The Paragon Program - Articles/Audio/Video

Welcome to the Paragon Program (Video)

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 -0400

The Law of the Marshmallow (Articles)

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0500

The Law of the Marshmallow- by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

Delaying gratification today leads to greater success tomorrow.

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 10 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 3:04 minutes]

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The Law of the Marshmallow

Delaying gratification today leads to greater success tomorrow.

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

In the 1960s, Stanford University conducted a study on delayed gratification. Young children were selected as test subjects. The idea was to tempt them to choose less now, instead of waiting for more later. They put treats, like marshmallows, in front of these children and gave them a choice. They could enjoy the marshmallow now, or avoid eating it and be rewarded with a second marshmallow when the tester returned. One marshmallow if you eat now. Two if you wait.

Some ate the marshmallow right away, unwilling to wait for the possibility of another marshmallow. Others showed greater willpower and discipline to hold off. The promise of two marshmallows was more powerful than the presence of one marshmallow.

Although a simple test, it produced amazing results. These children were monitored well into their adulthood. Researchers wanted to know if the discipline of delaying gratification was related to long-term success in life. The results were remarkable and instructive. Those children who delayed gratification during the initial test were clearly more successful than those who ate the marshmallow right away.

The ability to delay gratification in the short-term has a substantial link to success down the road. The idea is simple. Pay now, play later. You can’t go to the gym today and expect to walk out as an Adonis. You can’t invest in the stock market today and expect to be a millionaire tomorrow. You can’t invest ten thousand in marketing today and expect to grow by ten thousand percent in the next month. Delayed gratification means time and struggle and discipline to not eat the marshmallow today.

Are you willing to delay gratification today for a bigger payoff tomorrow? Are you willing to deal with the short-term struggles because your eyes are on the long-term payoff?

This principle has roots in agriculture. Predicting the future is fairly simple. You reap what you sow. Sow more, reap more. Sow less, reap less. When you harvest the food you planted last year, you have a choice. You can eat it all or you can eat some and set aside the rest to plant for next year. If you want a bigger harvest next year, you won’t be able to eat as much this year. The size of your reward depends on the size of your investment. Live on less today, invest what you don’t spend, and you’ll have more tomorrow. The less you eat now, the more you can plant for a bigger harvest next year. A bigger return later requires a bigger investment now.

Want a better marriage tomorrow? Spend less time today on other things and invest more time with your spouse. Want to buy a boat tomorrow? Spend less money today on other things and save it for a boat. Want a bigger practice tomorrow? Take home less today and reinvest it in the practice. Delayed gratification involves time, struggle, and discipline.

Two marshmallows are always better than one. Don’t settle for one.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for over thirty years.

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Paragon is the leading dental practice management and dental consulting firm for today's dentist. Over 30 years of service have established us as the industry experts when it comes to growing your practice and achieving the success that you deserve. Paragon is America's Profitability Experts.

The Law of Cause and Effect (Articles)

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0500

The Law of Cause and Effect- by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

If you don't like the effect, find the cause and change it.

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 10 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 6:29 minutes]

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The Law of Cause and Effect

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

If you don't like the effect, find the cause and change it.

Dr. William James is considered the father of American psychology. He was a sickly child and faced many challenges throughout his youth and adulthood. Though passionate about art, he wasn't good at it. He tried medical school only to discover he hated it. A research trip to the Amazon brought smallpox and almost killed him. When he returned to his hometown of Boston, he made plans to take his own life. Before carrying out his plans, he discovered the Law of Cause and Effect while reading Aristotle, the father of modern science.

For every cause there is an effect. Though that may seem simple to us, for Dr. James it was a profound realization that caused him to postpone his suicide for a year.

Over the next year, he would study this law in his life. Maybe the big struggles in his life weren't just bad luck. Maybe he had control over the outcomes. Maybe if he could find the cause of an effect, he could change the effect. During that time he discovered that fixing a cause fixed the effect. He wasn't meant to be a failure after all. Not only did he not end his life, Dr. James went on to become the father of American psychology.

You have control over the effects in your life and your practice.

The problem is we rarely take the journey to find the cause producing the effect. If a dental practice has a good year, we celebrate the victory. If the same practice has a bad year, rather than digging in to find the cause, we conveniently latch onto excuses and shift blame.

