Opportunity Costs

Are you in need of a new dental associate but don’t have the time to search for and recruit one? Are you concerned about the added cost to your practice – in terms of salary and benefits – of hiring someone?  Have you considered the cost of not acting now?

Opportunity Cost in Revenue.  The average dentist brings in $55,000 per month to a practice and a practice can expect to make a 30 percent net profit from that amount, meaning the clinic earns $16,500/month for each practicing doctor.

Opportunity Cost in Expenses. You can expect to spend at least six months conducting a search (the national average to find a dentist is about one year). In order to recruit on your own, it’s easy to see and calculate the cost to place an ad, but have you considered the time away from practicing medicine or leading your team?  Each day you don’t practice is money lost. It’s difficult to recognize opportunity cost as it’s not something you write a check for or see on the Profit and Loss, it flies under the radar.

While the initial investment of hiring a recruiter is an expense you can see, the opportunity far outweighs the cost. Not to mention, a recruiting service will greatly increase the opportunity to find the right fit much faster than a practice conducting their own search.  That means you’ll be earning revenue from bringing in a new associate sooner, without disrupting the momentum of your current team.

Consider this: 

If you spend $6000 a month for six months on a recruiting service to find a new doctor, you’ll be spending $36,000. But once you bring in a new associate, you’ll make that money back in under three months and continue to earn from that moment forward.

If you choose to hire on your own, you’re losing income each time you’re not practicing, and because you can’t search full time, it will likely take you longer.   This means more lost revenue from your production and a delay in revenue that could be earned by an associate.

If you do nothing at all, you’re missing out on a possible $198,000 in Net Profit each year for each associate you did not bring into the practice. The hard-hitting questions of opportunity cost:

• Are you letting busyness keep you from taking the next step? 
• Is fear of spending up front for recruiting keeping you from more return for your hard work?
• Is cost keeping you from opportunity?

Call me and I’ll let you know how my team has earned a 93 percent success rate in providing our clients with qualified candidates. I look forward to working with you.