The Dental Marketer

‍

Navigating the financial intricacies of maintaining a dental practice can be challenging, and this Monday Morning Episode offers a timely conversation with Ashley Best, Director of Partnerships at Dental Intelligence, on just that!

Delving into the controversial topic of surcharging patients for credit card fees, Ashley provides a comprehensive look at why this practice might do more harm than good. She sheds light on the potential damage to patient loyalty and the complex web of regulations that complicate imposing such fees. Instead, Ashley advocates for refining payment processes to sidestep unnecessary costs while sharing insightful statistics on consumer attitudes towards these charges.

Ashley doesn’t stop at highlighting the problems; she offers actionable solutions that can redefine your approach to practice management. Listen in to discover alternative strategies such as renegotiating insurance fees or updating your fee schedule, all without alienating your patient base. For those practices that have already embraced surcharging, Ashley offers practical guidance on reversing this decision and regaining patient trust. This episode is a treasure trove of advice for any practice owners aiming to curtail costs effectively while nurturing valuable patient relationships.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The impact of credit card surcharges on patient loyalty.
• Regulatory challenges related to patient surcharges.
• Insightful statistics about consumer opposition to convenience fees.
• Alternative strategies for managing practice financials without surcharging.
• Effective methods for reversing already implemented surcharge policies.
• Tips on negotiating with insurance companies for better fee structures.
• How to reassess and optimize fee schedules in your practice.

Gain valuable insights into managing patient fees effectively—tune in now!

‍

‍

You can reach out to Ashley Best here:

Email: abest@dentalintel.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashley-best-9052b022

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Articles:

Credit Card Processing Fees: Why 71% of Customers Are Avoiding Certain Businesses

‍

If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:

My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/

The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041

‍

Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)

‍

Michaela: Hey, Ashley. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning.

Ashley: Thanks, Michael. Appreciate it. I thought long and hard about this and my biggest piece of advice for new practice owners, existing practice owners is to really take a look at your payment methodology in the practice. And I know we have a lot of doctors considering surcharging their patients for those credit card fees, which I'm the first to admit, like they're getting higher and higher, right? It's, a cost of doing business, but absolutely do not pass that charge along to your customer.

It's what's called surcharging to the patient mainly because of the impact that's going to have on the practice. I know it seems like an easy fix and a really quick way to. Avoid the processing fees that you're paying from those credit card companies, but there's a whole set of implications that come with it internally for the practice.

Things like requiring you to notify the credit card companies. If you're going to do this me. Can't just start doing it. It's illegal in some states. And so not knowing your state's legality can get you into some trouble there. And then. Furthermore, you do have to display specific signage in the office. And so it's not one of these things where you can just try to slide it in and hope it has to be its own line item. Right. So the press see it anyway on the statement, but you have to publicly display that.

And what worse way to commoditize your practice than having that little plastic sign that says we're passing along our fees to you.

Michaela: Yeah. Interesting. So have you seen this? Spike, a lot recently practices asking about this asking you actually, how do I present this to the patient?

Ashley: I have.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Started in dental marketing from 2015 to 2021. And in those six years, I cannot tell you I was ever asked about this once. And I know there are companies out there that do, that's a piece of their software in terms of payments is to push the charge over to the patient. So I think that's why it's becoming top of mind because they're hearing it at shows, Hey surcharge, surcharge, and it's top of mind. But what I don't think they've thought through completely in the conversations that I've had is the implications losing patients being a big one. There's actually a study done that said 71 percent of small business customers say that they try to avoid companies that charge a fee to use their credit card. So that's a big number. That's a huge number. 57 percent of consumers think it should be illegal. So we're talking about a big number here. It's not just a few people that are passionate about it in consumer landscape. And making sure that they're following the guidelines if they do it. So you have to cap it at whatever rate you're paying.

So if your 2 percent and you come display a sign that says 3%, like my nail salon does, Again, I don't need Dennis out there that wants to be seen as a commodity or like a nail salon, or that is a commodity. Right. And that's where I see it in my day to day at my nail salon. So 3%, believe 3 percent is the cap, and it's only eligible for credit cards.

Can't do it on debit cards, my nail salon. They're trying to do it on debit. It's like they don't know the ins and outs of it. And they're so it's a can of worms in my opinion, not to mention the fact that patient loyalty is going to just dissipate. I firmly say if I walk into my dentist next week for my appointment and this is displayed, I'm finding a new dentist and I really like my dentist, but I'm with 71 percent of consumers that think, wow, I'm going to avoid. And I don't know that the offices that I've spoken to about have thought through the domino effect of what's going to happen it's a cost of doing business. It just, unfortunately, I encourage them to take a look at their fee schedule the last 10 years in dentistry. I have offices who. They haven't raised their fees, obviously for their fee for service patients. When insurance is involved, it's obviously fee negotiations there and their fee schedule with insurance. But even then there's opportunity. There's companies out there galore that will help you negotiate higher fees with insurance. SoLet's put it this way. If I go to my dentist next week and they've negotiated 3 percent higher fees with insurance or I'm paying out of pocket because I'm fee for service, I'm not going to notice that. But what I am going to notice is that Sign on the plexiglass that says I'm paying for your credit card processing case.

So let's just avoid it. If you want to be seen as a trusted advisor, you want to set yourself apart from the competition. There's so many dentists in your area, right? I don't want to be seen as a commodity. What's my unique selling proposition? How can I offer a service to patients?

This is just not the way to go about it.

Michaela: So then If you don't mind me asking, Ashley, what's the emotion behind it? Like the surcharge, is it more like, I don't want to pay that extra, however much dollar amount, or is it more like you can't cover this. You can't cover this for me.

Ashley: I think it's the latter.

Yeah, for me, 3 percent of whatever number. Now, I will also add to that, Michael, I have a pretty healthy mouth. So 3 percent of my fees, what I'm paying, it's probably a small number. But to me, it's more about the principal. But if I'm coming in for a big case, and we're talking a big number, 3 percent of a really big number, That's impactful to people's pocketbooks.

It just is. So for me, it's the emotional side of it. And like, come on, really, for me personally, just because I'm not investing thousands and thousands of dollars at my dental practice, but there are people who are.

Michaela: Yeah. No, that makes a lot of sense. I know, for example, whenever you order something, at least I do this, I don't know if you do this actually, but like there's Amazon or something, and you make a big purchase or Let's just say like big purchase, like a car, right? Not an Amazon, but a car. And then they try to do the little, Oh, the shipping is this. And you're like, Oh my gosh, nevermind. I mean, but it's like, like a little small fraction of the whole thing. And technically we're like, we're already paying this.

We should pay for that.

Ashley: Right.

Michaela: But that ops me out. It's the mentality

Ashley: of it. You know what? I had this conversation with girlfriends and they'll go shopping online for clothes, whatever, spend a couple hundred bucks and then go to checkout and it's 7. 95 to ship it. And they're like, no, I'm done. Like they don't check out. And we're like, why it's 8. We were going to spend hundreds on clothes. And it's the, frankly, I would rather that sweater cost 7 more and the shipping be free. There's something about the mentality. It's just, I can't get around it. It's really hard for me. And I think there are others who have the, same thought as I do on it, and then let alone the people who are spending big bucks at the practice and then realizing, oh my gosh, now I have to cover this 2 percent fee that you're trying to pass along.

Michaela: Okay. Is there ever I guess for someone who has already, they're listening and they're like, Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh, Ashley, I've started doing this a year ago though, and they have been seeing the drop off or they have been seeing the negative effects. How can they just stop doing it? Is that it?

Do you just stop doing it and that's it? And take off the sign? Or?

Ashley: That's a great question, Michael. I don't know the ramifications with the credit card companies. If you chose to reverse this, if you saw the negative implications and said, Oh, I made a horrible decision. I can't imagine the credit card companies are going to be upset about that because if you think about it from the credit card company's perspective, what you're doing is encouraging that patient to pay by cash or debit card or write you a check. So the credit card company wants their processing fees, whether it's coming from the doctor or the patient. So my guess and total speculation is. It's not going to be too hard to just stop doing it, which obviously, other things involved, like you're going to have to probably obviously get rid of the signage, but then redo the way that your current setup is because when you collect that fee from a patient, you're not actually collecting what the fee was. It's above and beyond. So reconciling that with the practice management system is a beast too. And so there are systems that probably do it for them, but if not, and they're just going rogue and surcharging there's a bigger set of complication there because if your total bill, Michael's supposed to be 1250, we placed a crown and it was 1250, you're paying out of pocket, and then that's added on you're collecting a different amount than the balance that was actually due, if that makes sense. So to reconcile that in the practice management software, because the office is walking that 1250 out onto the patient's ledger and then collecting. 1250 plus. So that's just a nightmare. If the software is not doing it for you, but I would argue even if it is, there's ways to stop doing it.

