The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

Don’t Wait So Long to Do This

Episode #380 with Dr. Rob Ritter

 Creating a successful practice of your own is a long process, so the sooner you get something right, the more beneficial it is—don’t take so long to start improving your practice! To help you learn from past mistakes, Dr. Rob Ritter joins Kirk Behrendt on today’s episode. Bringing along a wealth of knowledge, Dr. Ritter explains his personal journey with building multiple practices, what he should have done differently, and why you should learn from his examples. To find out why you shouldn’t wait to improve your practice, listen to Episode 380 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Stand up for where you want your practice to go.

Know what you’re good at, and refer out everything else.

Patients know when you’re trying to sell them something. 

You can train skills, but you can’t train a personality.

Don’t compromise on your health.

There’s no shortcut to greatness.

If there’s no joy in it, don’t do it.

If you want to do something, do it.

Quotes:

“I did everything wrong the first three years—everything you could think of, right? And learn from my mistakes, I have no problem sharing it—you want to ask me a question, ask me the question—I’ll tell you. I gave in to patients’ demands; I let them say things to me that I would never let somebody say to me right now; I let my team members do things that I would never let happen right now; I did not have a clear, coherent message. I tried to kind of hone it all together early on, but it really didn’t come together until Chris became my associate, that we formed this partnership, that we had this vision of what we wanted to do, what we wanted to be known as, how we wanted to do it for the next 20-25 years.” (11:32—12:15)

“You can’t make decisions when you’re angry, right? You have to take some time to chill out. So you go in the back or the office and you think, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ And so you’ll eventually have these individual meetings with your team members, and say to them, ‘This is the vision I have for the practice. This is the type of dentistry I want to do. This is the way that we’re going to do it. If this is not what you’re comfortable with, then maybe this is not the right place for you.’” (12:52—13:14)

“Figure out in the first year what’s working and what’s not working. Figure out the team members who buy in to the vision that you have for the practice and empower them, and then let the others get weeded out over a period of time, because the truth is, most of the people you start with are probably not going to be with you five years down the line if you start to make changes to the practice that you want as far as your big vision of the type of dentistry that you want to do.” (14:26—14:55)

“If you’re very good at what you do, and you treat patients really well, the right patients will find you. I’ve always said ‘Just do the right thing for people; the money will always follow.’ Whenever you put the money first, you’re going to have problems. You’re just going to have a ton of problems. The money will always come to you as long as you do the right thing.” (23:53—24:12)

“You’ve got to get a person that has a good heart, somebody that actually wants to be there, that wants to improve—both personally and professionally—I love those people. Because I’ll teach them the skill set. As long as they want to be there, they’re trustworthy, they’re forthright, they believe in what you’re doing, they enjoy what they’re doing—that’s what you want. I really believe hiring people that have very few...

Safe & Reversible Techniques for the Worn Dentition

Episode #379 with Dr. Dennis Hartlieb

As you move into more complex dentistry, you will attract a more demanding population. So, how do you financially and emotionally protect you and your practice from those patients? One way is reversible dentistry, and it can even help you enjoy your career! And to teach you how, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Dennis Hartlieb, CEO and founder of Dental Online Training, to share his learnings about techniques for worn dentition. By doing more reversible dentistry, you can make your patients, your practice, and yourself happier. To learn more benefits of safe, minimally invasive, and reversible treatment, listen to Episode 379 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Minimally invasive, reversible dentistry is safer for patients and dentists.

When you don't do reversible treatment, the patient owns you.

Reversible techniques can reduce the opportunity for conflict and surprises.

Be skilled with composite and porcelain so patients can decide what's best.

Understand the relationship of worn dentition to joints and airway.

The problem isn't below the nose, it’s above the nose.

