Here we are at what many here in the U.S. call the worst day of
the year … April 15th. Yes, it’s pay-day for our state and federal
governments, whose spending habits make even the most talented
Beverly Hills shoppers look like penny pinching misers! 

I’m absolutely disgusted with our tax system, but one thing’s for
sure: if you’re paying a lot in taxes, it means that you made a lot
of money!  That’s the ONLY good thing about a big tax bill.

But there’s MORE good news.  You can “send the bill to your own
PATIENTS.”  How?  Do what I’m doing right here, with you…
COMMUNICATE with them!  Stick with me here and I’ll tie it all
together.

I mentioned in my last email that I would be focusing on
REFERRALS and RETENTION…how to BOOST your practice
using the leverage of your own patient base.  Well, here we go.

The BIGGEST KEY to retaining your existing patients…active and
inactive…is to stay in touch with them.  For every month that
you don’t, you lose 10% of your influence over them, and many will
drift away quietly, never to be seen again.

BUT…if you do communicate with them CONSISTENTLY and
CONTINUOUSLY, you KEEP them.  Better yet, the more you
stay in touch, the more BUSINESS you’ll get from your patients. 
And if you send them the right messages, they’ll REFER more
people to you too!

Yes, it’s a “slow build”, meaning that you can’t expect everything
to happen right away.  But the sooner you start, the sooner you
enjoy the benefits…and some gains will be immediate.

Start by making sure you have ALL of your patients’ contact info,
including their EMAIL addresses.  If you don’t, start collecting
them TODAY.

In the meantime, use DIRECT MAIL to connect with your patients
when they’re not in your office.  It’s THE most powerful way
to build a stronger relationship with them. 

Send a postcard, a letter, a newsletter.  Make an OFFER with a
deadline that’ll save your patients some money if they act now. 
If your offer strikes a chord with just a few of them, you’re
well on your way to getting that tax bill taken care of…by
your patients!

More on this soon.

All my best,
Chris

PS:  OK…if you haven’t joined Dental Insiders Alliance yet,
now’s the time, because I’m giving away even more stuff than I
have ever given away.  If you join before April 30th, I’ll throw
in 2 ADDITIONAL CD’s on top of those listed on my website:
www.DentalInsiders.com/testdrive (scroll through to see them all)

1. “How To Make 2008 Your Best Year EVER!” (it’s not too late)
2. “Your NEW Fees…How To Charge What Your Worth!”

I’ve never made this offer before, so jump on it now!

I know it’s been a little while since I’ve written you.
I’ve been quite busy working on some exciting NEW resources
that will CATAPULT your practice to new levels.  Now is not
the time to talk about them yet, but rest assured, you’ll
be PUMPED when you learn about what’s in store for you very
soon!  I’m not trying to tease you…I just don’t want to let
the cat out of the bag just yet.

How “R & R” Can Double Your Practice!

One of the top 3 questions I get from my Dental Insiders Alliance
members is: “How can I get more new patients?”  It’s a great
question, and there’s no shortage of people and companies who
will leap at the chance to answer you.  Heck, I’m one of those
people…HOWEVER…I think we should also be focusing on an
additional question that I almost NEVER get:

“How can I KEEP more of my own patients?”

Here’s the best part.  The answer to that question is part of the
answer to the first question!  Let me explain by defining what
my version of “R & R” is.

RETENTION and REFERRALS

Yes, RETAINING your patients will most certainly lead to
ATTRACTING new patients…IF you actively WORK at not
just retaining them, but turning them into “raving fans”. 
There’s a big difference. Plus, the benefit of having them
return over and over to your practice is HUGE, and multiplies
the “lifetime value” of each patient.  That’s the KEY to
growing your practice like crazy.

So what do you do to ensure that your patients will stay
COMMITTED to your practice, and not just run off to the
next dentist that offers free whitening?

What do you do to ensure that your existing patients will be
ENERGIZED and MOTIVATED to refer their friends, family, neighbors
and coworkers to you? 

I don’t have enough room in this email to thoroughly address
these questions, but I am going to dedicate the next several
E-Alert messages to this very topic.  In fact, from this point
forward I’ll be dedicating considerable time and energy to the
concept of:

RETENTION and REFERRALS

While I won’t abandon other topics that contribute to the growth
and development of your business and well-being, I will shine
the spotlight frequently on systems and strategies that you can
employ to BOOST your patient RETENTION rate, and simultaneously
SKYROCKET the number of REFERRALS you get from your active
patients…and from NON-patients as well!

Be on the lookout for my next E-Alert message in a few days,
when I begin to uncover several secrets to keeping your patients
“for life”, and getting them to happily refer others to you.

All my best,
Chris, your “Retention and Referrals Expert”

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