How Much Do You Produce An Hour?

HOW MUCH DO YOU PRODUCE AN HOUR?

How much do you produce an hour? I want you to do the math. Look at your individual production for March. Once you have that number now add up the number of hours you were open to see patients. Now divide your production by the number of hours you had scheduled to see patients. Example: if you produced $42,000 last month and had 160 patient hours, your hourly production for March was $262.

 So lets discuss these numbers. By not knowing anything about this example office, I would have to say that either there is a lot of sitting around with no patients in the chair, the dentist is doing the hygiene or the dentist is still working on his/her speed of most procedures. In any case, this dentist needs coaching in schedule management, overhead management or clinical continuing education.

A few things to think about if you are producing anything below $525 hour

1: you could cut your office hours until you get busier and save on the overhead
2: hire a hygienist and offer same day dentistry to each patient your hygienist sees that has treatment outstanding
3: make a plan to attend CE that will help you improve the speed of your procedures.
4: look at the procedures you do that your staff would say "take you forever". In most cases it's root canals. If you charge $750 for a root canal and it takes you 4 hours of chair time from start to finish, that's $187 an hour. If you are not just sitting around I would suggest referring the root canals out.

You need to constantly be communicating with your team on scheduling and time management. Scheduling a dentist efficiently and effectively is an art and takes time to perfect but it is possible. Each of my coaching clients have a minimum hourly goal of $600 an hour and some are above $1000 an hour. They also only work an average of 16 days per month and produce over $900,000 annually by themselves, their hygienist produce in addition to that. After coaching my clients for years and watching how they and their team have mastered scheduling productively, it makes me shake my head to read others teaching based on a $300 an hour. You went to school to be a dentist, not a coach, let me coach your team!!

Kimberley Franek
CEO & President
Franek Consulting
(512) 619-5590
www.franekconsulting.com
kfranek@franekconsulting.com

 

The Website Dilemma

Websites are a critical part of your marketing strategy, make no mistake that it will serve as your primary information source for the majority of your patients. From contact info to appointment schedulers, directions to dental terms; your website not only educates your future and current patients, it should also serve as a sales tool attracting new patients every day.

Most websites are nothing more than a brochure, a digital foldout of info that your staff refers inbound callers to, but it must be more. Your website is being listed every day in countless searches on the web by everyone from a potential patient to vendors looking to contact you. It is remarkable to think how many folks will have the opportunity to click on your webpage. Will they? Have you optimized your site properly to attract those who search for a dentist? Do you provide the easiest, most effective click-thru to encourage an appointment? Are enough people able to find your site? These questions must be addressed in order to see the results a website can produce for your bottom line.

For those of us who do not know exactly how a website works or even how to design them, most will choose to either spend a fortune with a web designer to do it for us or we don’t put much if any resources towards launching a site at all. Both of these choices are bad. Websites do not have to cost a bundle, but they should be a focal point in your marketing plan. You cannot “buy” your way to a profitable website, no matter what that web designer tells you and even the most well-intentioned dentist who convinces himself that he will get to the website later never does. A site should be live by grand opening at the latest.

I have sold, designed and optimized websites for 8 years and can tell you that the most effective sites became that way long after I was in the picture. The dentist spent the time to promote the site, updated it frequently and used it like his father did a business card. Everyone had the address, it was always fresh with accurate content and reflected the brand of his practice.

So before you throw good money after bad shifting website responsibility to someone else, or you decide that hardwood floors are more important than a well thought out site, find someone you trust to help you implement a strategy for your site. Have a plan, work it and include it in all your marketing efforts. Think of a website as one of those expenses that the ROI can actually be tracked, which are few and far between; love it, never leave it.

I know that many of you are sitting there thinking to yourself, “Well tell us how much to spend!!!” I cannot, but will give you a range. I cannot tell you exactly how much to spend for the simple fact that I don’t know what your website needs, location and demographics will determine that to name a few. So what is the range you ask, between $2000-$5000. For most of you it should be on the lower end. The high end would be reserved for LVI types, high-end cosmetic practices with lots of video production, interviews and pictures. These types of sites can go as high as $15000. Any more than that and you are most likely being taken advantage of. Sites less than $1500 should also raise red flags. They are most likely generic templates with no real customization or interactive plug-ins.

Remember, a site is a living thing, it grows and needs care. It will give as much as it gets. Happy building!

Matthew Franek

Chief Marketing Officer

mfranek@franekconsulting.com

www.franekconsulting.com

(512)619-5590

 

Do you confuse being busy for being productive?

After my last newsletter about what your time is worth, I had many dentist email me asking how they figure that number. I spoke with several of these dentists and asked them about their practices. One in particular said his office is so busy that the next appointment on his schedule is in three weeks and hygiene is booked a month out. He said that he must be producing what I think is enough just based on that. Well, we ran the numbers and found that he is busy, not productive. Being productive in a dental practice takes coaching and then scheduling becomes an art based on what was taught. This dentist was doing half of what he should have been doing based on his new patients and active patient count. My challenge to you is to go back three months on your schedule, figure how many hours you worked for those three months. Now add up your production (not the office) and divide by the number of hours you worked. If that number is not at least $600 then your office can benefit from scheduling coaching. If you are doing over $600 an hour, then congrats, you have a great thing going, just make sure to check that number each month and make sure the trend stays up. Everyone can get to $600 hour, it just takes the want to, the skill level, the service mix and the right team in place!

