The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

The Importance of Systems in the Dental Office

Episode #360 with Dr. Sully Sullivan

Whether you want better patients, better working hours, more vacations, or all of the above, it all comes down to one thing: you need to have systems in place. In today’s crossover episode, Kirk Behrendt and Dr. Sully Sullivan (from The Millennial Dentist) chat about generational differences in dentistry, the systems you should have in place, and some important keys for the success of your practice. To hear some of Kirk’s best advice for improving your practice, listen to Episode 360 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Surround yourself with great people and great thinkers.

It is your responsibility to train patients how to treat you and your team.

Invest in training your team so they can handle problems efficiently.

Show your team and your patients that you value what you do.

Have regular morning huddles with your team.

When you can't change the person, it’s time to change the person.

Quotes:

“Here’s the thing. You go to dental school to learn how to do dentistry. And then, you get out and then realize, ‘Wow, I've got to run a business, and there are people attached to these teeth. And now, I have to manage the emotions of all these women.’ And the true fact is that you've got to learn how to run a business.” (4:09—4:22)

“You can do whatever you want to do [in dentistry]. You can hire whoever you want, and you can fire whoever you want. You can go, ‘This isn't working. Buh-bye.’ We don't even call it firing. We call it freeing up your future and money.” (4:51—5:05)

“A new dentist, rule number one, stay away from dentists. Just stay away from all dentists. And I mean that in a tongue-in-cheek way, but the truth of it is that as a young dentist, you've got to pick your neighborhood. You've got to get around great people that are going to influence your thinking, because [if] your thinking goes bad, your business model goes really bad. Because you're going to sit next to a dentist who goes, ‘There are no good people out there.’ And you're going to go, ‘No, there are a lot of them. They're just not working in your office.’ And then, people are going to go, ‘You've got to work Saturdays. Say goodbye to your kids and your family for a while. And sign up for all the PPOs.’ And I'm like, that's dumb. Why would you do that? You earned the greatest profession, ever. You've got to surround yourself with people that think really well.” (7:08—7:49)

“You can't work any harder [at a certain point]. You've got to think better.” (8:21—8:23)

“When you open up your practice, you've got to train patients to pay. You've got to tell them when to come in. You can't let the inmates run the asylum. Because what happens over time is you go, ‘I hate this!’ You've got to effectively teach people how to treat you in a business.” (8:59—9:19)

“The seven most expensive words in business are, ‘That's the way we've always done it.’ That's the worst phrase. ‘Why do you guys do that?’ ‘That's the way we’ve always done it.’ You can't do that. That's a dumb reason to do anything.” (13:28—13:41)

“People love structure. They love to know what to expect. If you tell me it’s a one-hour appointment, you can't keep me for an hour and 15. I'm mad. But if it’s an hour and you get me out in 55 minutes, I'm happy. It’s super simple. You can build a whole practice just by being on time.” (15:09—15:28)

“You can't be late for a huddle, because whenever you're late it screams, ‘I don't care.’” (19:53—19:56)

“All cancellations happen in one place. They don't happen at the front; they happen at the chair. Everyone says, ‘Fix it up front.’ Cancellations happen at the chair.” (25:17—25:24)

“Don't say, ‘What works for you?’ because it screams you don't value what you do.”...

How to Deal with Cliques, Low Engagement & Bad Meetings

Episode #359 with Adriana Booth

You may be thinking, “I don't need a coach.” But after today’s episode, you may change your mind! Today, Kirk Behrendt brings in Adriana Booth, one of ACT Dental’s lead coaches, to talk about three common challenges in dental practices: clique-forming, low engagement, and bad meetings. And as she explains, it all comes down to leadership. Without a strong leader, you won't have a strong team. To find out how a coach like Adriana can help you and your practice, listen to Episode 359 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

A strong team requires a strong leader.

Know your core values, priorities, goals, and have ownership.

You need to have consistent and frequent team meetings.

Talk about your core values at each team meeting.

Without team buy-in, you will have low engagement.

Preventing clique-forming in your practice is your responsibility.

