Here’s More Of “40 Ideas In 40 Days”!

I hope you had a great weekend. This past Friday night we had my
"Second Annual 39th Birthday Party" to celebrate my April 19 B'day. It was a blast, with friends and family, including some who flew in from L.A. to be there. After the party a few of us couples went out for a little while longer...but not that much longer. I can't stay out too late these days, especially with three little ones
counting on me the next day!

40 Ideas In 40 Days...Ideas #6-10. Remember that I'm sharing 40
ideas that will help boost your practice over the next 40 days.
Put these together and over the next month and a half you should
notice some significant positive changes in your practice!

(Please FORWARD this message to any dentists who may be
interested in this information. Have them join this free E-Alert Network at www.DentalInsiders.com. Thanks!)

OK, let's jump right in.

Idea #6 (Apr 24) Look OUTSIDE of dentistry.
This one's HUGE! I recently invited dentists to participate in a
teleseminar on how to "Be THE Expert Dentist On Your Own TV Show". My guest is a very successful chiropractor, Dr. Jeff Hockings, whom I admire for reasons you'll discover on the call. (If you haven't yet registered, you can at www.DentalInsiders.com/tvteleseminar.)

Jeff's been using 30-minute TV interview shows for 11 years to build 4 massively successful chiropractic pratices, 3 of which he has sold successively for huge profits.

Well, one bonehead dentist responded to my invitation publically
with a vile, ridiculous general indictment of all chiropractors
as quacks. I didn't give him the dignity of a direct response.
But regardless of his feelings about chiropractors, he missed the
biggest point. Here it is.

If a professionally produced TV show works for a chiropractor, it'll
very likely work for DENTISTS! I don't have to see a dentist doing
a show...I'll adapt what's working for Dr. Hockings, and apply it
to my industry.

The same concept applies to just about any business concept. You
should be on the lookout for what's working not only in dentistry,
but OUTSIDE the profession as well. Chances are you'll find MORE
good stuff that's applicable to your practice from elsewhere. All
it takes is alertness and some ingenuity.

Idea #7 (Apr 25): Visit 10 dental practices this year.
Don't forget to look INSIDE the profession as well. Each year I
try to visit several dentists that I haven't visited before. When
coaching dentists in their offices all around the U.S., I find that
I ALWAYS learn something there that I can apply in my own practice. And I 've been in a BUNCH of practices.

But you don't have to travel coast to coast to get the same benefit.
Start locally. Give a few colleagues a call and offer to meet them
at their office, then take them to lunch. Show up early and ask
for a TOUR of their office. You'll build new and strengthen existing
relationships with your local doctors, and you'll no doubt learn
something in the process. Just keep your eyes and ears WIDE OPEN!

Idea #8 (Apr 26): Visit your OWN practice. Invite non-patients too. Once per year minimally, you should make a point to walk in the FRONT door of your own office, and just look around. Sit in a few different chairs in the reception room for a few minutes. What do you see? What do you not see? Surprised?

Then walk through your office as a patient would. Enter each treatment room from reception and sit in the dental chair. LEAN BACK and LOOK UP. Go to the patient restroom(s). Check everything out with a critical eye.

This is how your patients see your office. I guarantee you'll find NUMEROUS things that you'll want to change and improve instantly. Have a non-patient friend (an honest one) do the exact same thing. Your team too. Then fix what's not right and feel more confident knowing that you're taking better care of your office. It'll take better care of you!

Idea #9 (Apr 27): Dress up the restrooms.
Studies have shown that people most often rate a place of business
in direct correlation to how they perceive the restrooms! Not
the treatment rooms, believe it or not. The restrooms.

This is one of the most neglected rooms in many businesses, and
dental offices are no exception. Aside from your reception area,
your restrooms are the most critical rooms in your practice to
make as nice and clean as possible. Scented nicely too.

A couple quick tips: First, add several hygiene items for your
patients to use in the restroom. Free toothbrushes, mouthrinse,
floss are givens. But also add some perks, like hand lotion,
wet face wipes, feminine products (in a closed container), air
neutralizer, q-tips...maybe even some mini-lipsticks. Lastly, DON'T SKIMP on the TP...Charmin Ultra, baby!

Your patients will appreciate the fine touches in your restrooms,
and that satisfaction will carry over into other areas of your
practice.

Idea #10 (Apr 28): Ditch the magazines...and broadcast radio & TV. One of my biggest pet peeves when I visit other dental practices is the proliferation of magazines and other irrelevant types of media, like local radio or CNN Headline News. BIG mistakes, all.

Magazines, radio and TV all have ADS for other stuff that your
patients may want to buy...INSTEAD of dentistry. Out of date
magazines get trashed, and insinuate an out of date practice. Local
radio is 99% stupid, and is littered with ads, sometimes for other
dentists! And broadcast TV is simply dumbed down, and the commonly displayed news networks report nothing but BAD news. Depressing... and not what you want your patients experiencing in your office.

Should you have PURELY dental information in your reception room? You surely can, as long as it's interesting. Start with information about the most desirable procedures you offer. Then include nice leather bound albums of before and after pictures of YOUR work. My most popular reads are our testimonial albums (3), each stuffed with emotional testimonials from happy patients. Any articles or other press you've received in the past should definitely be prominently displayed. Finally, extra copies of your monthly patient newsletter should be easy to find in your reception area.

How about NON-dental material? OK, I'll cave in...but be very
careful here. I limit my non-dental material to "dollar books"
and cookbooks. I go to Barnes & Noble every few months and raid
the "dollar" table, picking out big books with lots of pictures.
They can be about any topic, except travel destinations or cars
or other expensive stuff. You'd be surprised what you can find,
including recipe books as well. Never more than a buck or two.

These books will satisfy the patients who don't want to read
anything dental. In fact, one side benefit is that whenever a
patient expresses interest in a book, we just GIVE it to them.
They LOVE it, and they'll remember it when it's time to refer!

Well, that wraps up this edition of "40 Ideas In 40 Days".
Be on the lookout later in the week for my next installment.
Enjoy and prosper!

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

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