Tag Archives: success

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT DOING SOMETHING ….?

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IF IT’S A GOOD IDEA, DO IT NOW!

“I’m thinking of doing it…..”
How many great ideas have you had in your life that were exciting… seemed like “sure things”… that had to be done… that could improve the world….that could improve YOUR world?  You thought about it, talked to a confidant about it, and then, fssst! Gone! Forgotten, or worse, watched someone else do it and get the credit for it. You’re in good company; we are all procrastinators to some degree.  Me, too.
When there’s a good idea, it’s in “the air”. A lot of people will think of it at the same time; but the person that takes action will be called the genius.
 “Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.”
Mark Twain
What have YOU been “thinking” of doing? Find a piece of paper right now and make the list. Were you “thinking” of getting that laser… registering for Dental Sleep Medicine training… writing an Office Manual… going to Italy for two weeks? Make the list and put in target dates for completion.  Then get it done! You’ll feel so good about your self.
“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”
Napoleon Hill

HOW TO GET APPRECIATED (=SUCCESSFUL) IN LINKEDIN

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In short, LinkedIn is Business to Business (B2B) and the group members are sophisticated business people. You will make the best impression by demonstrating your expertise in your field, not by demonstrating your selling technique. Establish an image of being knowledgeable, honest and caring. Members will get to know you and (hopefully) look for your articles. They will get to trust you, welcome you and want to accept your advice. It may take a while to brand yourself but your success will grow. “Build a field and they will come.”
9-20-13 WELCOME MAT FOR FALL
Here are some tips. 
Do adhere to the following simple tips and don’t underestimate your ROIT- Return on Investment of Time
1. CONTENT
Do– Present fresh ideas and material.
Don’t–  copy and paste someone else’s article unless you can add valuable input to it.
2. STYLE
Do– Be a caring, humble educator.
Don’t– be a blatant self promoter. Members are busy and will skip right by an obvious “sale” post.
3. READABILITY
Do– Make your posts concise. Break your thoughts into easy to read paragraphs. Layout is important.
Don’t– make those seemingly endless, run-on sentences.
4. GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION
Do– You will be judged by your “appearance” so re-read your comment before you post it. Use a spell checker.
Don’t– write-off the “little” things. Obvious errors will be distractions from your message. You want to keep your reader focused.
5. YOUR SUBJECT LINE
Do– Make it an intriguing message opener. Use terms like “The Secret to ….” and “How to….”
Don’t– give the whole message here. Make the reader need to open the discussion.
3-17-15 LILinkedIn with its 330 million members offers an incredibly useful platform to network with potential business connections. In a short time I have built close to 2000 connections and I manage/own LinkedIn’s maximum of 10 networks. I am posting this discussion to share my experiences (trial and error) that have brought me new opportunities and much success. That’s it. I have nothing to sell you. I hope you find this useful.

What would make YOU stand out and be sought out as a Dentist?

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I’m sure you understand that now, more than ever, you need to stand out and be able to offer not only EXCELLENCE, but also DIFFERENCE. In this sluggish economy, where there is a perception of “financial doom”, (I personally don’t believe in that.), dental consumers have a tight hold on their wallets and reports of dental service acceptance show a concerning drop.
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What would make YOU stand out and be sought out?
WHAT ‘UNIQUENESS” ARE PATIENTS LOOKING FOR TODAY?
9-11-14 How_to_create_your_Uniqueness_in_the_Market_Place_1
What are YOU doing now to offer a unique service? Your First Class Service and Patient Engagement are expected as basic “givens”. But what is your clinical niche?
Are YOU the dental practice they must go to? Are you the only practice around that offers “invisible” braces, or mini-implant dentures or Nutritional Analysis ?  Are you the “Holistic Dentist”, the “Soft Tissue Management Dentist”, the “Snooze Dentist”,  the “Snore Dentist”? Are you the “Sleep Dysfunction Dentist”?
EVOLUTION OF DENTAL DEMAND
Remember how it was about 20 years ago when teeth whitening (aka “bleaching”) was the “new kid on the block”- THE “HOT BUTTON”? If you had an “in-office” Bright Smile or Zoom machine, you could schedule an operatory all day long with patients from near and far. After that we had the “porcelain age of dentistry”, when the media made patients very image-conscious for “smile enhancements” at any cost while the public was more confident in the future of the economy . Teeth whitening is now offered in nearly every practice, and in most as a discounted loss leader. Cosmetic crowns and veneers are now a lower patient priority.
Implants were the next rage in dental attractions. Today most dental practices are offering implants.
SO, WHERE ARE WE NOW?
What would make YOU stand out and be sought out?
 9-11-14 UNIQUE BULB
Dental Sleep Medicine is where Teeth Whitening was 20 years ago.
It is the “hot button” where Implant Dentistry was 10 years ago.
Strike while the iron is hot.
DSM can be your uniqueness to serve the needs of 34% of your existing patients and attract many new patients.    Take the training and stand out as the “go-to” dentist in your area.
9-11-14 UNIQUE ON PEDESTAL

