September saw the start of this year’s Practice Plan Workshop Tour with the intriguing title of ‘10% Push’, hosted by the dynamic duo of Les Jones and Simon Tucker. With the tour now firmly underway, we asked Joanne Holroyd, Practice Manager at Meltham Dental Care, to share the top tips she took away from her day at the Leeds workshop.
I attended The Practice Plan Workshop Tour event in Leeds last month. This was the first date of the tour, so although I hadn’t seen or heard any reviews relating to the content of the tour, I knew we would be in for a great day!
Les and Simon set the scene straight away giving us an insight into what a 10% push could do for our practice, both in terms of increasing our income and maximising the potential of our patients, both existing and new. Les and Simon encouraged us to think about how we can make what we are doing now work better for us and looked at lots of different techniques from the way we promote ourselves to patients, to how we communicate as a team. Throughout the day the focus on growing and improving the practice continued along with plenty of ideas on how to easily achieve it!
The workshop was filled with thought-provoking information and really made me think about how time spent focusing on the development of the business can often be overlooked with the day-to-day running of the practice. The day really highlighted some key areas to focus on and I came away with our very own action-plan to implement and use back at the practice as a constant reminder of what we want to achieve.
Here are the top five things I took away from this fantastic day:
1. Don’t just look at the turnover!
Look at what is happening within the practice as a whole and understand how everything you do is affecting your profits! Even the little things can make a difference to the bottom line.
2. Involve the team
Ensure that everyone is involved and pulling together as one. Schedule regular ‘strategy’ meetings to allow you to brainstorm and pool ideas. Implement the good ideas and follow-up on your progress so that everyone is on-board and knows how things are going.
3. Be bold, be brave and stick to your prices!
Be proud of what you are charging your patients and don’t feel pressurised to offer discounts. Everyone in the team should be aware of your pricing structure, they should believe in it and never make excuses for it!
4. Know the patient, know the treatment
Really get under the skin of your patients. Simon strongly advocates that asking the right questions will help you to understand what is emotionally driving a patient and what they are really looking for, rather than what you think they need.
5. Believe in your brand
Know your brand and match your services to your patients. Communicate it consistently and in a way that will appeal to your patients. Make sure that everyone in your practice is committed to it to ensure a consistent approach. They need to believe it too!
The Practice Plan Workshop Tour has ten dates remaining with Les and Simon visiting Solihull, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Cambridge, plus many more locations! The tour is free for Practice Plan members to attend and offers verifiable CPD. For more information or to secure your place, visit our Events page!
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