Archive for Dental Office Finance
Do It With Confidence: Raise Your Fees
Posted by: | CommentsFee increases should be a standard part of your dental practice management, but some dentists simply break into a cold sweat at the thought. Below are the Do’s and Don’ts of raising the fees in your dental practice:
1) DO be upfront: Explain your dental office’s pricing up front to all patients. Provide each patient with clear, written financial arrangements in a manner that makes it easy to understand and select the option that works best for them.
2) DON’T just throw a number in the air: Avoid picking the price that sounds good. Like any good business owner, create a pricing strategy that includes all of your overhead, plus a salary for you, the Dental CEO.
3) DO increase often: For example, in your business plan, write that you will impose a 5% fee increase each year – or every time you add to your skills by attending a C.E. course.
4) DO ask yourself why: If a patient walks away because of the price increase, it’s not really because of the price increase. It’s because they do not perceive the value of your services.
Raise your fees, and let me know how it goes. I bet your response will be “Coach Ron, I wish I had done it sooner…”
Big Numbers – Big Profits??
Posted by: | CommentsWhen I first launched my dental practice, I was all about big numbers. Big staff, big practice and big dollars on advertising. And what did that get me? A heart attack at 41, a largely unappreciative staff, and no quiet time with my wife and daughters.
My mistake was that I was concerned with being the biggest and baddest dentist in the neighborhood. In my book, I outline the lessons that I learned so that other dentists don’t make the same mistakes. The main idea is that while you should think in grand terms for your dental practice, you should scale back to a manageable, reasonable expectation. This ensures that you maintain that precious work/life balance and that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.
Answer these questions:
- What are all the possibilities for my dental practice?
- Who will my dental services benefit if I keep expanding?
- Who will suffer if I keep expanding?
Deciding on your specialty and how you will pare down your business depends on what you are passionate about doing and who you are passionate about helping.
What’s in it for you?
- You will reduce marketing and advertising costs, translating to a larger take-home profit for you
- You will enjoy more freedom to do the hobbies you love: fishing, walking, spending time with family or simply finally getting 8 hours of sleep
- You will maintain a profitable, vibrant practice while still maintaining a fulfilling personal life