Sleep Apnea from A to Z with Dr. Marty Lipsey in Indianapolis on April 12th and 13th

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Learn Sleep Apnea Medical Insurance Billing in Indianapolis, Indiana

 This course is designed to provide you with the knowledge to confidently return to your practice and immediately begin implementing new screening and treatment protocols.

1-21-13 LOGO DENTAL PROS SHARING

In this 2 day seminar Dr. Marty Lipsey presents a Dental Sleep protocol from A to Z, including Medical Insurance billing- Codes, Fees and Procedures.

After the Seminar Dr. Lipsey will continue to Mentor you, giving you the confidence to be a Sleep Medicine Doctor.

 Read the 2-day course outline and register here:  http://sleepgroupsolutions.com/2.0/modules/piCal/index.php?action=View&event_id=0000001412

3-24-14 SNORING

About Dr. Marty Lipsey the Instructor:

Dr. Marty Lipsey

Dr. Marty Lipsey, received his DDS degree from UCLA and a Master of Science from Northwestern University Dental School. Dr. Lipsey is the founder of Dental Sleep Med Systems, offering dental teams assistance in implementing and/or improving their dental sleep medicine practices, including electronic medical billing and successful insurance coding and processing. Dr. Lipsey is also a Sleep Group Solutions Instructor, and teaches Dental Sleep Medicine regularly.

 

THE INSIDE SECRET OF AVOIDING CANCELATIONS AND “NO-SHOWS”

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DON’T LOSE THAT PATIENT! SUCCESS is in the follow-thru.

A first time patient may have been very impressed with the warmth and consideration shown by the Dentist and the dental team. The patient seemed eager to get started and the next appointment was made. A Treatment Plan was prepared, to be presented, or to begin. A week has passed and the patient has just called to cancel or, even worse…. does not show for the appointment. What went wrong?

In almost all cases, the disjunction was caused by a lack of continuous COMMUNICATION.

3-3-13 EINSTEIN- DISCOVERY

Here are few ideas to keep our patient engaged between visits by follow-thru. Please add your great ideas to the list. The objective is to build a lifelong relationship with our patient.

1. Send a New Patient Welcome Package after their first call to let them know how pleased you are that they chose you.
2. A friendly, engaging Confirmation Call– referring to the patient’s “clinical concerns“. Remember that this appointment is about THEM.
3. A visit-ending “debriefing”, recapping what was done today and the importance of the next visit. Stress the clinical concerns. Do this for closure at the end of every visit.
4. A follow-up letter or e-mail .telling them how you enjoyed meeting them and welcoming them into your family of patients.
5. Ask for permission to send them monthly e-newsletters with timely, interesting and fun-packed health-oriented information.

Does this seem like a waste of important administrative (front desk) time? Compare this investment to the loss of one hour in your schedule.

Make the right pitch and follow-thru. To a baseball pitcher, the trajectory of your arm, after the release of the ball, is a critical component to get the ball to a predictable location. You’re playing on a large field; DON’T LOSE THAT PATIENT! SUCCESS is in the follow-thru.

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These are a few ideas for a start. What do YOU do, between visits, to maintain and grow that relationship, and make your patient eagerly look forward to that next appointment?

Do you want to read more about Schedule Productivity?
http://wp.me/p1OXM3-aS : “How to fill a dental schedule hole caused by a last minute cancelation?”

475,000 reasons to be a LEADER of your Dental Team.

