Dr. Dennis Hartlieb

3 Dental Practice Building Tips

Practice Building Tips "I Know Now that I Wish I'd Known Then"

In this new podcast series, part of the Solo Bonding Sharecast, our host Dr. Dennis Hartlieb shares some practice building tips that will benefit all dentists. To start off the Solo Bonding Series, Dennis shares three practice building tips that he has learned during his career.

As Dennis says in the beginning of the episode, these are three key tips that he knows now but wishes he'd known when he first started building his dental practice.

Learn more about what Dennis shares about building a better dental practice, and be sure to watch the full episode or listen in wherever you like to listen!

Episode Highlights

TIP NUMBER ONE

Know Your Why and Let That Guide Your Decisions

Firstly, know your why. Identify and hone in on your purpose, your mission, and your core values.

Hire with your purpose and values in mind. Make staff decisions with that as a central focus. Build your why into your training and into what you share with your staff.

Establish the routine of having weekly team meetings.

In meetings, have staff members share about times during the week when they’ve seen other staff members living out the vision.

Let your mission and values be clear to patients as well.

The Power of Weekly Team Meetings for Your Dental Practice

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Dr. Hartlieb shares his thoughts about the power of weekly team meetings for improving your dental practice.
TIP NUMBER TWO

Personalities and How They Impact the Dental Practice

Secondly, take the time to figure out personalities and how they impact your business. Consider how the personality types of your patients affect how you approach their care.

Take time to learn about your personalities as team members. Be aware of how understanding the personalities of team members can be a vital part of working together and can result in a much more cohesive team.

Rather than trying to impress patients with how much you know, slow down and listen to what your patients are saying. Guided discussions with patients can be very illuminating. This can help us identify what the anchor is that is truly bringing them in to see us.

Consider the value of “I don’t know.” Accept the fact that we don’t always know; we can share our speculations based on evidence, but we need to be able to say, “I don’t know.” From there, we can help them get help from a specialist, or we can get back to them later.

When it comes to things like the longevity of veneers, the behaviors of the patient make a huge difference - we can let them know how those behaviors impact the longevity, but it’s okay to say that we don’t know exactly how long things will last because of those factors.

Figuring out your patient’s background and goals, which can be better ascertained through consideration of personality, will help you know whether the patient is a good fit for your practice.

Slow Down and Consider Patient Personalities

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Watch Dennis share his perspective on how to best improve your dental practice by considering patient personalities when it comes to dental work.
TIP NUMBER THREE

Reap the Benefits of Referrals from Specialists

Social media and patient reviews as referrals are great, and there are also methods that have been used for many generations including being active in the community where you live and championing causes that matter to you.

The most powerful referrals come from specialists including orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, and surgeons. These patients often see their specialist as the best in the field, so a recommendation from that specialist is very powerful to them.

In the world of DSOs and competition between general dentists, how do you differentiate yourself? Referrals from specialists can be a key part of this differentiation to bring more patients to your dental office.

Reach out to the specialists!

A few tips about how to build those relationships with specialists:
  • Lunch and learn - buy the staff lunch and show them the kind of work you do
  • Bring presents and visit with them often.
  • Repeated contact is essential. When you need to refer a patient to the specialist’s office, take the time to call the office yourself.
  • Get to know the teams as well as the specialists themselves. Their opinion matters and they will likely be asked by the patient about you and your team.

The Power of Referrals from Specialists

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Dr. Hartlieb shares about how effective referrals from specialists are and why it's worth your time to pursue those relationships.

Books and Resources Mentioned in Episode

To Find Your Why: Simon Sinek's book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

To Navigate Personalities: Merrick Rosenberg's book The Chameleon: Life-Changing Wisdom for Anyone Who has a Personality or Knows Someone Who Does

DiSC profile as a way to assess personalities (can be used for staff and for patients) - https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/disc-styles



Dennis Hartlieb, DDS, AAACD

DOT Founder

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