The 3 Rs for Future Practice Growth

Episode #343 with Sandy Pardue

Every practice should have a great recall system. And the problem isn't that dentists don't have great recall systems — it’s that they think they have one, when they actually don't! If you are one of these dentists, today’s guest has a ton of great advice. Kirk Behrendt brings in Sandy Pardue from Classic Practice Resources to teach you three simple things to help you improve your practice. She will teach you recipes for the 3 Rs you need: a recall system, retention, and reactivation. To learn how to implement these Rs and develop the best recall system, listen to Episode 343 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

You need the 3 Rs: a good recall system, retention, and reactivation.

A good recall system includes calls, texts, emails, and snail mail — something for everyone.

The majority of broken appointments were people that were prescheduled.

Not every patient deserves to be prescheduled.

There's nothing in the practice more important than filling the schedule.

Don't run from your upset patients, run to them.

Practices that value relationships will retain more patients.

Retention goals for every practice owner is about 83%.

Patients coming in every 18 months is a healthy retention number.

January, February, March, and April are the best months to start reactivation.

Patients absent from the practice for 13 months or longer is a reactivation prospect.

Quotes:

“Retention in dentistry is not good. It’s actually, in many practices, only 50% to 60%. And that's very low.”  (03:42—03:50)

“165,000 dentists in the United States of America, and some of them are getting three new patients a month, and some are getting 130. So, let's just say that 165,000 dentists got 10 new patients a month. That is a lot of people changing dentists every month. We have a huge problem in dentistry. Now, we put what we’re going through with COVID-19 in the mix. Patients, if they haven't been in touch with the practice, and maybe the practice has dropped out some of their vital systems, they're going to be looking for a new dental home. And that's what happens in dentistry whenever you stop communicating with people, or they don't feel comfortable calling because a long time has passed. So, it’s important to have those systems in place that keep them coming back.” (04:00—04:57)

“Every practice should have a good recall system. A problem is that they think they have a recall system, but they don't. And what I mean is, as I go into practices — I've worked with over 600 dental practices — one of the first things we’ll ask is, ‘What is your retention?’ And they're like, ‘What do you mean?’ Well, they don't know. And the second thing I'm going to ask is, ‘Can I see your recall recipe in writing?’ And they look, ‘We don't have that.’ So, what that means is, they never really developed a recall system.” (05:13—05:56)

“What happens is, [practices] get a third-party company that helps with text messaging and emails. And now, they have just said, ‘Okay, they're going to handle it.’ That's not good. And then, they say, ‘Oh, yeah. Well, we use this company.’ And you guys that are listening have all heard of them, and they're all great companies. But here’s the problem. When I ask the practice, ‘What is that third-party company communicating?’ they rarely know. And if I ask how often, they rarely know. And the fact is, they have no recall system, which I like to call a “recipe.” (05:59—06:42)

“The only thing that will give you consistent results — because any practice owners, they're familiar with having a day that's like, $1,000, and then a $5,000 day, and we might shoot up to $7,000, and every day is a surprise. The only way you'll ever have predictability in your...