Issue 10 / March 2014
Stop losing prospects, patients and profits 7connections .com
Client Case Study
Pioneering Mobile Dentistry
The Female Principal
Strategy
Zen Wealth
Is mobile relevant to the dental industry?
Women Dental Practice Owners
Clients tend to focus on the incorrect deployment of tactics
Letter From The Editor
Stop losing prospects, patients and profits
Frequently in the last few months I have been reminded of a dangerous assumption - that people know how to communicate with each other. Example 1 Listening to Tracy Stuart make mystery calls to random dental practices during our Top 20 Club meetings - astonished at the lack of skill with which simple questions were handled by the front desk teams at some supposedly award-winning practices. Example 2 Discussing with experienced dentists just exactly how they present treatment plans to their patients - worried that an over-emphasis on clinical mumbo-jumbo (and the perceived need to give multiple treatment choices) is frightening people away. Example 3 Listening to a disagreement between 2 alphamales, both of whom seemed to believe that the most effective way to make a point was to shout louder than the other. Ears were superfluous.
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I conclude that: •
children are not taught to communicate as part of their education and/or upbringing;
•
dentists are not taught to communicate as part of their training;
•
we (you and I) are not taught to build a reasoned argument, listen empathetically and persuade.
Yet - effective communication is the bedrock of civilised society, not just the means to attract lifetime clients and encouraging them to invest in your products and services. I would argue that there is not a dental team in the land, clinical or non-clinical, who would not benefit from intensive training, consultancy, coaching and mentoring on how to listen, how to speak and how to persuade in an ethical way. Currently, many of your team members are actually doing their best in the absence of systems and training - but their best is far below the standard needed for your business to thrive as well as survive. The result? Lost prospects, patients and profits.
I speculate that literally millions of pounds of dental treatment is never delivered because of poorly handled telephone enquiries, first consults, routine visits, treatment planning and financial conversations - not to mention the resulting lack of personal recommendations from happy clients. I have been an advocate of “invest more in marketing” for many years - but I’m recognising that there is little point in 10, 20 or 100 new patient/business enquiries a month if your people don’t know how to communicate effectively. So my mind is turning to how best we can help our clients to learn those skills to compliment the innovative work that the 7connections team will reveal on lead generation later this year. We aim to fill our clients’ boots with new patient/business enquiries - but I want to make sure that little of that goes to waste and lead conversion rates are as attractive as the lead generation results we aim to deliver. There are many sources already out there - in fact, everything you need to know about how to communicate can be bought in a bookstore or on-line but we tell ourselves that we are too busy to stop and take the time to access and learn from this cornucopia of information. So the challenge is to create environments in which people can learn - and my own view is that the formal workshop is NOT the place for that to happen.
carefully constructed approach can produce a phenomenal improvement in success. A few days ago I was given just 20 minutes with a busy dental team, to talk about how to explain 3 simple concepts: •
explaining the difference between NHS and private dentistry
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how to communicate and implement a policy that includes taking deposits for appointments booked and a 48-hour notice period for cancellations
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the benefits of joining a dental plan
In just a few moments, sharing some short phrases, I could see eyebrows raised and my comments produced this response from a young associate:
Contents 01 - Stop losing prospects, patients and profits 03 - Zen Wealth Client Case Study 05 - Pioneering Mobile Dentistry 07 - The Female Principal Part 1 09 - Infographic: the ideal schedule for team conversations 10 - Strategy
“I have learned more in the last 20 minutes than the last 12 months.” I’m no genius, I’ve been taught well by my clients over the years - what we discussed was very simple but the effects profound and nobody had to take a day off work, travel to a hotel or step far outside their comfort zone. Effective communication is actually very simple - you just have to be prepared to create the time and the safe environment to learn.
I suggest that the atmosphere has to be informal, non-threatening and nourishing. I have never loved role-play - the very phrase conjures up a vision of ritual humiliation. Even listening to Tracy’s mystery shopper calls makes me wince, even though I understand why she does it (and applaud her courage). My own best results with clients and their team members have been just sat in conversation, discussing communication problems (how, where and when they arise) and then slowly building the logic of how a
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Zen Wealth Client Case Study The following case study is broadly based on a real life experience of Zen Wealth clients with names and some information changed for confidentiality purposes.