You're not locked in to doing it, and I'm sure there are people listening that are trying it and haven't seen a huge drop off. Maybe their existing patients are staying and they do have loyal patients and that's great, but how many new patients are not coming? They'll never know. You'll never know.

can't tell me just because I didn't leave. If my friend says, Ashley, I'm thinking about going to Dr. Smith. Is he great? Is she great? I'm going to say, yeah, but guess what? They pass along their credit card fees to you. They might go somewhere else. So that wasn't necessarily a loss.

I didn't leave, but I prevented three of my friends from coming as new patients. So I think there's things that you can't track. You'll never really know the extreme implication, but I think there's a lot.

Michaela: Do you ever think there's like practices that say this is minuscule or small.

We just need to care more, do more, be better, streamline the process better, or present the surcharges in a way that the patient's kind of like, Oh yeah, of course. no problem.

Ashley: how would that sound? I can't think of a way to make it not sound like it's about me because as a patient and humans in general, it's what's in it for me. maybe I'm just like got my blinders on. But if you're a patient, Michael, I articulate that to you in a way that didn't make you feel like it was me? Me, me, me.

Michaela: Yeah.

Ashley: About my bottom line so much that I'm willing to pass that charge on and potentially lose you as a patient or prevent you from referring others.

I don't know how you articulate that well.

Michaela: Yeah, that's true. Yeah.

because if you are doing it, there could be a good way to articulate it well that you're not doing it anymore on behalf of them or something like that. You know what I mean?

Ashley: Potentially, yeah, yeah. I was going to say the places that I've frequented or seen this happen, it's never been verbally articulated. It's always that sign that says, If you pay by credit card, you're going to pay a 3 percent surcharge. You're paying a 3 percent fee. Never have I ever had a conversation. It's never come up and I'll see it and roll my eyes and like, okay, like it is what it is. Like you're at the nail salon. I'm going to keep using that. Cause by the way, that's the place that does it in my neighborhood. I, Don't have any medical providers that I see doing this.

I will tell you that dermatologist, dentist, my eye doctor, none of them are doing this. So that's great. But the nail salon, like your nails are already done and you don't have cash. What are you going to do? you're going to pay the 3 percent you are. But it's never been a conversation.

So I don't know how you articulate that you're. Starting to do it and make it not sound about you and, kind of self centered from the practice perspective, but I can see your, point of view, if they stop doing it, being able to say, Hey, we tried that we care so much about our customers.

We're actually not going to do that anymore. We're waving it. Yeah. However you want to articulate it. But yeah. think that would come across well. I just don't know of a way to deliver that message when you're doing it.

Michaela: No. Yeah. But it's interesting. I like this topic because I remember seeing it a couple of times in a couple of Facebook groups. And that's when it was like made aware that, Oh yeah, it is. a pain point that practices are experiencing. And I guess it could be an easy pain point that you just erase. If you're just, Hey, this is the cost of doing business. Like we gotta eat it right.

Ashley: Yeah. There's so many other things they make that exception for in their practice.

When you think about everything that they're investing in, there's lots of things they're making exceptions for and costs of doing business Make this one of them, right? find other ways to get that, like literally hire a company to negotiate your fees for you. There's so many good ones out there.

I've seen some awesome ones. And then taking a look at your, fee schedule for your fee for service patients. Not that you're penalizing them for being fee for service, but looking at it from both angles or finding an area in the practice to save. think if a doctor sat down and have partners that I work with that do this, they do an analysis of your spend and where everything's going and try to, make things more efficient, start there before you just default to, Hey, I'm going to just pass that along to the patient is my advice.

Michaela: Yeah. Any specific companies that you recommend that can help with negotiating?

Ashley: Yeah. Yeah. We have a few, I won't throw any out just because there are so many, I don't want to seem like work with all of our partners and I have another team that works with our partners. So I definitely don't want to seem like I favor anyone else over the others.

But yeah, if you Google dental fee negotiation The good ones will pop up. I've done those searches recently and the good ones are kind of rising to the top, but yeah, I mean, offline, if somebody wants to shoot me a message on LinkedIn or, something like that, I'm more than happy to provide a few resources, but there's plenty that I've been doing it a very long time actually.

And they're really good at it. So I would love for practices to start there if they're able to, obviously there comes a fee with that too, but I think the benefits outweigh the fee or the negative there. So,

Michaela: Yeah. Awesome. Ashley, I appreciate your time. And if anyone has further questions, you can definitely find it on the dental marketer society, Facebook group, or where can they reach out to you?

Ashley: Yeah. LinkedIn's great. I'm very active on LinkedIn. It's Ashley best director of partnerships at dental intelligence. If you're trying to find one, I don't know if there's too many actually best out there seems like a common name shoot me an email. You can always email me a best at dental intel.

com. I'm happy to answer questions provide referrals or references to the companies that I know do this really well with practices.

Michaela: Awesome. Awesome. So that's going to be in the show notes below. And Ashley, thank you for being with me on this Monday morning episode.

Ashley: Thanks for having me, Michael. Take care.

Should dentists be worried amidst a declining economy?

Xaña Winans joins us today to delve into the strategic world of dental practice management during economic fluctuations. Xaña, a seasoned expert, opens the conversation by contextualizing the recent economic tumult and its effects on patient behavior, emphasizing the pressing need for practices to adapt swiftly. She shares invaluable insights on fostering patient loyalty and retention amidst adversity, underscoring that establishing a loyal patient base requires a harmonious blend of technology and personal interaction. Xaña argues that while automation is crucial, the human touch remains paramount for cultivating long-term relationships with patients.

Beyond personal connections, Xaña dives deep into the significance of membership programs and the strategic articulation of a practice's unique selling propositions (USPs). These strategies not only solidify patient loyalty but also stabilize practice revenue flows. Special attention is given to effective communication through social media and maintaining robust marketing efforts during trying economic times. While many dentists want to cut costs during a recession, Xaña shows how the opposite approach may boast a 246% return on investment!

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• How economic changes affect patient behavior and practice dynamics.
• The role of personal connection in minimizing harmful cancellation rates.
• Strategies for creating meaningful patient relationships through automated tools.
• The benefits of implementing membership programs for patient retention.
• Importance of clearly defining and communicating practice USPs.
• How to maintain effective marketing strategies during economic downturns.
• Utilizing SEO and digital advertising to grow market share.
• Crafting consistent, emotionally resonant messaging on social media.
• How investing MORE when the economy is down could give you a 246% return on investment.

Tune in to change your practice's approach to patient loyalty and economic resilience!

‍

‍

Learn More About the Ground Marketing Course Here:

Website: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/the-ground-marketing-course-open-enrollment/

‍

Guest: Xaña WinansBusiness Name: Golden Proportions MarketingCheck out Xaña's Media:

Website: goldenproportions.com

Your Perfect Patient Match Webinar: bitli.pro/2eP73_4cf464bf (Contact Xaña to inquire about the recording!)

Xaña's Go-To Phone Script:

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Dental Membership Plans:

Kleer

BoomCloud

‍

Software/Tools:

Google Ads

Google Analytics

‍

Insurance Companies:

Aetna

Blue Cross Blue Shield

‍

Brands/Companies:

Netflix

Amazon

Walmart

Whole Foods Market

‍

Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer

Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍

Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society

‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]

‍

p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.

‍

How can you transform problem-solving into an art in your practice?

In this Monday Morning Episode, we welcome Dr. Pauline Le, who provides a fresh perspective on common dental practice challenges. Dr. Le reveals how universal these challenges are and how essential it is for businesses to identify and candidly discuss them. With a focus on collaborative environments, she delves into the power of professional groups and demystifies the often-tricky realm of team dynamics.

Dr. Le breaks down the renowned three-step problem-solving process from the book "Traction," offering listeners a foolproof approach to untangling business issues. By fostering an environment where discussing issues is not only encouraged but expected, businesses can distinguish between personal and professional problems and maintain focus on solutions. With actionable tips on nurturing a transparent culture and keeping an up-to-date issues list, Pauline’s advice is invaluable for practice owners seeking to empower their teams and effectively address persistent hurdles.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Strategies for tackling common business issues in dental practices.
• The significance of open discussions in resolving workplace challenges.
• Benefits of joining professional groups and improving team dynamics.
• How to implement the three-step "Traction" process for problem-solving.
• Techniques for creating a safe environment for issue discussions.
• Understanding personal versus company issues in a business setting.
• Importance of maintaining a consistent issues list for effective meetings.

Tune in now to uncover transformative strategies for overcoming dental practice challenges with Dr. Pauline Le!