Quotes:

“What was good about being an average student was that I had to work harder than my classmates to be decent at dentistry. And it’s been a real advantage for me. I was the person in the lab at night that was re-prepping teeth, and re-prepping teeth, and re-prepping teeth because it didn't come easy to me, and it wasn't natural to me.” (3:16—3:37)

“I've probably prepped more plastic teeth than I have human teeth, and I've been doing this for 30-some years. But as they say in football, to get ready for Sunday, it’s all about Monday through Saturday. And I think in dentistry, it’s not just about the days that you're seeing the patients, it’s the days you're not seeing the patients and how you're getting your skills better.” (3:49—4:08)

“Mentorship, I think, is the key to dentistry. It’s key to everything in life, but especially in dentistry because of the skillset that we need, the techniques that we need to learn. It’s so difficult to learn them just haphazardly.” (6:29—6:45)

“I allow the patient to make the decision that's right for them. Some patients, it’s all about durability, ‘Give me the strongest material. I want something that's going to last the longest. I don't want to worry about it. I travel a ton.’ That's fine. Porcelain is the answer. Other patients are like, ‘Don't drill my tooth. I don't want you to touch my tooth. If you can minimize how much you drill the tooth, then I will own the fact that there's going to be more maintenance with a composite veneer than what there will be with porcelain veneers.’ I think the key for dentists is to have both skillsets so that you can allow the patient to make the determination and not you choose. And I'll tell you, it’s really rewarding because when patients have made the choice, then they own their choice, for better or for worse.” (13:26—14:06)

“The challenge, I think, is when you're looking at these patients with worn dentition, very often, what's happened — it happens in my practice, as much as I hate to admit it — there are a lot of patients who've been long-standing patients in your practice, and you're just very slowly watching their teeth wear away. And you don't know what to do. You don't know how to intervene. It’s certainly not something that we’re taught in dental school, and the only intervention techniques that we are taught are full-mouth reconstructions.” (15:19—15:46)

“Corky [Willhite] had talked to me about a case he had just done where he had used bonding to open up somebody’s bite. And I said, ‘Corky, this is brilliant. You've got to start teaching this.’ And the very next case, it was a worn...

The Power of Core Values and Curiosity

Episode #378 with Katrina M. Sanders RDH, BSDH, M.Ed, RF, The Dental WINEgenist

Dental school teaches the bare minimum of what's possible. If you want to move dentistry and your practice forward, you need to stay curious! And today, Kirk Behrendt brings back Katrina M. Sanders, known in the dental community as The Dental WINEgenist, to share how core values and curiosity empowered her to move dentistry in her own unique and entertaining way. Don't keep doing the same old thing — explore and elevate your practice! For some of the best advice on developing core values, being a disruptor, and staying curious, listen to Episode 378 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Core values always begins with the leader.

Core values apply at all moments, good and bad.

Building core values should be a team activity.

When the team is involved, there is shared responsibility.

The work around core values never ends.

Always be curious and continue to explore.

Quotes:

“Core values isn't the oath that you set on graduation day. That's not for the day when everything is going well, and all the patients are showing up on time, and your scrubs are perfectly pressed, and you packed your lunch today. No, your core values, who you are, your “why,” that message is for the moments when “fit has hit the shan” and you've got a troll who’s messaging on social media.” (10:26—10:54)

“One of the challenges that I run into, particularly when I'm working with my clients, is although they have these core values — I've got one client in particular who’s got an amazing mission statement. I love it. I'm like, ‘This is amazing.’ And yet, just because we have a placard on the wall that says these are our core values, does that actually mean that those core values show up? And I think the cool thing about core values is the work around a core value never ends.”  (14:05—14:32)

“I'm a business owner, so I've had to build my own core values and then relay that to my team, ‘These are the core values of The Dental WINEgenist brand. Period. This is how we function. This is how we work. This is how we collaborate. This is how we communicate.’ And yet, when you run into challenges, when you run into a situation in clinical practice with a patient, we have to take a step back and go, ‘Did our core values show up in that moment? Did we practice with integrity? This patient showed up late and it totally disrupted our day. Were we able to adhere to our core values of high-level, world-class dentistry when we had to cut short the appointment?’” (14:33—15:15)

“The vast majority of us go to dental school, go to dental hygiene school, we become educated in dentistry because we actually do want to help people. And yet, our own core values, our own practice philosophy, oftentimes comes into question, whether that's a patient questioning, ‘Oh, I don't know. The doctor said I need a crown on that tooth. But can't I just get away with a filling over there?’ It’s not even about you're questioning my clinical savvy. It’s, ‘I'm telling you that the doctor is saying you need a full-coverage crown on this tooth because that is what's in the best interest of your tooth. They're not doing this because they need another car payment on their Mercedes.’ It’s when moments like that happen that we have to lean back on our core values.” (16:02—16:50)

“When we say to our employees, to our team members, ‘These are our core values. This is what we stand for. Let's do activities. Let's talk about this,’ if you're a dentist, if you're a practice owner, it begins with you. It begins with you. It begins with making sure that you are giving your team the tools and the resources to be able to follow through with those core values.” (20:25—20:47)

“If we’re going to talk about clinical...

