We’re nearing the end of the year, which marks the perfect time to start thinking about and planning your goals for the new year. Maybe you’ve never really laid out your goals and aren’t sure where to start, or maybe wondering what changes are needed in 2023. We’re here to tell you that setting specific goals and measuring them throughout the year is one of the best ways to grow your practice and foster a better work-life balance. Want to take more time off next year for vacations? Then plan for that now. What to expand your practice by hiring an associate dentist? Plan! Want to increase your profits next year or start offering more services? Plan, plan, plan! We’re obviously passionate about setting goals because we have seen firsthand how it can change and improve dental practices.
First of all, your goals may change year by year. But when setting goals, you should start by deciding where you want to end up by the end of 2023. Then, design your goals to help you get those results.
For instance, if you want to hire an associate, you’ve got to bring in enough new patients to provide enough work for the new dentist. How are you going to generate more leads and referrals? You’ll likely also need to improve patient retention and case acceptance rates. New patients are great to have, but you’ve already worked hard at getting your current patients through your doors. Capitalize on that!
Now, you’ve got to retain more of them. So, ask yourself, how can that be done? Why are patients leaving? Perhaps patients leave because your front office manager is rude. Then focus next year on handling the situation or hiring a new office manager.
Maybe you have a high patient turnover rate because you don’t offer enough services, which means patients must go elsewhere for specific care like TMJ disorder, orthodontics, or sleep apnea treatment. Therefore, consider continuing education so that you can offer more of the services that your patients need.
Don’t assume that you know what the reasons are for patients leaving. Just ask! It’s possible that patients don’t come back because your office lacks efficiency, and everyone seems frazzled and running behind every day. Then, you need a plan to improve efficiency so that you and your team can better serve patients.
Unfortunately, a lot of dentists know where they want to be but aren’t quite sure how to get there, which is where a dental practice consultant can help. It’s much easier for us to take a step back, evaluate the practice and determine what works and what doesn’t than it does for someone that is much closer to the day-to-day operations of the practice. It’s personal for you. It’s possible that your practice’s daily operations are your doings, that you’ve set everything into motion, and things are heading in the right direction. Well, we can work on YOU too! But you have to be willing and open to change. If thinking about goal setting gets you pumped, or even if it feels a little stressful, don’t worry. We are here to help! Stay tuned for our next blog, where we share tips on setting practice goals for 2023.
