Failure - How it Happens
FAILURE IS CUMULATIVE
Most plane crashes are the result of a pilot making 7 consecutive errors. The crash is not the result of one major catastrophic event, but is typically the accumulation of single and small events that pile atop one another to bring the plane down.
WHY DENTAL PRACTICES FAIL?
A dental practice operates the same way as a plane with the dentist as the pilot. The pilot is ultimately in charge but relies on a team of mechanics, air traffic controllers and crew to ensure that the plane makes a safe trip. Just like a plane crash, there is typically not one thing that puts a dental practice out of business. It is rather an accumulation of little things that are not corrected and pile up to bring the practice down.
Here are the Top 5 things that we see that go uncorrected and lead to practice failure along with what you can do to fix these errors in your practice.
Bad Marketing
Marketing is more than just running Google Ads and having a website. A great marketing strategy starts with identifying your ideal patient. With that as a focus, you can build a marketing plan (advertising, digital presence, promotional outreach, patient referrals, office decor, treatment presentation, etc.) to attract those ideal patients. While filling the schedule is important, filling it with the right patients will help keep your practice in the air. One metric you can use to see if your marketing plan is working is tracking patient treatment acceptance rates. If you are just attracting healthy patients with small treatment opportunities, you need to a marketing course correction. If you are presenting lots of treatment but have an acceptance rate below 35%, you need to review your patient demographics and fine tune your case presentation.
Poor Patient Experience
A patient, who sees a fee for service private practice dentist, is like the traveler, who flies first class. They both except superior service and care. It seems obvious but if you can not provide an amazing experience for your patients, you will not last long as a practice owner. A patient’s experience goes beyond your technical dental skills and is about building a trusted relationship with the patient. The best way to build trust is by listening so remember this quote during your next patient exam - “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” - Bryant McGill
Inferior Practice Team
Just like the mechanic that forgets to check an engine issue or a distracted air traffic controller, the team around you will dramatically impact the success or failure of your practice. While it is necessary to hire good people that work hard, that alone is not enough to make a practice succeed. You need to have defined job descriptions and responsibilities so team members understand how they contributed to the success of the practice. The team members must then be held accountable and rewarded for completing their assigned duties.
Greedy Finances
The number one reason that airlines fail is the inability to control cash flow with excessive spending and shareholder dividends. A dental practice is first and foremost a business, so unless you have a basic understanding of your financials, debt and cash flow, you will eventually end up like TWA. If you are spending more than you are bringing in, you simply won’t last long as a business. To help ensure that your practice stays in the air as long as possible, you should be working with an accountant/advisor that can support you in understanding, monitoring and improving your finances.
Lack of Leadership
You are the pilot of your practice. There will be times when you can switch on the auto-pilot or let the co-pilot fly but it is ultimately you that is in charge of getting your practice to your desired destination. Leadership is a learned trait so push yourself to become a better leader through experience and study.
Every practice has different failure points and the solutions are specific to each dentist.
If you have specific questions around issues in your practice or want to understand your financials more proactively, please schedule a consultation with JNG Advisors today.