Your 2 greatest competitors all year

This is such a great time of year. The leaves are changing and falling, the air is cool and crisp, and football season is in full swing. In typical fashion, retailers are already geared up for and promoting holiday shopping, parties, and all of the joy that comes with the holiday season.

Jay Geier is the president and founder of the Scheduling Institute.

But it's important that you don't let the sparkle of the season blind you to two significant obstacles your practice now faces. In fact, they will be your greatest competitors of the year. Can you guess what they are?

Below are your two greatest competitors of the year:

1. A big bird
2. A jolly old man in a red suit

Yes, Thanksgiving and Christmas are great, very significant holidays, but they are also vicious competitors to finishing your year strong.

So in addition to dressing your turkey, consider putting on some boxing gloves and get ready for a fight. Here are some tips to keep you and your team from getting beat by the holiday competition.

Dos

• Model behavior: Remember that just like children imitate their parents, your team watches and emulates your behavior. If you are checked out of work or are disengaged, you basically give your team permission to do the same. You need to sit down, plan out your calendar for the remaining two months (and instruct your team to do the same), and model being somebody who finishes the year very strong.
“You should consider expanding your hours to accommodate the large number of potential new patients looking to cash in on their end-of-year benefits.”
• Keep the office on purpose: This is going to take some extra effort on your part, but it will pay off. Hold daily huddles and even weekly contests to communicate goals and stay on track. If you already incentivize your team, create a larger reward for success. If you don't, consider offering a financial incentive to motivate team members to reach their goals. Make it clear that there is a time for celebrating the holidays and a time for working. They've got to stay focused.
• Leverage end-of-year health benefits: Take advantage of year-end dental benefit spending and offer special 2-for-1 promotions or other specials to increase your new patient numbers and end your year strong. Utilize social media and your website for inexpensive ways to leverage them, and be sure your team is prepared to turn the calls generated by your marketing into scheduled appointments.

Don'ts

• Lower your goals: Consider the months of November and December to be like any other nonholiday month and keep your goals consistent. Never ever lower your goals to accommodate the holidays. I have plenty of clients who have had their best months ever even when they have taken a week off for vacation. And when you meet those goals, be sure to celebrate accordingly.
• Close your office: In fact, you should consider expanding your hours to accommodate the large number of potential new patients looking to cash in on their end-of-year benefits. I know there are practices who feel like their way of thanking the team is by shutting down the office for weeks at a time. But what they don't realize is that by closing the office, they are losing out on a huge new-patient opportunity. Remember that the holiday season is the prime time for people who have time off to see you. As I've said in a previous column, you have to think like a retailer. During the holiday season, they increase their hours, not decrease them.
• Be a grinch: Just because I'm telling you to get ready to fight these holidays, doesn't mean you don't recognize and celebrate them. This is a great opportunity for you to express your appreciation for all your team does by holding a party, dinner, or special event. Put the event on the calendar early so they know there is something to look forward to, and then ask them to buckle down until then. You can even offer a special surprise at the gathering for meeting their goals.

The whole idea is that if you can work hard leading up to the holidays, then you can actually be off and enjoy your family during them. But for the days you're at work, be there working. Push hard up until that point.

This is a great time of year. Business does not have to go down. No matter how you did this year, be sure to end it on a high note. A strong fourth quarter provides a great springboard for a strong first quarter next year.

Jay Geier is the founder and owner of the Scheduling Institute, a dental training and practice consulting company. Visit www.5starchallenge.com to find out how to transform your practice. Learn more about their Secrets to Building a Great Team event in December in Atlanta at www.EventsForDoctors.com.

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.