This episode will take a look at your schedule, most importantly how to make your schedule hum with productivity and not business!Let’s start with a quote from Stephen Covey…we all know him from his best-selling books, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, First Things First, and Principle-Centered Leadership.Stephen says…"The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."I, you, we are constantly bombarded by marketing messages vying for our attention and clicks.These are commonly presented with email subject lines like the following I received over the past week…* How to help your practice emerge from the Pandemic…* Dentists' biggest practice challenges…* Steps to Take for an All-Star Practice…* Positioning your practice for Growth…* How to Turbocharge your Practice…* Marketing Ideas that will take your practice through the roof…Our Team here at OmniStar DSO is all about "Simplifying the Complex!"I can think of no better or more productive area to focus on than your Scheduling Framework or Template. Our Subject line will be… Scheduling…are you hitting your Target?Get your scheduling meme right, and everything else will flow.Yes, there are many essential and critical KPIs to monitor and track; we coach and teach our clients. The beauty of designing a scheduling framework is that it is easy to tell how well your Team is meeting spec. If your block booking is set up correctly, it should be obvious how well your Team is doing just by looking at the scheduling screen on your computer.Yes, there are other important tasks and goals your practice must monitor and achieve. You must collect patient payments, keep receivables low, manage your employees, control operational and administrative expenses along with clinical supply costs. And last but not least, you must provide exceptional dentistry.With that said, getting your scheduling dialed in should be a high priority.For me, “dialed in” means…having all of your chairs full with the optimal mix of ideal procedures, patients, and treatments.Let's work through some Scheduling Axioms that we use in my practice and coach our clients on.Remember, get your scheduling meme right, and everything else will flow.I use the following Axioms as my scheduling foundation. Axiom 1: Being Busy is NOT the same a being Productive.Busy people; work at a frantic pace, are rushed, work harder, micro-manage, are fueled by perfectionism, multi-task, prioritize simple and mundane tasks and say "yes" by default.In contrast, Productive People; prioritize the most important tasks, work at a steady pace, are relaxed, work smarter, are fueled by purpose, focus on essential and complex tasks, delegate the simple, mundane, and repetitive tasks, and can say "no".Remember, it's ok to say "no." You are not the Coast Guard or US Military; you do not have to go out and rescue everyone. “Stay in your lane, bro…” as the AT&T commercial says.along with “Just Ok, is not Ok!”With these ideas in mind, one can begin to see that a jam-packed schedule may or may not be a productive schedule. So let's get productive…Axiom 2: Prioritize your Schedule for ProductivityCategorize and colorize your new patient exams, consults, and procedure mix on your schedule. Determine for yourself what your ideal procedure mix is. This will be different for everyone. What do you enjoy most in your practice? There should be lots of time for these appointments. What do you enjoy least? There should be very little time, if any, for these procedures on your schedule. As you become busier, these may be procedures you will refer out or cease performing completely. Remember from Axiom #1- it's ok to say "No."Let's make some business comparisons to help drive home this point.Your New Patient Exams, Consults and Treatment Presentation appointments are like Inventory in a manufacturing or merchandising business. It is an Asset waiting to be converted into a Product, your Dentistry. Your Procedure or Treatment Schedule is analogous to your Production Line, where you covert that asset into your dentistry, and in the process generate revenue.If your Inventory of New Patient Exams, Implant Consultations, and Treatment Presentations is low, your conversion of these assets into Implants, Crowns, and Bridges, or Restorations will be low too.Put another way…You can't schedule the production if you don't schedule the patient exam.So, you need to balance the availability of a precise mix of new patient exams and treatment presentations to keep your treatment schedule full.It's a balancing act; too many new patients will delay care without sufficient treatment appointments, keeping patients waiting. If patients have taken the time to visit you and your office, they are highly motivated. Please don't make them wait!A sidebar here…the lag time between diagnosis and treatment is a critical KPI. As this time lengthens...