Replacing Yourself in Your Practice to Get More Time

Episode #377 with Dr. Sully Sullivan

Every dentist will one day reach their transition point. But replacing yourself doesn't mean you stop doing dentistry! And for insight into this process, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Sully Sullivan, host and creator of the Millennial Dentist Podcast. He shares his eye-opening experiences and learnings about what it means to replace yourself in your practice, and how to do it effectively. For this millennial’s advice on planning for your future, listen to Episode 377 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Build something that can buy you more time in life.

Don't get stuck in the hamster wheel of dentistry.

The sooner you build financial stability, the faster you can grow.

Don't be afraid to spend money on CE and technology.

Every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else.

Replacing yourself doesn't mean you're no longer doing dentistry.

Mentorship needs to be scheduled in.

Quotes:

“We live in a social media world where you get on Instagram and you see people doing all this cool stuff, and you're like, ‘Gosh, I want to go and do that.’ But a lot of it is challenging because people either don't want to put the work in to go do it, or what I think is the bigger problem, is that we’re too busy doing other things. And so, when I say that, that could be you have clinical dentistry that's bogging you down, you have admin stuff that's bogging you down, personal stuff that's bogging you down.” (4:59—5:28)

“Ultimately, as I've grown in our practice and as our practice has gone from two docs to four docs, from 3,000 square feet to 11,000 square feet, from 12 team members to 20-something team members, the one big thing that I keep trying to buy more of is time. It’s bandwidth, because what I've found is that when I get more time, that allows me to actually look at the business as a business, not as a highly specialized monkey, which is, on some level, what we are. That, to me, was the biggest “why” behind it, was how can I get more time.” (5:28—6:08)

“What's the best way to grow a practice? Do you bring on more people to do the same amount of dentistry, or do you expand the offerings that you have? Do you put more items on your shelf? Are you going to sell the same stuff, or are you going to add more items to the shelf?” (7:10—7:24)

“I think the other challenge we have is, and I see this globally, that a lot of dentists will look to hire somebody to do stuff they feel uncomfortable doing. Take molar endo, for example. That's a hard thing to do that you're expecting some new grad to know how to do. That's difficult. And so, [my] dad really led the way. And even into his middle 50s and his late 50s, he was still clinically taking CE, going to Pikos, trying to push himself. So, then, all of a sudden, his idea was, ‘Okay, I'm going to stop doing dental school dentistry,’ and not giving me grunt work, but stopped doing the stuff that I knew how to do to do the things that I didn't know how to do. So, early on, I was exposed to this idea that we could grow the practice with the same number of patients by just replacing the dentistry he was doing with more dentistry that I would come in to fill the gaps.” (7:29—8:28)

“The start of 2017, I buy 50% of [my dad’s] practice. And at that point, all of a sudden, [my dad] delegated a huge chunk of the administrative duties to me. Over time, that became a huge bog-down for me, because all of a sudden, now he basically replaced the admin part and a lot of the stuff he didn't like to do to where now he’s getting to show up and just love the dentistry that he’s doing. And what a spot to be in, to show up every day and love everything that you're going to do. That's the dream, right?”...

Tips for Anterior Composites

Episode #376 with Dr. Marcos Vargas

Patients are aesthetically driven more than ever. But aesthetics is beyond just the tooth itself or what the patient wants. And to share tips on how to have these discussions with patients, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Marcos Vargas, a professor in the Department of Family Dentistry at the University of Iowa. With his advice, you will think differently about aesthetics and anterior composites, and learn why composites are vital to your practice. To learn how to make your patients happy with your composites, listen to Episode 376 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Aesthetics is not just about the tooth itself, but the entire face.

Never give the mirror to the patient! And keep it at your arm’s length away.

The “perfect” smile is different for each person.

Avoid patients who you can't make happy with your dentistry.

If you want to learn aesthetics, learn dental anatomy.

