It’s that time of year again—2011 is all but over, and all eyes are turning to 2012. Take some time right now to evaluate the performance of your practice over the past year. Did you meet your profitability goals? Did you provide excellent service to your patients? Has your staff continued to grow and mature as your practice develops?
Of course, I hope that you can all answer these questions affirmatively—but I know that isn’t necessarily the case. The reality is that many dental practices struggled in 2011. What really matters, at this point in time, is not how you did in 2011. That’s in the past. It’s important to learn lessons from any mistakes you may have made—but do so with an eye towards the future. My wish for each and every one of you is that 2012 will be your most successful, most enjoyable, most profitable year ever. Here are three ways you can accomplish this goal:
1) Learn to delegate effectively. As a dentist, you have one set of hands and a finite amount of time you can spend at work each day. Furthermore, you are part of a tiny percentage of humanity that has the skills, the training, and the equipment necessary to tend to the oral health of your patients. Logic dictates that you should spend virtually all of your time with patients—which means delegating the accounting, the marketing, the scheduling, the relationships with vendors, and more. Visit my website to learn more about effective delegation!
2) Create systems to get the work done. To build a consistently profitable practice, it’s important to focus on sustainability. It doesn’t do you any good to grow your practice and acquire new patients if you can’t provide the consistent service they expect. Every element of your operation should be systemized—from your marketing, to your scheduling, to your accounting, to your time with patients.
3) Keep your staff efficient and productive. Arguably the hardest part of managing a dental practice is getting the most out of your team. As the owner of your practice, you have a financial incentive to maximize profitability. Your staff members, working for a paycheck, have no such incentive. Therefore, it’s up to you to keep them engaged and productive by monitoring their performance, holding them accountable, and offering performance-based incentives. Feel free to contact me for more on this subject!
2011 is in the rear-view mirror—and it’s on to bigger and better things in 2012! Make the upcoming year your most profitable year yet. Good luck… and enjoy the holiday season!