Find the cause if you want to change the effect.

Let's say profits have dropped because of low hygiene retention. We begin the investigation. We quickly rule out low new patient numbers, which leads us to rule out faulty marketing strategies. We begin to look at our hygienists. Are they doing a good job and building patient relationships? Patients offer good reviews. Are we open at the right times? Yes, we have convenient hours. Our front office begins to consistently ask patients why they are cancelling appointments. Soon the answer becomes clear. A significant percentage of patients have been forgetting their appointments. The cause has been found.

Now we work on a solution to fix the effect of low hygiene retention. After developing a systematic and automated approach to appointment reminders, your hygiene retention numbers are better than ever.

See the bad effect. Find the cause. Fix the cause. Enjoy the good effect.

If you don't fix causes, you'll be experiencing the same effect five or ten years from now. You'll be five or ten years older and five or ten years more frustrated, exhausted, and burned out from the effect because you never fixed the cause.

The Law of Cause and Effect can be proactive in your life as well. What effects do you want in life? If you want the effect of financial independence in your life, what cause will make that happen? A growing practice. What cause will give you a growing practice? Investing in marketing, management, technology, or a new building? Adding an associate?

Don't complain about an effect if you are unwilling to change the cause. Find the cause and fix it.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for twenty-five years.

_______________________________________________

Paragon is the leading dental practice management and dental consulting firm for today's dentist. Over 25 years of service have established us as the industry experts when it comes to growing your practice and achieving the success that you deserve. Paragon is America's Profitability Experts.

Madrugada (Articles)

Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0500

Madrugada, Paragon's 2018 Theme - by Ken Runkle– America’s Profitability Expert™

Madrugada is a Spanish word pointing to the pivotal moment when the sun breaks through the darkeness and a new day dawns. In your life and practice, moments arise when big decisions position you for long term success. These momentuous resolutions happen in a second, but must be implemented every day. Would you like to see a new day dawn in your life and your practice this next year?

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 20 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 19:25 minutes]

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Madrugada

Paragon's 2018 Theme

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

NEW DAWN

The sun is cresting the horizon. What critical changes will you implement in 2018 for your life and your practice? What changes do you need to establish in your mindset, your habits, your health, your relationships, your finances, and your practice? You have big goals and big dreams. Now is the time to make the big decisions that set achievement in motion.

NEW DAY

As each day dawns, implementation is set in motion. How will you ensure each day moves you closer to your bigger goals? Has your team been equipped and motivated by your morning huddle? Have you scheduled your daily goals? Have you done everything possible to ensure the new day will be your best day? What changes in your daily schedule must your implement to ensure every new day is set up to be a great day?

TAKE ACTION

Your Madrugada moment is now. Write down three changes you are committed to implementing in your life and practice in 2018.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for twenty-five years.

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Case Acceptance with Ken Runkle (Video)

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 00:00:00 -0400

2015 National Study Club Promo (Video)

Fri, 04 Sep 2015 00:00:00 -0400

Promotional video shot in Bedford, Pennslyvania for Paragon's 2015 National Study Club.

For more information visit www.theparagonprogram.com.

Paragon is the leading dental practice management and dental consulting firm for today's dentists. Over 27 years of service have established them as the industry experts when it comes to growing your practice and achieving the success that you deserve. Paragon is America's Profitability Experts.

Seven Questions (Audio)

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 01:00:00 -0500

Seven Questions by Ken Runkle– America’s Profitability Experts™

Do you know why the new patient is in your practice? How high is their Dental IQ or their Insurance IQ? What will motivate them to want more dentistry? Knowing the answers to these 7 critical questions creates a powerful environment for effective case presentation, case acceptance and case completion. Developed over 2 ½ decades of in-office consulting, Ken Runkle reveals the 7 questions you must ask to be most effective.

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 20 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 19:25 minutes]

Subscribe to iTunes and automatically get new audio sessions

Seven Questions

Questions Your Treatment Coordinator Should Be Asking

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

KEY: The patient relationship is the most important relationship in the office.

Intentionally fostering and developing the patient relationship is critical to patient retention and referrals. Focused relationship building also creates a powerful environment for effective case presentation, case acceptance and case completion.