Phillip & Sheila Background
Our Review
Phillip and Sheila are both in their mid/ late 50’s. They have three children – twin sons aged 21 and a daughter aged 19. All three are studying at university.
After careful consideration we quickly realised that a number of items that were included in Phillip and Sheila’s financial plan were now redundant. Further, and because of what was largely inefficient structuring, a high level of complexity existed. This prevented Phillip and Sheila from really understanding their financial position.
Phillip is a Dentist who is in partnership with one other dental specialists. Sheila, who is a Doctor, is an employee of a separate unrelated business. Over the years they have built up a substantial portfolio of assets, both within and outside of their various private pension schemes and the NHS Superannuation scheme. They have also consulted a number of financial advisers and moved accountants a couple of times. When we met them their financial affairs were extremely complex mostly due to an eclectic collection of investments – single premium pension plans, properties, direct equities, managed funds, maximum investment plans, endowments. Their financial affairs needed reconciling and simplifying.
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It also seemed that previous advisers were more concerned with Phillip and Sheila’s investment portfolio, justifying why they were accumulating wealth and focusing on ‘what’ they should invest in next rather than considering the investment strategy as ‘part’ of an overarching plan for achieving Phillip and Sheila’s actual goals. Phillip and Sheila had also indicated that they would both like to semi-retire in the next few years. While they don’t wish to give up work completely, they would each like to pursue other interests outside of work (sailing, skiing, golf etc…). When we met them, they were not confident that their savings or financial position was adequate or capable of supporting them without income from working.
written by Patrick Murphy
They also wanted to assist their children both now and in the future, by setting in place a financial foundation that the children could manage themselves at a later date.
Our Advice From the outset our goal was to simplify Phillip and Sheila’s financial affairs. We worked closely with them and their accountant to achieve the following: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Eliminate redundant structures – which included a number of insurance policies they simply did not need. Consolidate their investments – which meant that we reduced the number of different pension plans they had accumulated over the years with the view to achieving a pension portfolio based on quality rather than quantity; Provide a simple, understandable summary of their financial affairs – refine and articulate their financial position so that it could be summarised on a SINGLE page; Reduce debt and devise a plan so that the remaining debt will be fully eliminated by retirement;
5.
Provide them with a comprehensive cash flow forecast – reassure them, and confirm that retirement was financially viable while still meeting their needs which included planning to provide the level of support they wanted to give their children for a good start in life;
6.
Start the conversation about “what’s important about money to them’ – i.e. find out what they want to do when they do eventually decide to cease their current employment towards setting goals that would be supported by appropriate financial tools.
Our Process We listened (by conducting an in depth Discovery meeting)! And we’re still listening to both Phillip and Sheila because, while they are a couple and they make their decisions jointly, as individuals they process their needs and goals differently. We applied our knowledge and experience. Jointly we thoroughly evaluated Phillip and Sheila’s existing financial resources and made recommendations. We collaborated with other professionals. In order to tailor a holistic financial outcome for Phillip and Sheila we worked very closely with their accountant to determine taxation impacts, correct reporting and compliance. Additionally, we provided Phillip and Sheila with resources that would allow them to have more productive conversations, that is, outcome driven discussions, with their other professional service providers about their financial position.
The Outcome So Far
...our financial affairs are greatly simplified but we still feel very much involved in the process. Zen Wealth is an appointed representative of Best Practice IFA Group Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Click here to read the previous Zen Wealth guest blog CFPcm, FIFP, FPFS 70 St Mary Axe London, EC3A 8BE Tel – 020 3102 4085 Patrick.Murphy@zen-wealth.com www.zen-wealth.com
After 1 year, this is what Phillip and Sheila have to say: “Our main concern was to simplify our financial position. We were looking for real and honest management of the portfolio. We wanted to establish a timeline to meet our financial goals and not someone else’s interpretation of our needs. We wanted to know whether we had enough money to retire and how we were going to generate an income in our retirement.” “The number one benefit has been Patrick’s ability to communicate, both face to face and via email. Zen Wealth are managing the portfolio through consultation with us and our financial affairs are greatly simplified but we still feel very much involved in the process. “
...confirm that retirement was financially viable 04
Pioneering Mobile Dentistry
written by Dr. Deepti Naranbhai
In my previous blog I highlighted the
dramatic shift in how consumers are interacting with businesses using mobile in their everyday lives.