Quotes:

“[Dentists] do not want to prepare for [team meetings]. ‘I don't know what to do. What are we going to talk about? How do I get my team to do any of this? I don't have time!’ That's what I hear.” (3:25—3:36)

“I've yet to meet a client who doesn't give me the blank stare or the outright, ‘You are crazy,’ when I say, ‘You need to have a weekly meeting. Two hours every week.’ They're like, ‘Do you know how much I can produce in two hours?’ I do. But I know how much more you can produce if you focus on your practice every week, and you increase your communication, and you actually work on the business.” (4:14—4:40)

“We call [clique-forming] a gang war, and it’s by department. It’s the hygienists against the assistants, the assistants against the admin team. And it’s only because we are not communicating well and working on things together. We’re allowed to separate, and everybody can have their own little gripes and their own little quarrels. But we’ve got to bring it together, and we’ve got to mix them up.” (5:23—5:47)

“It’s our job to look over and see, ‘Oh, wait. Amy and Stephanie are always whisper-whisper.’ Amy and Stephanie no longer sit together. When we do an exercise, they're not in the same room. Let's split the clique up. And eventually, they start finding, ‘Oh, I have a lot more in common with this other person. Oh, we’re on the same page. We can work together and really get this plane up in the air again.’” (5:48—6:13)

“[When you have low engagement], what's really going on is you have no team buy-in. What's your cause? What are your core values? What are they following? Where are your priorities? We have to have some structure and priorities and ownership.” (8:03—8:15)

“[Core values] need to be so ingrained in your brain. And if you're like me and Kirk, our brains, they're in there. But sometimes, they just can't hold all the goodness. So, I need to have it in front of me. I like to have it on a shirt. I want it on my mug. I want to know it, breathe it, live it.” (10:27—10:45)

“The first part is always going to be, ‘What is our focus?’ And our focus can't change every single week. We’re not going to hit results if we are always trying to catch a moving target. So, we need to sit down as a team, go through a fun exercise, get up out of your seat, brainstorm, mind map, and figure out, ‘What's going to be impactful to our practice? How can we measure it?’ We need to be able to see results.” (15:51—16:21)

“We need to have a focus. We have to have priorities, and we need to be able to measure them. And we need a quick way to resolve problems when they arise. And I don't mean problems like, ‘Oh, somebody didn't stock the hygiene drawer.’ I mean, ‘Why aren't we hitting our goal? Why are we four weeks behind?’” (16:22—16:38)

“Some of us are just very helpful, and then it looks

Can You Help Find Emma?

Episode #358 with Dr. Tracey Nguyễn

Dentists can have a great impact on airway health. And yet, they have been the least active in this field — especially pediatric dentistry. As Jeff Rouse says, adults are roadkill, but kids can be saved! And today’s guest, who is passionate about bringing awareness to the dental community, will tell us how. Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Tracey Nguyễn from ASAP Pathway to share intervention strategies in airway and how to identify those she calls the Emmas of the world. To learn about ASAP Pathway and how you can start helping children, listen to Episode 358 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Airway is not just a field for orthodontists and pediatric dentists.

General dentists need to drive the field of airway.

Look for signs and symptoms of dysfunctional airway before setting teeth.

Don't oversimplify or overcomplicate things. Just do good dentistry.

The pediatric medical community wants dentists to get involved.

Quotes:

“I dabbled in sleep, but I really didn't like all the occlusal changes with sleep. It really didn't jive with my philosophy because I'm sitting here dialing in the occlusion, and then I'm going to put an appliance that just messes it all up.” (1:57—2:12)

“[Jeff Rouse] talked about the impact of airway in our occlusion, and vice versa. Basically, his philosophy now at Spear is, ‘Is my treatment going to be airway-positive, negative, or neutral?’ And that really made sense with me. I didn't understand why it was okay to have these messed up bites if you had sleep apnea, but not okay if you didn't. So, there's the ethics in what you're supposed to do.” (2:28—2:58)

