Art Anderson shares this week’s tip...
How to Care for and Cultivate Long-Term Patients
All patients are not created equal. If they were, it would be profitable to cultivate all of them equally. Actually it is well worth catering to the top 20% because they are usually responsible for providing 80% of the profits.
Here’s one system for determining which patients qualify for that top 20% category. The system is recommended by Connie Hazel who is president of Hycomb Communications – a firmthat provides professional marketing tools for dentists.
Multiply these factors: Average office visits per year, times the years the patient has been in the practice, times the gross annual revenue this patient produces in a year, times the number of referrals the patient has provided to you per year. The product of that multiplication will tell you who your most beneficial patients are. You can then concentrate on the top 20%, 30% or whatever.
With all of your patients now classified, see what you can do to assure the loyalty of this group. Here are some idea starters:
1. Patronize your patients’ businesses as much as is practical.
2. Send graduation, birthday and other congratulatory cards.
3. Develop a reward program for those within the group who have kept twice-a-year hygiene appointments for five years. Reward them with a free hygiene appointment. After 10 years, provide two appointments free during the 11th year.
4. Reward those who provide referrals. Send them thank you letters and add a personal gift–a book or something related to the patient’s hobby.
While you are doing all of this, be sure you do not do anything that becomes conspicuous to patients who do not qualify. They may earn their way onto your top 20% list next year and you surely do not want to offend them.
Suzanne Black – Dental Boot Kamp Coaching Director Talks About...
The process of going insurance free is one that we teach in the Financial Supersession and includes coaching and verbal skills. We wrote the process about three years ago after some trial and error and a lot of input from Crown Council members. The most important factor is the teams comfort with the verbal skills which comes from a lot of practice. The practice is worth it!
You are ready to go insurance free if you meet the following criteria:
1. You have sufficient new patient flow (12—18) per month who are not insurance dependent.
2. Your total accounts receivable is less than one month’s production.
3. The percentage of your patients who are on a PPO plan is less than one third. The percentage of your patients who have indemnity insurance is less than 50% of the total practice.
4. You have your patients pay their co-pay at the time of service and 90% of the patients are compliant. In addition you have successfully implemented having patients pay at the time of service for treatment equaling $250 or less and receiving the insurance benefit personally.
5. You are doing more and more want-based dentistry.
6. You have a Dental Boot Kamp Certified Financial Arrangement
Specialist on your team.
7. You have killed your approval addiction.
Timeline for Bye-Bye Insurance
1. Review your contract to determine the cancellation notification time. If it is more than 6 months, follow the process through word of mouth and handouts while people are in the office. If people choose to leave, send the letter in this packet with a copy of a handout echoing the first letter.
2. Have your Bye-Bye Insurance Team meeting. Practice the role-plays. Get excited!
3. Maintain enthusiasm. It gives you more strength to take your stand that you are worth a full fee!
4. Each morning in your huddle, identify the Insurance Patients so that the “best person” for that patient can address their concerns.
5. Give feedback to the financial coordinator at the end of the day for each patient. Document the feedback in the chart.
6. Keep statistics regarding departing and retained patients. Do this for 6 months.
7. Enjoy the freedom!
If you would like help with this process – please contact gregs@dentalsuccess.net (type Bye-Bye Insurance in the Subject line) or call Greg Sneyd at 800-460-3838 x106. We’d love to help.
Our next Financial Supersession is in Cleveland November 6th.