This Blog Has Moved

Hello,

This blog has moved to www.DentalInsiders.com/diablog. All past, present and future blog posts will be at the new address.

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
www.DentalInsiders.com

3rd of 3 BIG ways to adapt to this economic climate...

Hey,

Thought I'd say "hey" this time. I hope you had a great weekend.

Today I'm going to cover the third of three phenomenal pieces of
advice from marketing and business building legend Dan Kennedy.
This series is designed to help you weather the current economic
conditions with confidence at the very least, and generate a
truckload of more moolah.

Just as I did with Strategy #1 (sell something different) and
Strategy #2 (sell to someone different), I'll directly tie-in
Dan's suggestions with how you can apply them to the business of
dentistry, and more specifically your practice. (If you missed
the last two messages, go to www.DentalInsiders.com/diablog
to find them so you can get caught up.)

Remember, what worked well "then" with regard to "successful sales"
in your practice most likely is either working less, or not at
all "now". Spending is down, and people are being much more cautious
with their discretionary income. To achieve better results than
you got last year, you're gonna have to make some changes...but
you're a nimble small business. You've got a great team to help
you carry out the necessary steps, so go for it!

Strategy #3: "Sell DIFFERENTLY"

This concept is a "big whammy", because it forces you to rethink
your current systems and processes, looking for ways to improve
and grow.

How exactly do your "sales systems" work? What's working and
what's not working? Where are the holes that allow patients to
slip through the cracks?

How can you alter your processes to increase your conversion
rates...from prospect to new patient...from new patient to
fully committed, long-term referring patient...from "not right
now" to "when can we start"? That's what I'm talking about.

Example #1: Although I do a fair amount of external marketing,
it's not all done the way you may think. For the past year I've
had a part-time "Public Relations Coordinator", who is actually
also a patient. She visits the offices of many physicians,
professionals, and other small businesses here in Charlotte.

Her goal of course is to drive more referrals to my practice
through the development of stronger relationships with these
other businesses. By identifying how we can help their patients
and clients, we've become a "trusted resource" for many of them.
As a reciprocal gesture, we also look for opportunities to refer
TO them as well.

We're "selling" the practice to these businesses differently
than we have before, and differently than anyone else!

Example #2: Several months ago I was noticing that more of my
patients were commenting that they "can't afford to" move
forward with treatment (at this time). In most practices, and
during most times, there could be a whole host of reasons why...
and very few actually have anything to do with money! But
although we're certainly not immune to problems in our treatment
acceptance protocols, I really felt that "affordability" was
the true issue here (for obvious reasons).

So I had my team simply alter the ORDER of financial options
they present to each patient. Instead of presenting the whole
fee first, they began with the lowest possible monthly payment
(Springstone, Chase Health Advance, DocPay, etc). Then they
presented higher payment amounts for shorter terms, and
ultimately the entire case fee, with prepayment savings of course.

The result: an almost immediate increase in acceptance by our
patients! Once they understood that they could make affordable
payments, they were more open to the full fee, and even payment
in full in advance. The gradual "step up" in payment options
has been working better for us lately than opening the financial
arrangements with the full fee and going down from there.

Again, what can you do DIFFERENTLY to get better results? This
is perhaps the most difficult strategy to implement, because
it requires accurate, objective, unemotional thinking and analysis
of your practice systems. However, when you do arrive at the
right changes, they can make a BIG difference!

All my best,
Chris

PS: Dental Insiders Alliance Members, please NOTE: your NEW
copy of Dental Insider Secrets newsletter is now posted at the
member's website for your convenience! You'll be getting the
physical copy mailed to you within about 10 days, but you can
download and print it now if you wish. Enjoy!

PPS: If you're not a DIA member, but you'd like to "kick the
tires" a bit, you should take advantage of my "Patient Attraction
Collection" offer, which includes a bunch of great content on CD's
as well as 2 ~FREE~ months of Preferred Membership. This offer
is being pulled within a couple weeks, so you may want to jump
on this now. Go to www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction
for all the details!

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com

2nd of 3 BIG ways to adapt to this economic climate...

Today, the 2nd of 3 BIG ways to adapt to this economic climate.

Yesterday I covered the first of these brilliant strategies,
"sell (or offer) something different". The concepts were
first presented to me by marketing and business building icon
Dan Kennedy. If you remember, I mentioned that, with regard to
growing your business, what may have worked well in the boom of
2003-2008 is likely either significantly less effective or
completely ineffective now. Bottom line is you've got to do
things differently to propel your business forward when things
are tougher.

Here's Strategy #2: "Sell to someone DIFFERENT"

This idea can be broken down a few ways. First, let's look at
the obvious thought of finding more new patients. But let's
also take it a step further and find new patients in NEW places.

To paraphrase Captain Kirk (loosely): "to go where you've never
gone before." What have you done and where have you gone to find
your current pool of patients? OK, now ask yourself where ELSE
you can go to find more new patients?

If you've marketed to certain areas of town, try new areas.
For your unique niche services, you can certainly test the
expansion of your marketing reach. Proximity to the dentist is
NOT as important to most people as it used to be...they just
want to be in the right office with the right dentist and team.

