Dr Mark Costes is far from a typical dentist and dental coach. During his career, he has been able to start or acquire over a dozen successful dental practices during some of the profession’s most challenging times. Dr Costes is the founder of the Dental Success Institute, a company committed to helping dentists to achieve their full potential while recapturing their passion for dentistry. He is also the founder of the Horizon Schools of Dental Assisting which has experienced explosive growth and has expanded to over one hundred and eighty locations throughout the United States.

Dr Costes is the International and #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of the book Pillars of Dental Success. His internet radio show, The Dentalpreneur Podcast now has listenership from over 130 countries worldwide.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • The meaning of dentalpreneur
  • What the most important entrepreneur skill to develop is
  • Why you need to develop skills outside of dentistry
  • The changing market and how you can take advantage of it
  • How to build your skills up as an entrepreneur and CEO
  • Mark’s top recommendations for those wanting to grow their businesses

Find out more about Mark Costes

http://truedentalsuccess.com/about.html

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How do you go about hiring stellar staff?

Your team are critical to your business.

Yet it can be hard to hire the right people into the right roles.

Great staff are worth their weight in gold. They can smooth over problems before they arise, provide you with a sounding board for new ideas, and catapult your business into the stratosphere.

But staffing issues can be a nightmare. In extreme cases, you can wind up feeling as if you’re trying to cut a deal with Hannibal Lecter.

The key is to ensure you recruit the right people in the first place. And part of that is to ensure you recruit the right person for the right role.

Why?

Because staff play a critical role in patient retention.

That’s right, a great team can help you retain patients, and therefore profits.

They can also improve productivity and morale, and take a load of pressure off you. Good, reliable staff members will free up your time so you can focus on running your practice, rather trying to do it all.

 You are not a one man band, rather, you are the conductor of the orchestra.     ~Jesse Green

Being the conductor means you’re not trying to play every instrument. And this benefits your patients.

Their experience will be far better if a professional team cares for them.

And remember: patient experience is everything.

So how do you ensure you hire stellar staff?

Well, you can work things out as you go along, and keep reinventing the wheel each time you hire someone.

But let’s face it, that’s pretty hit and miss. That’s not a method that’s going to get you great results every time.

You might get great results some of the time, but not all of the time. And you want to hire great people every single time.

The solution is actually pretty simple.

It’s something that streamlines your recruitment so that it takes less time and produces better results.

It’s something you can use to recruit any new staff member, no matter what position you need to fill.

It’s something you create once and use multiple times.

The solution is to have a protocol for recruitment – a cheat sheet you use each time you hire someone.

You should tailor your cheat sheet to your particular business, but you can start by stealing the checklist below.

It’s an outline of all of the steps needed to recruit a new staff member. Take each step, and develop the items and processes for that step that suit your practice.

Checklist for Hiring Steller Staff

1.      Position Description

Include the range of tasks, accountabilities, and responsibilities for the well as the signature strengths of the ideal candidates.

Candidates should be able to read the position description and have a good idea of whether or not the job is a good fit for them.

2.      Organisation Chart

Regularly review your organisation chart, and make sure it’s in line with where you’re headed as a business.

When recruiting, it should be clear where this role fits into your organisation structure.

3.      Cashflow

This might seem obvious, but it’s amazing how often it’s overlooked. Before you recruit new staff, you must make sure the position is within budget.

recruit in budget

4.      Job Advertisement

This is where you create and place the advertisement. These days it’s most likely to happen online, rather than in print.

Craft the advert so that it’s likely to attract the right people. If your last advertisement failed to attract great candidates, review the wording and tweak where necessary.

5.      Applicant Vetting

Sort and vet applications. This is where your position description comes into play – it helps you establish the key skills required for the role.

Consider which applications appear to be the best it for the position. Who has the necessary skills, qualifications or training?

6.      Interview Preparation

The best interviews are well prepared. Write out interview questions ahead of time, so you don’t overlook anything, and all applicants answer similar questions.

Depending on the role, skills tests are also useful. Even though applicants are under pressure, and may not give you their best work, the tests are likely to provide insights.

recruit to org chart

7.      Initial Interview

Interview short-listed applicants and conduct any relevant skills tests you’ve prepared.