‍

‍Sponsors:‍

‍

Oryx: All-In-One Cloud-Based Dental Software Created by Dentists for Dentists. Patient engagement, clinical, and practice management software that helps your dental practice grow without compromise. Click or copy and paste the link here for a special offer! https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/oryx/

‍

You can reach out to Dr. Pauline Le here:

Website: ledentalspa.com

Instagram: instagram.com/drpaulinele

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Books:

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

‍

Software:

ClickUp

‍

If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:

My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/

The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041

‍

Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)

‍

Michael: Hey, Pauline, so talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning?

Pauline: I would say that we all have issues.

Michael: Interesting. Can you expand on that a little bit more? What do you mean?

Pauline: In any business, we all have the same exact issues and the sooner you will admit that you have issues and identify them, we can discuss them and we can solve them.

That's

Michael: Okay, so then many practice owners feel they have challenges that are one of a kind, right? at what point did you realize that the issues you were facing were not unique to your practice? And then how did this change your approach to solving those issues?

Pauline: When I started joining different groups of other dentists, other practice owners, and a lot of the Facebook groups are really helpful. I just started seeing a trend where people were posting the same questions, the same issues, the same problems and grateful for this community, right? But what I was finding was some of these groups can become where people are just coming in to vent and they weren't necessarily actually solving the problem.

issues. So that's when I started noticing that, okay, it's the same recurrent problems. And I grew up where my parents owned businesses. And although different businesses than mine I started seeing things parallel, people have the same complaints, whether it be about patients. People, your team or procedures, right?

So processes people always end up having the same types of issues in whatever business they have. So I just started seeing things parallel.

Michael: Interesting. So then in these groups specifically, what were some of the things where you feel like. Man, you're just venting like this is a common thread where people just vent and vent and vent

Pauline: I think the most common one lately has been what they can't find hygienists.

They can't find quote unquote good people good employees It's the same vent. It's the same complaint that all business owners want to fall victim to

Michael: Let's just talk about that, fixing that specific problem that everybody's complaining about. I can't find a hygienist or a team member.

Pauline: in the general idea of issues, first off, I think it's a mindset thing. We need to own that. We all have issues. Every single one of our businesses will have issues and we should actually welcome them and we should foster a culture where your team can openly talk about issues, right?

It's not a safe environment to bring things up, then you're just going to have an ongoing nagging to do list or unresolved issues. And that's just going to slow down the growth of your business. So the sooner you can build this. Culture, and it starts with your leadership team of having open, honest conversations about issues.

The sooner you can actually solve them and save energy, save time. So when it comes to issues, there are three main steps that we take here at Laudanusvall, and we learned it from the book Traction. So first step is you want to identify the issue. And really every single business. There's really three main types of issues.

it's either going to be a true problem that actually needs to be solved, it can be information that needs to be communicated or agreed upon by the team or an idea and opportunity that needs feedback, brainstorming or insight, right?

And once you actually identify the issue, then you can move on to the next step where you discuss it. This is where you're probably going to spend the most time in your meetings is discussing the actual issue. And then when you are discussing, you'll find that sometimes you go off on tangents and then sometimes other issues.

arise from these discussions. So it is really important to foster a culture where you can talk about issues, but you can also say, tangent alert, or can we put a pin in that? Or can we just list it on our issues list and then get back to it, right? So it's not gearing you away from discussing that one issue that was first brought up.

And then, You would go into solving the issue. So this is the main point, why we should be having an issues list, right? Because we need to solve things and keep things moving. And what I find in these dentist groups and, you know, being around my other colleagues, is sometimes they don't actually want to solve things.

Pauline: And sometimes people just want to vent or feel like okay, there's other people like me going through this, which, there is importance in that. But at the same time, we need to be leaders and we need to solve issues and keep things moving for the rest of our team and the rest of our practice.

And you'll notice as you start solving issues, you don't want to make the mistake by solving just the very top issue down. You need to prioritize issues. So you'll notice that as you start solving the bigger issues that hold higher priority, your other issues below it start diminishing, start disappearing.

Because really, you're already solving it when you solve the bigger issue and all these other things start being like, oh my gosh, that makes so much sense now. Okay, that already got resolved because we talked about this bigger issue. So I think regarding the hygiene problem that a lot of practices are having.

identifying the actual issue, right? My issue might be different because I'm a fee for service office, might be very different than an office that is PPO or an office that's HMO. Even though the chief complaint would be we can't find a hygienist, Identifying the actual issue is going to be so different in each of our practices, So my practice we are a fee for service office, you know, we ask a lot from our team members because we deliver a very, patient centered type of care. We data collect, we scan, we are very thorough and comprehensive. So that's not for every hygienist out there, and so that goes into being very clear with your vision and your expectations and your hiring process is going to be a lot longer, than.

most practices, I would say. So like I said, actually identifying the issue and then discussing it and then how you're going to solve it is going to be so different between the three different types of practices, even though the chief complaint is the same.

Michael: interesting. Okay. So then if we rewind a little bit, you said you want to foster an environment where it's safe to discuss about issues.

How do you know you're in an unsafe environment?

Pauline: Based off feedback, right? So a lot of leadership. Isn't true leadership. I would say some practices. I think some business owners already know how they want to answer without even involving, I guess, their leadership team and discussing the actual issue.

when people bring up ideas or they bring up An issue, like how you respond to it, is so important. If you shut down your team member or, you know, you're blaming it on them no one's going to want to keep coming to you with an issue then, because that's just how you're going to react.

Versus We all make honest mistakes here and communication is the biggest of it all in order for us all align and be on the same page right where one person might be only looking at it from one viewpoint and another person might be looking at from a different viewpoint like oh my gosh I didn't even see that what you saw thing.

by discussing it you're actually able to then solve it and that's really important. An open communication a safe environment talk about things versus oh you didn't do this. This wasn't done Versus the understanding the why maybe this happened or that happened And that's why the issue was there in the first place

Michael: I like that.

So let me paint you a scenario like we talked about hygiene, right? you ever had issues with like team members, Like a team member. All the time. Every single business. Yeah. So like let's just say team member A has an issue with team member D and you're listening. You're like, talk to me about team member D then team member A, right. and you're listening and stuff like that, but they continue to bring you with issues that team member D is I guess creating happening or whatever. Do you start prioritizing team member A saying like, Hey, We need to sit down all three of us and discuss and then team member D is like, I didn't even know there was something wrong.

I'm sorry. I didn't know I was rubbing you the wrong way. And then, you know, when you confront it, it's like nothing's wrong. But then two days later, it's like something's wrong again. How do you handle that?

Pauline: the first example you gave where team member A is. listing all these issues they're having with team member B, right?

And then you're asking do we put us all three together to resolve these issues? I think You're making it now a personal problem versus every week we have department meetings and every team member is to bring An issue to the meeting and we have in our click up.

a list. It's our quote unquote issues list and it may not necessarily be an issue. Like I said, it may just be an announcement. It may just be a discussion that we want to have that we were trying to resolve. If you don't. So comfortable bringing it to that meeting where it could be discussed whether it's operations meeting, sales meeting, admin meeting, then it doesn't really sound like it's a company issue then, right?

And sometimes it may be very well a personal issue. Then that goes on to, okay, are we spending our resources and our company time resolving this when we're all adults here? Could they have resolved this on their own? Or is this actually a true company issue? If it's a true company issue, now what department does that lie under and what department is tackling that issue then?

Michael: That makes a lot of sense. So then if it's a personal issue though, Isn't that just as much as a red flag? Cause it's like, Hey, there's no unity in the team. What the heck? how do you handle that?

Pauline: So that now goes into like the people portion of your business, right? Like I said earlier, there's going to be like.

Your patients, your people, and then like your processes, So now you're now going into the people portion, which is your team members, your employees. So that goes back to having the right people. So what does that mean? We use the people analyzer here and including me, the business owner, you should have your employees also rate you and analyze you as well.

So they have to align with our core values. You have to define the metric that you want to analyze people on for that. We only have three core values, so you have to have all of them, not just two out of three or one out of three. So it has to be a plus or minus there. And we need pluses there.

And then it goes from core values. It's either you get it, you want it, or you have the capacity to do it. And that's just now analyzing the person. Okay. Right In that position, and that will then start resolving a lot of that. And then you're able to remove that personal aspect out of it. So like when we have leaders, who are onboarding and training, and I see them getting frustrated with team member B, I asked them to start dissecting down.

Is it any of the core values that they're having issues with? Or is it? They get the assignment, They get the job, they get the expectations, but do they want it? Some people don't want it, right? Going back to hygienist position in my practice, we scan every single patient here. Not every hygienist wants to do that, and that's okay, but we need to know that when we're hiring, right?

