The Business of Dentistry Podcast

Chris explains what makes a good leader. He discusses the importance of having a vision, setting a good example and what to do if you find yourself tolerating behaviours you don't want within your team.

What you’ll hear:

• The four characteristics of a good leader
• How to be an example of the standard you want to achieve
• What to do if one of the team doesn't want to be lead.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners and managers
• Anyone who leads a team.

Les Jones shares his experiences as a 'mystery shopper'. Posing as a married mum of one who has recently moved and is looking for a dentist, he completed a web enquiry form for a number of practices. Les talks about the responses he got, the opportunities practices missed and a number of simple but effective changes that can be implemented to convert more enquiries into patients.

What you’ll hear:

• The average value of a web enquiry 
• How taking control of your webform and responses could transform your practice
• Practical tips on creating engaging responses.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners and managers who want to increase patient numbers 
• Team members who respond to web enquiries
• Front desk teams.

Chris discusses the current trends with regard to choosing who to sell to. He also discusses possible alternatives to selling and explains the concept of the self-managing dental business.

What you'll hear:

• The reasons why people decide to sell
• The four hat philosophy of running a practice
• The model that enables you to retire without selling.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners who are exit planning
• Practice owners who are ready to sell
• Practice owners considering their future.

Sophie and Pippa from our events team share their expert advice for event planning. They explain the benefits of holding an open day and provide top tips for making sure you get the best from your event.

What you'll hear:

• Why dental practices should hold events
• Key things to consider when planning an event
• The importance of following up afterwards.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners and managers who are considering an open event
• Practice teams planning open events
• Dentists trying to grow their patient numbers.

Les Jones draws on his own experience creating and publishing his magazine, Elsie, to share his advice for generating creativity in your practice. He explains how to overcome common obstacles to help you to get projects from the ideas stage through to completion.

What you’ll hear:

• Ways to get your ideas off the ground
• How to avoid common pitfalls
• The benefits of involving your team in the creative process.

Who should listen:

• Practice managers and team leaders
• The full practice team.

Chris shares his perspective on setting goals and trying to reach them in terms of sailing. He discusses the effect of external factors and the need to adapt to them. He also explains the value of setting the goal in the first place.

What you’ll hear:

• The impact that external factors can have on you and your plans
• The importance of reassessing your goals on a regular basis
• How changing course doesn’t mean you won’t reach your goal.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners and managers with a long-term plan in place
• Team members who want to progress in their role
• Anyone who sets goals in their personal life.

Nick talks through the important things you need to consider when you’re working with a designer in order to ensure you have the best experience and achieve the desired result with your marketing material.

What you’ll hear:

• What to consider before you begin the design process with a designer
• Some ‘must do’s’ to make the process as smooth as possible
• Things to avoid when working with a designer.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners or managers who want new marketing materials
• Team members involved with marketing your practice
• Anyone considering a practice rebrand.

Before he joined Practice Plan and as a Regional Support Manager, Matt Hadman was a practice Manager. Today he shares his experiences of life in practice and his tips for helping you achieve a more profitable business.

What you’ll hear:

• The importance of looking at the numbers
• The benefits of measuring team performance
• Why you should consider the ‘ideal patient’ profile.

Who should listen:

• Practice owners and managers who want to improve the way their practice performs.

Practice director, Lesley Morgan Barlow discusses the role of therapists and hygienists. She touches on how those roles have changed, how patients perceive them and where they will fit into the dental team of the future.

What you’ll hear:

• How the roles of therapist and hygienist have changed over time
• What practices can do to ensure they’re maximising value from the therapist/hygienist
• The role therapist and hygienists will take in practices in future.

Bethany Rushworth and Rory O'Connor discuss mental health within dentistry in light of the recent Dentistry Confidence Monitor results. 84% of dentists who took part in the 2019 survey said their current role is having a negative effect on their mental health.

What you’ll hear:

• How more people are now acknowledging the impact of stress
• The importance of saying no
• Steps dentists can take to help improve their own mental health.

Who should listen:

• All dental professionals.