Do You Have the Fortitude to Make it Happen?
If you want to grow your practice, I have a question for you…
When was the last time you took advice from someone outside of the medical profession?
I ask because it could mean the difference between staying at the status quo and experiencing significant growth. After all, if you follow the same advice as everyone else and act on it repeatedly with the same results, isn’t that the definition of insanity?
Now, I know you’re regularly inundated with consultants, services, new technology, and marketing “gurus” promising to change things for you… so why listen to me?
I’m not a doctor, but I’ve had the privilege of doing “in-the-trenches” work with hundreds of dental professionals for decades. Your experience likely centers around your own practice and those of your peers. In contrast, I have multiple times more exposure, perspective, viewpoints, trial and error, and success. Because of this, I bring in an average of 5,000 new patients in practices across this continent… every single month.
Hopefully, I have your attention.
This is about you. My expertise isn’t how to handle patients clinically, although I’m happy to weigh in. I don’t know how to put in screws, repair gums, or use the drill and composites. That’s your domain. So why do you need me?
What you want is more patients accepting treatment, more team members engaged in their roles and responsibilities, and a more profitable business that works—a dental practice that’s everything it’s capable of being.
The big question is… how do you obtain this dream practice? It all comes down to these…
5 Key Prerequisites for Success
1. Believe in Yourself
You need to believe in yourself, in what you’re about, and in all that’s possible. Over time, we all become conditioned to accept what we’re getting and settle for what we have. We get stuck beneath the glass ceiling above our heads, crashing into it every time we’re on the verge of a breakthrough.
I see it all the time. Dentists make a transformation, accelerate growth, and then, because they’re uncomfortable with success, they sabotage it and fall back down.
It’s time to break loose from the ideas holding you back. Stop seeing six figures of income as a breakthrough. Strive for more and know you deserve it.
2. Have a Conscience
Before you raise an eyebrow or point a finger, I don’t necessarily mean your “conscience.” I want you to stop trying to do it all yourself. The biggest setback in getting big cases and selling at high fees is trying to carry the weight of production on your shoulders. If you try to create every dollar in your practice, you’ll always run out of month before you reach your financial goals.
To remove the busy days from your life, you need to create a team effort. This means implementing checks and balances. You need a conscience in your practice, helping you see all the dentistry that’s available. If your head is down, grinding it out in patients’ mouths, you’re missing things. Stop this and commit to delegating as much as possible.
3. Accept Reality and Be Willing to Blow It Up
If you don’t know your numbers now, you might say, “Well, Scott, we had a good case acceptance,” or, “There just aren’t many patients with money.” That’s B.S. The reality is, there isn’t a practice on the planet I can’t double overnight by helping them understand what’s falling through the cracks.
Today’s production is yesterday’s income. Stop worrying about what you produce today and focus on what you can produce in the future.
4. Focus on the Future
By the time you see your schedule for today, you’re already looking in the rearview mirror. I want you to open your mind to the reality of what walks out of your practice every day. When you know your numbers, you’ll understand reality, and then you can take action to create what you really want.
5. Put the Right People in the Right Positions
Rarely do I walk into a practice where everyone needs to be fired. Usually, they’re just hodge-podged together. Practices accumulate people over time, and they take up space. I want you to look at your team like a sports team. If you’re a small boutique practice, treat it like a basketball team; if you’re a larger organization, treat it like a football team. Hire to fill positions, not just to take up space.
One of my biggest breakthroughs is ensuring every player on your team is in the right position for their strengths.
Be open-minded for positive change to happen.
Yes, these are five key concepts to achieve the dental practice you’ve always dreamed of, but they will likely require a major mindset change on your part. It’s time to stop focusing solely on fixing teeth and keeping your practice afloat. Challenge yourself to be about more than just being a dentist.
Find the essence inside you and commit to guiding every patient on the journey to the perfect smile. Make the commitment to never let a patient leave without understanding the full spectrum of dental expertise that you’ve spent your lifetime obtaining. This way, you’ll transform how you think about your profession, how you run your practice, and the impact you have on your patients’ lives. Then, the dental success you desire will come to fruition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Recognized by thousands of dentists across North America, Scott Manning is an accomplished author (his book The Dental Practice Shift is the #1 most requested book in dentistry) and a highly sought-after public speaker. For almost two decades, he has dedicated his life to inspiring and motivating dentists worldwide to create wealth and lifestyle-based practices. When not sharing his positive messages globally, Scott loves to travel and spend time with his beloved wife Kristen and daughter Saylor. To learn more, visit dentalsuccesstoday.com.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: Boris Mayer/Shutterstock.com.
