Starting the New Year Right

 

[January 24th, 2020] by Dr. Ginger Bratzel

Episode #X:  [Starting the New Year Right]

Welcome to 2020!

 

The new year means new things, new goals! You’re of course gonna hear about the cliche New Year’s resolutions – weight loss, fix relationships, etc…we all have things that we’ve let slip for the holidays, or even longer. Some things have reached the point of no return.

 

Two areas to focus on in 2020

 

Area #1

Most people try to add more to their plate. But if you want to get real and address what’s going on, it’s not really about what we’re doing. It’s about what you need to stop doing.

 

Before you bring on more, you need to declutter. You can’t add more without letting something go. We tend to hold onto things for emotional reasons, not logical reasons. We’ve all heard:

 

”That’s the way it’s always been done…”

 

It’s always harder to let go instead of pick up. We’re constantly dragging our security blankets and pacifiers around. It’s time to let go of the things that are holding us back and make things happen.

 

The first step to move forward is to create a plan. Take a look at all the things that you are supposed to do during the day. When you have that list of things, ask yourself “is this really serving the greater good”.

 

Area #2

My son is a senior in high school. He’s on the Speech & Debate team and is a fantastic speaker. His coach and I talk about some of the same things that I talk to my private clients related to what’s holding people back from their full potential.

 

Their team has done very well but no matter how much their coach tries to teach the students, it all boils down to whether they have the information they need in their head and their heart. And because of their success, other teams have criticized the coach & the team.

 

When we are challenged, we will find something wrong with the other person to make ourselves feel better. This is a survival mechanism. It can often feel like you have a target on your back.

 

In your dental practice, you have to be ready for the criticism. It may be from friends, family, employees, community, etc. Negative comments are going to happen but we can welcome it and be prepared to respond appropriately.

 

So, I want you to play a bigger game. Be all that you can be. We were all given unique abilities, use them. Don’t play small.

 

Links Mentioned In This Episode:

Don’t Forget This Week’s Free Resource To Help Grow Your Practice.

You can request it here: http://gingerbratzel.com/financial

 

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Creating your marketing calendar for this year

You have to let patients know you exist and you can’t do that without a solid marketing plan.

 

Marketing puts your practice over the top when you have the quality and customer service that patients appreciate. It can be overwhelming if you don’t plan it out in advance, therefore today we are going to talk about planning your calendar and ideas to inspire you.

Your goal is marketing that works and that moves people forward. When you’re planning your marketing calendar, you want to look forward in 6 month chunks. Then, break it down month by month. January is the start of a new year, February is Valentine’s, March is St. Patty’s Day…you get the idea. Think about how can you tie into something each month that is relevant to the time of year.

Click on the video image below to watch.

Get yourself a calendar, not a digital one, so you can put pen to paper and work out your timeline. Once you decide on your theme for the month, write that down on your calendar. Then as the year goes by and the next theme or holiday comes up, you know what you need to be preparing for. If you are planning to do something for April Fool’s Day, you can’t start thinking about it on April 1st. You want to be looking about 15 days ahead. This gives you time to delegate, plan ahead, brainstorm, and then get it done.

There are tons of ideas out there. Look at other Facebook Pages and Google Unusual Holidays. Take note of what days are coming up that you could connect with. This will help inspire your marketing content. My favorite marketing tip is that I like to look for the unusual holidays. If everyone is posting about Halloween, what else can you do that is relevant to you and your patients.

There’s a National day for just about everything! National Donut Day, National Cranky Coworker’s Day, National Taco Day…There’s even Squirrel Appreciation Day!

It’s not too late to start your marketing calendar!

Take a few minutes to watch the full video above – do it for you and for your practice.

Fear of Failure is Stopping Your Practice Growth

Facing Failure In Success Path

 

We are doing something a little different this week.  I’ve got a dental trivia question for you plus we are going to dig deep on the benefits of failure, how to welcome it, and how to move on to bigger things.

