Gems Publishing June 2018

... continued f rom cover had overlooked it. As Gordon explained, “It’s one thing when there’s a downturn in the economy; it’s another thing when people leave and they don’t come back.” Back in 2009, before joining GG12, he had no retirement, his practice was drowning, and the city was struggling. Gordon asked me, “Will GG12 work for me?” and my honest response was, “I have no idea.” He told me if his practice didn’t improve, he was going to have to close the doors — not sell the practice, but board it up with the others. This wasn’t an option for him; he had no retirement and was already in his late 60s at the time. He joined our GG12 family and hasn’t looked back since. In the first 10 months, his revenue increased $400,000. During his next 10 months in our GG12 Alumni program, his revenue rose by another $400,000. During his next 10 months in our GG12 Alumni program, his profit increased by another $400,000. He added a board-certified Oral Surgeon, two general dentists, and a Periodontist. When he maxed out all possible time, he decided to add another 1,750 square feet, including three more treatment rooms. Today, he’s in his mid-70s. He eliminated $1 million in debt, bought a second home in Florida, and paid cash for his dream car — a BMW M3. In Gordon’s words, “I would not have reached this point in my life without Dr. Orent’s keen eye for meeting

his clients where they are at and helping to guide us toward achieving, even exceeding, our goals.”

Where Do We Go From Here? There’s a good chance that you are nowhere near capacity. Assuming you’re not, then a simple, proven-effective way to generate a potentially massive increase in revenue is to focus on boosting your new patient flow. Even a small increase in new patient flow can add a quarter of a million dollars a year to your practice, and it’s not nearly as difficult as you may think. Could you add just one new patient a week? Let’s look at the math of what that would do for your practice. One new patient a week makes 50 for the year, including two weeks off for good behavior. The average lifetime value of a new patient in a general practice is $4,800 over six years, so one new patient a week adds up to $240,000 in revenue per six-year sales cycle. And that’s just on new patient flow alone, not any other revenue potential. So how do you increase your new patient flow? Stay tuned for next month’s “New Frontiers of Dental Practice Success” where we dive into “9 Keys to Rapidly and Consistently Increasing New Patient Flow and Adding at Least $150,000.”

things happen. But when he was away, Cherri went off like Mount Vesuvius. She explained how Dr. George was a great doctor (clinically), but he was suffering from what I call “shiny-squirrel syndrome.” Every new thing he heard, read, or dreamed up was the “magic bullet” to solve everything that was going on in the practice. Morale was dying; the team wasn’t sure if they just wanted to quit or show up with pitchforks and torches. Sure, the numbers made everything look good, but it seems that when Dr. George wasn’t setting fires in the office, he was spending a lot of time making the practice look like it was successful. He was erecting a Potemkin village, nothing more than a beautiful facade to cover up the decay and chaos in the background of his practice. I shared that the only known cure for shiny-squirrel syndrome is a difficult conversation — the kind of honest interaction that makes the question, “Do these pants make me look fat?” look like child’s play.

By Tom Rich, MBA, GG12 Senior Practice Analyst The Weakest Link

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent … and guilty.)

Last week, I was speaking with Dr. George and his office manager, Cherri. We were discussing his team, how each member has specific strengths and weaknesses, and how we could better harness their talents and abilities to help him finally achieve the practice of his dreams. He agreed … in fact, he even brought up the adage, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” Prior to that specific topic, Cherri had been excited and engaged in our conversation, but when we were covering “the weakest link,” she was dead quiet. A few minutes later, when Dr. George needed to step out of the room, it became obvious why. Cherri didn’t waste a second.

She asked, “What do you do when the dentist is the weakest link?”

It’s a hard conversation, but it’s hugely valuable.

Dr. George seemed like he knew what was happening in his office, how to motivate and support his team, and how to make

Here are a two questions to help you get started with that conversation:

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