recession resistant practice
No matter what your current stress level or comfort level may be, in terms of "the recession", Cathy Jameson has authored the first few installments of what will be an original article series called "Recession Resistant Practice" that is extremely powerful. Read on for yourself below. Make sure to bookmark the section as it will be updated regularly. She has more than 25 titles planned for your practice improving inspirational reading!
Professionalism
...In these changing economic times, it is imperative that each of you focuses on doing the best you can do—and that applies to each person on the team. Each person can make or break a relationship with a patient. Every patient is critical to the health and well-being of your practice. Each person—each patient—each encounter.
Review your systems and ask yourselves, "What are we doing well?" KEEP ON DOING THOSE THINGS. Then ask yourselves a more critical question, "How can we do everything we are doing a little bit better?" It’s the little things that make the big difference. When you improve each of the systems within your practice—even slightly—the accumulation of improvements will make a substantial difference in the practice as a whole.
Read More... | Download PDFTelephone Etiquette
Let’s talk about telephone etiquette since the telephone is the single most important marketing tool in your practice and a major communication device in today’s global world.
Dental marketing experts have determined that seven out of ten people will schedule an appointment or keep an appointment with you by how they are handled on the telephone. And yet, we, at Jameson Management, are oftentimes stunned by the way people handle the telephone in dental offices. The lack of grace and courtesy is flabbergasting. So, we have to wonder: "What kind of telephone training has been provided? What kind of a role model is the doctor being if people are answering the phone in a less than delightful manner?" Or, when team members do not fulfill things that they have agreed to do, we must wonder about the professionalism in the practice.
Read More... | Download PDFCustomer Service
In his book, Broken Windows, Broken Business, author, Michael Levine, says "The smallest remedies reap the biggest rewards" It’s the little things that make the big difference. Levine notes that perception is everything. If there is a "glitch" in a system—or a "crack" in the window, speaking metaphorically, one must stop the crack before it breaks. This concept works two ways: on the one hand, the smallest of customer service courtesies, like listening, make the biggest of differences. ON the other hand, not paying attention to the details and not focusing on the customer service protocols that make a patient’s visit with you comfortable can make a negative difference. Levine speaks about the unmistakable power of observation, attention to detail and a focus on customer service so you can fix any potential weaknesses in your organization before it’s too late.
Read More... | Download PDFCreating Raving Fans
When patients don’t proceed with treatment you’ve diagnosed or, worse, when they don’t even show up for appointments, they be sending you the message that dentistry isn’t worth the investment. You could blame it on the economy and watch your practice dwindle, or you could ask yourself "What can we do to turn this around? What can we do to help our patients truly understand the VALUE of the dentistry we know they need?"
Read More... | Download PDFReducing Broken Appointments and No Shows
The reduction of broken appointments and no shows begins in the clinical area with the clinical team stressing the significance and importance of the next appointment.
This does NOT contradict all of my reminders that every person on the team plays a role in the patient relationship and that every person on the team is ultimately accountable for the success of a full schedule, treatment acceptance and beyond. I am simply clarifying that the clinical team members have the greatest opportunity to relay the value of proceeding with the appointment schedule and/or treatment. The business team will make financial arrangements and refine their verbal skills and other systems to set this idea up for success, but if the patients don’t see the value of keeping their appointment and/or don’t understand the negative consequences of missing their opportunity for care, then the patient will be far less likely to schedule and pay in the midst of today’s economic challenges and associated fears.
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