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 Are you “too busy” to manage your Dental Practice?

You have so much confidence in Sally. She’s been with you for so many years, all your patients love her, and she knows those insurance benefits soooo well.
 
“I couldn’t even think what I would do if she left me. I could never go thru the hiring and training process again.”
 
“She doesn’t like anyone ‘looking over her shoulder’ and I respect her independence. She gets the job done and I sure don’t want to be answering the phone, making appointments, and collecting fees.”
 
DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?
 Here are 475,000 reasons you need to be a hands-on leader of your Dental Team:
 
“Former office manager pleads guilty to mail fraud, embezzlement’ 

By the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
http://ow.ly/b1Do1

A Pleasant Hills woman pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count each of mail fraud and embezzlement. Jill D’Angelo, 45, used her position as manager for a dental office in Pleasant Hills to submit false invoices to insurers and then intercept and cash the checks, pocketing about $307,000 between 2003 and 2010, prosecutors say.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon scheduled D’Angelo’s sentencing for Sept. 13.

 
You are the shareholder of this Corporation. Also the principle, if not the sole, risk holder. Your Office Manager/Financial Coordinator/ Receptionist- whatever title you wish to give her or him, is an employee of your Corporation perhaps the Chief Operating Officer.

Employees may come and go (and they do!). They can get other employment. But YOU have at risk your investment. your reputation, and your future.
 
 Remember that you are the President and the Chief Executive Officer of this business. Be a benevolent but firm, empowering, hands-on Leader. That does not insinuate “micro-managing”. Delegate but be aware. If you want to learn more about Leading the Dental Team, contact me at cskdoc@aol.com.
  
This article is not meant to discuss employee engagement. That is a separate topic. 
 
Set the rules and procedures of YOUR practice and YOUR expectations in an Employee Manual. Create Management Reports highlighting production and collections, review the results, and discuss them with your team. Employee management is part of YOUR job as President.
 

Thank your Dental Assistant this week!

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From the American Dental Association news.

It’s that time of year to thank the assistants who help your practice succeed.

Dental offices throughout the world will celebrate Dental Assistants Recognition Week March 4–10.    The theme for this year’s event is “Key to Productivity: The Professional Dental Assistant.“

 Each year, dentists take a week to honor dental assistants for their role on the dental team, recognizing their broad spectrum of duties and highlighting their often unheralded contribution to quality dental care. The American Dental Assistants Association, American Dental Association, Canadian Dental Assistants Association and Canadian Dental Association jointly recognize the observance. Dental assistant associations, dental assisting schools, and U.S. Army and Air Force dental clinics all join dental offices in honoring dental assistants during this designated week.

“Dental assistants are valued members of the dental team. The role of assistants has become even more important in recent years with the advent of expanded functions,” said Dr. Mark Zust, chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice. “More than ever, assistants achieve professional growth by studying and receiving advanced training. Dentists delegate more procedures and assistants take pride in their accomplishments.”

Dental assistants will celebrate their contributions to the profession by participating in educational and charity events and other team activities. Dentists typically show their respect for dental assistants’ diverse contributions to the dental profession and the public by providing perks such as luncheons, flowers or treats.

“Dental assistants show their value by providing everything from supportive procedures to direct patient care through expanded functions, which boosts productivity. The assistant provides a valuable connection with the patient; it is often the assistant that the patient turns to when they have questions, the assistant who explains the finances and the assistant who keeps the patient calm during treatment,” said Claudia Pohl, president of the American Dental Assistants Association.

CAN A DENTIST WALK AND WHISTLE AT THE SAME TIME?

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Can a Dentist talk to a patient while concentrating on the job at hand?
 
Dentists reach a point, after varying degrees of experience, where we know the clinical procedural sequence so well, that we are able to do the job and educate at the same time.

Some patients are quite “detail oriented” and they would like you to tell them what you are going to do, tell them what you are doing, and then tell them what you have done.
Then there are the “big picture” people (the vast majority of our patients) who only want to know how long. how much, and the end result. We can get to know who they are by learning body language and verbal cues… or even asking our patient. They will tell us.  In all cases it is helpful to find some subject to talk about (a one-way conversation, of course) to keep the patient distracted and thinking positive about the treatment, their comfort, and the outcome. The chairside assistant can play an important role in this.
Still interested? Please read my article on case presentation: http://wp.me/p1OXM3-5R
 
NO-ONE will disagree that any patient must be treated as a whole. I have never seen a tooth or a mouth walk into a dental office without a human attached to it.   A dentist must be a lot more than a clinical robot. To REALLY help a patient, we must serve them as a teacher, psychologist, caring person, and primarily, a LISTENER.
 
