The end of a year is always a good time for reflection. It brings about the celebration of all the past learning experiences and gained wisdom with the anticipation of what’s to come and how to adapt our business initiatives.

2005 was a great year of building and growth for Transitions. We had the privilege of developing new relationships with more dental professionals and at the same time expanded our market from Canada to now include the Eastern United States.
Transitions Group will now be Transitions Group North America (TGNA) thanks to the formal partnership with Benco Dental, one of the largest dental distributors in the United States.
The combination of Transitions successful coaching model and Benco’s vast number of customers, who want or need practice development, will make for a dynamic North American blend.

The blend includes an enhancement to our current programs and creation of new specialized services to meet the needs of dentists at all stages of their career. Transitions offers comprehensive services from the dental student stage where we offer school programs, to the seamless integration of associates and services for the owner/leader who wants customized solutions to achieve their own goals, increase practice profitability and overcome everyday challenges. We also cater to dentists who are approaching the end of their careers and have the need for services that will ease the “transition to retirement.”

Our practice development team possesses a combination of over 250 years of dental experience. This is a team of highly experienced professionals with an extensive range of expertise. Whatever challenges you face, chances are they have seen them before-firsthand.
Chuck Cohen, President of Benco Dental says: “We’re anticipating an extremely fulfilling relationship with our long-term strategic alliance with Transitions Group North America, Their reputation is solid and their results are unequaled as achieved by their clients. I am confident that their practice development model will revolutionize dental practice health for Benco Dental Customers. We are very excited that we have chosen them to lead our US practice development division.

Transitions Group North America look forward to being part of your success strategy in 2006.

Facilitating training, support, and inspiring leadership is an integral part of our coaching services. We too strive to reach our full potential and are excited to let you know about our team development days, when we took time out to learn and grow professionally.

Our Transitions Group North America Team had the fantastic opportunity to attend our company meeting and continuing education sessions in the Grand Canyon. It was a truly amazing experience for us all. We were fortunate enough to obtain Steve Emmons of Action for Excellence International, who specializes in Effectiveness Training. Action for Excellence International believes that building partnerships with clients is the most effective process for creating dynamic individuals and organizations. Their programs are based on the concept of learning by doing - Action Learning. Their motto is: “If you talk about teamwork you can become an expert at discussing it. If you participate in teamwork, you can become experienced in building, leading and working in successful teams.”

Steve coached us on interactive listening and problem solving techniques which included both theory and exercises. Instructions for our inter-active team exercises outlined restrictions and end results. How we achieved the results would be a team decision. This seemed easy enough! However, we soon learnt that the anticipated outcomes of some of the exercises did not always work the way we had expected. It became quite clear that our team success was directly linked to communication, solidarity, and a true understanding of each other’s behavioral traits, when under pressure. Better yet, this valuable training could be utilized both professionally and personally.

It was a real treat to be able to spend those days together talking, sharing, laughing, and learning more about each other, in an incredible setting. As the time progressed, this amazing learning opportunity and the extreme beauty of this wonder of the world left its mark on us all. We returned home fully aware of the resources we have to offer as a team who share a common vision.

As a dentist, you know that oral health is maximized by regular care, proper diagnosis, and preventive maintenance. A healthy practice also needs to be regularly monitored and analyzed. This can be done by putting effective systems in place and by making changes which allow the business to grow. Dentistry, like any other business, uses established monitors and guidelines for determining overall practice health from a business perspective. See how you compare, and begin to gauge the health of your business.

COLLECTION -PRODUCTION RATIO
Target: 98%. This calculates how many cents you collect of each dollar of dentistry you produce. Insurance write offs, which are uncollectible, must be removed from the production before the collection to production ratio is calculated. Gross production minus insurance write-offs equals net production. The collection to production ratio is calculated by dividing dollars collected by net production dollars. Track this regularly. A ratio that is lower than 98% may be indicative of unclear, or non-existent financial policies for payment.

OVER THE COUNTER COLLECTIONS
Target: 30-40% of Total Collections
•What is your policy for fee for service patients?
•What must be paid for in full at the time of service?
•Will you spread payment for services over the course of
treatment?
•What is your policy for insurance patients?

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
Target: $$ equal to or less than net production $$ for an average month.

