Key skills for effective business management
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“One of the most difficult questions I get asked by clients when I first meet them at their practices is ‘So what am I missing?’” says Chris Barrow, Director and Coach at Breathe Business. “It’s an incredibly difficult question to answer because no two practices are the same,” he explains. With no sweeping generalizations available in terms of what people get right and what they get wrong, Chris measures them according to the following six key business skills:
- The ability to strategise. This means being able to paint a quantitative and qualitative picture of the way you want your business to go forward.
- Understanding the numbers. This does not mean an in-depth knowledge of double-entry book keeping, but the way numbers flow through a dental business and what they need to be in order to hit industry key performance indicators.
- Marketing. Knowing how to generate potential new patients includes direct marketing and internal relationship marketing. Marketing is a continual activity, it never stops!
- Sales. Dentistry is a retail business offering its products and services to a very high professional standard. A successful dental practice is about being able to compete in a retail marketplace with other companies that are selling things that make people look and feel good. Knowing how to treat a patient when they come through the door, providing a fantastic customer service experience and knowing how to engage the patient in a conversation that is going to lead to a sale is a critical skill set.
- Nuts and bolts. This means the operational part of running the business, the practice infrastructure, the building, clinical work and dental supplies.
- People skills. This entails human resources, the process of recruitment, training, retaining and compensating the people that work for you.
Chris explains that when he meets a dentist for the first time, it becomes apparent which of these skills he or she lacks. “Broadly speaking, dentists are not very good at strategy and they struggle through with finance, they’re pretty lousy at marketing and ‘sales’ is a four-letter word. The operational and people-side to a practice is usually organised if there is a practice manager,” he says.
He divides his clients into two groups: the ‘clueless enthusiasts’ are very passionate about dentistry and wanting to own their own businesses, but lack the key skills; the ‘serious players’ understand most of the skill-sets required to run a business, know what the questions and answers are, but are usually overwhelmed. They know what to do but don’t have enough time or resources. “The serious players have no work-life balance because they are trying to do everything themselves, and the clueless enthusiasts run around in hamster wheels wondering why they are not getting anywhere,” he explains.
Taking the right steps
Chris says that dentists who set up their own practices at the beginning of their careers will naturally go through an evolution from a clueless enthusiast to a serious player. Finding support systems to help them acquire the 6 skills is of paramount importance.
“You’ve got to get a really good team around you: a good accountant that understands the nature of dentistry, the same for your bank manager and lawyer, you can’t do it all by yourself,” he says.
When it comes to acquiring skills, Chris believes there is no evidence to suggest that people with an MBA are any more successful in business than people without one. “The only difference is that they know what they’re doing wrong. One of the common characteristics of the successful people I work with is that they have acquired their skills through personal experience or through modelling from an entrepreneurial parent,” he says.
For him, it comes down to a difference between skills and behaviour. “You can acquire skills but it’s the way you behave that determines how you put those skills to use,” he says. In dentistry, clinical mentors abound. “Who provides business mentoring in dentistry?” he asks.
The business of dentistry
To help dentists turn their practices into thriving businesses, Chris has identified three main patient groups. The first is the “grey pound” group of patients who are 50 years and older. “This market requires a concierge-level customer service experience; chocolate-coloured leather sofas, light-oak finish, no children, contemporary art, flat plasma screens, and a high level of service from dentist and staff,” he explains. The second demographic is the 25-35 age-group which prefers a fun and modern approach, high tech and leading edge fashion. Thirdly, the needs or the affordable family market, with somewhere for the kids to play, somewhere to park the buggy, easy access, and affordability is key.
“It is very difficult to design a dental practice that appeals to all three demographics. And in the private sector, there is a clear division between them,” Chris says. With the current economic climate in the UK, Chris encourages dentists to be bold in their marketing and business strategies. “It’s all about retail. If one decides to take part in the recession, then you’ve got to think the way a recession retailer would,” he explains.
In this competitive market, branding, marketing and irresistible offers such as ‘buy now pay later’ or ‘buy one get one free’ will ensure success, according to Chris. This radical concept is met with disapproval by most dentists, but Chris expects this reaction from 80% of any audience. “It’s the 20% who sit on the edge of their seats that I am most interested in,” he adds.
Resources
“Everything you ever need to know about running a business is readily available on the internet or any bookshop,” Chris says. In the search for additional resources, Chris advises that people need to identify the mode of learning best suited to them. “My mode of learning is reading, but multimedia offers broader range of information to suit everyone,” he says. Similarly, he recommends that dentists define their preferred method when selecting a business coach. With his own bookshelf crammed with a range of titles on business development, Chris highly recommends the following books:
· The 7 habits of highly effective people - Steven Covey
· The E-myth revisited – Michael Gerber
· Rich dad, poor dad – Richard Kyosaki
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The subject of ‘leadership’ has fascinated me for decades; what constitutes a good leader, are they born, chosen or just wired that way? And I want to start this article with the punch line - that we are ALL leaders in some aspect of our lives, professional and/or personal. So we may as well accept that and learn some skills.