“Now, I talk more on the peds side because Jeff [Rouse] will say the adult side — he calls it roadkill. Basically, you're done. There's nothing I can do for you. But kids, you can. And the interesting thing is, I didn't understand why the dental community wasn't as concerned when we had the most impact. So, my journey has been about making the dental community more aware.” (3:25—3:56)

“I really think general dentists are going to drive this field. We’re the ones that do these comprehensive treatment plans. We’re the ones that understand how to talk to our specialists. We’re the ones that know how to bring everyone together. We’re the ones that have to drive it. It’s not a field strictly for orthodontists, strictly for pediatric dentists. And that's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing more and more general dentists want to do it; they just don't know how, or what they're supposed to do.” (4:33—5:07)

“[What dentists get wrong about airway is] that we’re not good enough to be involved in it. It’s so weird when I say that, because when we talk about this, I speak to so many dentists that are like, ‘Well, an ENT has to get in first and take the tonsils and adenoids out.’ I was like, ‘Well, you know it’s beyond tonsils and adenoids, right? You know tonsils and adenoids are not a fix.’ And it’s interesting because dentists, they don't realize that they can do so much and guide these kids and direct them in the right treatment, just get to the right care.” (5:55—6:31)

“Us as general dentists, we understand comprehensive care for adults, but we don't understand comprehensive care for children. And comprehensive care for children deals with growth management and making sure that this child is going to develop the best he or she can be. And I don't think we get that. Our focus is about fixing the problem, not looking at red flags.” (6:35—7:08)

“I think that people overcomplicate it. Just seeing all these camps, it’s like, ‘Hey, guys. If you're going down these rabbit holes and taking all these classes, the one thing that you're forgetting to do is to diagnose what you're treating.’ It’s just basic dentistry. And

Mastering Verbal Skills – Part 3

Episode #357 with Jenni Poulos

Cancellations will always be a part of your practice. But wouldn't it be great to reduce or even prevent them? And that's exactly what Kirk Behrendt and Jenni Poulos will teach you how to do in the final part of Mastering Verbal Skills. If you communicate the value of your dentistry well, your chairs will be full, and patients will keep their appointments. But when patients do need to reschedule, there are good and bad ways to handle it. To learn the best practices for handling cancellations with “A,” “B,” and “C” patients, listen to Episode 357 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Your tone, your words, and your body language matters.

Filling chairs starts with communicating value to your patients.

Don't place the onus on your front desk staff. Set them up for success.

Cancellations and rescheduling shouldn't be easy for patients.

Learn how to respond to “A,” “B,” and “C,” patient cancellations.

Have excellent note-taking practices to record patient information.

Quotes:

“The words we use matter. The tone that we use matters. How we lean in and how we listen, it matters. As humans, our brains are hardwired to read into specific terms, to read into specific words, to read into nonverbal communication. And whatever we say to someone, they're already writing a story in their head based on the preconceived notions that they bring with that piece of language or with that tone. So, how we deliver things and the words that we choose are really, really important.” (2:55—3:30)

“I gave you an action item in the very first [episode] to start making a “say this, not that.” I want you to pull out that list, and the first thing I want you to do is put “cancel” and a circle around it and strike through it. We change appointments. We reschedule appointments. We don't cancel appointments.” (6:14—6:29)

“People pay for things that they value. They show up for things that they value. So, if we, as a team, are really good at communicating the value of the treatment, the value of the appointment to the patient, the likelihood of their changing the appointment, not showing up for the appointment, is dramatically reduced.” (6:48—7:07)

“We talked about before that I don't want you to confirm appointments. There is a little caveat there. When you schedule appointments, I want you to tell your patients, ‘We consider all appointments confirmed when scheduled. We’ll give you a reminder call, but this time is reserved specifically for you. It’s confirmed in our books. So, we’re putting it in Sharpie in the book, and I want you to put it in Sharpie in the book too. Don't just pencil us in. We've got you confirmed. We've reserved the time for you.’” (7:53—8:27)