Written tests allow you to evaluate a potential applicant’s writing ability (useful for Receptionists and Practice Managers.)

Practice tests such as mixing up alginate enable you to evaluate the everyday skills needed in the surgery, as well as work practices – like cleaning up!

8.      Due Diligence

It’s critical to conduct these final checks before making a formal job offer. Make the time to contact referees and check applicable registrations are current and in order.

Some people present well at interview. If they also have great referees, then you’re likely to be on to a winner. However, if the reference checks show potential problems, then it’s better to know more.

These days, it’s also worthwhile looking for online profiles. While LinkedIn is a professional platform where profiles are more likely to be polished, it’s worth checking Facebook to see what sort of images they’re posting and what insights you can glean.

9.      Job Offer

Contact your winning candidate by phone and offer them the position. If they accept, follow up with a formal letter of offer including your enterprise agreement (if you have one).

If your new hire is a contractor, provide a written contract.

10. Training Chart

Develop a training chart for each staff member, and review his or her progress weekly. This is critical for onboarding staff well, but also for staff retention

staff training

The Truth About Recruitment

The simple truth is that it is impossible to do it all yourself and it is folly to try.

You need a team. And you need a team of stellar staff.

Great staff free you up to do what you do best. Whether that’s clinical dentistry or being a Dentalpreneur working on the business – rather than in it.

A professional, successful, caring dental practice requires a team of people.

And when it comes to your team, you owe it to them to focus on what you do well.

You also owe it to your team to allow them to focus on what they do well.

You can make smart, strategic decisions when it comes to hiring, and find yourself surrounded by stellar staff.

Of you can make up the recruitment process as you go along.

The choice is yours.

 

Laura Hatch is a Dental Office Manager in San Diego, California and the founder and owner of Front Office Rocks. She created Front Office Rocks with the goal of helping other dental offices train and learn new policies and procedures.

Laura has a bachelor’s degree in human resources and a master’s degree in organisational development. In this episode, she gives us tips for how we can improve our patient experience, retention and profits through hiring and training great front office staff.

We chat about:

  • How to hire people who are a good fit
  • The secrets to great communication with your staff
  • Why the phone is the most important tool in your office
  • How to handle cancellations elegantly
  • The special role of the front of house plays in case acceptance
  • And much more.

Find out more about Laura:

https://frontofficerocks.com/about-us/

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Do you like coffee?

I love coffee. I love everything about it.

The smell, the flavour, spending time with friends, the ritual of drinking it – everything.

Wherever I live, I like to find a great café. When I lived in Brisbane, my cafe of choice was Espresso Republic in the City.

Now that I live in Canberra, I like to have coffee at Koko Black (which is actually a bit odd because it’s a chocolate shop).

I like these cafes for the exactly the same reasons.

The coffee is consistently good. The staff know me and my order. And I am well looked after while I’m there (I’m even given free chocolate!).

When I leave they farewell me in a way that makes me want to come back.

It’s the little things. The value they create that makes me want to return time and time again.

From a dental practice management point of view, creating value is also about standing out from the crowd.

Let’s take a look at a couple of other examples (I’m going to stick with the coffee theme here):

Star Bucks

When Starbucks opened they wanted to stand out and be different.

The staff threw coffee beans out on the footpath in front of the shop, so that when people walked by they stepped on the beans.

This crushed the beans to release that beautiful aroma, prompting people to come in and try a coffee.

Uno Vita

This is inspirational coffee.

When you order a coffee at this Brisbane café, the barista takes a toothpick and draws a picture in the milk froth on top.

It takes seven seconds to make someone’s day. But it also makes customers feel like they are getting more than just a coffee.

It’s coffee with a difference.

The Koko Black Guide To Dental Practice Management
(And Creating A Practice Your Patients Will Love)

Patients will only value what you do as much as you value it yourself.

If you continually downplay what you do as a healthcare professional, then it is only natural that your patients will too.

patients value

Koko Black and Una Vita value the coffee they serve.

They don’t only stand out in their industry and make competition irrelevant. They grow a successful business and community of delighted clients.

They do that in three key ways.