And then do they have the capacity to do it? Okay, if I'm asking them to take x rays, scan, 2D photos, Am I giving them enough time in their appointment slot to do that, So that just now allows you to start dissecting all the different compartments of it versus just taking on this, Oh, this person doesn't want to do their job, or they're not, doing a great job.

Then they start taking things personally, or she's giving me an attitude when I'm asking her to do this, right? It's okay. Well, Maybe they didn't get it. Did we lay out clear expectations? Of needing a scan on every single patient. Did we lay out clear expectations that I expect an updated scan every year?

Was that on us? Did we clearly convey that? Did we communicate that? Okay, if they get it we communicate all that. So that part is checked off. Now, do they want it? And that was where, Okay. We identified the issue here the hygienist did not want to do that. So then it comes down that it's not oh, she's giving me attitude when I asked her to scan that becomes personal, right?

Michael: Makes a lot of sense So then one of the last questions I want to ask you is when you guys are discussing the issue And you mentioned that lot of times we go on tangents, right? And you're like, Hey, tangent alert. Does that make the issue list grow? Is it an ever ending?

Pauline: So there has to be a time limit for sure. So our meetings every week are only an hour. we start with a segue personal best business best five minutes. And then patient employee had headline five minutes and then rocks review five minutes. And then our issues list. the bulk of your meeting is going to be that issues list. And like you said, when you start going off tangents, it keeps growing, but you're not just like adding to your issues list and expecting to tackle it, that meeting. So throughout the week, for instance, let's say suction is down in room four.

We're not just like. panicking and, alerting the rest of the team this is the issue. If it's something that needs to get resolved, but it can wait until the weekly meeting, put it on the issues list. And we know that it's going to be spoken about during our weekly meeting.

So that issues list is constantly growing but it's also constantly getting resolved. And when we onboard people, we also have them like, Hey, go through our issues list that we've solved in the past, because the questions that you're having probably have already been asked and we've already discussed it and we've solved it.

So go through and read all that because the same issues you're having, we once had as well.

Michael: Awesome. Pauline. I appreciate your time. And if anyone has further questions, you can definitely find her on the dental marketer society, Facebook group, or where can they reach out to you directly?

Pauline: My Instagram, Dr.

Pauline Le.

Michael: All right. That's going to be in the show notes below. And Pauline, thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode.

Pauline: You're so welcome. Happy Monday.

Through associateship, starting her own practice, and all the challenges along the way, Dr. Landi Rosenau's journey is a testament to resilience and ambition. From her initial career as an ER nurse, Landi discovered her passion for dentistry through firsthand exposure within her then-husband's practice. This pivotal encounter, combined with an unmet need for continuous patient care in nursing, motivated her transition to dental school. The story truly takes shape during the COVID pandemic, when Landi seized the opportunity to reinvent her career, establishing her own practice. Her decision was fueled by the desire for autonomy and improved work conditions, which she successfully achieved through strategic patient management and strong internal communication protocols.

Take a deeper dive as Dr. Landi Rosenau candidly shares the ups and downs of developing her practice. Building her business mainly on referrals and word-of-mouth, she underscores the essential role of an efficient, coordinated team. Yet, her path was not without challenges, facing critical issues with external partnerships like her IT company and other vendors. These setbacks not only taught her the power of instinct and control over financial aspects but also strengthened her resolve. As she reflects on these experiences, Landi provides invaluable lessons about balancing personal and professional demands, making patient-centered choices, and emphasizing the importance of a supportive work environment—insights that resonate deeply with anyone navigating the dental industry.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The journey from ER nurse to entrepreneurial dentist.
• How the COVID pandemic influenced Dr. Rosenau's career decisions.
• Key operational strategies for a successful dental practice.
• The significance of communication systems and patient relations.
• Overcoming challenges with external partnerships and financial management.
• Insights on team coordination and its impact on business growth.
• The importance of resilience and adaptability in dental careers.
• Dr. Rosenau's process for maximizing patient benefits.

Tune in now to discover how Dr. Landi Rosenau turned challenges into opportunities in her practice!

‍

‍Guest: Dr. Landi RosenauPractice Name: Flourish Family & General DentistryCheck out Landi's Media:

Website: flourishdentistry.com

Facebook: facebook.com/drlandij

‍

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Insurance Companies/Services:

Delta Dental

Wisdom Dental Billing

‍

Brands/Products:

Lowe's

Botox

Benco Dental

Galderma

Patterson Dental

Dentistry Support

‍

Practice Management Software:

Curve Dental

Open Dental

Dentrix

‍

Press:

Change Healthcare Data Breach

‍

Books:

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups

‍

Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer

Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍

Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society

‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]

‍

p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.

‍

Imagine a dental practice where team well-being takes center stage, resulting in enhanced patient care!

In this Monday Morning Episode, Josey Sewell reveals groundbreaking dental practice management strategies, particularly focusing on effective recruitment and retention of hygienists. Emphasizing that the team's wellness is as crucial as patient care, Josey shares how attending to the needs of your dental staff can transform your practice. We get an insider's view into the common pitfalls in leadership that often drive valuable employees away and discover Josey's transformative "Connect, Measure, Coach" framework designed to uplift leadership and engagement.

Dive deeper as Josey introduces her comprehensive five Ps framework—Purpose, People, Power, Prosperity, and Performance—where each facet plays a pivotal role in creating a thriving work environment. By setting and tracking goals within these realms, leaders can mitigate burnout and boost workplace satisfaction. Josey also shares valuable insights on how the delicate balance between vulnerability and authority can cultivate trust among the team. This episode empowers dental leaders with practical tools to enhance their leadership skills and build a dedicated, satisfied dental team.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Innovative strategies for enhancing dental practice management.
• Key leadership mistakes that lead to high employee turnover.
• Insights on the "Connect, Measure, Coach" framework.
• An introduction to the five Ps framework for improved engagement.
• Techniques for reducing burnout and boosting workplace satisfaction.
• The role of balancing vulnerability with authority to foster trust.

Dive into today's episode to learn more about team growth and the team-centered approach!

‍

‍You can reach out to Josey Sewell here:

Instagram: instagram.com/joseysewell

Email: josey@joseysewell.com

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

People:

Simon Sinek

John C. Maxwell

Benjamin Hardy

Dan Sullivan

‍

If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:

My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/

The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041

‍

Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)

‍

Michael: Hey, Josie. So talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning?

Josey: Oh, I'm so excited about this. My piece of advice is that your number one customer is absolutely your team. Over your patients. And I know a lot of dentists probably panic when I say that, but we spend a ton of time and effort and energy on marketing and taking great care of our patients.

But when we take great care of our team, that's going to translate to great patient care. And today I'd actually like to talk in particular about recruiting and retention of hygienists. Having been a hygienist myself, been a hygiene director, I've been a COO of a dental group. And what I will tell you now as a coach helping people across the country is that every single one of the clients that I work with, they are struggling with finding and retaining dental hygienists.

And what I find is that a lot of people typically use COVID as an excuse. They'll say, Oh, COVID happened. It shut the world down. And we saw hygienists leave the profession. And we know that about 10 percent of hygienists did leave the field. And I think that that's really unfortunate. But now what we hear is that people just say, there's just not any hygienists available.

They just don't want to work. They don't want to be in clinic. And what I would say from being a hygienist and being in the hygiene community is actually that hygienists do want to work. They do love clinical, but the reason that we've seen some of them leave the field and the reason that we see a lot of hygienists who have chosen A permanent job as temping is because we have a leadership crisis.

And what I mean by that is hygienists are choosing not to work in your company because you're not leading them in a way that is meaningful to them.

Michael: Okay. Gotcha. So then what specific leadership behaviors have you observed that push Hygienist and team members to leave and how can practice owners correct these behaviors before losing valuable staff?

Josey: Yeah So I have a very simple framework That I find works really well for you to remember when you're thinking about leading and that is connect measure coach and so what I mean by that is to connect with people in a meaningful way and I mean trying to get to know them as a human being understand what's going on in their life even You Taking time to find out what their dreams and their goals and their aspirations are.

So that's connect. Measure is how do we appropriately measure success. And that includes utilizing key performance indicators or KPIs. But with hygienists in particular, sometimes they're afraid of numbers and metrics. So they feel like if a practice is asking me to be a high producer or to track my numbers, that means that they care more about money than about patient care.

And so what you have to do in helping hygienists understand metrics is you have to connect Those metrics to patient outcomes and to clinical care. And you also have to teach them a little bit about the business of dentistry, because when they have a greater understanding and they know how these numbers fit in, they absolutely will engage and appreciate those numbers.