The Internet Advertising Bureau reported that 2014 will see 75% of the UK population owning a smartphone and 50% owning a tablet. Cisco reports that smartphone usage grew 50% in 2013 “Marketing leaders who start focusing on how mobile is fundamentally changing their core audience’s behaviours and attitudes … will be able to leapfrog the competition. What will you do when, one day soon, mobile represents 30% or 40% of your traffic?” Analyst firm – Forrester Research. If you’re still debating whether mobile is relevant to the dental industry, click here to read my previous blog. To address this change in patient behaviour, The App Garden have developed Smart Dentist Apps, which is currently in use with a few forward thinking dental practices who are working with us. Dr. Mani Virdee of Synergy Dental Clinic and Spa, based in Addlestone, Surrey, is among these leading-edge clinicians, who can see that mobile will become an integral part of how the practice functions. Dr. Virdee has introduced the Smart Dentist App to his patients and is working with The App Garden to develop the app further. He sees the app as an extension of the Synergy brand and wants to provide a truly valuable experience for his patients and to unlock the monetising opportunities that the app offers his practice. 05
The Synergy Dental Spa App is available for download on both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, click here for a free download. It is equipped with a set of features to drive two way communication, increase appointment bookings, drive treatment upsell with special offers, provide patient education via the testimonials and services lists as well as encourage patients to share the app, promoting the practice through social media. As more and more patients download the app, it will become an even more powerful marketing tool for the practice. For example, push notifications, which send a message directly to app users mobile device, are currently being read within 30 seconds and typically acted upon within 2 minutes. Just think of the opportunities to promote new treatments, special offers and inform patients of special events and more! Follow the Synergy Dental Spa App story over then next month and learn how the Smart Dentist App has improved patient engagement and bottom line profit! The Smart Dentist App is due to formally launch in Summer 2014, if you are interested in finding out more, or being amongst the mobile pioneers, please do get in touch on 0203 418 0500 or email us on: info@smartdentistapps.co.uk
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The Female Principal part 1 Over the next few weeks we will
be publishing a series of excerpts from a manuscript that Chris Barrow is currently developing into an ebook which focuses on women dental practice owners.
Part 1 Introduction It was the week before Christmas 2013.
There were two reasons that these three conversations prompted me to reflect and comment.
The end of a 5th consecutive year of postbanking collapse recession in Europe.
Firstly, they all revolved around the same fundamental question:
As usual, the last-minute ‘must be done’ list was expanding faster than my tasks in Wunderlist could be completed.
“Should I carry on owning my own business and, if so, how can I make it a success?”
As a business coach of 20 years I am used to having to go up a gear to clear the decks before the holiday season, but on this occasion the schedule presented me with some interesting challenges. No less than three former clients had contacted me in the weeks leading up to the festivities, requesting an informal conversation about their individual futures. With the help of my essential personal assistant, Phillippa Goodwin, we had managed to schedule all three conversations into that last 7 days of my working year. A late hotel supper, afternoon coffee in an airport lounge and a Sunday morning FaceTime video call from my office at home, The Bunker.
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Secondly, all three were women who combined business ownership with the responsibilities of marriage and motherhood. The phenomenon of the female principal I know that around 6% of the UK population pay higher-rate tax. Maybe 10% of the overall work-force own their own business. As for the ratio of working women who own their own business…here are the latest stats from the Prowess 2.0 web site: Women account for under a third of those in self-employment, but over half the increase in self-employment since the recession started in 2008. Between 2008 and 2011 women accounted for an unprecedented 80% of the new self-employed. (Labour Force Survey, Office of National Statistics 2013).
