361: The 5 Components to a Successful Practice - Dr. Len Tau

The 5 Components to a Successful Practice

Episode #361 with Dr. Len Tau

Do you want to be the person who loves going to work every day? With a few changes to your thinking, you can! In today’s crossover episode, Kirk Behrendt and Dr. Len Tau talk about the five components you need to achieve a better practice and better life. A successful practice doesn't have to mean long hours, drama in the office, and no work-life balance! To find out how to overcome these challenges you may have, listen to Episode 361 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Create a plan and stick to it.

Have a function accountability chart.

Use metrics and data.

Surround yourself with the right people.

Be clear about your core values.

Have systems and checklists for everything.

Quotes:

“You don't have any rules. You can set your own rules. You don't have to go into insurance if you don't want to. You can do anything you really want when it comes to your dental practice. But it’s amazing to me, over the years, how many people have not wanted to go into solo practice, and they wanted to join a group practice, they wanted to join a DSO, they wanted to be an associate. They don't want the freedoms that dental practice ownership allows.” (7:11—7:35)

“Yes, running a dental practice is not the easiest thing. You have patient issues, you have money issues, you have staff issues. There are so many complexities to running the business. But it gives you the freedom that most professions don't give you.” (7:35—7:47)

“Everybody’s got to have a plan, an “A” plan, your one-page strategic plan.” (17:36—17:41)

“You're going to run into what's called the ceilings of complexity, Dan Sullivan called that years ago, where you just can't do any more. And what you have to do as an entrepreneur is you've got to make them simple again. Now, “simple” is not “easy.” It’s not. Simple requires thinking. It requires all of this. And on your plan, when you're thinking about your future as a dentist, it’s got to be thought out really well.” (19:22—19:42)

“There's never, ever, ever, ever, ever a reason to see a patient after 5:00. You can't give me one. Because if you see a patient after 5:00, that screams to me you don't give patients a good enough reason to come in the hours before 5:00, which screams to me also you don't value what you do.” (23:01—23:19)

“You've got to have metrics. You've got to have KPIs (key performance indicator).” (25:20—25:23)

“You're never looking for perfect. You're just looking for progress.” (26:48—26:51)

“We don't have to be perfect. It’s called dental practice for a reason — because you don't have to be perfect at it.” (27:24—27:29)

“What's your PPV (production per visit) as a practice? You already know what it is. So, if it’s $421 an hour, we’re going to go to $435. It’s not about money. A lot of times, it’s about scheduling. It’s about being a little bit more efficient. When you go over to $435, it has a dramatic impact to the rest of the formula.” (29:49—30:09)

“A second [leading indicator to know] would be number of visits a dental practice has in a month, whether it be through hygiene, doctor, whatever. If you have 310, we go to 325. You're now multiplying those two numbers, which has an exponential impact on the outcome. (30:09—30:25)

“It’s very important to know your gross and net collections percentage. People always say, ‘Well, my collections are 100%.’ Well, you're collecting 100% of what you could collect. But I really want to know the discrepancy between what your gross production is and your actual collections, because that tells me everything. Because you might be at 99% or 102%. That's awesome. But what you don't know is that your real collections percentage is 66%, which means you write off a third of all that you do — which means you work one out of every three days for free.” (31:09—31:42)

“What I talk to people about is, ‘I'm so busy, and I take all these PPOs.’ So, my thing to them is, ‘Well, look at the PPOs you're taking and drop the ones that are least reimbursing you.’ ‘Well, I don't want to lose 20% of my patients.’ I'm like, ‘Well, let me ask you a question. If you lose 20% of your patients and increase your fees 20%, what just happened?’ They go, ‘Well, I work less and make more money.’ ‘Well, there you go. That's what you should do.’” (33:39—34:04)

“The challenge that most dentists have is they like people, they don't want to focus on the money sometimes, or they don't want to look at the metrics. In a dental practice, it’s a lot easier than you think. When you put all these numbers in front of you, put everything on the table, you as a dentist can figure out the puzzle and you can start to play with the levers or the dials.” (35:15—35:38)

“Your problem is completely fixable. The only problem that's not fixable is a health problem. Dentists need to understand this. Anything can be fixed. I had a dentist that went through a $20 million bankruptcy. That can be fixed. When you have cancer, that's a challenge. It is. People make these problems so big, ‘Oh, I got all,’ — no, that could be fixed. You just need to listen to the right person.”  (36:57—37:23)

“You've got to have the right people around you, whether it be advisors or your team members. Pete Dawson said this to me at the ripe old age of 25. He said, ‘Kirk, I'm going to make your job as a consultant really easy. When you get the right people in a dental practice, you can produce twice as much, in half the time, with a quarter of the stress.’” (37:31—37:49)

“Having the right people changes your life over, and over, and over again.” (41:09—41:14)

“You've got to have systems and checklists for everything. Everything has got to have a system or a checklist, because every time you create a system, you save hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in the future.” (44:46—44:55)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:15 Kirk’s background.

7:04 Solo practice is amazing.

12:46 Be the person who loves going to work.

15:18 Have a plan.

21:32 Have a function accountability chart.

25:18 Have metrics.

27:34 Important KPIs to follow.

33:23 How to work less and make more money.

37:27 Have the right people around you.

40:03 Be clear about your core values.

41:26 Helping practices get out of insurance.

44:31 Have systems and checklists for everything.

45:53 Fun Q&A for Kirk.

52:12 Clubhouse app.

54:40 Kirk’s company and contact information.

Reach Out to Dr. Tau and Kirk:

Dr. Tau’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drleonardftau

Dr. Tau’s social media: @drlentau

ACT Dental website: https://www.actdental.com/

Kirk’s email: kirk@actdental.com 

Resources:

Traction by Gino Wickman: https://www.eosworldwide.com/traction-book

Clubhouse App (search for the dentist club): https://www.clubhouse.com/

Dr. Len Tau Bio:

Dr. Len Tau thrives on helping practices maximize their online reputation, marketing, and social media strategies. With 4.9 stars from over 1,600 reviews for his own dental practice, he teaches proven strategies he uses firsthand to grow his practice.

As a speaker, Len is known for his lively and engaging presentations packed with ready-to-use strategies. He regularly travels the country, sharing his marketing brilliance and passion for practice growth with audiences.

As a consultant, he offers practice leaders with real-world solutions tailored to fit their specific challenges and opportunities. Len loves to help doctors and their teams understand and implement successful online systems to build their practice. He currently serves as general manager for Birdeye reputation marketing software.

Selected as one of Philadelphia’s top dentists by Philadelphia Magazine, he continues to experience growth year after year in his fee-for-service practice focusing on general, cosmetic, reconstructive, and implant dentistry.

Following his father into the dental profession, Len graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and continues to pursue ongoing continuing education opportunities. He has had the privilege of serving patients for two decades. He is an active member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Dental Association, the Pennsylvania Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, the Eastern Dental Society, the Northeast Philadelphia Dental Implant Study Club, and the American Academy of Clear Aligners.