When Was The Last Time You Wore Your Tuxedo?

We sat in on a seminar recently with a very respected senior prosthodontist. This gentleman is retired from active dentistry, but still lectures all over the globe. Aside from being a stellar clinician, he is wise and entertaining. 

In this particular session, he handed out a bow tie to all participants (even the ladies). He insisted on giving a bow-tying lesson to everyone present, and told these doctors that the most valuable tool in their arsenal to grow their business was a good tuxedo.

There were a few disbelievers in the room, but I know this to be fact.  You become who you associate with (remember Mom telling you not to bring that guy around the house again?).  If you regularly attend black tie events you will meet ‘black tie’ people. These are the folks who can best afford advanced care dentistry…

Dental Teams and the Flat Earth Society

Today I called the advertising dept of a major daily newspaper in a large city. The voice mail said they were ‘on lunch’ and would have to get back to me later. As I was attempting to spend my client’s money on a series of display ads in their newspaper – and I had my sandwich at my desk – I was miffed. I wrote an email to the editor and told him I appreciated that I was just a pesky customer trying to book advertising while his union staff were working to rule and not answering the phones. It only took about 5 minutes before a manager called me back – appalled that their voice mail was sending out that kind of greeting. They furnished me with all the options I needed, so I could get back to my job…

How Many Marketing Strategies Do You Really Need?

Just yesterday I was stepping out of an elevator in a client’s building when my cell phone rang. The lady on the other end was hesitant – and asked if I was the gentleman who ran the ‘marketing seminars’ 7 years ago? She had attended one of a series of general marketing 4 hour workshops we ran monthly for a 2 year period. This was in fact where we first exposed to the dental industry, which today comprises 100% of our efforts. This call yesterday was our first contact from a business card she had in her desk since 2003.

She explained that she ran a human resources placement firm, and that she had implemented just one strategy she learned from our seminar back then – and it provided her with all the clients her business needed for at least 6…

This Manual Won’t Work – From the Functionally Illiterate

Everything that is done in any dental practice is subject to repetition – so why do so few have Systems Manuals? I don’t mean a ‘book’ somewhere that had some important phone numbers or contacts – I mean an honest to goodness detailed ‘How To’ manual for each team position.

There should be anywhere up to 8 such manuals.  If you think that is too many, McDonalds Restaurants has 32 to run a burger joint. Do you think Ray Kroc wanted those pimple faced kids to ‘decide’ what temperature to cook the fries today?  It is either ‘on’ or ‘off’. A new hire is handed the manual for whatever position – is responsible for reading, and agreeing to adhere to the system – and you now have a form of an employment contract. 

Wouldn’t this make your reception duties, CDA function, hygiene…