“The story that I bring with [using the word] “confirm” is that I can change it; it’s not yet confirmed. I like to remind someone of the time that has been reserved specifically for them. It carries a different weight.” (10:17—10:31)

“You don't want to make it easy for people to change their appointments. And if you do have to change your appointment, there's a legitimate reason, I want to get you reappointed immediately. I don't want my admin team to be spending time chasing you down, going back and forth, to reappoint that. I want your after-hours message to state very clearly, ‘We do not accept any changes to the schedule via message. We only accept changes to the schedule during business hours.” (13:57—14:32)

“The RFR (reason for return), what it is doing is it is letting people know we have listened to them, we have heard them. We are creating that trust and that safe space. So, this one item is hitting on so many of these key concepts that we talked about in the first webinar.”...

Mastering Verbal Skills – Part 2

Episode #356 with Jenni Poulos

In part one of Mastering Verbal Skills, Kirk Behrendt and Jenni Poulos discussed how words carry weight and why language matters in your practice. In today’s lesson, Jenni explains why listening also matters and how critical it is for mastering verbal skills. With the templates they provide, you can learn how to listen to and answer some of the most difficult questions patients ask! For more on active listening and communication, listen to Episode 356 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Listening is also a crucial part of verbal skills.

Improving verbal skills will open up possibilities.

Language helps differentiate and communicate your practice’s strengths.

You can communicate value to your patients using appropriate language.

Use the “feel, felt, found” concept to discuss difficult patient questions.

Quotes:

“What we say matters. How we say it matters. How we lean in, and how we’re curious, and how we listen matters. And listening is as big a part of verbal skills as is speaking. It affects our relationships with our team members. It affects our relationships with our patients, our case closure, the predictability of our days, our lives. So, it’s super important.” (1:49—2:18)

“[A typical comment from patients is], ‘I'm only going to do it if it’s covered.’ And we have to move patients past this limiting belief that their insurance exists to provide them with optimal health, because we believe that, ‘If my insurance says that I can't have it paid for, then I don't need it,’ and that could not be farther from the truth.” (3:55—4:18)

“Our understanding of insurance is completely rooted in the way that medical insurance functions. Medical insurance and dental insurance do not function in the same way at all. So, we want to differentiate by changing the language. We don't want to call it “insurance” because it doesn't function how you understand insurance. It’s not a full-loss item. It’s a benefit that will assist, but it’s not going to cover everything. It was never intended to, nor will it, ever.” (5:11—5:48)

“People are advocating to use their benefits because they have them. I don't want you to look at their benefits as the enemy, just how do we communicate the way that we do it in our office, the way that we utilize benefits, in order to move patients through to acceptance.” (6:33—6:51)

“Write this down. It’s a great phrase and it will help you with this question. ‘What I want you to understand, Mrs. Jones, is that your benefits exist to help you maintain, but not to obtain, oral health.’ That's a great way to think about them.” (7:02—7:21)

“People pay for the things that they value. We will invest in what we value. I like to joke about this, but I say this with my team, ‘Oh, your Coach bag goes so great with your Class IV perio disease.’ I have invested thousands of dollars in a purse. If I value my health, I probably will invest an equal amount in that. So, it’s important that we’re able to convey value and help patients see value and lead them to the value that is there. And if you can believe it and confidently communicate it, the patients will have an easier time seeing it.” (11:14—11:56)

“People may not know this, but [insurance companies] actually can come back and say — up to a year later — ‘Hey, we overpaid, and we need some money back.’ You may preauthorize, get payment, and be told in eight months, ‘I need money back.’ So, there is never a guarantee of payment from the dental insurance companies. Never tell your patients that there is a guaranteed payment. It is always only an estimate. Even after the check has cleared the bank, it is still not a guarantee.” (12:05—12:39)

“Unless your patient, and there are instances in which they are part of an

Mastering Verbal Skills – Part 1

Episode #355 with Jenni Poulos

Would you rather “pay a bill” or “make an investment”? Words carry weight, and language matters — especially with your patients. And to help you master the verbal skills you need for your practice, Kirk Behrendt brings in Jenni Poulos, one of ACT’s lead practice coaches, for a three-part series to explain every key concept you need to know. To learn how to become a better listener and communicator, listen to Episode 355 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

There are eight key concepts to master verbal skills:

1) Expectation minus reality equals conflict.