Quotes:

“Anterior composites are one of those materials [that], with the proper techniques, [can] really save tooth structure. It’s just so conservative, the nature of it. Preparations are minimal, if needed. I think dentistry is moving in that direction, conservative dentistry. We’ve been moving for a while, and that movement has accelerated. So, I think everybody needs to know composites. When you tell your patient you are going to do something very conservative, they immediately perk up and say, ‘Oh, I like that,’ because probably from their physicians and medicine care, since I'm getting more conservative — like surgeries are getting much smaller, getting into robotics and things like that, they know that minimally invasive is better. So, that trend is catching up in dentistry too.” (5:38—6:29)

“Patients know. It’s like, ‘Oh, conservative. You want to save my tooth or my tooth structure. That's great.’ So, I think nowadays, we should be looking into providing that care to our patients, minimally invasive care, preventive care, in all aspects.” (6:30—6:49)

“Always think about the face, the smile, and then the teeth from the outside to the inside. The face frames the lips, the lips frame the teeth, and the teeth are framed not only by the lips but also by the gingiva.” (9:14—9:28)

“In the past, we looked at just the teeth. We just looked at the teeth, and the rest wasn't that important. But patients come to you for aesthetics. And aesthetics is not on the tooth itself, it’s in how all the teeth fit together, the centrals, the laterals, the canines, the premolars and the buccal arch, how they fit together, where they are with respect to the gingiva, how the gingiva comes down, how the lips move when the patient smiles, how they show it, how their lips move and show the teeth, and how that smile fits on the face. So, that's how I think somebody that is new to dentistry needs to look into it, from the face in.” (9:35—10:15)

“Usually, a patient will come with a very specific — aesthetics can be small, it can be big. So, let me give you a couple of scenarios. One is when the patient knows very specifically what they do not like. Example, ‘I do not like the space between my front two teeth.’ Or somebody can say, ‘I don't like my smile.’ So, very different. And the diastema between the two front teeth is very specific. So, they already know exactly what they're coming for to the office. And on the other side, you have the people that have these, ‘I want to have a better smile.’ So, it’s a very different approach that I have.” (11:03—11:48)

“Usually, the patients that have a small diastema, I would probably grab a little composite, put it in the mouth, just muck it up, three-second cure, give them the mirror. Now, let's do a little parentheses, because I think that's a tip that I want to give you...

Why You Should Add Sleep to Your Practice This Year

Episode #375 with Dr. Mark Murphy

Dental sleep medicine has gotten easier, safer, and more effective. And on top of that, up to 25% of the U.S. population have obstructive sleep apnea. If you haven't already, why not add sleep to your practice today? To further explain why you need to add airway, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Mark Murphy from ProSomnus, along with advice on how to start implementing it into your practice. If you want to help people have better lives with airway, listen to Episode 375 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Up to 25% of the U.S. population have obstructive sleep apnea.

Today, dental sleep medicine is easier, safer, and more effective.

Now, 20% of physicians are favorable towards oral appliance therapy.

There's never been a better time to add sleep to your practice.

Not adding sleep could mean liability for malpractice claims.

Quotes:

“20% to 25% of the U.S. population — 40 to 50 million Americans — have obstructive sleep apnea. What's counter to that thought is, 40 to 50 million have obstructive sleep apnea, but only 10%, maybe 15%, have ever been diagnosed. So, 85% of that population that I just talked about have never been told they have obstructive sleep apnea. They think it’s snoring. Snoring does not mean sleep apnea, but they go together very much, very frequently, most of the time.” (4:33—5:00)

“You think back to your training, you learned the six essential elements. And one of them was oxygen. You can't live three minutes without it. And so, it’s a very essential element. And we didn't know and understand much about sleep. When the older generation like me were learning about physiology, we didn't learn much about sleep. We still don't know a lot, but we know a lot more than we did. And sleep is critical to our overall health.” (5:16—5:40)

“They're tying poor sleep to things like dementia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, arrhythmia, diabetes, depression, we could go on. It doesn't start or cause all those diseases. Maybe the only disease it’s actually tied to from a causal standpoint might be arrhythmia. But it makes every one of those things on that list worse, so that you're 23 times more likely to have a heart attack, four times more likely to have a stroke, five times more likely to die of COVID-19 if you've got obstructive sleep apnea.” (5:40—6:04)

“Picture that you've got two pathways when you look at one of your own patients and you say, ‘This patient looks like they have sleep apnea, and they should get tested.’ I can either, in all but about four or five states, I can order the sleep test. I cannot read it and interpret it — I can read it, but I can't interpret it. I can't issue a diagnosis. I can't order up an oral appliance. That always has to be done by a physician. But I can order the starting of the ball to roll down the hill. Or I can send them to my local sleep physician. Those are my choices.” (12:50—13:17)