Click on the video image below to watch.

The biggest obstacle in most dental practices is us, the owner.

We would like things to change but we are worried about what could happen.

  • Will patients leave?
  • Will it make things worse with the dental team?
  • Will it mean more work for me?
  • How much will it cost?

And faced with more questions than answers, we shut down and do nothing most of the time.

But failing is not a negative result, but rather a part of the process of success. We break it down, talk about planning for failure, and how to move on for success.

PLUS in this episode as a bonus, we play some trivia with “Name the Biggest Holiday Movie for Dentists”.  What movie am I reference in the video.

Getting more treatment plans done

There is a fine line between informing and pushing patients over the edge when it comes to discussing their dental treatment plan.

 

 

We’re talking about one of the hottest topics today…What do you do with all those unfinished treatment plans?!

Every dentist has tons of charts with necessary, unfinished treatment plans. How do you go from a long list of treatment to a happy smiling patient? It’s about the psychology of how to frame this so the patient can process it to move towards that “YES”. It’s important to think about the WHOLE process, not a simple quick fix.

Today, I want to talk about an example from one of my clients. When we met, I had them bring all of their marketing materials. Looking through everything, I saw something that I have never ever seen before.

Click on the video image below to watch.

It was a form letter that they send out towards the end of the year. It lets patients know that they still have insurance benefits they can use before they expired on December 31st and goes into great detail. So much detail, that it included all of the fees, insurance coverage, billing codes…and even the actual clinical charting of everything in their mouth! (OH MY!)

Say it with me…Whoa! That is way too much for a patient to process.

Let’s back it up a minute. That information is important to your dental office, how you file insurance and document all of their charting. We aren’t trying to hide anything from our patients, but that is just too overwhelming. And it’s not information that benefits the patient in moving forward with their needed dental care.

So we went through and simplified things for them, focusing on just the key parts of their letter. Give them the “Why”, why do they need to come in. Is it an emergent situation? Is it time-sensitive?

Maybe just start with a part of their treatment plan. For example, we’ll start with your bottom teeth and this is what the cost will be per month. Once we get through that, we’ll move to the top teeth. You want to make sure you break it down, make it easy. Does this work with their budget? What about their work/life schedule?

Take a few minutes to watch the full video above as I show you this jam-packed letter so you can see what things in your office you might be overwhelming patients on also – do it for you and for your practice.

3 things that have to happen on the initial phone call

The first phone call is soooooo important (I wish I could put a few more ‘oooooo’ behind that.) But 90% of businesses BOMB in this area.

 

 

What would happen if you nailed it? How many more new patients would you get? How many existing patients would keep coming back if you know it out of the park? 

Most businesses rush that first phone call or put someone on the phone who isn’t well trained which is a critical area.  When it comes to answering the phone, you’ve got to have your best people answering the phones. You want it to be someone who listens, vocalizes and has excellent communication skills.

Click on the video image below to watch.

There are 3 things that have to happen on that phone call.

  1. You want to have the warmest greeting this person has ever had. Make a genuine connection, don’t jump straight to business and ask what kind of insurance they have.  It’s not only WHAT you say, but HOW it’s said. (Watch the full video to get more on that.)

 

  1. The first phone call shouldn’t be rushed. Take your time. Be a detective and get to the bottom of what brought them to your office. Ask questions and listen to the things patients may not be saying.

 

  1. Get the patient scheduled. Don’t ask for permission. Phrase your question so that it isn’t a yes or no question. For example: Would you like to come in on Wednesday or Thursday? Morning or afternoon?

Having a great first phone call, helps to build a strong foundation. Without a strong foundation, you might crumble. Think about that.

Lastly, I heard a quote yesterday morning, “Everyone wants to improve, but no one wants to change.” So are you ready for change? Are you ready to live a bigger life?

If the answer is yes, watch the full video and see how you can improve your dental office and bring in new patients.

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