Laura Horton Consulting

An amazing result I have to share

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:21:10 +0000

I have to say that I really am not one to blow my own trumpet. I know I have to, and should do more of it but it is not something I do day in and day out.

I am a bit of a hypocrite really, I harp onto dentists about ‘selling themselves’ and don’t do it myself. Even when giving presentations I prefer to play slides and music to tell my story rather than stand there and speak about myself. Guess this is a typical of the brits!

Today I am not blowing my own trumpet but someone else’s.

I completed my Treatment coordinator implementation, I had spent to days with the team in their practice, and 21 hours later I received this email:

You are gonna be like a proud momma when I tell you what I just did!
I did my initial 15 mins brought the client up to XX and sat with her and then he did a tx plan and came down and we did an options meeting.
She just booked in treatment worth 15,950!

So she is booked and gave XX a hug she was so happy! Bless her

Big hugs missy

Laura Horton

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Training and wow factor examinations. Visit the website

‘Laura Loves…’ bows and whistles!

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:44:27 +0000

I love all things nice. I am sucker for branding, bows and whistles and have come to expect this type of presentation from businesses I deal with.

While in Paris last weekend we stumbled across a homemade biscuit shop. I was on the lookout for a nice present and my fiance loves biscuits, so I popped in. I left 15 minutes later and 30 Euros lighter.

This shop was amazing, the selection of freshly made biscuits was great, and they had an entire selection dedicated to macaroons.

I was deciding what to buy and I noticed a display of gorgeous boxes. So that was it, I bought a mixed selection of biscuits and then a mixed selection of macaroons. The reason I bought so much was because the boxes with their bells and whistles were exciting me and I wanted more.

But what excited me the most was the fact that I was going to give these stunning presents, in their gorgeous boxes (with matching ribbon) in a gorgeous bag. I couldn’t wait to see his face when I presented them.

You can easily make your patients feel excited about the products they buy from you. I will never forget arriving in a practice in West Yorkshire last year. I had been there previously to deliver front desk and customer service training. This day I was met by the two TCOs I was about to train.

They gave me a fantastic tour of the practice (recently renovated since my last visit) and handed me a lovely bag and in there, beneath the gorgeous tissue paper, was a box. I opened it to find a pen, lip balm and a keyring coin. I was ecstatic.

You too can make your patients feel good and excited with these things. I for one appreciate the time and effort spent designing and the investment businesses have made, and if get excited about pretty boxes and bags I am sure your patients will too.

I took a picture for you, but the lovely biscuit box is at my fiancés work (even he just had to show it off!)

Laura Horton

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Training and wow factor examinations. Visit the website

Management Monday

admin — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:14:40 +0000

Every Monday, Nikki Berryman – licensed Practice Management Consultant for Laura Horton Consulting – posts about her current plans and experiences as the Business Development Manager for Pure Dental Health in Cornwall -

‘On Friday I was chatting to a friend on the phone about the team here at Pure and talking about what makes a great team. So I thought I would start the week by publicly acknowledging my team of girls at Pure Dental.

Any practice owner and/or manager will understand the importance of having a great team; as they will no doubt have had experience of working in an environment where the team is unhappy or dysfunctional (haven’t we all?) and have realised how problematic this can be in a small business.

Let me tell you how I feel about the girls. They are smart, funny, loyal, hardworking, caring, they genuinely love our patients, they ‘get the job done’, they don’t bitch, they smile, they are motivated, they ask questions, they want to be involved. I am a manager who absolutely understands and ‘gets’ the fact that our fabulous practice wouldn’t be where it is without our ‘Team’.

Thank you girls!’

Nikki Berryman

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Implementation, Practice management training, helping dentists and their teams with wow factor examinations and treatment presentations.

Visit the website today to see how we can help.

Management Monday – Nikki Berryman

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:46:42 +0000

‘Is it just me or does it feel like you, as a PM, are constantly just chasing your tail?

I was lucky enough to visit Belfast last Friday to speak at the Ultimate Practice Managers’ workshop with Laura Horton. One of my sessions was on ‘Effective Time Management’ and it transpired that many PMs feel the same.

We are pulled in all directions. The demands on our time by dentists, our team, suppliers, HTM01-05, CQC, patients, finance, marketing, equipment, IT, TCO…blah blah, the list goes on. Is it any wonder then that 80% of stress-related illnesses in the workplace are due to poor time management?

The key thing here I think is working out what is a ‘demand’, what is ‘necessary’, what is ‘urgent or important’, what can be delegated and what is a distraction.

Do you have a ‘to do’ list? Do you have workstreams for bigger projects? How well do you delegate?One of the simplest things that you can do to manage your time more effectively is to write a ‘to do’ list, prioritise your tasks and build in distraction time.

Try it today and you will be amazed at how much more organised and focused you become.’

‘Laura Loves…’ exceeded expectations!

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:04:04 +0000

This week’s Laura Loves comes from two hotel stays.

