efforts are making a difference.
18. You continue to delight our patients.
19. I hear nothing but good words about you.
20. You certainly earned and deserved this. Congratulations.
21. Patients are noticing the extra effort you put in.
22. I am glad you are on the team.
Put Yourself in the Patient’s Shoes, Part I
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We all have patients whose x-rays show a radiolucency, but who aren’t having any pain or symptoms. You’ll want to do a cold test here to confirm pulpal necrosis. Nothing new so far. But here’s what Mike tells the patient:
“I know this isn’t bothering you because you would have told me, but I just want you to know that you do have an infection around that tooth… “
Mike doesn’t surprise the patient by announcing, “You need a root canal” only to have the patient complain, “What do you mean? My teeth aren’t bothering me.” He demonstrates his empathy while heading off an objection right at the pass (“I know this isn’t bothering you… “). Perhaps most important, he talks about the problem (the infection) before the solution (the root canal).
Bonus Plan that Works
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Wahl Family Dentistry is one of the top-producing dental practices in the country. One reason is that the owner, Pat’s brother Mike, likes nothing better than to roll out of bed and cut teeth all day while working in every patient and procedure he possibly can — after his superstar staff arranges a risk-free payment arrangement, of course.
Not all of the hygienists in the practice were as excited as Mike about filling their schedules. Why should they be?
They weren’t sticking around to work in patients; they weren’t helping the business staff fill the schedule to the brim.
Today, all that has changed. The hygienists like nothing better than a full schedule. They’re visibly upset when there is an opening! Why?
Mike now offers the hygienist a bonus of $45 each day the hygienist sees a full schedule of paying patients ($20 for a half day).
Each business staff member receives a bonus of $10 for each hygienist who sees a full schedule of paying patients (or a percentage of the $10 based upon how many hours the business staff member works). Believe me, the business staff members are asking every caller the magic questions: “Has it been 6 months since your last professional cleaning?” and “Would you like me to check the schedule for today or tomorrow?”
The assistants are also rewarded. They get $5 a day for each hygienist who sees a full schedule of paying patients. You had better believe that the assistants ask the patient in for a broken tooth, “Would you like to have your teeth professionally cleaned?” and they set up the room enthusiastically. Everyone is working together.
This bonus is understandable. It is immediate. It is highly desirable. There’s no pressure; there’s nothing negative or manipulative. Just a very lucrative bonus and incentive to stay busy. And Mike has noticed that when the hygienists are busy, he is, too!
Ronald Reagan restored hope and reminded us what it means to be American. “You can go and live in Turkey, but you can’t become a Turk,” he said. “You can go and live in Japan, but you cannot become Japanese – or Germany or France – but anyone from any corner of the world can come to America and become an American.”
He saved 77 lives as a teenage lifeguard. He later rescued the country when we were held hostage abroad and suffered the worst economy since the Great Depression at home.
What can dentists and team members learn from this lifeguard, this ordinary man who achieved such extraordinary things?
1. The Smartest People Speak in the Plainest English
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Even Reagan’s critics called him “The Great Communicator.” He was a great communicator because he spoke simply. Ronald Reagan never used two syllables when one would do. He knew how to articulate what most Americans felt but had trouble expressing.
He won election in 1980 by asking the simplest question he possibly could: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” He was also the first President to use a prop in a televised address, using coins to illustrate in an understandable way the effects of inflation. He knew how to get what might be called “case acceptance.”
2. Don’t be Defensive
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Reagan loved to be underestimated. He said, “It’s true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance?” When Carter attacked Reagan in the debate, Reagan just said, “There you go again.”
Are you defensive about your fees or anything else?
3. Be Prepared
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Though so popular at the time that his re-election was all but assured, Reagan did poorly in his first debate with Walter Mondale in 1984. Suddenly, there was the question of the “age issue.” Was Reagan, at 73 years old, simply too old to be President?