So there's a special nuance into introducing numbers and metrics. And the last one is coach. I love the quote by Dan Sullivan, that he says, people don't want to be managed. People want to be coached. our team members, whether they are hygienist or not, have a very different expectation in what they want from us as employers and in our work environment.

And they want to be coached. It is not just about their job. It is about their life. And so we need to coach people up into a position. So maybe I'm a front office person and I'm growing into a manager position or I'm a hygienist and I'm going into a hygiene lead.

That's up in my position is primarily what we do in dentistry is we're helping people achieve mastery over time. But so many hygienists feel like there's a very short ceiling to their career. I will tell you, I left clinical because I thought there's nowhere for me to grow. And yet I was motivated and excited about advancing what I did as a clinician, but I felt limited because my doctors did not actually engage in the same CE or passion that I had.

for prevention or treating periodontal disease. So providing a pathway to grow. And then sometimes, Michael, we have to coach people out of our business. Because sometimes our business outgrows our people and sometimes our people outgrow our business. For those of you who are especially getting started in dentistry, some of you have this expectation that I'll graduate from dental school.

I'll have my practice and I'll find this amazing team. And this amazing team is going to be with me forever. However, lifelong employment is a thing of the past. And a lot of people don't. grow up as a little girl or a little boy dreaming about answering the phone at her front office. And so we have to just know and recognize that people are going to come and go in our business and our relationships don't have to be dependent on an employment agreement.

So again, connect in meaningful ways, measure performance, be very clear what your expectations are, and then coach people up in or out knowing that sometimes it is better for them in their life to move on. And that doesn't mean we can't still remain friends.

Hmm.

Michael: How would you connect in meaningful ways?

Josey: Great question. So we actually have a framework that we've developed after working with literally thousands of employees and helping hundreds of managers grow. we call it the five Ps, and that is the various different parts of their life where we will have people.

Take a look at these five important critical areas of their life and challenge them to set a vision for themselves and then also to set 90 day goals. So a very specific example is we have one of them that's called power and power is my physical, mental, and spiritual health. And it's encouraging people to have healthy habits for how they take care of themselves.

In dentistry in particular, one of the saddest things that I see is when clinical careers are cut short due to different musculoskeletal things or injuries, and so Are we encouraging our people to have regular habits of exercise or mindfulness or whatever that is? And so we have a framework that we have people fill out what their goals are.

And we sit down within the first 90 days of employment and we go through that and we just get to know our people in a meaningful way. And then we check in on them occasionally about every 90 days on their goals. So some people, it makes them feel really uncomfortable to think am I really going to ask?

My people about their personal goals. And the answer is yes, you are because they are a person with dreams and goals and aspirations. And the more that you understand who they are and what's important to them, the more that you can connect those goals to what the business goals are. And then we can win together.

Michael: So you said there's five P's, right?

Josey: Yeah. You want me to go through all five?

Michael: Yeah. Real quick. That'd be

Josey: great. So the first P is purpose. And that is like your personal Y or your personal core values. And so this one is probably the toughest one for to define a vision for themselves or their 90 day goals.

But what I have seen after working with so many incredible entrepreneurs, and I'll speak to you as the owner dentist for just a second. Is dentists have been successful their whole life. They probably did well in high school and got great grades. They got them into college and then they did well in college and they got into dental school and then they get out and they buy a practice.

And so often I see people attach their personal worth. To their practice and yet the practice is going to struggle. Not if it's going to struggle, it's when it's going to struggle. So things like struggling to make payroll or having a team walk out or not being able to fix, you know, marketing, your practice is going to struggle and you have to have a purpose in your life beyond what your practice is.

So that's what we help people do in purpose. The next one is people. So people is about relationships. And our relationships really are the greatest indicator of longevity and health. And what you will find is that when you're struggling in your relationships, whether it's with a spouse or a partner or with kids, or your people are, they're not going to show up as a 10 at work.

And so how can we encourage people to take care of the people that they love and to have positive relationships. Number three is power, which is physical, mental, and spiritual health. The fourth P is prosperity. And so prosperity is going to be, it might be wealth, especially for you as a practice owner, but for some of your team, prosperity might be more autonomy of their time, or it might be saving for something like a house or a car, or, preparing for something in their life.

And then the last one is performance. And that's what connects this personal stuff to the professional stuff. So performance is how are we doing in our job? How are we performing in our position? And that is a critical part of having this whole life. We talk about how everybody has one life space.

And if we're not minding those five different areas, we will struggle. Now I'll quickly say, we hear a lot about burnout. We hear a lot about overwhelm and most people are blaming that burnout and their overwhelm on work on what they do on a day to day basis and they're quitting their job and they're hopping around searching for greater work life balance, which is the lie.

right? There's no work life balance. It's work life harmony. And what I find is actually that burnout may not be happening from what we do every day in the dental office. It may be because I'm not minding my relationships or I'm not taking care of my physical health I'm not in alignment with my personal values.

So what I find is as you utilize these five P's and helping people set goals, Long term and short term, you might find that there's decreased overwhelm and burnout because they're actually taking better care of something that's going on in their life.

Michael: Interesting. So I feel like that's so complex though, Josie.

every 90 days, do you follow up and be like, where are we deficient on which P Cause I feel like it would always change, right? every level.

Josey: absolutely changes. So first of all, if you are a manager or a practice owner, it is not your job to ensure that your employees are checking off the boxes and achieving their goals.

So you're not going to like, Hey, you set a goal of saying, saving 5, 000. Why are you still getting Starbucks every day? That is not what we're going to do. It's actually just about creating a safe place where people can verbally share their goals and feel as though they're seen as a human being. And so I do it once a year.

I'll really just dig deep into their goals and I'll ask them questions. Then every 90 days, I recommend doing what we call a quarterly check in. That is a structured conversation where we use this idea of connect, measure, coach, and on that connect part, I just simply say, how are you doing on your goals?

You know, How are your five P's? You said last quarter you were going to call your mom once a week. How's that going? So I check in so that they feel heard and seen, but it's not my job to track. To manage, to ensure that they get it done. It's really just about seeing and knowing who they are. And it's incredible.

The experience that the employee has, I've had many people come back and say, I was shocked, Josie, how many tears there were. And not that it was tears of sadness or discomfort. It was that nobody had ever asked them what their vision for their life was.

Michael: Yeah. Now that's interesting. I like that a lot. it opens the door a little bit more, So Josie, in your experience, how do leadership blind spots practice owners contribute to team frustration and disengagement and how can owners uncover and address these blind spots? Would it be? doing this?

Josey: This is one great way to absolutely uncover those blind spots.

I think that in many ways if we're a dentist and a practice owner, so much of what is happening is about achieving our goals. The practice is mine. This is, my business, my dream, and everybody's helping me. And that's actually not what most employees are excited about is helping you build your dreams.

They want to build their own dreams too. they want to help you win, but they also want to win. So I think that that is a blind spot that sometimes we can be very self centered as an entrepreneur. And that is not shame or judgment. I am an entrepreneur myself and totally know. But the other blind spot that I would say is that we just don't have a good system for this and you need a good system for leadership.

And so I'm sure if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably also a pretty avid. Reader or listener to other podcasts and there's incredible people who talk about leadership like Simon Sinek or John Maxwell or, Ben Hardy. There's all of these authors that we love, but how do we take the idea of what it means to be a leader and how do we actually execute on it?

And that's where you need a system. And I think that's what I've seen. spent the better part of the last 10 years of my career doing is how to create a systematic leadership approach, meaning how do I do this connect measure coach, but how often should I be meeting with my employees? What should we be talking about?

How do we have difficult conversations and how do we align with what I need in the business and what you want with your life? So I think that one of the blind spots is there's not a good system or there hasn't been a good system. And that's what we're trying really hard to build.

Michael: I like that. I like how you mentioned how can I, ask these difficult questions, talk to them, play like, just for example, when you're approaching them and asking them about, did you call your mom this week?

Kind of a thing, right? It's kind of weird asking your employee, right? So I guess, how can owners or leaders, right? Balance vulnerability with authority to foster a culture of trust and support, especially during times of high stress or change.

Josey: Yes, I love that. That is the constant need of how we do. I love that you called it out vulnerability and authority.

what I share is that I want to help you create an environment of high love and high accountability. a lot of people think those are two things on the opposite end of a spectrum. spectrum, but we can't have high love and high accountability. Now there is absolutely an important nuance and that is that I can love and care for you as a human being without being your buddy, where it's like not appropriate for us to go out on the weekends together or us to go on vacation together or, doing things like that.

There absolutely has to be a professional line in how much we're sharing our life, but I do think that vulnerability. allows other people to be vulnerable. So a specific example is where business owners or managers feel like I have to have all of the answers and I can't tell people that I'm struggling.