1. Positioning

Koko Black might be a chocolate shop, but it positions itself as an expert in the field. Whether they’re serving coffee, or serving chocolate, they are experts.

Their customers trust them to deliver quality in everything they do.

As a dentist, you need to position yourself as a trusted adviser and the expert in your field.

You want to be the person who guides patients through their dental life and builds a strong relationship with them.

2. Prioritising

Koko Black make customers their priority. They provide value and aim to impress.

When you create value through your dental practice management, dental marketing, and dental practice systems, you impress your patients.

Not only that, you educate them so they begin to understand why their dental health must be a priority.

3. Proceeding

As an industry expert who also makes customers their top priority, Koko Black ensures their clientele.

Their customers wouldn’t think of going anywhere else. They’re not going to shop around for cheaper chocolate because they know that Koko Black has the best.

They’re not going to grab a coffee anywhere else because they won’t be welcomed the same way.

When you create value for your patients and elevate the importance of their dental care, you’ll see a marked increase in case acceptance.

Patients will see the value in looking after their dental health.

They won’t treat it as discretionary spending, and they will be more open to proceed with treatments.

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

Here’s something that no one else will tell you.

No one likes run-of-the-mill. You have to be the best.

That’s what sets any business apart from other businesses. It sets them apart from the ‘also-rans’.

You don’t want to be a run-of-the-mill dental practice. You don’t want run-of-the-mill patients.

You want patients you can love. You want patients who love you too.

So you have to create a world class, kick-ass, gotta love it, business.

And that starts with you.

You must create a place your patients enjoy visiting.

You must have a team your patients trust to look after them. Every time.

You must create great value.

Starting now.

create world class

 

 

Mike Pedersen is the founder and owner of The Dental Boost. He has had articles published on authority dental sites like AACD.com (American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists), Dental Town, and DentalCPAs. He has formed partnerships with some of the biggest names in dental practice consulting.

He is an expert in SEO and digital marketing for dental practices.

In this episode we chat about:

  • How to get qualified patient leads from Google
  • The anatomy of a high converting website
  • One simple thing you can do today to convert more website visitors
  • How to appeal to your ideal patient with your website
  • Harnessing the power of mobile searching
  • How to choose a good SEO company
  • And much more.

Find out more about Mike Pedersen

Dental Boost website

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Can you hear that?

It’s the sound of competition, breathing down your neck.

Pounding footsteps close on your heels. Chasing you to run faster, run harder and do better.

You know there’s fierce competition between dental practices. So how do you ensure you’re the one that not only survives but thrives?

The answer is to Do Something Different.

I’m not talking about offering fancy coffee, freebies or discounts.

I’m not even talking about making patients feel valued and comfortable (but that’s important too).

I’m talking about doing something really different. Something that goes beyond what some people call Wow Customer Service.

It’s something that many businesses don’t even know about it. Want to know the secret?

Multiple moments of connection.

Four simple words that will pack a powerful punch when it comes to your dental practice growth.

So how can you create an experience that intentionally creates moments of connection?

Learn From The Masters

It’s not an accident that Walt Disney created one of the biggest and best theme parks the world had ever seen. One that people still want to visit 60 years later.

It was orchestrated. It is a well-written story that continues to create multiple moments of connection.

Businesses such as Apple and Virgin are well known for providing a fabulous service experience.

They are hailed as trailblazers. Pioneers, even. It’s what sets them apart from their competition. Wouldn’t you agree?

Whether it was Steve Jobs designing the Apple store or Richard Branson hamming it up on a Virgin flight, your service experience has been planned, choreographed and written down to the last full stop.

You are meant to experience that level of outstanding customer service…every time.

So what can you do to leave your patients with a story to tell their friends and family about your dental practice? How do you want them to feel when they leave? What are those multiple moments of connection?

It’s important you have the vision, staff and skills to compose each chapter of the story because … Being a good dentist is not enough to have a great business.

Committing to the habit of excellence on a daily basis – including your dental practice systems, dental marketing and your practice management – ensures a continual focus on providing an exceptional patient experience.

It’s the surprise and delight factor, and in a service-based profession like dentistry, these things typically represent moments of connection between your patient and your practice.

Here’s how to create moments of connection from the minute they walk through your door.