2) Language matters.

3) Build connection and value.

4) Ask the right questions.

5) Become a better listener.

6) Listen to understand.

7) It’s a lifetime practice.

8) Be responsible for how information is received.

Quotes:

“[E – R = C is] the most important concept. As a coach, it’s where we begin with teams. It’s important in how we communicate with each other. It’s important in how we communicate with our patients. The things we do and the things we say, when they aren't in alignment, that's when conflict ensues. I mean, I use this in my life. This is literally the most foundational concept, that if you can really embrace this and learn, ‘How can I make the expectations that I'm setting up for my team members, for my patients, and the reality of what they experience be in alignment?’ will your days be better.” (6:16—6:59)

“Language really does matter. The words that we say, the words that we use, carry weight. The tone that we use, it carries weight. How we say things, how we lean in, what we say and how we say it, matters. So, I want you to choose your words wisely.” (7:40—7:58)

“A really easy example here is when we think about the words “confirming” and “reminding.” I coach the team that I work in, we never “confirm” an appointment. We actually tell patients, ‘We consider appointments confirmed when they are made. We will give you a reminder call.’ Because if I'm calling to confirm the day before, that means it’s not already set in stone. Two words that have a big difference on their impact.” (7:59—8:33)

“An actionable item that's great for teams is, sit down around a table and come up with a “say this, not that,” document. What are some of the words that we want to say in the office that builds connection, that builds trust, that builds value, and what are some of the ones that we want to avoid? Docs all know about the difference between a shot and a little injection. Right? If I tell a kid I'm giving them a shot, they're going to be bouncing out of the chair a little bit than, ‘Hey, I'm just going to have a little poke here.’ Same thing, big impact.” (8:34—9:07)

“The person that is asking the questions is actually the person that's in control of the conversation. So, I want you to get really good at asking questions, but asking the right type of questions, which are open-ended questions. I never want you to be asking things that can be answered with a simple yes or a no because this is how we learn about people.” (11:17—11:41)

“We want to know if we’re safe. As human beings, we want to know if we’re in a safe place. That's our reptilian brain, our amygdala. It’s constantly scanning our environment to say, ‘What's going on around me?’ And by listening to people and asking good questions, we let them know, ‘Hey, you can trust me.’” (12:52—13:14)

“Active listening, it’s such an important skill that you really have to practice. You need to be an active listener. You need to physically lean in. You can't just be listening for what you're going to say. You need to listen for what the patient is saying.” (14:07—14:31)

“Great communicators listen more than they speak.”...

The Most Important Thing You Will Ever Do in Your Practice

Episode #354 with Jenni Poulos & Heather Crockett

Core values are the most important thing for the lifetime of your practice — so important that one ACT team member has them tattooed on their body! That is the kind of all-in attitude at ACT Dental. And today, Kirk Behrendt brings in two ACT team members, Jenni Poulos and Heather Crockett, to share their journeys on developing their personal and professional core values and putting them to practice. Don't wait! To start your core values journey, listen to Episode 354 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Core values are the guideposts for all your actions and decisions.

Core values are important throughout the entire process of your business.

Core values are great in accountability conversations or difficult conversations.

Core values will help you quickly move through conflict.

Core values will give you confidence in your decisions.