Last week I stayed in a Hilton – I find them totally overrated. The check-in is always by some miserable person and I do not see what the hype is all about. Yes the rooms are nice and I like the pillows but that’s about it! The first impression is always poor.

I held a workshop in Northern Ireland and used the hotel. There was a gentleman called Will who took care of the delegates and our booking on the day. My one positive from this hotel is about him:

A delegate was on crutches and recovering from a broken ankle; I asked Will for an extra chair so she could keep her leg raised. He not only brought a chair, he brought her a cushion too – I thought that was lovely.

Next up I booked myself into a Premier Inn, I don’t mind them I have to say, the rooms are always clean and comfy but I do miss the room service!

I received a text the day before confirming my stay, and I could reply to it. By typing SATNAV I had the correct postcode sent to me to get me there.

I often put in the postcode for hotels from the address on their website and it never takes you to the hotel! I end up having to ring and get directions (guess where this last happened? The Hilton East Midlands!)

I arrived and had the best check-in I had received in a long time, smiling person, friendly, interested. They had all the paperwork ready and didn’t need a thing from me except my name. I have lost count of the amount of times I am stood there wondering if there has been an error! This was perfect.

Another great thing about Premier Inn is that they never let females stay at the end of a corridor or on the first floor (I like that) and they never say your room number, they point to it – these things are very important to me when staying with PI.

Next I arrived in my room, as always clean and nice and immediately I receive an email with my invoice. Again I lose count of the number of times a hotel says they will email the invoice and I never get it!

The reason I am focusing on the difference between the Hilton and the PI is because it doesn’t matter what part of the market you belong too, you can still provide excellent customer service.

You may view yourself as a high-end private practice, but don’t let patients’ expectations be too high if you cannot meet them, as with the Hilton.

If you are a mixed practice you should aim to impress patients so they tell their friends about you, as I am now telling you about the PI experience.

Many dentists think I only work with the high-end practices – wrong.

I work with any practice that is committed to improving their business model through system integration, developing their team and increasing their customer service.

Laura Horton

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Training and wow factor examinations. Visit the website

‘Laura Loves…’ a warm hotel room!

admin — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:49:13 +0000

It’s not the mistakes you make, it’s the way you deal with them.

On Sunday night I checked into a hotel. As soon as I walked into my room it was freezing, in fact it was warmer outside!

Immediately I remembered that this happened last time I stayed at the hotel and I had to move rooms!

I turned the heater on and put the temperature on 28 degrees – it blew out cold air (same as last time). After 20 minutes the room was even colder so I called the front desk. They said to wait 10 minutes and they would bring a heater.

That annoyed me, I told them I’d had the same problem last time and they said they would call back in 10 minutes.

5 minutes later I had a call telling me the porter was on their way to move me.

At this point I was still in my coat, hadn’t unpacked or touched anything in the room. To be honest I was a bit annoyed. They should know the rooms are cold and guests are going to be unhappy.

BUT the porter dealt with the situation in a lovely way, which resulted in me not even being bothered about the problem.

He told me he had been to the empty rooms and found the warmest one for me, he had also put the heating on so it should be nice and cosy when we arrived – and it was.

If he hadn’t been so nice I could have stayed frustrated about the situation.

I checked into my new warm room and began working away, happy as Larry.

The way you deal with poor situations is paramount to your success – if I had accepted a heater I would have remained cold and never returned to the lovely hotel.

Laura Horton

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Training and wow factor examinations. Visit the website

Management Monday – Nikki Berryman

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 07:33:18 +0000

‘Morning All! It’s a very quick update from me as this week is going to be really busy!

Today we have Jem Patel and his team from JSP Media at Pure to film footage for a new practice video for our website. I’m really looking forward to this, we’ve had great feedback about Jem and the videos he has produced for other practices always look great.

I am also in the process of re-writing the text for our new website which is due to be launched in about two weeks; and my key focus here will be making sure the dialogue is as patient-friendly as possible, no ‘dentist’ speak allowed!

On Thursday I will be flying to Belfast to give a Practice Management presentation to the lovely folk in NI along with Laura Horton, which I am really looking forward to.

Phew! Is it Friday yet??’

Nikki Berryman

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Implementation, Practice management training, helping dentists and their teams with wow factor examinations and treatment presentations.

Visit the website today to see how we can help.

Management Monday – Nikki Berryman

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:24:40 +0000

‘Hope you all enjoyed a relaxing Easter break and spent some down time with friends and family.

I had a lovely weekend filled with a little work but lots of fun! Friday night was spent catching up with a very old school friend Geri and her partner Jez, whose wedding I’m going to in a few weeks – much gossip, laughter and wine, the best of nights!

Saturday saw another visit to the hairdressers to be pampered and then a night out with our friends Sara & Grant for an Indian and more fun.