Predictably, at the second debate, Reagan was asked about the age issue. He then delivered the knockout punch: “I will not exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
4. Wear a Velvet Glove
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Common courtesy was so ingrained in this nice man that even in the grips of Alzheimer’s disease, when he had essentially stopped speaking, he would still say when he accidentally bumped the arm of a nurse feeding him, “Oh, I beg your pardon.” Are we as unfailingly gracious to our employees and co-workers?
And underneath your velvet glove…
5. Have an Iron Fist
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When the Air Traffic Controllers threatened to strike illegally in 1981, Reagan gave them an ultimatum, even though he had no trained replacements and millions of lives were at risk. The controllers were shocked when Reagan carried out the ultimatum. Everyone knew after that, at home and abroad, that Reagan meant what he said. Everybody knew he meant business. Do you stand steadfast against threats and intimidation?
6. Don’t Criticize Other Dentists
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Ronald Reagan admonished his fellow Republicans of an “Eleventh Commandment:” “Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.” Let’s not speak ill of our fellow dentists!
7. Trust, But Verify
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Ronald Reagan liked to quote an old Russian saying to his Soviet counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev: “Doveryay, no proveryay” or “Trust, but verify.” Reagan explained in his last speech as President on foreign policy that “trust, but verify” means “keeping our military strong. It means remembering no treaty is better than a bad treaty.” Trust without accountability is really blind faith. Does your office have a culture of accountability?
8. Explore New Techniques
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After the Challenger disaster in 1986 in which 7 astronauts including schoolteacher Christa McAulliffe were killed, Reagan said in a televised address, “And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle’s takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It’s all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It’s all part of taking a chance and expanding man’s horizons. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.”
9. Don’t Be Needy
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Reagan may be the only President who didn’t miss the job afterwards. Reagan enjoyed being President, and he’d have enjoyed himself if he had never been elected President. He didn’t need it because he was comfortable with himself, which made others comfortable around him.
When patients sense you need them more than they need you, it’s the kiss of death for a practice. People are attracted to success. When you don’t need the patients, you can’t get rid of them. They’ll do whatever you say. Sometimes we can take ourselves or take our work too seriously.
10. Confront Problems
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When the Berlin Wall was constructed, no American President said a word. After all, speaking up might offend or provoke the Soviets. Every President before Reagan spoke of “détente” and “mutual cooperation” with the Soviets. Reagan was the first President to call the totalitarian Soviet Union with its brutal Gulag “evil.”
Reagan said at the Brandenburg gate in 1987: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Reagan’s Chief of Staff Howard Baker before the speech advised removing these lines, thinking that all this stuff about tearing down the wall was so unrealistic as to be “unpresidential.” Today, there is no more Berlin Wall, no more Soviet Union, and no more Gulag.
What or whom are you afraid to confront in your practice? You’ll be glad you did..
GC Dental.co
This is a dental product firm…
We, dentsectortv will introduce you variety productions and the firms.
We, dentists have to know what the origin of products we use continiously…There are more filling materials, whitening system, implants, hand equipments, gloves, drilling equipments, etc. Also our tecnicians use materials too.
So, I decided to introduce firms and products. Commercial?..Maybe, but it is free. And we dont seperate the firms, we will show the way as a guide for world dentists, they ll choose their products…
Of course, we are colleagues and this internet tv blog is for you…
You can visit the links we advice you then if you interest you can order from them…
First I want to begin with GC Dental Co.
Do I know anybody from this firm? Nooo…
Do I have any commercial pact with them? Nooo..
But, I bought Gradia Direct Composite material and I m using it now…I m glad to meet this material, because it makes smiling on my patients face…Colors are harmonious with teeth and supports easy working to me..
Ok, it is a link and you can examine the firm and its products…
Thank you.
Yesim Kale, DMD.
http://www.gcdental.co.jp/english/01_overview/01_outline.html
http://www.gcamerica.com/ for free media and free tutorials videos for world dentistry:)
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