“I can order the sleep test and then a doc-in-the-box who’s sitting in an office somewhere, god knows where in the country, but they're licensed in your state, reads and interprets the sleep test, writes a diagnosis, and writes you a prescription. That's fine. It doesn't endear you to your local physicians at all, but it’s a way to get the ball rolling in your own practice. And I do that about half the time. The other half of the time, I send them to my local physicians, who are sleep physicians, and they do the testing. And if they're mild or moderate, they send them back to me. And if they're severe, they send them for a CPAP. And we’ve all agreed to those kinds of protocols and standard operating procedures.” (13:17—13:49)

“If you went back just five years ago, if you found one out of 100 physicians who was favorable towards oral appliance

Thinking Outside the Box in Hiring

Episode #374 with Robyn Reis

Hiring the right person for your practice was always hard. After the pandemic, it got even harder. So, what can you do to find that amazing, capable candidate? To help you start thinking outside the box when it comes to employment, Kirk Behrendt brings in Robyn Reis from Bent Ericksen & Associates for the best hiring practices. Don't hire the first person who comes to your door! For her creative advice on attracting the best people, listen to Episode 374 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Prospective employees are now asking for higher wages.

Get creative with benefits. They don't need to be in dollars.

Have a structured onboarding program for new hires.

Help your team master what you hired them for.

Be mindful of burnout for your existing employees.

Showing appreciation to your team goes a long way.

Hire for attitude, train for skill.

Quotes:

“Pre-plague, if you will, [hiring] was really hard to begin with anyway. You had to be really mindful about the ads you're writing, what you were promoting. But you had a really good chance of finding a qualified dental person to fill in for a dental hygienist, front office, assistant, treatment coordinator, whatever it might be. Post-plague, we have discovered that there was a tremendous amount of exodus of people that just didn’t want to return to the profession. And that created such a tsunami of openings that we just, you know, supply and demand. There wasn't enough inventory for the dental practices to find qualified dental people that have the skills and knowledge that a lot of practices are looking for.” (4:13—5:05)

“We always have talked about the adage of hire for attitude, train for skill. Well, we’re finding that it is extraordinarily hard to find those skilled dental people, number one, but then to find the attitude and the behavior and the person who’s pumping sunshine, they then don't have the training resources at the dental practice to actually train the technical, the terminology, basic skills of the position. It was hard before. It’s even more hard now. So, employing different strategies and thinking outside the box, such as having a conversation with your mailperson, nowadays, is not unusual in looking for dental personnel.” (5:17—6:07)

“[Candidates asking for higher wages] is definitely a trend that we’re noticing for any position. If the position was traditionally a $20 an hour position, administrative or dental assisting, we’re finding that candidates are asking, on average, for about a $10 to $12 increase. So, they're now asking for $30, $32 for what a $20 an hour position was, traditionally. And they are discovering that, yeah, practices are willing to pay for it because there's such a shortage.” (7:18—7:51)

“Can the practice afford [paying higher wages]? Can you negotiate? Of course. I would absolutely not walk into or make a commitment to a new hire of a high wage if, a) you're not comfortable and your practice numbers don't support it and, b) be willing to negotiate, especially if they say that they have experience in a prior dental office. What we have found is there are not apples to apples in dental practices. You work with the best of the best, and that is much different than somebody who is maybe insurance driven, or has a lot of high turnover, or does scheduling differently. So, not only do you have to worry about if they say they have five years in a dental practice, keep in mind, they have five years in another dental practice, not yours. So, still, the training, the onboarding, is so important in helping make that new hire a success.” (7:54—8:55)

“If you have the resources to devote and onboard this new hire in your way of doing things and teach them the technical, absolutely, I would choose that over

Thriving in Chaos Episode #373 with Dr. Mark Hyman

“The way you start isn't the end of the story.” Take it from Dr. Mark Hyman, who almost quit dental school, bought a bankrupt dental practice, and then made it worse. But he fought his way through the chaos, turned his practice around, and even went on to become one of the top leaders in continuing education. And today, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Hyman to share his words of wisdom for how to thrive in chaotic times. To learn about his journey to success and how you can also thrive, listen to Episode 373 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Perfection is an impossibility, especially in dentistry.

