Dentaltown March 2022 - 63

G
rowth and profitability are two essential
outcomes of everything you do to run a
successful practice. We coach clients on a
wide array of growth strategies, but these two
have proven to be the most profitable for independent
practice owners:
1. Remove the phones from the front desk.
2. Convert the doctor's private office into
a treatment room.
I discovered the first strategy early in my career,
as a way of ensuring that patients who call in, as well
as those who come in, receive an excellent experience.
The second I discovered over the years of working
with clients when, as they grew successfully with new
patients and referrals, capacity became an issue. They
were stymied on how to accommodate growth if not
yet in a position to buy or open another location, but
the solution is easy, affordable and fast.
DISCOVERY 1: REMOVE THE
PHONES FROM THE FRONT DESK
The end-to-end experience that wows new patients
and generates referrals has less to do with your clinical
expertise than you might think. It starts with the first
phone call and continues through every touch point
with each and every team member, on every visit.
The front desk team is responsible for providing
an excellent experience from the moment a patient
walks through the door. When they are simultaneously
responsible for delivering an excellent experience to
those calling in, they have to prioritize one over the
other, and unfortunately can't serve both at the same
time. Your patients suffer the consequences (as does
your bottom line), and team members feel frazzled by
competing priorities.
You may think your team is handling everything
fine because you've heard no complaints, but the adage
" No news is good news " couldn't be further from the
truth when it comes to patient satisfaction. Just because
no one is complaining-or you think they aren't-doesn't
mean everything is fine.
In his outstanding book How To Win Customers and
Keep Them for Life, Michael LeBoeuf talks about why
some people buy once and never return. Or, in your
case, they come to your practice once but never again.
Here's an adaptation of a few passages:
" I'm the nice patient. I'm the one who never complains,
no matter what kind of service I get. I don't
throw my weight around. I'm polite as I can be. I
don't believe in rudeness as the answer to bad service. I
wouldn't dream of making a scene. But I'm the patient
who never comes back. "
Don't be fooled by the illusion that patients are
happy with their experience just because you think they
are. If you're not hearing complaints from patients, one
or more of these four scenarios applies:
1. Patients aren't complaining about any part of
the end-to-end experience with which they were
disappointed-they just aren't coming back.
They are also not recommending your practice
and are probably telling others in person and
online why they weren't happy.
2. Patients are complaining to your staff, but you're
not hearing about it. It's human nature not to
want to 'fess up to the boss about a complaint,
but this speaks to your leadership style. A good
leader makes team members feel comfortable
talking about complaints, trusting you will listen
and work to help solve the root cause of the issue
versus blaming them for whatever went wrong.
3.
Patients are complaining and you are hearing
about it, but you're not " hearing " it. You take it
personally, get defensive, rationalize and make
excuses. Instead of accepting the complaint as a
gift because it lets you know where you need to
improve, you tell yourself the patient is wrong
and change nothing.
4.
Patients aren't complaining because they're
genuinely satisfied with their total experience.
You would know this because they've been
coming to your practice for years, referred many
others and perhaps have given stellar social media
reviews. If your patients don't have longevity
with you, and you don't have a steady stream
of new patients from referrals, be honest with
yourself about the first three scenarios.
Dentaltown March 2022

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