Quotes:

“Core values are huge. Once we leaned into and learned the importance of core values, there was no turning back. They are the guidepost by which we measure and make all decisions. They help us lean into what's really important, and when something is ruffling our feathers, when something doesn't feel right, we can always tie it back to those things going against our core values. You just can't underestimate their importance.” (00:49—1:29)

“When there's something going on in my life that's not quite making a ton of sense, it’s because they're brushing up against one of my personal core values.” (2:56—3:07)

“When I have to make a hard decision, or maybe it’s not a difficult decision but I'm just a little bit uncertain about the choice that I should make, I'm really going to pause and say, ‘How would my core values respond to this?’ It’s really great in accountability conversations or difficult conversations with team members. And this is why it shows up in hiring and firing.” (6:30—6:59)

“This brings me back thinking to March 16th. We all know that day. And in my practice, things were changing, and we were wondering if we should close, ‘Should we close the practice?’ We didn't know what to do. And I was sitting with the docs in my practice. The leadership team was all sitting in this room, and we’re going, ‘Gosh, I'm not sure. Do we close? Do we stay open?’ And we said, ‘Guys, wait a minute. What do our core values tell us?’ And immediately, we’re like, ‘Well, we close. It’s the right thing to do.’” (7:01—7:41)

“[Core values] give you confidence in your decisions. And when you have confidence in your decisions, you can move forward. And that's something that's really hard, oftentimes, is moving forward. But when I can have confidence in those decisions, I can be all-in.” (8:12—8:28)

“[Core values are] 1,000% important throughout the entire process of the whole business, from beginning to end. And letting them bake for a little while is really key, because you'll come up with them, and think about them — I mean, mine are still baking. And it’s okay to mold them and tweak them as time goes on. But the sooner you get to the concrete core values, the quicker your team can rally around them and know exactly what they mean.” (10:37—11:10)

“It’s important to make sure there's a couple of bullet points, that the team is very clear about what it is exactly this core value means. One of my teams recently came up with a core value. The title of the core value is just “zest,” which I love. I totally love this core value. The word that they are using, you just know what it means, the passion for what they're doing. So, finding a way to have your core value title really show what it means is amazing. And if it needs a little bit of tweaking over time, then that's okay too.” (11:11—11:51)

“If

Time & Money Secrets from One of the Best Dentists in the U.S.

Episode #353 with Dr. Kevin Groth & Dr. Bob Margeas

Working four days a week is hard work. But you can be just as productive working three — if you know how! And to share a few time and money secrets from the best dentists, Kirk Behrendt brings in two of his heroes in dentistry, Dr. Bob Margeas and Dr. Kevin Groth. You can't grow money, but you can grow your practice! To learn how to be profitable without sacrificing time and energy, listen to Episode 353 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Find a mentor, ASAP.

It is possible to work less days yet earn more.  

Pack your scheduled days to increase production.

Stick to doing high-production procedures to stay profitable.

Don't push patients. It’s their mouth, time, and money.

Treat people well, and patients will flock to your practice.

Dentistry is a competition with yourself, not other dentists.

Quotes:

“You get just as much done working three days, three-and-a-half days a week as you do four. And four days a week is hard work.” (13:00—13:08)

“People think, ‘Oh, you're crazy.’ Well, you know what? People come in when you're there. They schedule for production. I'm much more efficient, and patients don't miss their appointments. Because now, if they miss an appointment, they don't get in for eight weeks. Because when you only work four days on, 10 days off, or eight days a month, everybody’s busy. You're packed. Is it easy work? It’s not easy. I can't say it’s easy. But knowing you have 10 days off, pretty darn nice.” (13:24—13:54)

“I never look at the schedule — ever. Ever. Ever. Read my lips. I am against — this is just my own thing. I don't like to know what's going on, because I don't want it to ruin my day. But I know what they tell me. When I'm on Sunday, I say, ‘Hey, what time do I start tomorrow?’ And she always will text me. And she’ll say, ‘Okay, you start at 7:00.’ So, I know I have something productive. If I'm starting at 8:00, it doesn't bother me because I don't have anything that I was going to be doing anyway.” (17:56—18:26)

“My production, per se, has not really gone down, even though I went from 12 days to nine days, to eight days. Why? Because it’s packed in. I may be double-booked at times. But I feel like if I can go four days hard knowing I have 10 days off, wow.” (19:03—19:23)

“Now, where am I losing? I lose on posterior composites, because it takes you a half-hour to do it, and you're getting $200-some. I try to make my associate do those. I honestly do. I say, ‘When I'm in my office, I'm only here eight days a month. I've got to be profitable.’” (30:30—30:47)

