Here we launch the Dental Practice Accelerator, where we follow three dental gurus as they turn around the fortunes of one lucky dental practice.
Dentistry right now is in a state of boom.
Elective treatments are still rising as more and more patients come in requesting straighter, whiter smiles.
There are queues of patients waiting to see a dentist and therefore willing to pay to avoid long NHS queues.
And practices are refurbishing to ensure they can compete for the high-end treatments.
But it’s all too easy to get caught in a state of FOMO – the fear of missing out.
How are practices taking advantage of this boom? How are the staff keeping pace with an influx of new patients? And also, what do I have to do to take advantage of it?
Whilst some practices are taking advantage, others don’t know where to turn and many feel left behind.
Business education
Dentists come out of university with a wealth of clinical skills, ready to excel in the dental practice.
But one area that is often left wanting is in business, with a dental degree severely lacking any business education.
It leaves clinicians who end up buying a practice often learning on the job.
Some will excel at the opportunity and find a natural place leading the practice, while others struggle to keep up with the extra workload, find new ideas and grow their new business.
And many practices might find themselves between both of these scenarios, running a successful practice but unable to push onto the next level.
So, what is the difference? What makes some dental practices so successful, while others struggle to get enough patients through the door opting for the higher revenue treatments?
Business courses
There are numerous courses available that all vary in cost and effectiveness.
Some are more general and will give delegates a grounding on running a business, whilst others are more healthcare specific and are therefore tailored more towards dentistry.
Others may even offer an opportunity to have a mentor for a short period after the course.
Whilst most business courses certainly have their benefits, the breadth of choice makes it difficult for dental practice owners to narrow down what’s appropriate for them.
And even when it’s run by a dentist, there is often a leap from classroom learning to implementing this into running a practice.
Dental Practice Accelerator
What if there was an opportunity for three dental gurus to come into your practice, review how things were currently going and give you a bespoke business plan to take your practice to a £1 million+ revenue practice?
Not only that, but they will hold your hand and guide you through the process.
And these three dental gurus have been there and done it.
They include:
- Justin Leigh – founder of Focus4growth, a dental business consultancy
- Sameer Patel – practice principal at Elleven Dental Wellness
- Sandeep Kumar – founder of three successful private practices and the Mismile network.
What do we need from you?
The practice:
- Established practice
- Turnover below £1M
- Ambition to achieve £1M in revenue
- Desire to improve the practice brand and presence.
The owner:
- Prepared to make investment in the business to grow
- Positive attitude and also willing to be mentored and coached
- Accountable and action oriented – will engage, listen and then implement recommendations
- Ability to show vulnerability, be open to feedback (from us and their teams) and ‘park their ego’
- Prepared to be in the ‘public eye’ and on display
- Willing to promote their practice, team, patients, treatments and this programme.
The practice team:
- Willing to learn and grow with the practice
- Openness to change and to be challenged
- Desire to be part of the programme and the public awareness that brings with it
- Want to be part of a high performing team.
Enter using the form below.
What does the process involve?
The Dental Practice Accelerator programme is looking for the next potential million-pound practice.
What the judges need from all applicants includes:
- 2020/2021 profit and loss submission
- 2022 profit and loss ambition
- Practice details (location, NHS/private split, number of surgeries, number of dentists, team size)
- Patient experience
- Leadership approach
- Team engagement.
A quick warning – this process is not designed to be easy, but it is worth it. Enter now using the form below.
What does the winner of the Dental Practice Accelerator get?
You’ll get access to three key leaders in dentistry, their knowledge, coaching and also their contacts.
The initial briefing will start in May 2022.
Then there is a kick off meeting at their practice in June 2022 to build the growth plan.
Focus areas:
- Business/practice targets
- Team communication
- Review cycle
- Leadership
- Team performance
- Practice marketing – digital, social, in practice, patient email, patient CRM
- Patient experience
- Monthly review.
The monthly review sessions with the practices is an opportunity to check in on progress – implement changes, share feedback and improve performance.
The team will also create a Whatsapp group for any questions and support.
All in all, the winner will receive 12 months of coaching and reviews.
Enter using the form below.
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