Scheduling is one of the most powerful factors in increasing practice production. In most businesses, the time management system controls all other systems to some degree. For dental practices, this means that if you get scheduling right, production will increase.
Start large cases quickly. The sooner you start a large case, the faster new production will occur in the practice. This protocol, over time, will significantly increase practice production. The longer it takes to start a large case, the more chance there is that the patient will cancel and not follow through.
Don’t forget to train your staff. You must train your front desk staff and scheduling coordinators to work at scheduling larger cases within seven to 10 days. Otherwise, they will simply engage in the normal activity of looking for a long enough appointment in which to place a patient, even if that “long enough” appointment may be several weeks off.
Dr. Roger P. Levin is CEO of Levin Group, a leading practice management and marketing consulting firm. To contact him or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit LevinGroup.com or email [email protected].
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