Your team comes first, not your patients.

Listen to your teammates — oftentimes, they know best.

Money spent on coaching is the cheapest money you'll ever spend.

If you make a bad hire, let them grow elsewhere as quickly as possible.

Quotes:

“There are no 4.0s in dentistry. There is no perfection chairside, clinically. It’s an impossibility. And so, it’s kind of cliché to say, ‘Well, strive for perfection and accept excellence.’ That's the way that you will [not] last in this profession, if you devastate yourself every time you fail, every time you stub your toe. It’s not healthy.” (7:48—8:09)

“I got that call yesterday from one of my students who had stubbed their toe on a final exam and has got to retake it. And they were questioning whether they belonged at UNC. And I said, ‘We picked you for a reason.’ We had about 2,000 initial applicants. Per year, we interview 240. We take 82. I said, ‘We picked you for a reason. You're looking at yourself and saying, well, I'm last in my class. No, you're 82 out of 2,000. So, there's no question you can do the work, it’s, are you willing to stick to it? Are you willing to hang in there and keep slogging away, keep chucking, keep chopping, keep fighting your way through it?’ There isn't anything in dental school, by itself, that's too hard to do, it’s just you're drinking from a fire hose. There is so much coming at you, it could become overwhelming.” (8:47—9:38)

“The way you start isn't the end of the story.” (9:49—9:51)

“I want the men and women in dentistry to take their dental hats off and become businessmen and women and say, ‘Would I pay $200 a day for a coach that would increase my practice $1,000 a day?’ Most dentists work 200 days a year. That's a $200,000 increase over five years. It’s a million-dollar change for $200 a day.” (15:27—15:47)

“I adored my former partner. I knew from the second day it wasn't the right fit, and for eight-and-a-half years I tried to put a square peg in a round hole. And she’s fabulous. We just weren't a good fit, professionally. But I kept saying, ‘I can educate her. I can raise her game. I can figure this out because I can solve it. I can save this.’ And I was wrong.” (21:40—22:03)

“The best advice I could give somebody listening today is, if you make a bad hire, let them grow elsewhere as fast as possible. Don't try to heal them. Don't try to solve them, save them, rescue them. If it’s a bad fit, it’s okay to say, ‘Let me help you grow elsewhere.’” (26:34—26:50)

“Your teammates who love you and adore you and that you have put your faith and trust in all those years, listen to them. They know better.” (28:50—28:57)

“Dentistry done right is such a joy. And when it’s done without systems, without good coaching, without good equipment, without policies and predictability, it can be a nightmare. It’s not a whole lot of fun that way.” (35:50—36:01)

“It’s all about the relationships. And your team comes first, not the patient. Your patient is always right; they just don't have to be your patient. You have got to protect your team.” (36:38—36:47)

“Coach Dean Smith in the 1960s, if you watch a basketball game, you see

The Importance of Having a BHAG

Episode #372 with Dr. John Cranham

 When setting goals for yourself, you don’t want something small and timid—no, you need a goal that’s Big, Hairy, and Audacious! To help you understand this concept, Kirk Behrendt invites Dr. John Cranham to today’s episode. A renowned dentist and teacher, Dr. Cranham explains why you should be setting goals, steps you can take to reach them, and much more! To learn about setting and achieving your Big Hairy Audacious Goals, listen to Episode 372 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Successful people always have a goal they’re working on.

When creating your goals, spend a good amount of time thinking about what you want them to be.

We don’t always attain all our goals, and that’s ok.

Always keep striving to be better.

No one has it all figured out—there’s always room to learn.

A good BHAG should not be comfortable.

Quotes:

“The biggest things in my life that were important to me from a professional standpoint started with an idea that got me excited; that seemed impossible—almost seemed like I couldn’t do it, and I think that’s one of the things, is that if you can think of something that really excites you and it seems impossible, but there’s a sliver of chance that you might be able to do it, there’s something about that that sort of ejects you out of bed in the morning.” (05:09—05:43)

“If you don’t have that goal, that thing that’s exciting you, then it’s really easy to just get caught into the day-to-day routine.” (06:17—06:27)

“It’s not as much about attaining the goal as much as it is chasing it and using it for inspiration.” (07:27—07:37)