If your average monthly net production is $50,000, your total accounts receivable should not exceed $50,000. Additionally, your accounts receivables in the over 90 day category should not exceed 5%. Strong financial policies coupled with clear collection procedures at the time of service are the two best weapons at your disposal for controlling your accounts receivable. The longer that money is owed to you, the harder it is to collect.

Introducing: DoctorsMarketing.Com

Finally… a website that provides valuable marketing information and vital answers to questions successful dentists need-to-know! And, it’s yours 24/7/365…for less than you would pay a marketing expert for one day.

Marketing Made Easy: A one-of-a-kind Internet-based tool that provides a complete portfolio of essential marketing information designed to maximize your practice growth. It is edited and managed by Joe Lancellotti, “The MI Guy,” who has over 30 years of dental marketing experience.

Key Features & Benefits:
On-line Marketing Workbook, a valuable interactive learning tool loaded with plenty of how-to & hands-on exercises, including 14 essential marketing plan forms that can be customized, saved and/or printed.

Monthly Marketing Updates contain valuable reports and informative files on topics such as: Cultivate Referrals and Grow Your Practice; and Public Relations for the Professional Practice. Learn the latest professional marketing concepts and strategies as well as reviews on what works and what doesn’t.

“The Round Table” provides a vehicle by which doctors and team members can ask marketing questions and also contribute their own ideas and feedback. We’re listening. Ask questions, receive answers. Post an idea or opinion.
And Much More… We invite you to visit

www.DoctorsMarketing.Com and tour the “Features Overview”.
DoctorsMarketing.Com is offered exclusively to Benco Dental clients.

Call us at 1-800-345-5157 or visit www.DoctorsMarketing.com and sign-up today!

Most people see leadership as the art of leading someone else. True leadership begins first by understanding ourselves, and then by a desire to help and encourage others to grow, be open to new ideas and realize a shared vision. Leadership is not something you do TO people; it’s something you do WITH them.

Despite the differences in good leaders, each will have common characteristics. You can choose to learn them, ignore them, or may have them naturally.
Leadership Traits

1. Leadership starts from the “top” down. “Leading by
example” is the earmark of a strong leader.

2. A leader likes people -the best leaders care about people.
They show an interest in others and are approachable
and accessible.

3. A leader is decisive, willing to make a decision and
will not delay or postpone indefinitely.

4. A leader is, above all, fair. Mistakes can either be used
as an opportunity to learn, or whip and beat the pride and
self-respect out of an individual.

5. A leader is ambitious. Good leaders are always looking for
ways to increase and expand.

6. A leader embraces change. Good leaders know that change is
an essential part of growth and development.

7. A leader empowers people - Empowerment not Micro-
management motivates people to do their best job.

8. A leader is a teacher. He or she “teaches” to the learning
style of the “student.”

9. A leader shows appreciation. He or she feels comfortable
saying, “Thank You for a job well done.”

Leadership is developed daily – not in a day and everyone defines leadership from their own experience. True leaders recognize what they cannot do and surround themselves with others who can.

If you were to lose one sense, which would it be? Touch, taste, smell or sight? Studies have shown that most individuals would prefer to have their sight and lose one of their other senses. Considering that most adults learn visually, we can utilize this important factor with your clients.

Instead of “telling” your clients what you see, how about involving them in a “tour of their mouth” by incorporating the use of the intraoral camera into their visit. This visual tool will allow the client to see the condition of their mouth, areas that need improvement, areas of concerns and understand your recommendations for treatment. Take an intraoral photo and put it onto a television screen magnified 35X for your client to see and you will have less explaining and your case acceptance will dramatically improve.

The graphical data chart from your computer software is another visual tool that shows areas of periodontal pocketing, recession, clinical attachment loss and bleeding points. Clients can take home a print-out of their present oral health status and follow along with their progress at sequential visits. Actively involving your client in their oral health will have them value their dental visits more. Again remember, to create an opportunity to educate and communicate rather than telling. Always start with something positive before offering advice or recommendations. When you offer clients an opportunity to speak, then you have automatically transferred ownership of their oral health back to them.

Building a relationship with your clients is vital if you are expecting them to comply with your recommendations. Ask your clients, “What about your smile, is not as ideal as you would like it to be?” In your treatment consultation room, utilize an album with before and after intraoral photos categorized in sections for the different treatment options. This creates an opportunity for clients to see what you are capable to doing and more important it instills a “want.” A picture can be worth a thousand words.