And yet, when you're real about the struggle or real about the fact that you don't have the answers, it actually gives your team permission to do the same. And we create an environment where it's a greater partnership and we work together. So, There is absolutely a nuance in understanding who people are and what motivates them and not getting like too involved in their lives, right?

Not inserting ourself or feeling like we know too much or ask too many questions.

Michael: Awesome. Josie. I appreciate your time. And if anyone has further questions, you can definitely find her on the dental marketer society, Facebook group, or where can they reach out to you directly?

Josey: So my email is just Josie at Josie Sewell.

com. Make sure you spell it right. j O S E Y S E W E L L. And then on any social media platform, you'll find me at Josie Sewell. Really happy to answer any questions that you might have on how to create a healthy, happy team.

Michael: Nice. So that's going to be in the show notes below. And Josie, thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode.

Josey: Thank you.

‍

How can a well-managed hygiene department skyrocket production in your practice?

Today we're diving into a conversation with Dr. Bill Trout and consultant Tiffany Wuebben to unravel the often underestimated but crucial role of hygiene departments in dental practice success. Dr. Trout, a veteran in managing multiple practice locations, shares how his operations thrive through strategic organization and empowered leadership. He brings to light the indispensable contribution of his wife, and his hygiene team lead, illustrating a well-oiled machine where each part enhances the other. Tiffany complements this by detailing how she has collaborated with Dr. Trout to significantly elevate the practice's hygiene department through focused analytics and the innovative use of CareStack's customized scorecards.

Continuing the discussion, Tiffany emphasizes the significance of consistent training and comprehensive metrics in enhancing dental hygiene performance. The duo shares practical strategies for transitioning from a micromanagement style to one where responsibility is effectively delegated, allowing for a harmonious office environment. As they wrap up, Dr. Trout and Tiffany provide actionable advice for dental practice owners looking to strengthen their hygiene operations. This episode is a treasure trove of insights on building a system that champions leadership, patient care, and operational excellence, with Tiffany offering additional resources and guidance for those keen on further exploration.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The hidden importance of hygiene departments in dental practice success.
• How to use metrics and analytics to boost performance.
• Strategies for effective leadership and delegation within dental practices.
• The benefits of ongoing training to keep the team engaged and skilled.
• Innovative tools to increase productivity, such as CareStack's scorecards.
• Practical steps to enhance hospitality-based patient care.
• A roadmap to achieving cohesion and motivation among team members.

Tune in now to discover how to empower your hygiene department!

‍

‍Sponsors:‍CareStack: Modern, Secure, Cloud-Based Dental Software for Growing Your Practice! With state-of-the-art features including Online Appointments, Integrated Payments, Text Reminders and more. Click the link here for a special offer: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/carestack/

‍

Guest: Dr. Bill Trout & Tiffany WuebbenPractice Name: Dental Wellness Centers of GeorgiaCheck out Bill and Tiffany's Media:

Dr. Trout's Practices: dentalwellnessga.com

Dr. Trout's Email: troutTCD@msn.com

Dr. Trout's Phone: 912-665-2792

Tiffany's Website: thehygienepreneur.com

Tiffany's Email: tiffany@thehygienepreneur.com

Grab a Free Copy of Tiffany's Book!

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Patient Benefit Organizations:

Careington

Connection Dental

Dentemax

Education:

The University of Georgia

People:

Nick Saban - Alabama Football Coach

Businesses/Brands:

McDonald's

Burger King

Hardee's

In-N-Out Burger

‍

Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer

Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍

Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society

‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]

‍

p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.

‍

How often do leaders find themselves in situations where silence could have been their most powerful tool?

In this episode, we dive deep into the leadership journey of Dr. Manrina Rhode and learn about the transformative lessons she's embraced as a business owner. Dr. Manrina candidly reveals her shift from a leader eager to express every thought to one who masterfully chooses her words. She shares intimate reflections on learning when to "shut up," a tactic that has redefined her approach to managing teams and maintaining a harmonious workplace environment. Her story is a compelling exploration of the inner changes she made to lead more effectively.

Drawing from her own experiences, Dr. Manrina offers a toolbox of strategies vital for any leader aiming to foster accountability and support within their teams. From scheduling regular meetings to address concerns in a steady, composed fashion, to the importance of documenting and constructively addressing recurring issues, her advice is both practical and refreshingly honest. This episode is not just an insightful peek into her leadership evolution but a guide filled with actionable ideas any practice owner can implement to refine their communication style and team dynamics.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The power of silence in leadership and when to "shut up."
• Strategies for managing emotional reactions in the workplace.
• How to foster a supportive and accountable team environment.
• The importance of scheduled meetings for conflict resolution.
• Effective techniques for documenting and addressing recurring issues.
• The impact of calm and constructive communication on team morale.

Tune in to discover how to communicate more effectively with your team!

‍

‍‍

Sponsors:‍

‍

Gusto: Dentist payroll for the modern practice. Gusto’s cloud-based software provides all the payroll and HR tools you need to run your dental practice efficiently. Having it all on one platform keeps our prices low, and makes your job so much easier. Enjoy best-in-class support, benefits like health coverage for your team, and more. Visit or copy and paste the link here for a special offer! https://gusto.com/tdm

‍

You can reach out to Dr. Manrina Rhode here:

Instagram: instagram.com/drmanrinarhode

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Brands:

Botox

‍

If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:

My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/

The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041

‍

Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)

‍

Michael: amen. Rena, so talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning?

Manrina: My piece of advice is to learn to shut.

Michael: Expound on that a little bit. is that advice?

Manrina: I think it's something that I've had to learn as a business owner and it goes against everything I learned before I was a business owner. So as young lady growing up and then as an associate dentist, I always believed it was important to speak my mind. And if someone had upset me, offended me, done something that felt like an injustice, To speak out loud about it, and I kind of pride myself for being that person and doing that. and as a business owner, I've learned that's not always the best way to go. And with your team, if every time they do something wrong that upsets you, like, I don't know, like I had someone today send out one of my patients, the wrong skincare product. They wanted one product and they sent them another product, you know, and I was like, why, why did you send the wrong product?

And, you know, they said, oh, they were next to each other. And I think, you know, the, the old marina and the way that had been brought up and what I'd always believed to be correct. would have really wanted to talk about that and explore it and understand it and be like, but how is that an answer to sell me that because they were next to each other?

If someone's ordered hydrate lip oil, you send them, hydrate lip oil, why would you send them plumpbut what I have learned, being a boss. Is it's not my place to then have that conversation. it's just my place to listen and accept and say, okay, and that's it.

Shut up. Okay. And that's such a journey for me. because it went against my essence of just like really explaining how I feel. and to the point of like, then when you see the,person later on and, you know, in the staff room and they say, Oh, I'm really sorry about that. skincare thing. just smiling at them genuinely back and saying, okay, maybe how I was feeling, but I've had to learn this mass suppression of emotion opinions. So just, obviously it's important to take note of everything that's going on around you. I'll make notes understand what's happening with my team and bring it up at the right time in the correct way. But what's not correct is like my life has been up until now dealing with friends and colleagues that you can just be quite open about how you're feeling, about what's happening

Michael: at the time. Interesting. So then how do you know when to bring it up in the right time in the right way, especially like that scenario?

Manrina: Yeah, so we have meetings, scheduled meetings. with everyone, right? So I have a daily huddle, definitely a group environment. I bring things up in a group environment as team learning for everyone, not using a specific person as an example, but doing a reminder saying, Hey, we're all going to have a this morning. what product is this? What does this product do? Let's do a spot test. Does everyone know what's going on here? we have weekly meetings, which are designed to go through these things. which be a more appropriate place to do the spot skin care test. We have monthly practice meetings. we have monthly reviews for new team members and three monthly, reviews for team members who have been with us for longer. do it monthly for three months and then it moves on to three monthly and eventually six monthly. I also have, like, different team members, with my practice manager, for example, I have a weekly meeting. if she does something that I can make a note and in the weekly meeting, if I don't want to make a big deal out about it, then in the weekly meeting, when we're having a one on one, I can say, Hey, by the way, this happened this week. And that's made me feel a certain way. And is everything okay? And I guess it's also that it's being like, is everything okay? Rather than getting upset with someone and saying, I don't want to say it, but like, are you stupid? You're just going to be like, is everything okay? Well, you know, is there a reason why you felt like, did this happened or these mistakes happen this week?

Is there something that I can support you in? so it's a whole like reframe you think when you're open to practice, everyone might think they're going to be the boss and they're going to tell everyone what to do, but I think it's almost the opposite. It's easier to be the boss when you're an associate, Whereas as a boss, to actually keep a happy team, you need just very calmly, Go through anything that goes wrong then put actions in place to make sure it doesn't happen again and obviously know everything down.