“You can find a coach that can give you a path, but then it’s ultimately up to you to get up every day and to follow that path and learn from it and tweak it along the way.” (12:08—12:21)

“For me, the best [BHAGS] are usually gonna be things that make me feel like I’m making a difference, like that that’s gonna be benefitting the people—other people on the planet—and if there’s some financial reward as well doing that, that’s good too, because you’ve kinda gotta fuel both of those things if it’s gonna be a business thing.” (14:38—15:03)

“Really successful people, they have the ability to create daily behaviors that direct themselves towards these goals, these stepping stones.” (15:45—15:56)

“I think one of the things to really remember as a dentist is that old book—you know, good can become the enemy of great.” (20:19—20:26)

“I think the joy in any of us is when we are giving our best, and as part of that best we have the feeling that we’re helping other people and making the world a little bit better.” (20:40—20:51)

“The people in this profession that I admire and I think are getting the most joy out of it are the ones that continue to strive to be better.” (24:21—24:30)

Regardless of how long it takes, if you’re working towards it you’re growing, and if you’re growing I think you’re happy.” (28:01—28:10)

You gotta keep evolving, and you have to understand that as you’re going through this life that where you think you’re gonna be at 45, 55, 65—whatever—doesn’t necessarily…it’s just gonna be where you are. And that’s why I think you always have to review—‘Ok, where am I? And is what I’m doing now working for me?’” (30:43—31:10)

I think the biggest thing is as you think about your BHAGs, think about it beyond just financial.” (38:53—39:03)

“I think that as a dentist the more you can focus...

The 2 Buckets of KPI Benchmarks to Improve Your Practice

Episode #371 with Curtis Marshall

They say that data doesn’t lie, and today’s guest knows that more than most! Kirk Behrendt brings in Curtis Marshall to explain the steps you can take to grow your practice and increase profitability. A veteran of marketing and dental coaching, Curtis will explain his two “buckets,” as well as the areas on which you should be focusing. To learn more about using benchmarks to improve your practice, listen to Episode 371 of The Best Practices Show! 

Main Takeaways:

Make your core values prominent in your practice.

Focus on individuals over profits.

Use benchmarks to show what’s possible.

Increase your practice by knowing what to do with the patients in your office, and what to do with the patients who aren’t in your office.

Focus on these four components to increase your effectiveness: hygiene appointments, rescheduling family members, unscheduled treatments, and collections.

 Talk with patients about the costs—don’t just send them a bill.

 To be most profitable, collect payments within 30 days.

Once you leave, it’s difficult to influence patients—focus on same-day case acceptance.

Utilize technology to handle patients outside the office.

Quotes:

“In order to hit your success, you’re going to have situations where you’re going to have to make a choice; that’s where core values come into play, and really where I see them so powerful.” (03:35—03:46)

“These are great—core values are great—but it’s all about individuals; they’re the ones that makes all this happen.” (07:58—08:04)

“The product and dollars, those will all be gone—they could be gone tomorrow—but increasing ourselves as individuals, that’s going to carry with us for a lifetime.” (08:32—08:43)

Benchmarks are good for some things, but just to have, you know, they’re not. This is something that many dental offices want to have, but what is it going to do? You ultimately need to see where you are, and then improve, because you can always improve.” (10:55—11:12)

“If I’m really trying to increase my practice, it comes down to two things, and two things only. The two things are simple, they’re not even…it’s not production, it’s not collections, it’s not new patients, it is simple. I need to know what to do with my patients that are coming in the office today, and I need to know today what to do with the patients who are not in my office today.”  (12:16—12:42)

“Even though we love our patients, often times we’re not focusing on all of these four things.” (17:04—17:11)

“If you just make sure that the patients you’re talking to, that you’re collecting those dollars on them, everything else gets taken care of.” (22:48—22:56)

“If you just do [the four things], Kirk, you are not gonna have patients not in the office, not scheduled; you’re not gonna need to reach out to the patients who are not in your office, because you’re taking care of everything while they’re in the office.” (30:14—30:29)

“We want you to take care of the patients in your office. You do that. Let technology get the patients to come in the office so you can do all that. Stop calling people, stop taking your time on printing out lists and not taking care of the Kirks and the Curtises who are coming in your office. Take care of them because you have a hundred percent chance of talking to them in person—you do not have a hundred percent chance of calling them.” (39:33—40:00)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

01:47 Curtis’ background.

03:21 Using