written by Chris Barrow There are now almost 1.5 million women self-employed which represents an increase of around 300,000 since before the economic downturn (Women in Enterprise: A Different Perspective, RBS Group 2013). Women account for 17% of business owners, i.e. owners/ managers/ employers (Labour Force Survey 2008, in Women in Enterprise: A Different Perspective, RBS Group 2013) UK Women’s businesses have a higher churn rate (ie. more start-ups and closures). But women are less likely to attribute closure to ‘business failure’ and more likely to cite ‘personal reasons’ – which peak at age 25-34 for women. (Women in Enterprise: A Different Perspective, RBS Group 2013)
were female compared with 56.1 per cent in 2012/13. In contrast, 76.4 per cent of dentists aged 55 or over were male. The report, titled “NHS dental statistics for England: 2012/13”, was published on 17 September. It can be downloaded from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s website. However, it seems difficult to identify how many of those women own their own practice. I wonder if the trade associations have any statistics on that? Over my 20 years as a dental business coach, I have had the good fortune to support a lot of female principals and the issues are often the same:
Men are now twice as likely to be entrepreneurially active as women but in 2001 were two and a half times more likely to be entrepreneurially active, ie. involved in the early stages of a new venture. (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, UK Report 2011)
•
balancing the responsibilities of mother, wife, owner and clinician
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finding the 37 hours required in every day and the 9 days required in every week to “get things done”
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sheer exhaustion
10% of the female population are thinking about starting up a business (Women in Business: key facts, Government Equalities Office 2008)
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constant guilt as a family member
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figuring out how to be an accountant, tax expert, marketeer, administrator, manager and leader – as well as a dentist
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being wound around the finger of team members
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having to listen to condescending male colleagues and professional advisors who assume you are stupid and soft
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having to listen to doubting Thomases who tell you that you will never ‘make it’
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having to listen to angry and unreasonable patients who want more than they are due
Read more: http://www.prowess.org.uk/ facts#ixzz2pEelFRKV In UK dentistry we have around 23,000 dentists, 10,000 of whom own their own practice. According to Dental Tribune: In total, there were 23,201 dentists in 2012/13 in England, an increase of 15.1 per cent (3,041) since 2006/07, when figures were first recorded. With regard to sex distribution, the investigators found a continuous increase in the percentage of female dentists, while the number of male dentists remained fairly stable. Today, female dentists make up over 45 percent of the workforce. In 2012/13, there were 10,541 female dentists, a 34.7 percent increase since 2006/07 when there were 7,824 female practitioners. In the under-35 age group, women even outnumbered their male counterparts. In 2006/07, 51.8 percent of all dentists under 35
for a long time about the above list and eventually she said: “Chris – what I need is a wife!” So we advertised for one in the local paper – a Mrs Doubtfire you might say – although not a cross-dresser. Sure enough – a lady was hired to complete all the simpler domestic chores and paperwork, so that my client could come home from work and spend some quality time with her kids, even though she still found herself doing the accounts on the kitchen table at 23:00 over a glass of Merlot. It does beg the question ‘why bother?’ as I have to say that even I have never worked as hard as some of the ladies I have coached. It sure as hell isn’t about the money – I’ve coached many a female principal whose earnings were pathetic compared to the associates she supported. Dare I say it – I’ve worked with female principals whose income didn’t support the family and were subsidised by their male or female life-partner. *This post is an excerpt from The Female Principal manuscript by Chris Barrow – to be published as an ebook later in 2014
Today, female dentists make up over 45 percent of the workforce
I’ve chatted with a female principal who called me at 21:00 on a Friday night, sat in her surgery and too stressed to go home. Others who have confessed to me that they spend most of their lives feeling as if they are on “Planet Me” – population 1. Many years ago I found myself in conversation with a female principal who owned two busy practices and was a single mum with two young daughters. We talked
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Infographic: the ideal schedule for team conversations
The Frequency of Team Conversations I seem to send clients and delegates slightly loopy when I talk about how often dental teams should congregate and converse.