DON"T STAY BUSY, GET PRODUCTIVE!

 

Kimberley Franek

CEO & Founder

www.franekconsulting.com

kfranek@franekconsulting.com

512-619-5590

Will 2013 be your best year ever?

Will 2013 Be Your Best year Ever? Register Now

I am often asked about new products and services, and many times I hesitate to share. Not today! My experience with Six Month Smiles has been outstanding. Six Month Smiles is a GP-focused cosmetic braces system that straightens teeth in around six months using clear brackets and tooth-colored wires. The profit that Six Month Smiles can provide is the best direct revenue stream for a general dentist that I have ever seen. The flexibility and broad number of potential patients makes it a must for any General Dentist. I encourage you to watch the video below and enjoy a $200 professional courtesy by using code FRANEK200 when registering. Contact me with your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you! Franek Consulting www.Franekconsulting.com

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Yellow Page Scams, How can you avoid them?



 

Have you ever seen one of these come across your desk? Have you ever filled it out and mailed it back? How many invoices do you get annually for scams that you or your staff have unknowingly signed up for? Be on the lookout. The Yellow Pages does not own the rights to the walking fingers so anyone can use it in their advertising. To many people, this looks legit and everyone wants to get their name out there, and wow, only $500 annually to be in a yellow pages. The problem is, these yellow pages do not exist, therefore bringing you no additional revenue for the money you just laid out. ALWAYS read the fine print on anything that comes to your office asking for money. Once you or your staff have signed on the dotted line, you are on the hook. Please share this with your staff and other dentist to make them aware of this scam. As I come across other things I see in my clients offices, I will always share them on this blog so stay tuned for more tips and advice from Franek Consulting. Until next time, have a productive day!

Kimberley Franek

CEO&Founder

(512) 619-5590

www.franekconsulting.com

kfranek@franekconsulting.com

Do you really have them at "Hello"?

You only get one chance to make a first impression! Let's dive into the first impression your office leaves for new patients. When was the last time you walked through the front door of your practice and sat in your waiting room. I urge you to do it today. What do you see, smell and hear? How comfortable are you? Were you greeted immediately upon walking in? Does your staff seem friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating to patients coming in the front door for their appointment? Is your new patient paperwork updated, easy to understand, branded and easily accessible to the patient? Now go into your patient restroom. How clean was it? Were there extra rolls of toilet paper and plenty of soap? Do your magazines in the waiting room reflect the image you want to portray? Is there a Cosmo magazine with a sex survey mention on the front cover sitting on your coffee table? Is Dr. Phil on the television? Your waiting room is one of the most important parts to the new patient experience. Most patients that do not return to your practice after their first appointment, made that decision while in the waiting room before they even met you. How many new patients are you losing after "Hello"? Franek Consulting offers New Patient Experience Coaching with a complete image review of all aspects of your practice. Don't let your marketing efforts go to waste, call us today before more patients leave your practice and never return.

New Year, New You!

Don't just get your feet wet, jump in and we will teach you how to swim!

Remember how scared and anxious you were when you were learning to swim? Eventually you learned, then enjoyed playing Marco Polo and may have even competed on a swim team. Choosing to buy or sell a practice can be a scary and anxious time for many dentists, just like learning to swim. Due to the many emotions that go into this decision, it is wise to have an expert that is not emotionally involved and can help guide you into making thoughtful decisions. Having transitioned over 60 practice acquisitions, our experience allows us to expect the unexpected, while enabling you to clear unforeseen hurdles.  Franek Consulting conducts a thorough practice analysis then creates a productive strategy before date of possession. We work closely with your broker, attorney, financial advisor and the existing practice staff so you can focus on production day one. Franek Consulting is a full service transition coordination and practice management firm that works exclusively with dentists.  By hiring Franek Consulting to manage your practice transition, you can have the confidence that your business runs efficiently.  We coach you to best position your practice to reach the top 1% in the nation; while providing a path to not only be profitable, but demonstrate how to enjoy every aspect of practice ownership. Our mentoring will assure you reach the end of the pool.

Testimonial:

I have been working with Kimberley since I first opened my practice 3 years ago. Her expertise was invaluable when it came to start-up advice and I cannot imagine opening my practice without her guidance. Kimberley is highly qualified, very insightful and truly understands the ins and outs of running a successful dental practice. She holds a vast knowledge in all areas of practice management. She is highly attentive to my day to day needs and is always ready and willing to assist in the most efficient manner possible. She is truly a joy to work with and each visit she "breathes a new life" into the practice, giving us new directives and goals that have consistently lead the office to higher potential and increased productivity.

Danielle Reed, DDS