711: Why Gross Production is the Worst Metric for Dentists – Dr. Barrett Straub

A big part of having a better practice and a better life is understanding your numbers. But if you focus on the wrong ones, it can destroy your business! Gross production is one of the worst metrics for dentists, and Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Barrett Straub, ACT’s CEO, to explain why it doesn't tell the whole story of your practice. To learn about the metrics that truly matter and how to use them to plan your best life, listen to Episode 711 of The Best Practices Show!

Learn More About Dr. Straub:

• Email Dr. Straub for ACT’s Capacity Tracker: [email protected] 
• Join Dr. Straub on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barrett.d.straub
• Follow Dr. Straub on ACT’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actdental

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

• Watch the video version of Episode 711: https://www.youtube.com/@actdental/videos
• Subscribe to The Best Practices Show: https://the-best-practices-show.captivate.fm/listen
• Join The Best Practices Association: https://www.actdental.com/bpa
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club: https://www.actdental.com/ttt
• See the ACT Dental/BPA Live Event Schedule: https://www.actdental.com/event
• Get The Best Practices Magazine for free: https://www.actdental.com/magazine
• Please leave us a review on the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-best-practices-show-with-kirk-behrendt/id1223838218

Main Takeaways:

• Gross production doesn't tell the whole story.
• Know how to calculate and manage your effort gap.
• Figure out why you're not getting 100% of your true fee.
• Save your time and energy for things that matter most to you.
• Adding more doctors, hygienists, and chairs isn't adding capacity.
• Doing more and producing more doesn't always result in profitability.

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

3:34 The effort gap, explained.

3:55 Gross production, explained.

9:14 The more data, the better.

10:36 Trends in the effort gaps.

11:48 How can you tell how much you're writing off?

16:06 Annual patient value, explained.

19:26 Active patients, explained.

21:19 Days worked times production per day, explained.

27:25 Production per hour and production per visit, explained.

30:06 Capacity, defined.

34:10 Have energy left for your life.

35:36 Do you truly need to produce more?

37:55 Last thoughts.

Dr. Barrett Straub Bio:

Dr. Barrett Straub practices general and sedation dentistry in Port Washington, Wisconsin. He has worked hard to develop his practice into a top-performing, fee-for-service practice that focuses on improving the lives of patients through dentistry.

A graduate of Marquette Dental School, Dr. Straub’s advanced training and CE includes work at the Spear Institute, LVI, DOCS, and as a member of the Milwaukee Study Club. He is a past member of the Wisconsin Dental Association Board of Trustees and was awarded the Marquette Dental School 2017 Young Alumnus of the Year. As a former ACT coaching client that experienced first-hand the transformation that coaching can provide, he is passionate about helping other dentists create the practice they’ve always wanted.

Dr. Straub loves to hunt, golf, and spend winter on the ice, curling. He is married to Katie, with two daughters, Abby and Elizabeth.