So let me begin by repeating my suggested schedule of meetings: •
•
•
•
•
Daily – the 20-minute morning huddle (as featured in my recent blog post – click here) Weekly – a 60-minute conversation (during billable hours) to review best bits of the last week. What went right, what went wrong, what can we do to improve? Monthly – a half-day session to review financial performance, marketing return on investment, new patient conversion stats, clinician productivity, the patient experience and team-well-being Quarterly – the half-day becomes a fullday, off-site and the afternoon session is an external guest speaker on marketing, customer service or sales Annually – a 2-day trip. Leave Friday afternoon and fly to any Easyjet destination in Europe. Friday night, informal dinner. Saturday morning CPD training session, review of the last year, reveal plans for the next year. Saturday afternoon, shopping for the girls and beer for the boys. Saturday night dinner and dancing. Sunday morning hangovers and breakfast, afternoon begin the journey back home
Have I worked with dental clients who do this? 09
written by Chris Barrow
Yes I have. Do they have a problem-free zone with team members? No they don’t. Overall, do they have better performance and behaviour from team members? Yes they do. Have there been lots of clients who have done this over the last 20 years? No. Excuses: •
too expensive
•
too much down-time
•
it will not be appreciated
•
they don’t deserve it
To quote Isadore Sharpe (Founder and Chairman of Four Seasons Hotels Group) That which we do not own, is our greatest asset People are not an overhead on your P&L, they are an asset on your balance sheet. If you want to make customer service your competitive advantage – it begins with a selfactualised team. READ THIS
Strategy
written by Chris Barrow
I
think it was Covey who defined tactics as how to climb a ladder but strategy as which wall to lean the ladder against.
Frankly, we can do anything if we put our minds to it – and overcome many adversities if we have a worthy cause.
That last one is a cracker – a REALLY BIG question that often challenges long-held beliefs.
The main frustrations I listen to when in conversation with clients tend to focus on the incorrect deployment of tactics – by their teams or external suppliers of products and services.
But when the conversation gets into that zone, the magic can happen.
There is little doubt that, at 7connections, we are working very hard with the managers in our client’s practices, to make sure that they have all of the correct systems in place to turn their businesses into franchise prototypes.
Strategic conversations imagine and create a new world order.
As we evolve the programme for our Top 20 club Principals however, we are noticing a trend towards conversations around strategy: “should I buy a second/third practice?” “is it time to sell and, if not now, when?” “do I keep the place as it is – or go for growth?”
Tactical conversations make us better at what we do and how we do it.
How many of each do you have?
...7connections are working very hard with the managers in our client’s practices, to make sure that they have all of the correct systems in place to turn their businesses into franchise prototypes.
“shall I aim at £1m or £10m in sales?” and perhaps most importantly… “shall I become a master at dentistry or at business ownership?”
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With thanks to: Matt Cox - Graphic Design
we need to raise
£50,000
mattcoxmail@yahoo.co.uk Photography:
before the end of march! Bridge2Aid, the charity tirelessly providing emergency dental pain relief to over 3 million people in East Africa, is under very real threat. Due to two circumstances beyond our control, we need to raise at least £50,000 before the end of March 2014. We were recently the victim of a sophisticated financial fraud in Tanzania, orchestrated by an organised crime ring. We have taken swift action to tighten procedures and pursue funds taken via a high-quality counterfeit cheque fraud, plus switched accounts to a new international bank. We’re also facing a sudden, and large
(70%), drop in funds from our main corporate sponsor, who regrettably announced that they would be slashing final payment of a three-year grant due to a large fall in their profits. We’re doing everything in our power to rectify the situation, including raising additional funds and working with the bank and the authorities in Tanzania to retrieve our stolen funds. However, we cannot do this without your help. Our need is urgent.
Cover
Nouspique - Flickr
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Nouspique - Flickr
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Sleeperservice - Flickr
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7connections
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Classicdreamer - Flickr
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7connections
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Design By Zouny - Flickr
Individual and private donations are being taken now:
www.bridge2aid.org/urgentappeal
If everyone in the dental profession donated just £1 we would reach our target. For further information on this or advice and support on additional fundraising plans, please contact urgentappeal@bridge2aid.org or call 0845 850 9877.
please help us to help others. from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
G17277 B2A urgent appeal 2pp Pink A5 flyer.indd 2
29/01/2014 10:24