The following is a guest post by Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™ of Paragon Management, Inc.. If you are interested in guest posting for Dental Heroes, please sign up here.

Does your practice have a continuous flow of new patient referrals? Do all team members maximize every opportunity to point new patients to your practice? Are you meeting your monthly new patient referral goals?

While studying business practices for IBM, Frederick Reichheld discovered seven habits of referability that led to IBMs early success. As revealed in his book, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value, Reichheld’s research points to repeatable behaviors which I have found to be directly transferable to every dental practice.

As you review these seven habits, evaluate how well they are represented both in your practice and through your team. Focus intently on your work as the practice leader as well as your entire team’s efforts in referring new patients. You might be surprised to learn how many potential new patients you and your team are leaving outside in the cold.

1. Courtesy

“Please” is still a magic word along with the phrases “Thank You,” “Yes Sir,” “No Maam,” and “Your Welcome.” A courteous practice is a growing practice because moments of courtesy with your patients become stories shared with their friends. “Dr. Smith is so nice…”

2. Being on Time

Ten years ago the goal was to get patients from the waiting area to their room by their scheduled appointment time. For today’s patients, personal schedules are tighter and time is more important. “On time” today means patients are driving away from your practice by their expected completion time.

Being on time is more about managing patient’s expectations than ensuring that you meet every scheduled time. One way to manage patient’s expectations is to pad every treatment by at least fifteen minutes. If a typical prophy requires an hour, share with your patients to expect one hour and fifteen minutes for their treatment. “Mrs. Williams, you should expect to be here from nine to ten-fifteen on Tuesday.”

Meeting or exceeding their time expectations will lead them to share their story with others.

3. Using Names

People love the sound of their own name. Using names creates immediate rapport with patients, shows you care, and lowers trust barriers. Make it a rule that patients are always addressed by their names.

Dental Assistants and Hygienists can greatly help doctors who tend to forget names. Simply implement a practice in which the hygienist or assistant always refers to the patient by name as the doctor enters the room.

In addition to using names, if applicable, your team should address patients using relevant honorifics such as Reverend, Dr., Judge, Professor, etc… In Paragon, we recommend using a 25 to 30 year rule as a guide for when to address patients as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” If the patient is at least 25 to 30 years older than you or other staff members, the patient should always be addressed as “Mr. Smith” or “Mrs. Jones” out of respect.

4. Happiness

Come happy – Stay Happy – Go Home Happy. Over two decades of in-office consulting has taught me that happy people schedule more treatment. In fact I usually recommend that unhappy front desk people be immediately replaced. It is critical for growing practices to establish the necessity of happiness and replace team members who do not meet those expectation.

5. Accepts Compliments

Although we may think it represents humility to deflect or demur when complimented, it is more like rejecting a gift. A compliment is a gift and should be received with a gracious and heartfelt “Thank You.” People love to feel like their gift is well received.

6. Asks for referrals after being complimented

In the same way that a compliment is a gift, it is also a perfect opportunity to ask for referrals. “Ms. Jones, thank you very much. I’d also like to offer you a compliment. We count it a great privilege to serve patients like you. If you have any friends like you, we’d love to have them as patients.”

7. Always asks for referrals

To build a well-oiled referral machine, every team member must be trained and empowered to see opportunities and maximize them. Here are a few quick tips for creating referral situations:

• THE OPENING: “What do you do?” Your team members are often asked in social gatherings what they do for a living. Teaching them a proper response creates referral opportunities.
• THE RESPONSE: “I work for one of the best dentists in Ohio – she’s phenomenal.”
• THE TRANSITION QUESTION: “Where do you go for your dentistry?”
• THE OFFER: Every team member should be empowered to pull out a business card, flip it over and hand-write an offer of $100 off a new patient exam. This hand-written offer provides a personal touch to the invitation.

According to the A.D.A., five out of ten people do not currently see a dentist regularly. In addition, two who currently see a dentist are ready to move on to another dentist. In other words, seven out of ten people are always looking for a dentist. Do not leave them outside in the cold, but open the door.

Now What?

Even if you, as the practice leader, scored sixty out of seventy on the evaluation of each habit, your team may be lagging far behind. Every team member failing to implement these seven habits may represent several potential new patients every month.

Which of these seven habits do you and your staff need to focus on today, this week, this month, this year? What is your specific plan to fully implement these habits throughout your practice?

New habits will bring new patients and new patients will create new profits.

Go for it!

Your Thoughts

How many of the 7 habits of referability do you see in your practice? Which do you need to work on?

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