If you belong to local civic groups or organizations, join new
ones. Reach out to new groups of people and establish new
connections. Those new circles of associations, if nurtured,
will bear fruit in the form of new patients.

If you've focused on getting referrals from your patients, have
you considered getting referrals from other businesses? Other
professionals? Other physicians? Granted, this takes time and
effort...but hey, I never said it would all be laid out for you
on a silver platter! And EFFORT is what will be the difference
between those practices that excel and those that struggle in
this economic climate. You gotta go get it!

What are the characteristics of your "ideal" patients? You need
to know the answer to this. Grab 30-50 charts of your best
patients and look for similarities in them all. Then ask
yourself where people like that are...and go there.

Stemming off yesterday's post...when you offer new services, you
open yourself up to an entirely new patient pool. These too
are "someone different".

Using the information and clues above, compile a list of potential
new sources of more new patients. Then do what it takes to
attract and convert them into your practice. Enjoy!

All my best,
Chris

PS: Here's a clue for Monday: the 3rd strategy involves the HOW!

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

1st of 3 BIG ways to adapt to this economic climate...

I hope your new year / new decade is getting off to a good start.
I'm fired up for 2010...and I'm excited to help you grow your
practice like never before!

Regarding what it takes to get you the results you want in your
practice, one thing's for sure today: what WAS working "then" is
either not working AS WELL "now"...or not AT ALL. Although macro
economic conditions do not necessarily dictate our individual
"micro" economic outcomes (i.e. your practice), they do dictate
that you employ NEW strategies to overcome the challenges and
seize the opportunities that they create.

Yes, I did say "opportunities"! Look back through history and
you'll see countless examples of amazing, once-in-a-lifetime
opportunities borne out of horrific economic corrections. It's
a natural phenomenon that you can take advantage of if you're
nimble and adaptive...and if you're willing to do things
differently.

Ahh, there's the key! Doing things differently. Today I'll begin
to review some excellent advice that I must attribute to one
of my most referred-to marketing mentors: Dan Kennedy. As you
may know, Dan is legendary in the marketing and business building
world. He's also a genius when it comes to REINVENTING businesses
for whatever reasons. This economic downturn is as good a reason
as any.

A while back Dan gave an excellent summary of 3 brilliant adaptive
strategies for growing ANY business during challenging times.
Today, Friday and Monday I'm going to share all three, and of
course relate them directly to dentistry.

Strategy #1: "Sell something DIFFERENT." (Don't worry about the
word 'sell'...you can change it to 'offer' if it makes you
feel better.)

This one's pretty easy to grasp, but boy is it powerful! As
dentists, our "products" are our services and procedures...and
a little actual product too. Let's explore the ways we can
"sell something different" in our practices.

- Add new procedures that you haven't normally done. Many
smart dentists are gravitating to learning and practicing
new procedures. Think of all the things you typically refer
out to specialists that you could likely provide in your own
office. It could be a long list...worth a LOT of revenue!

Not doing root canals? Placing implants? How about Invisalign
AND 6 Month Smiles? Sleep apnea treatment with oral appliances...
sedation dentistry...dentures? What else can you think of?

Sure, many of these require focused training and have a learning
curve. Better get on the on-ramp now, before it's too late!
You'll certainly find that your patients PREFER to come to you
in most cases...and you'll enjoy the big bump in your numbers.

- Look for new adjunct services that you can also add. Perio
Protect, Cari Free, and Arestin are good examples, as are adult
fluoride, home care products, etc.

- Do you have an extra unused operatory? I'll bet you could get
a massage therapist to lease it out...and when he/she's not
busy, your patients can get a special treat in the way of a
free mini-massage.

- Better yet, the most valuable usage of an extra op is to have a
specialist in your office for a 1/2 to full day per week, or more
if needed. Pick one that does procedures you don't think you'll
be doing (for me it's perio surgery), and split the revenues.
You're providing the facility and the patients...the specialist
is providing the expertise and the labor. Tons of ways to work
this out, and it's a complete win-win-win.

"Selling something different" allows you to increase your
productivity without necessarily increasing your patient base.
When you add services and procedures to your mix, your average
lifetime patient value increases, because there's more you
can do for them!

What are YOU going to "sell" that's different this year?

All my best,
Chris

PS: On Friday I'll discuss Strategy #2: Selling to different
people!

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

Video: We've been Elfed! Merry Christmas!

My whole family was "ELFED" last night, and we made a Christmas
video for you. That's my wife Elizabeth, and my sons Reid (blond)
and Kenan (brown), along with Olivia and myself, dancin' up a
storm! You've gotta check it out here:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/wXn5nUEp9022arUZ

Merry Christmas to you if it's your holiday, like it is ours.

If you just finished your Hanukkah celebration, I hope it was
special.

Whatever your religion, my family and I wish you all the best
this holiday season!

All my best,
Chris

PS: The white stuff around Kenan's mouth is ice cream...we just
can't keep him away from the sweets! At least he brushes great!