Working as a dental coach all over the world, I see common patterns with struggling dental practices and successful ones. It is very important to discover why a dental office isn't growing and the differences between the ones who constantly reach higher levels.
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In 1896, Joseph M. Juran named it after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Pareto showed that approximately 90% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. As in business, 80% of the sales come from 20% of the clients.
According to the web, this principle also is seen in many areas of life. For example in taxation, the U.S. the top 20% of earners have paid about 80% of Federal income taxes many times over the years. In computing, Microsoft noted that by fixing the top 20% of the most reported bugs, 80% of the errors and crashes in a given system would be eliminated.
Therefore, as a rule of thumb, 80% of our results come from 20% of causes. Run your reports and you will notice that 80% of your revenue probably comes from 20% of your patients. As entrepreneurs, we have found that 80% of our results come from the 20% of time we spend.
As for human resource or employee issues, you will find that 80% of the issues are caused from the same 20% of the team. Look at the amount of calls your employees make reactivating patients. It is all a numbers game. If their success rate is 60%, they may contact 40 patients whom all would not schedule and think, “Why bother calling, no one is scheduling!” When in fact the next 60 patients may schedule.
Since we have no idea which patients will say “yes” to us, it is VERY important to not pre-judge your patients. Let’s give every patient the opportunity to say “yes” to our best dental care. Stop assuming patients won’t pay or be afraid of them leaving because you offered ideal treatment.
As a dental business coach, I like what Jack Canfield says…”If you want to achieve personal success in any endeavor, you must be 100% committed to it. Successful people adhere to the ‘no exceptions rule’ when it comes to their daily disciplines.”
How are you to apply the 100% rule to your life? What are you most passionate about? What is most important to you? What deserves all of your attention right now? When you can answer that, your 100% task will become perfectly clear and tell you what to focus on.
As your dental coach, my best advise to you today is to commit to do the work with no exceptions or excuses and you will see how rapid your life can turn towards your definition of success.