Easter Sunday was the ‘hen-night’ of our Clinic Manager, Olivia, and as you can imagine, I don’t think we stopped laughing & dancing all night…

So, Monday?? Well, Monday was recovery and relaxation. Today back at Pure, rejuvenated, refreshed and ready for another great week with the Team…’

Nikki Berryman

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Implementation, Practice management training, helping dentists and their teams with wow factor examinations and treatment presentations.

Visit the website today to see how we can help.

‘Laura Loves…’ a happy employee!

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:58:53 +0000

I have lived in the same area since I was 10 years old. In our area is a lovely small Sainsburys (small in comparison to the new huge on in town!)

I like this one because I know where everything is and I can dash in and out in no time!

The other thing I love about this store is that they have low staff turnover. When I go in you always see the same happy faces and many of the team have been there for 15 years or longer.

My favorite part of the shop is seeing the lovely Linda. Linda has worked there for over 20 years and I remember her as a little girl.

She works on the customer service desk and there is no better place for her – she rocks!

Linda is so friendly, she always says ‘hello Laura, how are you?’ we chat while I use the self-service till (by her work station) and she is a pleasure to know.

I hate food shopping but seeing Linda always so happy, always helping customers and being genuinely kind makes my day.

My fiancé often asks why I go shopping in the daytime – to be honest I don’t know! Yes it’s quieter but if I think about it it’s nice to see a store full of employees that are happy in their jobs.

Linda takes an interest in me, my holidays, where I am working I feel that she really cares and that makes me feel great too.

In your business you need to think about these aspects and work on developing a culture where you have a longstanding team, they are happy – and it shows (trust me, when they are not, that shows too) and they want to be friendly and kind to your patients because it is in their nature.

When Linda and I spend three minutes talking she doesn’t get any ‘looks’ from the management to indicate she must stop talking to me – she is doing her job – customer service!

I have lived in the same area since I was 10 years old. In our area is a lovely small Sainsburys (small in comparison to the new huge on in town!)

I like this one because I know where everything is and I can dash in and out in no time!

The other thing I love about this store is that they have low staff turnover. When I go in you always see the same happy faces and many of the team have been there for 15 years or longer.

My favorite part of the shop is seeing the lovely Linda. Linda has worked there for over 20 years and I remember her as a little girl.

She works on the customer service desk and there is no better place for her – she rocks!

Linda is so friendly, she always says ‘hello Laura, how are you?’ we chat while I use the self service till (by her work station) and she is a pleasure to know.

I hate food shopping but seeing Linda always so happy, always helping customers and being genuinely kind makes my day.

Linda takes an interest in me, my holidays, where I am working I feel that she really cares and that makes me feel great too.

When Linda and I spend three minutes talking she doesn’t get any ‘looks’ from the management to indicate she must stop talking to me – she is doing her job – customer service!

If was the manager of that store what would I do?

1. make sure she is paid well so she doesn’t leave

2. promote her so she can train others on customer service within the company

The first person I would have her start on is the miserable woman in the petrol station who wears a manager’s badge, yet refuses to smile or serve customers!

If I opened a dental practice what would I do?

1. headhunt her

2. pay her whatever she wanted

3. give her the hours she wanted

You couldn’t afford not to have her working for you!

Laura Horton

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Training and wow factor examinations. Visit the website

Management Monday – Nikki Berryman

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:19:59 +0000

‘This has been another really busy week at Pure and I have also been writing a pre-dissertation report for my Social Science degree, which involves a lot of reading and research.

To say I have been under pressure is an understatement… I have been at my desk from about 5.30am, then off to work, returning to my desk until about 10pm every night, and working all weekend at home for the last few weekends. A huge workload, and so much more still to do.

It got me thinking about work/life balance and that word “stress”. How often do we say that we are “stressed”? And do we really mean it or do we simply need to prioritise our time more effectively? ‘Real’ stress can be very serious, it is not an illness but a ‘state’. However, if stress becomes prolonged or excessive, mental and/or physical illness can develop.

So, what can we do to alleviate stress in the workplace? I think there are 5 very obvious things we can do, but when we are “stressed” these are often the first things to go out the window!

1) Eat well – by that I mean good, nutritious food. Drink lots of water and stay away from caffeine.

2) Take time out even when you are under pressure, it is so important to take a break, you will perform so much better if you are rested.

3) Delegate -don’t be a martyr, ask your team for help, that is what they are there for.

4) Find a mentor, a professional ‘buddy’ – someone you can talk you and ask for advice.

5) Get some exercise – the biggy – make sure its something you enjoy and preferably outdoors to get some fresh air.

.
Anyway, it’s Saturday lunchtime so I’m off to practice what I preach, a long run followed by lunch and a visit to the hairdressers! Then back in the study tomorrow…

Have a great week everyone!’

Nikki Berryman

Providing dentists and their dental team with training programmes to increase results with proven successful methods.

Photography training, Treatment Coordinator Implementation, Practice management training, helping dentists and their teams with wow factor examinations and treatment presentations.

Visit the website today to see how we can help.