“Most of my production is high-production items. Like, the most profitable thing, 100%, in my office, is a posterior single-tooth implant. Why? Because it only takes you five minutes, take the healing cap off, make an impression or scan, and send them home.” (31:16—31:34)

“I'm also at the point now where I'm like, ‘I don't want to do these posterior composites,’ because they do take up a lot of time. So, my conundrum is the fact that patients want to see me. I don't know how to say, ‘You need this work, but I'm not going to do it.’ So, we’re working on that and those type of systems.” (32:40—32:59)

“Do I have a shared production goal with my staff? No. But I know in my head that it takes me $100,000 or $120,000 to pay the bills, or whatever it is. I kind of know what I have to do. I don't want you to think that I don't have a goal. But I think it’s really difficult to say, ‘Okay, we need to do $200,000 this month,’ or to get a bonus, or this and that. Because then, sometimes people feel pressured to talk patients into having things to hit their goal.” (37:05—37:34)

“Sometimes, people will say,...

Lessons from Unsuccessful Partnerships

Episode #352 with Paul Sletten

Not having a transition plan is like running laps with no finish line — it’s not fun, and you will plateau quickly. Whether you're looking to transition in the near or far future, today’s guest will help you get started. Kirk Behrendt brings in Paul Sletten from The Sletten Group to share the best planning advice so you can create successful partnerships and have seamless transitions. If you want to transition successfully, listen to Episode 352 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

A successful transition begins with having a plan.

Have a clear timetable for transitioning.

Transition plans are not one-size-fits-all. Don't use your colleagues’ plans.

A practice transition plan and the dentist’s life plan need to be connected.

Know what an ideal candidate profile looks like for a particular role.

Partnerships with family members require twice as much work.

For successful partnerships, commit to communicating well.

Quotes:

“Let's talk about unsuccessful transitions. The biggest reason, by far, is that they don't have a plan. When a practice owner wants to transition a practice, either by adding another dentist at an appropriate time or transitioning out of the practice, everything flows from the plan of the owner. So, if the owner is unsure of how to do it, when to do it, and those kinds of things, then the other doctor who’s under consideration for joining the practice can't make their plans either. So, it’s critically important that the owner have a plan. And so often, they're using their friends or their colleagues’ plan and contracts and haven't thought through their own issues.” (3:07—4:00)

“There's another thing that's really important. And that is, there needs to be a connection between their practice transition plan and their life plans. They have to be connected. They have to be congruent.” (4:01—4:13)

“A lot of times, they just kind of slap [transition plans] together. They meet somebody at a dental meeting, and the person makes a good impression and says, ‘You know, we ought to talk further.” And they do talk a little bit further. And the next thing you know, there's an invitation to come into the practice and get on a path to partnership, at some point. It’s just miraculous if something like that would work. Some do. But the vast majority don't.” (4:18—4:47)

“You have to have a timetable. How many people do we ask, ‘How much longer are you going to practice, and at what pace?’ And the typical answer is five years. And then, you talk to some of them five years later and you ask them the same question, and they say, ‘Five years,’ and so on. And so, what they're doing is they're just running laps with no finish line or no tape at the end. That's not fun. And then, the practice starts to go sour. It begins to plateau. And it can't sustain a plateau, so it begins to go into decline. And now, you're losing value for your practice.” (5:27—6:14)

“If somebody’s in a healthy financial condition, the seller, for example, at a closing table, you've got a really wonderful opportunity to put a win-win outcome together. If somebody comes to a closing table in a needy position, look out, buyer. Because they just absolutely need to sell it, but they also need to stick around and keep working. And that can raise other really nasty issues, because the patients need to start moving over to the new owner so they can pay the overhead expenses and begin to prosper, but they won't do so readily with the old owner in there.” (7:43—8:26)

“It’s so important to do the best match you can. For example, if you own a practice and you are in practice for 35 years and you're ready to transition, you and your team have been teaching your patients what to expect when they come to