In the latest episode of the DrBicuspid.com podcast, I interview Alex Nottingham, JD, MBA, the founder and CEO of All-Star Dental Academy. During the episode, which lasts just over 20 minutes, Nottingham discusses the silent killers in dental practices, which are the issues that often go unnoticed but have a significant impact on the success of a practice.
The three main silent killers Nottingham focuses on during this episode are phone call conversion, broken appointments, and declining team performance. Nottingham provides insights and strategies for addressing these issues and improving practice profitability.
"When I talk about recruiting new team members for your practice, what I mean by recruit is bring people to your cause," Nottingham said. "Focus on bringing people to your cause. So, your employees, your team, they're part of a cause that's bigger than you. It isn't about, 'How do I make the dentist money?' It's how do I serve a cause, which is how we're looking to make a difference in dentistry, Nottingham said.
"Every practice has a purpose, and you want your team to rally behind that. It's bigger than you. My president of coaching, Eric Vickery, believes that leadership is not the CEO, the doctor at the front, or even in the back. The doctor is simply holding hands with you pulling on the rope. He or she is one of the team members pulling the ship. There's no better, no worse. We're all part of that collective," Nottingham added.
Among the takeaways from the episode (which you can hear by clicking here or hitting the play button below) are the following:
- Phone call conversion is a critical factor in practice success. Improving phone skills and implementing a systematic process for answering calls can significantly increase appointment conversions and practice revenue.
- Broken appointments can be a major drain on a practice's schedule and profitability. Implementing a broken appointment policy and effectively communicating the value of the dentist's time can help reduce missed appointments and increase productivity.
- Declining team performance can lead to turnover and inefficiencies in the practice. Investing in comprehensive training, ongoing feedback, and coaching can help retain and develop team members, leading to improved practice performance.