During over two decades of in-office consulting, I have developed a list of 7 questions to help you gain valuable patient information while cultivating the relationship.

1. Who should we thank for referring you?

This is the trust question. By asking this question, you can gauge the level of trust the patient has in your practice. Why the patient comes to your practice reveals their initial trust level.

LOW TRUST: If the patient comes to your practice because your sign says dentistry, then their trust level is probably low. If the yellow pages ad drew them in because it said evening hours, then the trust level is low.

HIGH TRUST: If the patient has chosen your practice because they were referred by one of your other patients, then the trust level is high.

2. What did your friend say that made you want to come here?

This is what I call the “positive” or “plus sign.” It is essential that your treatment coordinator deliver the correct wording with this question. You cannot only ask what the referrer said about your practice, but also what made the new patient want to come to your practice. Their answer reveals what is important to them.

For example, if they came because your practice accepts their insurance, or because they heard your practice was friendly – that reveals what is important to them.

Pay Attention: These patients are telling you, “If you want my business, this is what you will need to do.”

There are four questions to uncover what is important to your new patient. [Your treatment coordinator should write down the answers.]

1. What was it the referrer said about us?

2. What made you want to come here?

3. Is that important to you?

4. Why is that important to you?

3. How long has it been since you have been to the dentist?

This is the value question. The answer to this question reveals how much the patient values their dentistry. Patients often lie, or bend the truth, when they answer this question. If the patient says it has been 2 years, you can almost always assume it has been 4 years. If the patient says it has been 3 years, you can assume it has probably been about 6 years. Most patients do not want to tell you the real value they put on dentistry.

4. Why did you leave your prior dental practice?

This is the negative question. Questions three and four are often asked together. Most people over twenty years old have been to another practice prior to yours.

Important: Often the patient will not reveal the real reason for leaving another practice at first. It is the treatment coordinator’s job to discover the real reason for leaving.

Digging deeper is the key. Effective treatment coordinators will successfully discover the name of the practice or doctor the patient left as well as the reason. If the patient says they left because they moved, often there is usually a deeper reason such as a job change or loss leading to lack of dental insurance. If insurance was the problem, then you know this patient is insurance driven. By asking why the patient left the prior practice, you zero in on what is important to them in a dental practice.

5. Do you believe you need a lot of dentistry? Is there an area you would like the doctor to focus on?

This is what I call the patient’s DIQ = Dental IQ. The average patient has a low DIQ. A patient may say they do not need much dental work, but then you review the radiographs, look in their mouth and realize their case represents between $10,000-$15,000 in dentistry. They do not have a high DIQ. If the treatment coordinator knows the patient’s DIQ is low, they can warn the doctor that it may be a challenge for case acceptance. If the patient thinks they are fine because nothing hurts and they discover they need significant dental work, it may be difficult for them to accept. Factors such as insurance sensitivity can create a low DIQ because they are not open to treatment beyond their insurance coverage. There are also some patients that do not know what they need, have a low DIQ, but are open to trusting the doctor.

6. I see you have insurance, have you used it before and do you know how it works? (This is a question only for patients with insurance.)

This is the patient’s IIQ = Insurance IQ. Nine out of ten times, the treatment coordinator should share how dental insurance works in a simple and understandable way, taking less than three minutes. I have been to some practices that creatively use monopoly money to better illustrate how insurance works.

There are three steps in explaining most dental insurance.

1. Your employer places $1,000 in an account and you have access to it if you match the $1,000. This is a good deal if you need dentistry.

2. Dental insurance is not like cell phone rollover minutes, you use it or lose it.

3. Dental insurance is never like medical insurance. It should be used on an incremental basis only, and is a bonus and a blessing. If medical insurance worked like dental insurance, you could never have a quadruple bypass. Insurance should never be the main deciding factor in a patient’s dental treatment.

7. What questions do you have for me?

This is the most important question. In America, we have many choices including what profession we will enter, what house we will live in, who we will marry, who we will vote for, etc... We enjoy having control of our lives. This mindset translates to dental care.

Up until now, the previous six questions have probably gone like this: 10 second question, 1 minute answer, 10 second question, 1 minute answer, 10 second question, 1 minute answer. The treatment coordinator has been in control of the conversation thus far.