5 Secrets Of Excellent Customer Service

1. Call Their Name

It’s simple, but it’s effective; call your patients by their name. There is nothing people love more than to hear their own name.

2. Be Present

We all get busy in the day-to-day management of our dental practices, but if you really want to connect with your patients, be present and focus your complete attention on them.

3. Say Yes

Easy. Instead of saying no, say yes. Accommodate your patients’ requests. After all, we are customers too, so how do you want to be treated?

Say yes

4. Add One

No, we’re not inviting our patients to a wedding. The rule of the Add One is to find out your patients’ expectations and do one thing to exceed them.

What can you do to one-up their experience through your dental practice management, marketing and systems?

5. Have Fun

Look, we know what we do as dentists isn’t considered fun by our patients. Even your dental business coach will tell you that! But it’s our job as dentalpreneurs to do dentistry differently and that means creating a place they want to come to.

It doesn’t matter how you have fun, just keep it simple and be authentic.

Boost Your Dental Practice Growth

Excellence is about doing a lot of little things well. It’s not accidental, it’s the result of being deliberate and persistent.

It’s about creating multiple moments of connection.

And here’s the best part. It’s not rocket science.

Anyone can do this. It’s simply a matter of putting systems in place.

That means You can do this, too.

These secrets are so simple you can start implementing them in your practice today.

Talk to your team about the 5 Secrets of Excellent Customer Service.

Start calling your patients by name. Start focusing on being present, doing more and saying yes.

And start working out how to inject a little fun into your business.

That action alone will make your practice a better place.

Injecting a little fun will make people gravitate towards you.

It will make you stand out from the crowd.

And it just might make your business sky rocket!

keep it simple

(Need a little help? Book a strategy session today.)

 

 

 

Dr Harry Marget is the principle dentist and director of East Bentleigh Dental Group. Dr Marget’s journey began in 1972. Since then he has done clinical hypnosis, chiropractic, myotherapy, orthodontics and implant surgery. His real passion is pain control and orthodontics.

Dr Marget graduated from Adelaide University and has worked all over Australia. He is an astute businessman and in this interview, you will be blown away by his insights into growing your dental practice.

In this episode we chat about:

  • Why multiple practices might not be the best growth strategy
  • Missteps made by young practice owners
  • Opportunities for younger dentists
  • What commercial astuteness means and why you absolutely need it
  • What to do when times get tough
  • Why and how you should be investing in your staff
  • and much more!

Find out more about Dr. Harry Marget

East Bentleigh Dental Group

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OK, I admit it.

I have a bug-bear about customer service.

It irks me when businesses make it hard for people to deal with them. Unnecessarily hard.

And it’s not actually my problem. It’s the businesses’ problem because they’re not just making it hard for me, they’re making it hard for all of their customers.

What I want to know is: why would anyone do that?

Recently I encountered a hotel who wouldn’t change my reservation, due to their ‘policy’. I wanted to change my booking from three nights down to two nights.

I’d tried to alter the reservation online, and then called the hotel who said they couldn’t help me. Why? It ‘wasn’t company policy’ to reduce reservations. Instead, they told me to call the booking company.

I pointed out that their ‘policy’ made it much easier for me to cancel my reservation online and book elsewhere, but they didn’t care.

It doesn’t stop there. Australia Post – despite being desperate for business – make it more difficult than necessary to mail books overseas.

First, if you use Australian stamps they’ll charge you more. Then, if you admit you’re mailing a book you have to go to a Post Office, fill in a customs declaration and show photo ID to mail the item.

But if you mail documents, you don’t need to do this. Funny, as I thought that a book was a bound document.

The reason I’m griping about all this is that it’s serious. And because it’s serious I have a question for you.

It’s something that can affect your bottom line.

It’s something that can make or break your business.

And it’s something that means the difference between a successful business and a practice that practically bleeds patients.

You probably know what the question is, but I’ll ask it anyway.

How easy do you make it for your patients to do business with you?

And more importantly, can you improve the customer service you give your patients?

I believe that every business, no matter how successful, can work on improving their customer service.

Here are a few ways to do that in your business.

Start With Staff

Look for certain attributes when hiring staff. At a basic level, you want someone who at least likes working in your industry. Hiring someone to work in your practice who dislikes dentistry is going to lead to problems!

