Howard Speaks: Please Wait in Line to Give Me Money

I’m sorry, we can’t see you today. Please wait in line and give us your money another day. Having your customers wait in line to give you money is an idea that given enough time will make your business obsolete and dead as a doornail from some competitor dentist who doesn’t have lines. If I can’t come in today and give you money then hit your gas pedal to add capacity, operatories, associates, hours, or buy the technology that allows you to work faster. Or, you can hit the brakes and raise your prices. This will shorten the line by making the people who value you less and are unwilling to pay you more to see you today, to get out of line, so the people willing to pay more are allowed the freedom to pay you more money for the extra value of being seen today. Same day dentistry is the fastest way to increase your case acceptance. If you sell a bottle of water for $1 and your profit margin is 10 cents (represented by the bottled water cap) then your profit margin is 10%. If you raise your price one dime (which would add another cap) you just raised your price 10% and doubled your profit margin from 10% to 20%, reduced the number of people waiting in line, and now have more profit to take home or reinvest in your business as retained earnings. Another way of raising your price is to drop your lowest paying dental insurance PPO. I don’t care which pedal you hit as long as you do something. What is not acceptable is to do nothing. Shit or get off the pot but don’t sit there all day while your customers are looking around to see if someone else can see them today. When your patient does find another dentist who will see them today they are not going to take the time to call you back and cancel their appointment with you, they will most likely extend the same curtesy you gave them and just not show up without notice known as the “No Show” which comes from you telling them “No” so they give it back as a “No Show” known in my 30 Day Dental MBA as “No Shit, Sherlock.”