This last question provides the patient with control. The reason why most people do not like health care is because they get pushed around and will often take a subservient role. A patient will often walk behind a nurse or ask to use the restroom because they subconsciously know they are not in control. By asking if the patient has any questions, you are relinquishing control to them. Most of the time the patient will sit back and answer with “I don’t have any questions” giving you back control. Some patients, however, will answer “I don’t have any questions for you right now” giving you back control, but subconsciously reserving the right to take back control.

The more the patient feels in control, the greater chance you have for case acceptance. If people do not feel in control, you will not sell to them.

Now that the treatment coordinator has asked the 7 questions, the answers need to be communicated to the doctor. Patients will not appreciate being asked questions by the treatment coordinator and then being asked those same questions again by the doctor. The answers must be communicated at the hand off so that everyone is on the same page for treatment presentation and case acceptance.

Implement these 7 questions in your practice starting today. Knowing your patients will build long-term retention, referrals and dramatically improve your case acceptance rates.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for twenty-five years.

_______________________________________________

Seven Questions (Articles)

Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:00:00 -0500

Seven Questions by Ken Runkle– America’s Profitability Expert™

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 20 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 19:25 minutes]

Subscribe to iTunes and automatically get new audio sessions

Seven Questions

Questions Your Treatment Coordinator Should Be Asking

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

KEY: The patient relationship is the most important relationship in the office.

During over two decades of in-office consulting, I have developed a list of 7 questions to help you gain valuable patient information while cultivating the relationship.

1. Who should we thank for referring you?

This is the trust question. By asking this question, you can gauge the level of trust the patient has in your practice. Why the patient comes to your practice reveals their initial trust level.

HIGH TRUST: If the patient has chosen your practice because they were referred by one of your other patients, then the trust level is high.

2. What did your friend say that made you want to come here?

For example, if they came because your practice accepts their insurance, or because they heard your practice was friendly – that reveals what is important to them.

Pay Attention: These patients are telling you, “If you want my business, this is what you will need to do.”

There are four questions to uncover what is important to your new patient. [Your treatment coordinator should write down the answers.]

1. What was it the referrer said about us?

2. What made you want to come here?

3. Is that important to you?

4. Why is that important to you?

3. How long has it been since you have been to the dentist?

4. Why did you leave your prior dental practice?

This is the negative question. Questions three and four are often asked together. Most people over twenty years old have been to another practice prior to yours.

Important: Often the patient will not reveal the real reason for leaving another practice at first. It is the treatment coordinator’s job to discover the real reason for leaving.

5. Do you believe you need a lot of dentistry? Is there an area you would like the doctor to focus on?

6. I see you have insurance, have you used it before and do you know how it works? (This is a question only for patients with insurance.)

There are three steps in explaining most dental insurance.

1. Your employer places $1,000 in an account and you have access to it if you match the $1,000. This is a good deal if you need dentistry.

2. Dental insurance is not like cell phone rollover minutes, you use it or lose it.

7. What questions do you have for me?

The more the patient feels in control, the greater chance you have for case acceptance. If people do not feel in control, you will not sell to them.

Implement these 7 questions in your practice starting today. Knowing your patients will build long-term retention, referrals and dramatically improve your case acceptance rates.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for twenty-five years.

_______________________________________________

KEN RUNKLE PUBLISHED IN THE JULY-SEPTEMBER, 2013 ISSUE OF PERIOSPECTIVES (Articles)

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Periospectives has published one of Ken's articles, 7 Keys To Maximize Referral Relationships in their July-September, 2013 issue. You can read it here.

Selling Solutions (Audio)

Fri, 04 Oct 2013 01:00:00 -0400

Selling Solutions by Ken Runkle– America’s Profitability Experts™

Do you and your team understand that selling dentistry is the best and highest form of sales? Your dental practice sells solutions. Ken Runkle dissects four different sales approaches based on the book, The Quadrant Solution by Howard Stevens and Jeff Cox. In his analysis, Ken points the way for your entire dental team to understand the incredible leverage and sales position your practice represents to patients. This is a must read for everyone involved in your practice involved in the selling process.