So rather than acting on it immediately, make a note of it and then decide the appropriate action to take, the correct time to have that discussion. it's not necessarily something that you have immediately.

Michael: interesting. So then it's almost like as if. Shutting up is part of the calming down process, could you think of something in that moment to, you know, I just need to be nicer, but I'm going to tell it to you straight. Yeah,

Manrina: when like the skincare thing happened today, then I responded and said, Oh, okay. That's unfortunate that you're not familiar with our, with our sentence. read about them and watch all the videos. if you could do that for me, then when I see you next week, I'll schedule a time for me to go through that with you and test you on them. So this doesn't happen again. Could you please send an apology message to the person you sent the wrong skincare to? Arrange when you want to be sent out, just to let you know the cost of the skincare will be deducted from your wages. So that was my immediate response. Which was quite measured and, fair, with all the points for what needs to be done. there's nothing emotional in that.

It's just very fact. This happened. This is what we're going to do about it, to make sure it doesn't happen again. And this is how we're going to fix what's happened right now. and these are the actions I'm taking because you've done something wrong.

Michael: How do they react?

Manrina: They said, okay, I, um, yeah, I was going to say you should deduct it for my wages as well. And yeah, sorry again.

Michael: Oh, okay. Interesting. So then how did this come out to be Minrina? Like, how did you realize I probably should start shutting up more?

Manrina: I think it was really early on. I had a nurse and He gave pounds worth of Botox. To the lab guy, like the lab guy came to collect lab work and he picked the lab work out of the fridge and picked up a bag of Botox as well.

And gave the lab guy my lab work and 500 worth of Botox, which is a prescription medication and it's useless once it's kept out of the fridge. So couldn't even be returned. and then the lab called and said, Oh, you've given us this bag of Botox. And I think at the time I was so shocked like, you know, early boss days.

And I'm just like that's incompetent. I feel like that's incompetent behavior. What do you think about it? And then he was like oh yeah, I made a mistake, but you can't call me. incompetent. That's not allowed. then I, you know, asked my, my HR and they were like, yeah, youcan't tell someone that they've done something wrong.

Like say that this is what you are. You can only say to them, do you think that was competent? Do you think that was competent behavior? And so I was like, Oh, it's so interesting. Like in normal life, normal conversations up until now it's just been a conversation that you'd have about, this is what you are in my opinion, but you're not allowed to have that opinion as a boss.

You have to ask what their opinion is.

Michael: Okay. I like that. Interesting. Yeah, no, it's good. So then in the moment of you trying to create this relationships with your team whether it's like, Hey guys, we're a team or we're more than a team, we're friends, right. or we're a family or anything like that.

Where's the line to where you're like, Hey, for example, you're really close with the team member and you're like, Hey, you know, you know me, right. you've seen my children and everything. But then you. Decide to be like, Oh, I didn't know that offended you me calling you incompetent. I apologize. Right. But then it kind of,creates a riff there or something like that. So where's the line for that for you?

Manrina: I don't have an issue now. We're just talking to everyone very calmly. And I feel like as long as I'm telling them all very calmly and not in a bullying like, This is incompetent.

That's, you know, I would never, I wouldn't say it like that. Anything they do now. Oh no. Did you give the Botox? how do you feel about having done that? what do you think we could do to make sure it doesn't happen again? It's almost quite maternal. It's almost like a family.

or maybe it's like a really nice mom, rather than a mom that shouts at people and says, are you stupid? It's a really nice. Oh, okay. This happened. What should we do about it? What can we put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again? But also I make a note of it. I've got a folder where I make a note about all these things with the date and what happened with each team member.

So if we see a pattern and it's recurring, then I've got, series of evidence. And obviously if it's recurring issues, then need to do something more.

always calm now. passionate response to anything is gone.

Everything's like, Oh,

Michael: You ask questions right to your response. You're like, oh, why'd you do that? What were you thinking right in that moment?

Manrina: anything, I'd just be like, why do you think that happened?

What do you think we could do to stop it happening again?

Michael: Yeah, no, that's interesting. So then with that being said, what are some exercises you're doing to remind yourself, especially in the heat of the moment where you're like, what the heck? What are the. Exercises that you're doing to remind yourself to shut up or be calm.

Manrina: Yeah. So when um, feel myself having an emotional reaction that's not positive. So it's fine when I'm excited when things happen, then it's all good and let's celebrate. If something happens and I can feel it inside me that I'm like, Oh, that makes me want to make that noise. Take a deep breath in.

Then I know that's when I need to shut up. So as soon as I feel that something goes off in my brain, it says, shut up, because you're feeling an emotion and better to respond to this when you don't, and there's no rush to respond to anything. So just take it in and say, okay. And then work out how you want to respond to it once that, it's calmed down.

Michael: You started doing this like a couple of weeks ago or?

Manrina: a progressive. So my clinic opened just over two years ago and it's been a progressive change, but it's something that I was only conscious that I started doing when I sent it to someone this week.

I said, Oh yeah, when things happen, then I just don't say anything because it's just easier that way. And then I just deal with it when it's the right time. And then I was like, Oh, I didn't even realize I started doing that. That's what I do. I don't respond anymore. And I've always been, I've always been that person that you're, you know, how I'm feeling at all times.

If I get upset about something, I'll tell you I'm upset about it. And then, you know, five minutes later it was done and it's gone and we've cleared it. But I don't tell you I'm upset anymore.

Michael: That's so funny. No, that's awesome. Thank you so much for that advice. We appreciate it. And we appreciate your time.

And if anyone has further questions, you can definitely find her on the Dental Marketer Society, Facebook group, or where can they reach out to you directly?

Manrina: On my Instagram is a really popular way to do that. It's Dr. Manrina Road, D R my name, Manrina Road. I manage my own account.

So that's a good way to reach out.

Michael: Nice. Awesome. So that's going to be in the show notes below. I'm Marina. Thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode.

Manrina: Michael.

What are the real-life challenges and triumphs transitioning from corporate dentistry to an acquisition?

In this conversation, we welcome Dr. Noah Mustafa, a dentist who didn't just stop at practicing dentistry—he redefined it. Dr. Mustafa opens up about his inspiring journey, recounting his experiences transitioning from the predictable world of corporate dentistry to becoming the proud owner of Luna Dental in Toms River, New Jersey. He walks us through the challenges he encountered, from gaining patient trust to the integral steps he took to foster a respectful and communicative team atmosphere. This episode is a goldmine of insights for anyone curious about the intricacies of running a dental practice and the importance of compassionate caregiving.

The episode doesn't just stop at dental techniques; it delves into operational strategies, like the crucial role of search engine optimization for enhancing the clinic's online presence and the careful upgrades he made to practice management software. Dr. Mustafa further enriches the conversation with personal anecdotes about striking a balance between his demanding profession and family, sharing insights into leadership and the indispensable value of grit. Dr. Mustafa's also reflects on unwinding after a busy day and the principles that guide his steadfast commitment to both his patients and his team.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• The transformative journey from corporate to private practice.
• Essential strategies for effective team communication and respect.
• Insights into leveraging SEO for a dental practice's success.
• Gradual implementation strategies for new practice software.
• Balancing professional responsibilities with family life.
• Dr. Mustafa's unique approaches to leadership and patient care.
• Personal anecdotes on maintaining work-life harmony and relaxation.
• The profound impact of grit and effort in professional growth.

Tune in to uncover the secrets behind Dr. Mustafa's successful practice acquisition!

‍

‍Sponsors:‍

‍

Oryx: All-In-One Cloud-Based Dental Software Created by Dentists for Dentists. Patient engagement, clinical, and practice management software that helps your dental practice grow without compromise. Click or copy and paste the link here for a special offer! https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/oryx/

‍

Guest: Dr. Noah MustafaPractice Name: Luna DentalCheck out Noah's Media:

Website: lunadentalnj.com

Phone: 732-244-3444

Instagram: instagram.com/lunadentalnj

‍

Other Mentions and Links:

‍

Businesses:

Aspen Dental

‍

Software/Tools:

Dentrix

Ahrefs

Canva

WordPress

‍

People:

Frank Sinatra

‍

Products:

Acupressure Mat

‍

Host: Michael Arias‍Website: The Dental Marketer

Join my newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/‍

Join this podcast's Facebook Group: The Dental Marketer Society

‍Please don't forget to share with us on Instagram when you are listening to the podcast AND if you are really wanting to show us love, then please leave a 5 star review on iTunes! [Click here to leave a review on iTunes]

‍

p.s. Some links are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Please understand that we have experience with these products/ company, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions we make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money unless you feel you need them or that they will help you with your goals.

