3 things to aim for – 3 ways to get there – 27 things to get right

Sometimes, it can be a good idea to remind ourselves of the obvious and then ask “how does the obvious happen?”

There are three obvious things to aim for in your business:

1. Clinical care;

2. Customer service;

3. Profits.

What perhaps isn’t so obvious is how the best dental practices actually get there.

I’ve noticed a significant distinction between those Principals who are generating less than 30% of the gross revenue into their practice and those who are grossing over 70% of overall sales.

The first category (the minority) ask me to help their business.

The second category (the majority) ask me to help them – usually because they are drowning in doing everything.

I was recently pondering what characteristics were visible in the very best practices (and, incidentally, the practices that are selling to corporates for the highest multiples) – and realised that they all had done three things very well:

1. An excellent management team (listen to my interview with Colin Campbell in September’s membership content for The Extreme Business Academy);

2. Robust marketing systems – all of that internal human interest marketing that I’m constantly going on about – and some carefully selected external marketing and advertising;

3. A superb team of clinicians – either hand-picked (and, sometimes, head-hunted) associates/therapists/hygienists and/or apprentice dentists.

It is a classic “E-Myth” situation as applied to dental business ownership.

On Friday and Saturday this week I’ll be M.C. in the oddly-named NHS/Business Theatre track at The London Dentistry Show in Olympia Central, London.

If you can get there in time, at 09:35 on Friday, I’ll be opening the day with a 25-minute presentation on “The 27 habits of Champions League Practices in 2019” – slightly more than one good idea per minute from the top end of my client base.

On Saturday at 13:00, I’ll be sharing my observations on “Leadership” in the Compliance Hub.

Breaking news – on Saturday I’ll also be taking part in a live debate on “Why you shouldn’t sell your practice to a corporate” going head to head with Rahul Doshi, who will present the case for the corporate as a member of Dentex. We are putting the final details on that together today and I’ll let you know more ASAP.

Sell or not – the secret to a long and happy business life is, I believe, the three characteristics I mention above: