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Beyond the Bite

The Official Blog of the Florida Dental Association

Tag: practice

Know What’s Driving Your Dental Practice’s Inbound Calls

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By Allison Doyle, Demandforce

Whether your dental office is staffed by two or 20, in order to maintain growth and profitability, you need to keep your chairs full with a steady stream of new and returning patients. Yet according to a Health Policy Institute study released by the American Dental Association, the projected growth rate of dentists per capita between 2015 and 2035 is 7.9 percent. This means that your practice will soon be (if it isn’t already) immersed in a competitive marketplace.

The modern Florida dental practice knows its patients and markets to them.
With more options for your patients to choose from when it comes to their dental health, it’s now more important than ever to know who your patients are, and what drives them to book an appointment. You not only have to attract new patients to your practice, but you also have to nurture relationships with your current patients to keep them coming back — and to keep referring you to their friends and family.

You may already be sending email marketing to your patients like recall promotions or referral rewards. You could even be actively posting on your Facebook page and running ads. These are all great ways to get your dental practice to stand out among the crowd, but how do you know which are the most effective, and which you could do without?

Call Tracking removes the mystery from your marketing campaigns.
Call Tracking is the ability to assign unique, trackable phone numbers to specific marketing campaigns, so you know exactly what’s driving your inbound calls. In some Call Tracking portals, you can even see helpful data such as call duration, caller name and a recording of the call itself.

Having this data not only helps you gain valuable patient insights, but also allows you to identify your most effective campaigns and make data-driven marketing decisions. For example, if you see that a certain email promotion has had success in bringing in new patients, you might try sending it to your inactive patient base as a recall campaign.

 

If you’re looking for a way to track campaign performance, or learn more about Call Tracking and other marketing tools designed specifically for Florida dentists, visit demandforce.com. Call Tracking is available to all Demandforce customers, and Florida Dental Association members receive special pricing on the Demandforce platform. For more information, or to set up a live demo, visit demandforce.com/FDA.

Not as Busy as You Would Like? Try Looking Around the Dental “Neighborhood”

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By Dr. Rick Huot

According to the ADA Health Policy Institute’s recent research brief, statistics show that dental offices have been lagging behind other business entities to recover from the Great Recession that started in 2008. Except in rural and urban areas that have a numerical shortage of dentists, most dental practices are reporting flat earnings and are just keeping up with the increasing costs of running an efficient practice.

The measure of growth in a practice due to internally referred patients and patients obtained by external marketing is called organic growth, since it is “home grown” from the efforts that the present office has done all along.

Another “fast track” of achieving growth is to purchase an existing practice in your practice neighborhood, by either merging into the larger office, or purchasing the existing patient base and obtaining the services of the present dentist, and many, if not all, of the doctor’s staff members.

This is the first year that millennial dentists will outnumber baby boomer dentists, and many of the boomers are approaching their 70s, which is past the traditional retirement age of 65 for the majority of America’s workforce for the last generation. However, people (and dentists!) are living longer, and quite possibly need to work longer, as they are financially short of their retirement goals.

For a young dentist (Dr. Millennial), buying an existing practice from a nearby colleague (Dr. Boomer) is a win-win situation, and some of the immediate benefits include:

  1. Purchasing an existing patient base is a more efficient way of securing new patients. The patients that belong to Dr. Boomer are existing “vetted” patients with a track record of seeking care, and a desire to keep their doctor-patient relationship with a young dentist, knowing it won’t be long before they have to choose a new dentist. Retaining upwards of 90 percent of the patient base is not unusual in this type of practice purchase, especially if Dr. Boomer occasionally practices in the new office.
  2. Every dental practice has a core of outstanding staff members, and the ability to retain those staff members will give Dr. Boomer’s patients a “familiar face” to see when they come in for dental treatment.
  3. The small equipment and additional supplies purchased with Dr. Boomer’s practice will increase efficiency in terms of instrument turnaround, such as extra handpieces and instrument setups, and reduce the future need of high-cost items, such as extra digital sensors and computer workstations.
  4. Dr. Millennial has a ready-made “temp service” in Dr. Boomer, which keeps the practice open for longer periods of time during vacation times and in the case of a female dentist, maternity leave. Having the practice open for more days and longer times increases the profitability of a business, as fixed costs are already accounted for and variable costs are less.

For Dr. Boomer, this also is a win-win situation, as some of the benefits include:

  1. The ability to take time off without the worry of provider coverage, and paying the costs of running a practice at a time in life when we physically slow down.
  2. If Dr. Boomer becomes a solo independent contractor to Dr. Millennial, the pension laws for someone reaching 50 years of age dramatically allows the older doctor to get a direct tax deduction for a considerable amount of retirement funds ($215,000 for a defined benefit plan, and $54,000 employee contribution to a defined contribution plan not including the matching provision), while taking a reduced amount to live on, since the practice sale would have provided funds for living expenses.
  3. Since Dr. Boomer is now a self-employed solo dentist, a Subchapter S corporation would allow practice profits to “flow through” their normal tax return (1040), and could provide tax bracket benefits.

As with any financial and business transaction, all of these practice purchase sales should be done with competent financial and legal advice, and might include a transition specialist who could facilitate the merger.

So, Dr. Millennial, it is time to look “around the neighborhood” and find someone compatible to your practice and business philosophy. The decision you make may prove to be the most financially astute one you will make in your entire practice career!

 

Dr. Huot is a general dentist in Vero Beach and the founder of Beachside Dental Consultants Inc., a dental practice management consulting business. He is on the FDA Board of Trustees and can be reached at rhuot@bot.floridadental.org. 

