Dentistry is a challenging practice to master. In addition to mastering the art of caring for patients, dentists must operate a business. Running a dental practice means being a businessperson, a manager, an accountant, a psychologist, an educator, a human resource professional, and a team leader in addition to being a technically accomplished clinician.
But even the most talented clinician can fall short of building a successful practice that has an office culture that is comfortable and profitable. Finding the right dental management agency for your practice can be the saving grace you need to operate a successful dental practice. Not every dental practice company is created equal, though. Selecting the right dental consultant for your practice needs will take some research.
The right dental practice consultants can improve the quality of your life. Their job is to advise you and team the day-to-day activities, to improve your processes. The consultant you could be with for months or even years.
What to Look For
Whether you’re starting a new practice or have a dental office for sale, hiring a dental consultant is a huge investment of time, energy, and resources. A bad investment could be a disaster for your practice. You could spend even more resources trying to correct mistakes. While there are no guarantees in business, researching and vetting beforehand is much better than blindly hiring the first consultant you come across.
When vetting dental consultants to help improve your business, you want to look for someone with experience – a consultant with more than 10 years, a strong clientele list, and references. They will have perfected their methodology for developing leaders and predicting success. Dental consultants with less than 10 years’ experience tend to be in and out, not truly focused on being a good fit for the dental practitioners but focused on making money. You want to make sure your potential consultant’s values match up with those you want your practice to embody.
Ask These Three Questions First
Does the dental consultant understand me as a dentist?
When you discuss your needs and objectives, does the consultant get it? Does the consultant understand your unique background and how that shapes your practice? An experienced consultant will be able to apply their knowledge to creating best practices that matches with your vision.
Do share the same core values?
No matter how excellent a dental consultant is, if their values do not match up to yours, your practice could suffer greatly. What success means to a consultant may not be in-tune with what success means to you. Ask what their values are.
Does their energy match yours?
Team cohesion is incredibly important for creating a pleasant work environment. Too often, people underestimate the role that energy plays in the operation of a successful practice. If you have a team that is high-energy and enthusiastic and then you bring in a consultant with low-energy and apathetic, it can really spoil team morale and affect the quality of work. And when the quality of work is affected, so, too, is your bottom line.
