If you’ve never worked with a consultant, it can sound daunting, even intimidating. Dentists can assume that consultants are expensive, dictatorial and ultimately ineffective. Unfortunately, some consultants can merit this reputation.
But I prefer transparency, so let’s pull back the curtain on how I approach consulting and peak into a typical consulting meeting.
Preparing for the Call
Just like you review a patient’s x-rays before you diagnose, the first thing I do before I talk with a dentist is review the practice’s production, collection and expenses. I evaluate each provider’s productivity against their goals. I also examine the practice’s expenses and make sure collections exceeded these expenses so there isn’t a looming cash flow issue.
Now here’s where I have a unique approach. Because I’m addicted to British who-dun-nits, I analyze numbers like they’re clues to a mystery.
Let’s see how this plays out.
The Mysterious Case of Dr. ‘G”
Dr. “G’s” statistics indicates that the practice has not reached its production goals for the last two months. Just like a fictional detective, I ask myself, Why is this body (low production) here? What are my suspected reasons?
An obvious clue is the high number of openings. In 3 months, the practice lost a potential $70,000 in production due to unfilled appointments. Yikes!
Dr. G and I discuss the 4 possible reasons he has so many openings. Each reason leads to possible solution.
Four Potential Reasons for Openings
Reason 1: Not enough patients to fill the schedule?
If this is the reason, we’ll need to build a marketing campaign.
Reason 2: There is a robust patient base, but they don’t schedule treatment?
If the openings are due to low case acceptance, I’ll need to train the team and Dr. G to have more meaningful, motivational dialogues with patients.
Reason 3: Patients are calling, but they don’t schedule
To determine if this is the root cause, we’ll need to track inquiries vs appointments. The front desk team may need coaching to respond to questions that often derail FFS practices, such as “Do you take my insurance?”
Reason 4: Too many patients late cancel?
We many to retrain both patients and the team so that everyone abides by the practice’s scheduling guidelines.
What We Do Next
Dr. G tells me that his team are reluctant to try new things because they felt burned by the previous dentist.
This leads to a conversation about motivating employees and why giving them gift cards as incentives may ultimately backfire. (Extrinsic rewards eventually lose their impact while intrinsic motivation is self-generating.)
Dr G admits that he has difficulty in holding employees accountable. I describe Commitment Conversations where, as the Requester, he is specific about what he expects of the designated Implementor.
By the end of the call, Dr. G has an action list which includes pre-blocking two team meetings a month. This will allow the team to solve problems and train so they can upgrade their systems and communication skills.
I also shared ideas on how to get them more invested in improving the practice’s numbers.
We accomplished all this in one hour.
What This Means for You
| If you’re considering working with a consultant, recognize that leadership exposes your strengths and vulnerabilities. That’s why a good consultant should help you develop insight into how your personality traits and values can both help and hinder your practice’s growth. At the same time, consulting isn’t therapy, so every consulting call needs to include action steps both for the dentist and for the consultant. My belief is that consulting should be affordable. Having worked in a large consulting firm where dentists paid for our overhead, my commitment is to keep my fees affordable while increasing the value of my guidance. If you have practice management challenges that are interrupting your sleep, let’s chat and see if working with me will be the right fit. |