Here’s my formula: “ALF“
Ask the right questions,
Listen carefully,
and give Feedback so the patient knows you understand.
“There is no such thing as a ‘bad’ question from a patient.”
 
Everyone on the team should be educators, on the same “channel”, and knowing how to fully support the dentist.

DENTAL CASE PRESENTATION- a K.I.S.S. for your Patient

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You can kill a good presentation by trying to explain too much. You know what the patient needs and he/she probably knows too.

Most of your patients will be “big picture” processors. They will want to know the BASICS- how long, how much, and the result. They may even tell you that. You can determine that from their metaphors and body language. The few “detail oriented” patients will be the accountants, engineers,… and other dentists. If you give too many details in your presentation, you will open Pandora’s Box for even the “Big Picture” patients to start a litany of questions. Avoid such statements as, “…then the Hygienist will scale, root plane and irrigate….”, or “… after I prepare your teeth, I’ll take some impressions, and….”

[ The Hygienist “removes disease” and you are “creating a great new smile”. It’s that simple! ]

There’s a time and a place for those detail explanations, but it is not during the case presentation. For now just concentrate on the value and the benefits. KISS. “Keep It Simple, Stupid.”      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

Make your presentations well planned-out and concise. Utilize visual aids and social confirmations.

Picture your desired OUTCOME, then trim away the excess like a Michelangelo:

A 15th Century admirer looked in awe at one of Michelangelo’s sculptures and asked the maestro how he could create such a magnificent sculpture from a block of marble. Michelangelo said, “I saw the angel in the marble and I carved away the excess until I set him free.”

Here’s a humorous example:

The young doctor had just completed his first Treatment Plan Presentation for a big cosmetic makeover. He followed all the rules given by his coach. He demonstrated with study models, radiographs and photographs, and clearly detailed to his patient every situation requiring treatment. His presentation was planned, orchestrated and smoothly presented.

He explained an ideal treatment to his patient which the doctor had estimated at $22,500. The young doctor did not yet have a financial coordinator and had to present the investment himself. It was his first case over a few thousand dollars. He went into great detail then froze and could not give the fee.
 
The patient seemed impressed with the understanding that the doctor showed of his dental condition, and the benefits from the proposed treatment and told him that. “Doc, I realize that I neglected my dental condition for a long time and that I need a lot of work………..but honestly, I have no insurance and I can’t go over $25,000.”
 
With that the doctor snapped back, “That’s exactly what it will cost!”

DO YOU GET A $1000. GIFT EACH YEAR FROM YOUR RICH UNCLE?

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If you have dental “insurance”, think of it as your rich uncle giving you up to $1000. each year to spend towards your dental care.
 The truth is, dental benefits are not “insurance”. “Insurance” by its definition limits your liability. That is,no matter how sick you get, your medical insurance, for example, is designed to protect you from financial hardship. Your dental plan, on the other hand, will only pay so much per year, no matter how much care you need. It’s designed to limit the insurance company’s liability. Whether you need $200 or $2000 worth of dental care, the insurance company will only pay up to an agreed-upon annual maximum.

 

 One way or another, YOU are paying for that benefit. It may be through a monthly premium, or perhaps your employer is paying part or all of it for you.
 If you have dental insurance it’s a great thing to have. Congratulations. Most insurance company maximums are $1000. per year, meaning they will cover the first $1000. of your yearly dental expenses. Dental benefits have barely increased in the last fifty years. The very first dental insurance was offered in the early 1960’s, and it covered $1000 per year. Back then, that would pay for a lot of dentistry!
 
Doctors have an ethical and legal obligation to diagnose and sharetheir findings with you. We base treatment recommendations on the needs of the patient, not the limitations of the benefits. Naturally, we respect your right to make decisions regarding your oral health, but we want you to be totally informed.

Your rich uncle wouldn’t want it any other way.