While some people might tell you that everyone has a ceiling, at Sable Industries, we firmly believe the sky’s the limit for your dental practice!
Is your practice pulling in six figures of revenue per year? Why not aim for seven figures? Are you already earning that much? There is still room to grow.
At some point, you might find you’ve grown so much that any more growth simply isn’t possible. Even then, you need to be poking at your ceiling with a proverbial broom to try to bust through. It’s that type of attitude that keeps you improving and providing the best possible care to your patients.
The second you stop looking for growth opportunities and take your foot off the gas, you will stagnate. If powerhouses like Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson always strive for more, even as billionaires, so can the most profitable dental practice.
So, read on as we introduce five strategies that will help your dental practice experience substantial growth.
Tip 1: It All Starts With Your Team
You might be a fantastic dentist, but expansion is impossible without an exceptional team.
More specifically, delegation is a critical element of growing your business. Practice owners can’t do everything themselves, and if they try to, they’ll vastly lower their ceiling.
With all this said, who do you need on your team?
For starters, a financial advisor will put together a plan for your money, ensuring you’re investing your funds strategically and insightfully. They’ll also help with your budgeting to ensure you’re not going beyond what you can afford.
Legal experts are another crucial team member when you’re expanding your practice. They pay specific dividends when you’re buying a new property. Contact a larger dental association if you don’t know where to look for a legal advisor. Such organizations offer resources to help navigate potential hurdles involving laws and bylaws.
Lastly, expanding your practice can’t really happen if you don’t have a lending partner.
Personal money and business money should never mix. Therefore, a reliable lender will help you with any of the following scenarios:
- Providing working capital
- Offering debt consolidation
- Approving and funding your business loan
Be sure to align with a lender who understands the nuances of the dental industry.
Tip 2: Have An Expansion Strategy in Mind
An ad hoc approach to practice development will prove to be both painful in the long and short term. Take time to map out your moves, and don’t swim in the deep end without a proverbial life jacket (i.e., a well-thought strategy).
One suggestion is purchasing a new office from an owner who’ll be retiring in a few years. This way, they’ll stay on as part-owners until they hang up their scrubs, transitioning all their patients to you in a smooth hand-off. You won’t have to start off fresh with no clientele. The groundwork will be laid for you to thrive.
Beyond that, your legal advisor will help iron out some of the more challenging red tape, further smoothing out your strategy.
Tip 3: Go Digital With Your Marketing
A growing patient base is a necessity for expanding your practice. That means you need to step up your marketing efforts.
Sure, you can rely on internal marketing methods to a degree. But in today’s day and age, relying solely on that singular approach is akin to driving a car without an engine.
We’re not telling you to spend a fortune on a billboard ad or a television spot, especially since dental practices are so locally oriented. Instead, your marketing solution involves reaching customers on their mobile devices and laptops through digital/online marketing. Dental patients looking for new dentists find them through internet searches, online reviews, and social media.
Tip 4: Stay Positive and Keep Thinking Big Picture
Staying positive and being a forward-thinker both belong on the list of “things that are easier said than done.” However, an optimistic attitude and thinking ten steps ahead is critical to you and your staff remaining motivated.
As an owner, it’s up to you to keep morale up and everyone on the same page. So, even when times get tough, you need to be mindful that every one of your actions must be conducive to growth and positive, forward motion.
Tip 5: Pay for Upgrades
You can’t expand your practice with old, shabby equipment. Upgrades, on the other hand, are known to provide new returns because they enable you and your team to perform better. You’ll be able to offer your customers broader treatment options and increase efficiency.
It might seem intimidating at first to invest in dental equipment upgrades. But your financial advisor will help you make wise, profitable investments that maximize your returns.
By actioning these helpful tips, your practice will be well on its way to rapid and exponential growth!