Kickstart Your Practice Goals for the New Year!

As a dentist, the start of a new year is the perfect time to set ambitious yet achievable goals for your practice. Whether you want to expand patient care, adopt new technology, or enhance your team’s skills, taking time to plan now can lead to significant growth and fulfillment.

Start with a Vision

What do you envision for your practice in 2025? Define your “why” and align your goals with this purpose. Your vision could include:

• Making a bigger impact in your community.
• Helping more patients fall in love with their smiles by completing 2 more smile makeover cases per month.
• Improving patient health with 20% higher retention rates on your hygiene schedule and 20% higher acceptance of presented treatments.

Whatever your goals, write them down and share them with your entire team. If your Mission Statement needs an update, now’s the time. If you don’t have one yet, create it. A Mission Statement acts as your practice’s guiding principle, inspiring both your team and patients. Think about what makes your practice unique and how you deliver value to your community, then build your 2025 vision around that.

Prioritize Your Objectives

From increasing case acceptance rates to boosting hygiene production or improving patient retention, choose 2-3 key areas to focus on. Then set out a timeline of what exactly will need to be done on a quarterly basis to hit your goal by the end of the year. Break down these goals into actionable steps to ensure progress is steady and measurable. For instance, if your focus is on improving patient retention, you might introduce follow-up systems and patient education initiatives each quarter to address barriers to care.

Take Action:

• Assess Your Metrics: Review last year’s performance to identify areas of improvement. What were your strengths? Where did you fall short? Use these insights to shape your 2025 goals.
• Empower Your Team: Schedule a team meeting to collaborate on shared goals. Encourage open communication and input from every team member to ensure everyone feels invested in the success of the practice.
• Invest in Growth: Consider training programs or tools like Perio Protect to provide elevated care. Investing in cutting-edge technology or professional development not only enhances patient outcomes but also boosts team morale and engagement.

Not Sure Where to Start?

Focus on two areas that have the biggest impact: Treatment Acceptance and Attracting New Patients. These focus areas directly impact your practice’s growth by ensuring patients follow through with necessary treatments and expanding your patient base. Treatment acceptance often requires clear communication about the benefits of proposed care and a strong commitment to patient education. Meanwhile, attracting new patients involves effective marketing strategies, exceptional service, and leveraging referrals to grow your practice organically.

MGE offers valuable tools to help with this:

• New Patient Workshop: Master the skills to attract and retain high-quality new patients.
• ABC Sales & Communication Seminars: Improve treatment presentations and patient engagement to generate measurable results.

These resources are designed to equip your team with the skills and strategies to excel in patient engagement and lead generation. From mastering the art of scheduling to delivering compelling treatment presentations, these workshops provide actionable insights that yield measurable results.

Plan for Staff Growth

Include in your 2025 planning how you will develop your team to not only hit your expansion goals but allow you to sustain your growth even further into the future. Growth requires a dedicated and capable team, and it’s essential to ensure each member is operating at their highest potential.

You should review what positions your growth will require you to hire for and identify any areas that may need additional training to improve results. For example, if you find that your New Patient lead conversion is below 40%, this would be a great area to introduce Phone Skills training on a regular basis to bring your conversion rates up to at least the 60% mark, after which you might target even higher. Comprehensive training programs can transform underperforming areas into strengths, driving practice-wide success.

Flat production numbers or having treatment booked out further than 3-4 weeks may indicate it is time to hire an Associate to allow you to service even more members of your community. This step not only expands your practice’s capacity but also creates opportunities for mentorship and leadership within your team.

Keep in mind that as you hire, you will need to adjust your revenue goals to account for increased overhead. MGE recommends an increase of an average of $20,000 in collections per month for every new hire as a rule of thumb and Collections and Production goals of $50,000 per operatory, per month as the Gold Standard for Dental Practices delivering bread-and-butter dentistry. These benchmarks provide a clear framework for financial planning and ensure your practice remains profitable while scaling operations.

Expand Your Marketing Efforts

Marketing is a cornerstone of growth, and 2025 is the perfect time to refine your strategy. Here are some key things to focus on:

• Building positive reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp.
• Using social media to engage your community and share patient success stories.
• Running targeted email campaigns and direct mail to stay connected with current patients and attract new ones.

Remember, marketing isn’t just about attracting new patients—it’s about building long-term relationships that last.

Optimize the Patient Experience

A seamless, positive experience keeps patients coming back and inspires referrals. Take a close look at every touchpoint in your practice, including:

• Appointment scheduling: Simplify with online booking systems.
• In-office visits: Focus on comfort and efficiency.
• Post-visit follow-ups: Offer educational resources and personalized communication.

Small changes in the patient experience can make a big difference, and showing patients they are valued encourages long-term loyalty.

Let’s Make 2025 Your Breakthrough Year

By setting clear goals, empowering your team, and focusing on areas that matter most, you can achieve lasting success for both your practice and your patients.

Want your own personalized plan for practice growth in the new year? Get your 2025 Practice Accelerator Assessment Today!

Here’s to a successful year ahead – for you and your patients! If you have any questions about the topics I’ve covered here, feel free to reach out to us at (800) 640-1140, or email me at Vickyp@mgeonline.com.