According to V. Kumar, author of the book Managing Customers for Profit, we should also look for empathy, consistency, and patience in new hires.

Kumar says experience is vital, but it can also be a double-edged sword. He says too much experience can result in someone who comes across as pedantic or condescending; too little, and they won’t know how to handle delicate situations.

The ideal? Three to five years.

Cater To Your Clients

You may have heard me say this before, but you need to do what works for your clients. The clientele of our practice tends not to be tech-savvy so we don’t use text messages to make contact with them.

We know our customers value the personal interaction of a phone call. It makes their life easier, and they feel special.

As a business owner, it’s not just about what works for you. Instead, you must get familiar with your customers, and the ways they prefer to interact with you. Find out what they like, value or find useful and use that.

Create value

Use Your Tools

Use all the tools available to you. Megan Burns is a senior analyst at Forrester Research, a Massachusetts-based research firm that specialises in customer service.

Burns says you can use social media to your advantage, and think of Facebook and Twitter as “listening posts”. People love to chat about their recent purchases and experiences, so why not tune in? But, she cautions, be mindful that those conversations may not represent the majority and should be put into context.

But, she cautions, be mindful that those conversations may not represent the majority and should be put into context.

You can also use your website to improve customer service. As well as having a user-friendly site, you can help new clients get to know you and your team. Include staff bios or embed a Twitter feed to build an intimate relationship with your customer.

React Before They Realise

If you do discover a potential customer service problem, resolve it before your customer reacts. You can gain tremendous loyalty by solving a problem before the customer voices a complaint.

Andy Fromm is president of Service Management Group, a firm that works with retail and restaurant chains on improving customer service.

Fromm says that if a waiter notices a customer hasn’t eaten much of their meal they should ask questions like, “Did this taste okay?”. If the waiter replaces the dish or removes it from the bill, it is “exponentially more beneficial,” than if the customer leaves unsatisfied and hungry.

When a customer has to point out a problem, it forces them to dwell on the complaint.

Make It Easy

Think about all the touch points a customer has with you from the moment they discover your business – either online, in the flesh, or through some other means. Consider how you can make any interaction easier.

Maybe your website could be simpler and easier to navigate. Maybe you could make it easier for people to find your premises or park nearby.

I recently learned of a martial arts organisation with an obscure name, who are trying to increase their members by doing demonstrations. Whenever someone sees them and asks how to join, they’re told to go home and look up the website.

Potential customers need to remember the name, know how to spell it, and then remember to Google the company. Hours after seeing the performance. Giving people a flyer or a business card would make it much easier!

wow2

Just Ask Them

It can be incredibly hard to see your own business from a customer’s perspective. How do you find the stumbling blocks that your customers experience? How exactly do you know what needs improving?

Many business owners fail to realise that you can always ask your customers for ways to improve your business. Talk to you best customers and those you have good relationships with. You might be surprised what they suggest.

My friend Andrew Griffiths tells of a hardware store that ran a competition every week, offering a gift voucher for the best business improvement idea. The competition was open to both staff and customers, and they received lots of great ideas that made them a lot of money.

As Andrew says:

Everyone looks at situations slightly differently. A million dollar idea could be in the head of one of your customers but they haven’t bothered to tell you about it because they don’t think you would be interested.

Make It Your Focus

The simple truth is that if you focus on giving your customers the best possible experience, your patients will never want to leave.

Yes, great dentistry is essential. But it’s not enough.

You need to give your patients the best care you can, from the very moment they come into contact with your business.

You need to make it as easy as possible for new people to start using your services.

You need to go the extra distance to cater to you clients.

And if you’re not sure how to improve things, just ask your patients.

You might discover how much they already value you – and gain a few golden nuggets of information on how you can improve their experience further.

 

Daniel Gibbs is the director of Posture Podiatry.

He has developed a method of care that has benefited thousands of clients including Olympic Athletes and the Australian Dance Theatre. Although no longer consulting with clients directly, Daniel continues to works closely with the team of practitioners at Posture Podiatry to ensure the highest level of care for every guest of the clinic.