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Recruiting the right people for your practice can be seen as a daunting and time-consuming task. Dental recruiter, Tracy McLaughlin from DentaFind in London, sheds some light on how putting certain processes in place can help you hire and retain staff members that are ideally suited to their roles and more importantly, your practice.
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Most practice management programmes are ineffectual. That’s right; useless, a waste of time, not worth a plug nickel. Stop spending your money. Practice management programmes don’t work.
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Dr Marc Cooper, dental business consultant, shares his thoughts on the recession and its impact on dentistry in his latest e-newsletter.
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Newly launched city centre dental practice, Ollie and Darsh (Liverpool, UK), shares some tips on how the right combination of business planning, branding, design and vision can lead to success and an an influx of patients. Join dental business coach, Chris Barrow, on a virtual tour through the practice.
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“The upcoming New Year looks much different than those of the past 10-20 years,” says Dr Marc Cooper, president and chairman of the Mastery Company. He explains that what you ask yourself what really matters to your wellbeing, the recession will not occur as relevant to your answer. He explores the tools and opportunities available to dentists to have a positive and fulfilling 2009.
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“During the recession, it makes good sense to shift the focus of your practice,” says Dr Marc Cooper from the Master Company. He explains that for many years, growth has been a focus for dental practices. “The way to grow more is with more, more of everything. But the tide has turned. A recession is defined by prolonged negative growth, negative real economic growth. Pursuing practice growth is now going against the tide. And if you continue to go against the tide, it's going to cost you big time,” he says. Read his latest article on how you can manage the new tide and remain afloat.
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“Regardless of whether the US economy is in a recession or not, you and your practice may be,” says Dr Marc Cooper, president and chairman of the Mastery Company. Ask yourself: Have my practice revenues stayed the same or declined over the last year? Has my personal income stayed the same or even shrunk over the last year? “With energy, food, housing and taxes all on the increase, this combination means that you and your practice are in a recession.” Dr Cooper has developed a 10-step programme to help you make the right decisions for your practice in the current economic climate.
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“People are a direct reflection of the conditions or circumstances surrounding them. When things are good, they are good. When things are bad, they are bad. In today's economic conditions, it is safe to say that ‘tense, anxious, nervous, stressed, edgy, and apprehensive’ describes most people,” says dental business consultant, Dr Marc Cooper. In the uncertainty of the economy, the constant flood of bad news and doubt about personal economic circumstances, Dr Cooper gives advice on how to take a stand a be a leader.
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“If your practice results are beginning to swirl down the drain, you need to consider managing yourself and your staff like there's a hole in the bottom of the boat. In a recession, you recalibrate and you reconsider. You look at what you must do to make that bottom-line number.” Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company, explains how to adjust your mindset to survive in an uncertain economic climate.
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"Most dentists manage by job description. How dumb is that? Well, if you ask me, pretty dumb," says Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company. "Description has no power. Describing how to perform your job and delivering high performance are not the same. But dentists believe that if you accurately describe to staff exactly what you want them to do, how you want them to do it, and why you want it done, it will produce the results. Now that's dumb!"
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"Once upon a time, in a dental practice far away, there was a young dentist named Doug. Doug knew that anyone who was anyone in dentistry had slaughtered the dragons that imprisoned excellence. The great knights spoke of their many battles and how they were able to take excellence into custody and keep it in their possession. Ah yes, excellence was able to be captured and Doug would not be denied." Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company discusses the goal of excellence in the dental practice.
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"What kind of leader are you? Do you bore your staff or do you inspire them? Do you generate enthusiasm amongst your staff, or apathy? Does the future shine throughout the practice or is it dulled by business as usual? Is your staff on a mission or are they indifferent? Is your staff charged, revved up, on task? Do they show up early and leave late? Do they do everything they can to be at work, or do they do anything they can to get out of it?" In this article, Dr Marc Cooper from the Mastery Company investigates the role of a leader in the dental practice.
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However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.
Winston Churchill
If you're not producing results in your practice, why aren't you? I'm sure you have good reasons: difficulty finding and retaining good staff; bad location; the economy's gone sour; new competition moving into your neighborhood; hoodwinked into a lousy transition; Delta reimbursements suck; there are not enough new patients.
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Dental practice guru, Dr Marc Cooper, started his career as a periodontist, academic and researcher, and went on to become a practice management consultant and ultimately founded the Mastery Company. He welcomes dentists who have “strong core values, a driving intention to deliver quality care and an intense desire to be successful”. Dental Learning Hub asked him a few questions about his work, approach to life and thoughts on dentistry.
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Dr Markus Firla, dentist and quality management consultant, provides some insight into the current climate of dentistry in Germany and how it is set to change in the future.
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Dental business coach, Chris Barrow, talks to Dental Learning Hub about the predictors and capabilities required for success in the dental practice.
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