Download the entire article. [Evaluation Time: 10 minutes]

Listen to the companion audio session. [Listening Time: 5:40 minutes]

Subscribe to iTunes and automatically get new audio sessions

Selling Solutions

Understand How Your Practice Sells Solutions

by Ken Runkle – America’s Profitability Expert™

Growing dental practices sell solutions. The process is simple. Patients arrive with a problem or a series of problems and doctors offer solutions in exchange for payment.

When problem meets solution, profit is born. Every dental team member in your practice needs to understand the leveraging power of selling solutions to patients. The great news, as you’ll see in this article, is that dental practices engage in the highest and most effective form of selling.

The sales process has been detailed in books, articles, seminars and conferences over the years. One of the best books I’ve ever read on the topic comes from Howard Stevens and Jeff Cox. Although it is written as a novel, I’d like to provide you with a brief overview below.

The Quadrant Solution: A Business Novel That Solves the Mystery of Sales Success

by Howard Stevens and Jeff Cox

1. Display Selling

If you have been to a department store or fast food restaurant, you have experienced Display Selling (Low Complexity and Low Experience). For example, during your last trip to the department store, you were probably greeted by a teenaged worker who asked if you were looking for anything specific. You said, “no,” but headed directly to the shirts because you entered the store with the intention of buying a new shirt. After sorting through the shirts and trying on a few, you selected a shirt to purchase. At the checkout, the teenaged worker asked you if you found everything you needed. You said, “yes,” with a smile and proceeded with the purchase.

The sale was very simple and required very little experience from the employee.

2. Relationship Selling

If you have ever been wined and dined, you have been part of Relationship Selling (High Complexity and Low Experience). For example, your insurance agent invites you to play a round of golf. His intention is to build a deeper relationship with you in order to keep your account or encourage you to place more of your business with his or her company.

The sale is based on a relationship. To make this sale, you have to create and maintain a relationship with your client. This sale is not solely based on what is being sold, but the relationship you have with the client.

3. Super Close Selling

If you’ve ever attended a Timeshare presentation, you’ve probably experienced Super Close Selling. The salesperson made an emotional and captivating presentation that heightened your desire for the product or service. They engaged your emotions and concluded with a very strong close, pushing you to make a decision right away. This sales approach rarely settles for “no” as an answer and repeat sales are not the goal. Fly in, make the sale, and move on to the next potential customer. Dental practices do not operate in this fashion.

4. Consultive Selling

When a patient comes to you with a problem and you provide them a solution, this is Consultive Selling (High Complexity and High Experience). You are selling solutions. This is the highest form of sales and the best kind of selling. You move beyond selling to providing solutions.

Shifting from selling to solutions moves your vocabulary from treatment plan to treatment solution.

NOTE: Dental practices engage in the highest and most effective form of selling by providing solutions that involve both High Complexity and High Experience.

Interruption-Based Sales

1. Low Integrity

A stranger walks up to you in a mall or an airport and tries to sell you a product. You politely refuse and walk on, but the salesman follows still trying to make the sale. This cycle continues because he does not have the courtesy to accept your answer. This is low integrity, interruption based sales.

2. High Integrity

Door to door salespeople or evangelists are people with high integrity, but are still interruption based. They knock on your door, interrupting your daily activity. You open the door and after they make sure you do not want what they are selling, they tell you to have a nice day and leave. Although they have high integrity, they have still interrupted your day.

Permission-Based Sales

1. Low Integrity

For years, the example of low integrity sales has been the car salesman, although not every car salesman sells with low integrity. Auto sales are permission-based sales because the customer gives permission to be sold simply by driving on to the car lot.

2. High Integrity

Dental practices represent high integrity, permission-based sales. Patients come to your practice and make an appointment for you to solve their problem. They give you permission to sell to them, not just once, but in an ongoing relationship.

Dental Practices = Ultimate Leverage for Effective Sales

Your dental practice engages in the highest form of sales with the most responsive and most effective leverage points with your patients. They come to you with a problem and you solve their problem from a position of high experience and high integrity. You are the expert. They came to you. Do not shrink from the opportunity to leverage these realities as you close the sale and provide your patients with long-term health solutions.

Go for it!

– Ken Runkle, America’s Profitability Expert™, is the founder and president of Paragon Management, Inc. and has been helping dental practices reach peak profitability for twenty-five years.

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