The Dental Practice Sales Funnel

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By Sarah Woods, Dental Marketing Consultant

The sales funnel is alive and well within every dental practice. The success of marketing efforts is directly related to the sales effectiveness of the dental team within the dental practice. Each team member has a role to play in the success of the patient experience and how well it translates into increased treatment acceptance. The problem with this reality is that many dental practices fail to accept and understand the uniquely important role each person plays in the patient experience. The specific sales role of each team member is necessary and cannot be eliminated from the process due to cutting corners by under-staffing.

Based on the size of the practice, there should be at least one person in the following positions:

Marketing Coordinator/New Patient Concierge: handles internal and external marketing, takes photos for social media and digital platforms, acts as brand ambassador within the community, coordinates special events/seminars, implements and manages promotions and specials within the office.

Front Desk/Concierge: answers incoming calls with an upbeat attitude, schedules appointments, greets patients with a cheerful disposition and a warm smile.

Insurance Coordinator: handles all insurance companies, generates all insurance claims, coordinates payments, updates patient accounts.

Dental Assistant: assists dentist in providing treatment to patients, develops trusting relationship with each patient and follows up with the patient after treatment performed.

Hygienist: provides excellent dental cleanings, performs periodontal treatments, develops and nurtures relationships with the patient, and schedules future hygiene appointments for patients.

Treatment Coordinator: presents treatment plans to patients in an educated and confident way, and schedules necessary appointments.

Check Out: checks out patients and schedules all future appointments.

The key responsibility of each of these roles is to interact with the patient in a positive, thoughtful way while maintaining confidence. If just one of these roles isn’t filled, treatment acceptance and patient retention will suffer, affecting the bottom line of the practice.

 

Sarah is a dental marketing consultant with extensive experience working with dental practices to maximize their patient potential. With in-depth experience in various levels of a dental practice, she has a unique perspective that allows her to be effective at implementing strategies throughout the office that can be executed easily.

Please connect with Sarah on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/sarahcwoods or email her at Scwoods79@gmail.com

5 Myths Your Landlord Wants You to Believe

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By Ken Jorgenson, Carr Healthcare Realty

​It can be difficult to discern fact from fiction when dealing with landlords. Misunderstanding these key issues can have serious consequences for your practice. The following information should help dispel some common myths and prevent costly mistakes in your next lease negotiation.

Myth #1: The landlord is on your side.

Many landlords attempt to befriend their tenants, making it difficult for tenants to remember the landlord’s primary goal is financial gain. They are seeking to secure a lease with the tenant paying as much as possible. Even the friendliest landlord wants to make the maximum profit on his space, just like the nicest tenant seeks the lowest possible lease rate so his business can thrive. Financial burdens quickly arise for tenants who place undue trust in their landlord and fail to properly negotiate their lease. By having representation, you can learn how your lease compares to the market and ensure you are getting the best possible terms.

​Myth #2: You are not entitled to representation.

Some landlords employ intimidation, instead of friendliness, to achieve their goal. The intimidation tactics may include telling tenants they are not allowed to have representation. This is not true. Lease negotiations are different than negotiating the price of a car or trying to haggle for a better price at a flea market. They are complex transactions, layered with hidden opportunities for landlords to take advantage of anyone not represented by an expert. Landlords are professionals who are aware of these complexities. If a landlord says you are not allowed to have representation, that is a clear signal they do not respect your desire to be treated fairly.

​Myth #3: You are already getting the best possible rate for your space.

There are many conditions that factor into lease rates for a commercial space. Things such as current building vacancy, length of the lease, amount of tenant improvement allowance, building condition and many other considerations impact the appropriate rate for a particular space. Several of these considerations are specific to spaces for health care tenants, highlighting the need for a real estate professional who has expertise in health care. Health care practices often are told they are getting the best possible rate for their space, yet they can receive a much better offer from the landlord when an expert assesses these mitigating factors.

Myth #4: Your renewal is not negotiable.

Most leases provide an option for the tenant to renew their lease when it expires, and may even detail the exact terms of the renewal. However, it is important to understand that your renewal is negotiable, even if you have renewal terms specified in your current lease. A landlord who says you cannot renegotiate the terms for your renewal is usually doing so because they can get you to pay more by exercising the option to renew instead of negotiating new terms. The only way to be certain you have the best possible terms for your renewal is to compare those terms with current market rates in the area — a vital step often missed by health care professionals who enter this process alone.​

Myth #5: You have no other options; the landlord has many.

This common myth might be the most important to address, because it is fundamental to how landlords operate. The landlord wants you to believe that his property is the only suitable location for your practice. The truth is there are likely several other properties that would fit the needs of your practice, and the landlord should be competing to keep you in his building.

The landlord also wants you to believe he has several potential tenants ready to occupy your space if you don’t take it. This position is used to force a tenant to rush into signing an unfavorable lease, when, in fact, it usually takes months or years to fill a commercial space. Each leasing situation is unique, and a health care real estate professional who knows your strengths as a tenant can help you understand what type of leverage you have.

This information represents a few of the many misconceptions involving landlords in health care real estate transactions. Using a real estate professional with expertise in health care will help protect you from falling victim to these and other common landlord myths.

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Carr Healthcare Realty is the nation’s leading provider of commercial real estate services for health care tenants and buyers. Every year, hundreds of medical, dental, veterinary and other health care practices trust Carr Healthcare Realty to help them achieve the most favorable terms on their lease and purchase negotiations. By not representing landlords or sellers, Carr Healthcare Realty is able to strongly advocate for health care providers and avoid conflicts of interest while saving their clients hundreds of thousands of dollars. Carr Healthcare Realty’s team of experts can assist with all types of real estate transactions, including lease renewals, expansions, relocations, startup offices, purchases and practice transitions. For more information, go to carrhr.com.