Orthotown November 2020 - 51

Focus on: the patient
Being a patient-centric practice is and
always will be the key to a thriving and
growing practice. Nonetheless, many offices
pull back in this area because "our lives are so
busy during the holidays"-in other words,
what's most convenient for the doctor and
the team takes precedence over what your
patients would appreciate.
The best example is when a practice
reduces hours to give the doctors and team
members more time off. And yet, many
patients are trying to book appointments
in the last few weeks of the year while they
have time off, and so they can maximize
insurance benefits. At the very least, you
should be maintaining your availability, if not
finding ways to increase it to accommodate
your patients.
Continue investing in the patient
experience-not with more decorations,
but with a memorable giveaway or year-end
appreciation gift. Get everyone on the team
to understand you're not trying to dampen

their holiday spirit by asking them to stay
focused. Quite the opposite: You're trying
to capitalize on that spirit to amp up the
patient experience.
As with team training, make a taxdeductible investment in your
first-quarter marketing pieces that
will keep the momentum going. For
example, if you add (or replace) a doctor
or hygienist in the fourth quarter, send an
introductory piece with a coupon. Or, if
by achieving your fourth-quarter goal you
end up having your
best year ever, send
a huge thank-you to
all your patients.

Enjoy the season, but ...
Don't get me wrong, I'm no Scrooge. Being a workaholic
and taking too little time to rejuvenate leads to burnout-
it's bad for your health, your relationships and your practice. In
fact, I'm a strong proponent that when you take time off, you should
take time off ! Be totally present with whomever you're with and thoroughly
enjoy whatever you're doing.
Then, when you're at work, be fully engaged and focused on driving to your
goals. Don't let playtime bleed into productivity time. Likewise, keep your team
engaged with contests and incentives that reinforce priorities. Adopt a mindset that lets
you and your team enjoy the season without being completely sidetracked by it.
As for next year's holiday season, set a goal to grow your practice throughout 2021 so
you don't have to face these typical year-end dilemmas:
* You believe it's unfair to take time off yourself and not let the rest of the team
take off all the time off they'd like, so your patients suffer the lack of availability.
* Or, at the other extreme, you take no time off because you're the only producer
and the practice grinds to a halt when you're not there.
Wouldn't you rather not have to make those tough choices? We coach our top-level
clients to turn their practices into true businesses that produce revenue even when the
owner doctors aren't there. With a 2021 growth plan that includes more producers, next
year's fourth quarter could be the exciting home stretch in the race to your best year ever. ■

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10/27/20 9:09 AM
Orthotown November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown November 2020