‍

Balancing life and business can often feel like a precarious tightrope walk, but Dr. Desiree Yazdan shares her personal journey of mastering this art. In this episode, Dr. Yazdan opens up about her transformative shift from a demanding workaholic schedule to a more sustainable, lifestyle-friendly business model. After becoming a mother, she realized the need to create a professional life that reconciles with her personal values and priorities. Dr. Yazdan candidly discusses the trials and triumphs of setting new boundaries, the pushback she faced from her team and clients, and how she triumphed by maintaining a steadfast positive mindset. Learn how Dr. Yazdan adheres to her revamped work hours and maintains her productivity without compromising her well-being.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• How to build a business that aligns with your lifestyle priorities.
• The challenges of setting and enforcing new personal boundaries.
• Strategies for handling resistance from peers and clients with grace.
• The impact of a positive mindset on achieving work-life balance.
• Ways to maintain well-being and productivity through effective time management.
• Dr. Yazdan's personal tips for prioritizing mental health in business.

Don't miss this chance to learn about balancing your business and your lifestyle—tune in now!

‍

‍The Pediatric Dental Marketing Course is open for enrollment!This comprehensive course, developed by Minal Sampat and myself, is tailored specifically for pediatric practice owners and their teams. It is designed to turn your pain points into stepping stones for success, and to help you become the trusted dental home for countless children in your community. Head over to our site to enroll now! pediatricdentalmarketingcourse.com

‍

You can reach out to Dr. Desiree Yazdan here:

Instagram: instagram.com/dryazdan

Email: drdyadzan@gmail.com

‍

If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Episodes, ask me on these platforms:

My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/

The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041

‍

Episode Transcript (Auto-Generated - Please Excuse Errors)

‍

Michael: Hey, Desiree, so talk to us. What's one piece of advice you can give us this Monday morning?

Desiree: I would say the piece of advice is to build your lifestyle first and then build your business around that.

Michael: with that being said, what if we want to grow in our community that we are at, or we decide to listen to the demographics and think, Hey, this is the best ratio to patient.

Okay. Thanks. Let's move here. And then later on, we realized we don't really like where we're at.

Desiree: Yeah. So obviously you have to like, look at what's around you and what you're doing. But, when I said that, I think because I'm a mom, I have two little kids. And before I had kids, I was working always kind of at the expense of myself.

I was open all the time, like 12, 13 hours a day. If somebody needed me in the middle of the night, I was available. Like, and I thought that that is what I needed to create a successful business. And then once I had my first daughter, I was like, okay, this just isn't sustainable. And so I started to analyze, what can I do to.

Make my patients still feel like they're being really well taken care of, but also make sure that I'm taking care of my family. that's when I started to think how do I want my day to actually be? And yeah, you can't just be open for like three hours a day and then expect to have a super successful business, but you can decide what times you want to be working, what days you want to be working and then build your success off that.

I just.Requires you to be much more efficient with the time that you are working. So like understand business, you have to know your numbers, you have to learn how to have a positive mindset consistently, take yourself out of the negative spirals quickly, and then just get yourself to a place where you could be really efficient in a smaller amount of time.

Gotcha. So then how did you realize this wasn't sustainable? Yeah. I mean, I was just working so much. I was always working and I thought it was like a good thing. I would pride myself on like, Oh, I'm like a workaholic. And then, I think one of the times that really stood out to me, it was Thanksgiving and I just pulled up to my parents house with my husband.

And I had a phone call from a patient who broke a temporary. And she wasn't even like super concerned. She was just like, ah, is this okay? And I remember walking upstairs to my parents house. And then being like, oh, I have to go. There's like a patient that broke a temporary like I'll go in and see her and whatever.

and then I remember when I was driving there. I'm like, why would I do this? the patient's not in pain. And I understand it could be an emergency but it's also like it's thanksgiving and you know I need to change my boundaries And I think that moment was one that I was like, okay Like I don't know if I want to do this forever And then once I had my first daughter that just like really solidified it because you know when you have a newborn They really need you especially as the mom and so I was like, okay, we're just gonna change things up

Michael: So then what efficient systems did you have to implement in order to actually change boundaries?

Desiree: Yeah. So it always starts with mindset. I always go back to this. Anything that you want as far as streamlining your practice growth changing your boundaries always starts with your mindset first.

So you have to first get really comfortable in your mind with your new hours and whatever it is that you're wanting to change. And then when you go to implement that, like there's no gray area. So it's like, Hey, I'm done seeing patients by this time and I need to leave at this time. And then you do that, right?

So when your office presents to you, Oh, this patient just called and they want to be seen for an emergency and it's a new patient. And you're like, Oh, well, I need to leave in 30 minutes. You know, It's really hard to say no, because you're leaving money on the table andyou know, it's your practice and you're trying to grow and build it.

But when you take your boundaries seriously, then you say, Ooh, I can't give good care in the little time that I have. let's see if we can get them in tomorrow instead. And the patient might not want to be seen tomorrow. They might call somewhere else and you just have to be okay with that.

Michael: Gotcha. Okay. So then how did patients or your team react when this started happening?

Desiree: Oh, personally for me, my team was very unhappy with it. you know, cause they were just used to me saying yes to everything. I was a big people pleaser. I was like, yeah, sure. Yeah.

I'll stay late. Yeah. It's 7. 00 PM. And I've been here since, 00 AM. Yeah, sure. Let's just do it. Or somebody would call it 10.they were like on board with that. They were like, Oh, we are available all the time. But like,now what I say is what's best for the doctors best for the practice best for the business owners also best for the practice.

So like.when I was working that way, I didn't want to be there. So it's a difference.Whereas when I had my daughter, I didn't want to be there as much. I wanted to be there and enjoy the work that I did, but I didn't want to do it at the expense of my newborn. when you're working against yourself and you feel obligated, you're taking that in the treatment room with you to the patients.

even if you're not saying it, even if you think Oh, I hide it really well. There's some level of annoyance or obligation that you have that does come off, whether you like to admit it or not, to be honest, nobody wants an overtired, overworked, stressed out doctor working on them.

Right. So like, I always think if I was going to go get a nose job and the surgeon was like, if I heard what's going on in his head, he's like, I'm just so tired.I haven't slept. I'm like, so over being here, I'd be like, let's just not do the surgery, you know, so I think the same as my patients don't want me, they want me when I'm happy and I want to be there and I'm excited about their treatment, right?

Even if they're not excited about it, I need to be happy and excited doing it. Right. So, What's best for you, it's going to be what's best for your patients and your staff. And I think over time, once I stuck to the boundaries and they got used to it, and I think that's why I said. You have to be really firm in your own mind about it because there's going to be pushback when you're implementing change.

but when you're really sold on it, then it's easier for other people to get on board eventually. even the patients that originally were like, what, she can't see me at that time. Like, and I would to them, I'm so sorry. I just had a baby.

And I do have to be home and, I'd love to see you, but, you know, it's not like I'm abandoning you. I just also need to put my priorities now is like my children.

Michael: Interesting. So then how do you take yourself out of the negative spiral that you mentioned?

Desiree: Yeah, that's a good question.

I have learned a lot of really amazing life coaching tools and I think that's the way I'm able to do it. But to explain to others, you have to be really aware of what you're thinking and how you're feeling. And I think a lot of times we don't really know what we're thinking. We can tap into how we're feeling like we feel bad about something.

And it's important to like pay attention to that feeling and then try to identify the thought that you're having that's creating that feeling because every feeling is created by a thought. So you have to just be like, okay, what am I thinking that's making me feel anxious or that's making me feel stressed or nervous or whatever it is.

And then you have to like analyze, is that thought true or is it serving me? So sometimes we think things that may or may not be true, but like, it's actually not serving you like somebody might look at their, statements or their reports at the end of the month and be like, Oh, I made no money this month.

And then they might be stressed and that might be true, they might have not had enough take home to pay their bills. But is that serving you know, it's just making you feel worse. And so you have to really be conscious of how you're thinking and what you're thinking. I think honestly that's the hardest part because we just go about our day thinking and feeling how we think and feel and then to just realize that you have to be conscious about it, and really train your brain to think differently.

That's hard to do on your own, but it's well worth it.

Michael: Yeah. No, that's interesting. Especially when like a negative situation kind of arises, right? Interesting. Awesome, Desiree. Thank you so much for being with us. It's been a pleasure. But before we say goodbye, can you tell our listeners where they can reach out to directly?

Desiree: Yeah, absolutely. So you guys can find me on Instagram. I'm just at Dr. Yadzin, D R Y A Z D A N. And then you can also send me an email at D R D E Yadzin at gmail. com.

Michael: Awesome. So that's going to be in the show notes below and Desiree, thank you so much for being with me on this Monday morning episode.