Daniel is also the founding director of clinicmastery.com which is an education company for health professionals.  And he is a winner of the Telstra Business Awards.

Daniel has been invited to give keynote presentations to health professionals and business owners in various fields, and  works with clinics of all sizes sharing his mantra of creating great experiences for all clients.

In this episode, we chat about:

  • Creating great customer experiences in the clinic
  • Why patients judge you on their experience, not how technically good you are
  • How to get off the tools
  • How to put systems in place to train your team
  • Cultivating a purposeful team culture
  • The 4 STEP process to clinic mastery
  • Staying ahead of the changes in the health profession

Find out more about Daniel Gibbs

Clinic Mastery – Business Education for Clinic Owners

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Mums hold the money.

In fact, they’re responsible for more than 80% of consumer spending.

Katrina McCarter, author of Marketing to Mums, shared this information with us recently. Katrina is a trailblazer and expert strategist in the field of selling to mums, Australia’s most powerful consumer.

Katrina told us that mums are responsible for $132 billion in spending in Australia every year and that if they were an industry they would be the biggest contributor to GDP.

Katrina also told us:

“30% of Australian mums are checking their social media accounts more than 10 times every single day. And Facebook is without question her number one favourite account”

So I thought you might like to know how to use Facebook to market to mums.

Treat Them As Individuals.

Almost two-thirds of Australian mums believe that advertisers don’t understand them at all, which is hardly surprising when you consider the number of different types of mothers there are out there.

There are mums who are freelancers, mums who stay at home and mums who go to work. There are mums with newborns, mums who are step-parents and mums with multi-cultural families.

The key point is that they’re all different. In fact, a study by Saatchi & Saachi found:

“ …at least 66 distinct categories that mums use to define themselves, of which most relate to around six at a time – far more than the half a dozen ‘types’ most marketers use to try and understand this mass audience.”

These different groups can’t all be lumped together, you must treat them as individuals.

Demonstrate Social Proof

Katrina revealed that mums love testimonials. They don’t need referrals from friends, but they love testimonials.

So, promote your third party endorsements including awards, testimonials, ratings and reviews. On Facebook, encourage clients to write reviews for your business.

(Remember to adhere to AHPRA guidelines.)

Share Your Story

Mums love a story so demonstrate why you’re passionate about what you do. Create a brand story about your business.

Everyone has a story, and every great business has a mission statement that captures the hearts and imaginations of their audience.

Here are a few examples.

This infographic was created by Unum UK. Unum provides employee benefits that protect businesses and their staff.

You can use your mission statement in your shareable images on Facebook, and in the About section of your page.

Develop Relationships

Here’s the challenge. Mums are super busy, but they prefer to do business with people, instead of brands.

So you need to build a relationship with them. Facebook is the perfect platform for this because you create posts that engage people very simply and easily.

Think about shareable images that highlight their pain points, or short videos that solve a problem.

Promote The Solution

Focus on providing a solution, rather than talking about your product or service. Share how mums will feel or how they’ll benefit from using your service.

Also, promote your unique selling proposition (USP) – what makes you different? Mums love businesses that are unique and stand out in some way.

Every business has a unique selling proposal. If you need a little inspiration to develop one for your business, there are some great examples on Wikipedia.

Again, you can include your USP in the About section of your Facebook, and you can use it in the content you share.

Thank Your Mum

Mums love to be appreciated. Think about how much they do every day for other people, and how little they’re thanked.

If you thank them for their business, you’ll really stand out. They’ll appreciate the fact that you cared enough to thank them.

Think about using a handwritten card, a follow-up phone call or some other method to show you care about her and her contribution to your business. Facebook makes this easy as you can send a quick personal message using messenger.

Market to Mums

Marketing to mums is a little bit tricky, but they’re the key decision-makers in many household expenses. More importantly, they seem to make the health care decisions for the whole family so it’s worthwhile investing the time and energy to attract them.

If you want a few quick wins for marketing to mums, Katrina has a great cheat sheet on her website. You can grab her 20 Quick Wins for Marketing to Mums.

And if you’d like an example of a great video advert that appeals to mums, here’s a real corker. It treats them as individuals, promotes the solution and develops a relationship with them, too.

Plus, it’s funny. You can’t get better than that!