Top tips for January 2026 - here's what we are doing at The Extreme Business 100

1) Set Q1 targets for 5 KPIs and review weekly

Pick 5 KPIs that drive profit (not vanity) and put a 30-minute weekly “numbers to actions” meeting in diaries through March.
Measure: new patient enquiries, conversion %, average daily production (ADP) by role, utilisation, plan income per month.

2) Model the April wage rise now and redesign rotas to protect staff cost %

Forecast April payroll; match staffing to demand peaks; cross-train FOH; remove low-value admin via templates/automation.
Measure: staff costs as % of sales, FOH cost per booked hour, unfilled chair hours.

3) Do a fee review in January and implement before Spring cost pressure hits

Review top 10 items + hygiene; remove “silent discounts”; align fees to time, complexity and outcomes; train scripts so the team can explain changes in one sentence.
Measure: gross profit per hour, average revenue per visit, write-offs/discounts %.

4) Grow plan income: run a “January upgrade” to increase membership penetration

Identify patients with 2+ visits/year or regular hygiene and offer plan conversion; refresh plan tiers and benefits; set a 30-day target.
Measure: plan penetration %, churn %, plan income as % of turnover, recall compliance.

5) Fill diaries from inside first: recall, reactivation, perio and EOTR referrals

10-day reactivation sprint (inactive list + overdue perio + lapsed plan patients); make EOTR (end of treatment review) a hardwired step that generates the next treatment opportunity.
Measure: reactivated patients/week, recall booking rate, EOTR completion rate, DNAs.

6) Fix conversion leakage: speed-to-lead, triage, TCO pipeline and follow-up cadence

Implement a “speed to contact” rule; triage enquiries (right clinician, right appointment length); follow-up cadence day 1, 3, 7; track pipeline ageing.
Measure: enquiry → consult %, consult → start %, response time, pipeline value and ageing.

7) Publish for demand: 4 FAQs + 1 case story + 1 downloadable guide, repurposed everywhere

1 FAQ per week on high-margin modalities (implants, aligners, cosmetic bonding, dental plans); 1 real patient story; 1 lead magnet to grow email list.
Measure: website enquiries, consult bookings from web, Google Business Profile actions, review count and rating trend.

8) Protect margin with digital workflow: IOS-led communication, fewer visits, fewer remakes

Agree the “digital default” pathway (scan-first, standardised records, clear handoffs); tighten lab workflows; reduce remakes and excess appointments.
Measure: remake rate, lab + materials as % of sales, appointments per case, clinical time per case.

9) Sweat capacity: hygiene/therapy leverage and ring-fence prime time for high-value dentistry

Move maintenance/prevention to hygiene/therapy; block prime appointments for complex/high-value work; fix diary rules (no squeezing, no random gaps).
Measure: hygiene/therapy ADP, clinician ADP, utilisation, average appointment value.

10) Tighten cash and de-risk: deposits, finance options, supplier terms, and review NHS session profitability

Standardise deposits on lab-heavy work; make interest-bearing finance “default” in presentations; renegotiate key supplier terms; for mixed practices, assess NHS sessions against true cost and decide what stays.
Measure: cash buffer weeks, debtor days, finance uptake %, stock value, NHS session contribution (if applicable).

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