If you own a dental practice then you know all about the pitfalls of overhead costs.
It can be extremely frustrating for dentists when their practice’s cash flow solely covers monthly expenses. This can leave them and their dental practice feeling hopeless, discouraged, and even questioning whether the dream they have for their practice is possible.
We want you to know that you are not alone.
The first step towards transforming your dental practice’s finances is to shine a light on your overhead costs and money mindset.
The second step is to examine ways to bring in more profitability to your practice.
Let’s get started using the 3 tips below to take your practice out of survival mode and put you on the path to profitability.
1. Your Money Mindset
We’re sure you’ve heard the “money-mindset” buzz word thrown around a lot but we believe that’s because it matters; certainly when it comes to building and growing your dental practice.
NextLevel’s philosophy is that dentists succeed not because of economic conditions but because of the way they view themselves and their practices. At NextLevel Practice, we have lots of dentists thriving in all economic seasons. The reason for this is because they possess a willingness to open their minds to new ideas and expand their money mindset. They are also ALL in when it comes to looking at the beliefs they have about themselves, the value they offer their patients, about what’s financially possible in their lives and how their dental practice can run more smoothly.
Are your thoughts focused on scarcity and how hard it is to make money?
Are you stuck in the story that you need new patients to increase your cash flow but aren’t nurturing the profitability potential in your existing patients?
Do you continue to use the same old strategies to fix your overhead cost problems despite the fact that they aren’t working?
It’s okay if you answered yes to some or even all of these questions. The first step in transforming the financial life of your practice is to become aware of how you might be standing in the way. Once you have connected to your big aha’s above, you can begin to replace those limiting beliefs and mindsets with those that support the vision you hold for your practice.
Asking questions like those below are a great place to start!
What needs to be true for my practice to be financially abundant?
What new systems or strategies might I need to implement to support the growth I desire?
Who might I need to get support from?
What new skills might I need to learn?
Remember, you will show up and attract what you believe is possible. Dream big and show up big…you and your practice deserve it!
2. The Habit Of Over-Hiring
Team salaries add up!
This may seem obvious, yet so often we see dentists looking to hire a new team member the minute stress, overwhelm or conflicts arise.
More often than not, when you take time to examine the core cause of the issue and take inventory of team roles and responsibilities (and review team management processes), you will discover that it’s actually a lack of clarity within the team roles, unclear direction from you, the right team member in the wrong role, or miscommunication across team management that is the core issue.
So, before you hire a new team member, take the time to examine the above, and ask yourself and team management, “Is hiring someone new really the solution”?
Getting clear on this not only saves the practice money but it reinforces and empowers the team you already have!
3. Establish Your Practice’s Healthy Mouth Baseline
Most dental offices have zero standards for what constitutes a Healthy Mouth Baseline. What’s a Healthy Mouth Baseline, you might ask? It’s a mouth in which all soft tissue is completely healthy, with no bleeding points, no recession and no decay in the hard tissue. There has to be a uniformly agreed-upon standard, and it may take your practice days of discussion to determine exactly what that dividing line is.
Once you establish this, you will find that 80 to 90 percent of all of your current patients need some form of treatment.That is a significant amount of treatments (and profitability) that you are not utilizing!
Get clear with your team on what is your practice’s Healthy Mouth Baseline is and collectively work to get each of your patients to that baseline. Having these conversations is a great way to foster more team building and ensure you and your team are aligned from a goal standpoint. As your team works towards these shared goals, observe as your patient referrals begin to flow organically, your team becomes more empowered, team building strengthens and your practice’s financial well-being flourishes.
These are just 3 ways that you can transform the profitability in your practice and get you more empowered around the possibilities that await you, your team and your practice.
Download a copy of our Healthy Mouth Baseline here and learn your practice’s Healthy Mouth Baseline so you can start implementing this powerful tool today!
