This is a l-o-n-g but important post… don’t skim it!
First, a few important notes, then on to today’s message.

NOTE #1: Today’s the last day to let me know what your TOP CONCERN
is about your dental practice today. Go to:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=ECEMN&m=1gptEUX3RFhxOT&b=8v9Ez7YE5yogAD0VtSQyVQ
and enter your reply to this critical question. I’ll tailor
future messages to the exact topics that you raise!

NOTE #2: I just returned from an AWESOME two days in Baltimore
with my Millionaire Mastermind group, led by Glazer-Kennedy Inner
Circle president Bill Glazer. Bill bought Dan Kennedy’s business
5 years ago and has grown it by over 1200% (yes, that’s 12x)! I’m
the only dentist in the room, surrounded by 18 top business and
entrepreneurial minds from 16 different business sectors. These
are “heavy hitters”. We estimated the total ANNUAL revenues of
businesses represented in the room at over $56 million!

Let me tell you, NOTHING will help you grow your business faster
than a true mastermind meeting, provided it’s led by the right
business coach to facilitate keeping idea flow on the right track.
My mind is literally bursting with dozens of new ideas to implement
in my practice. Most, of course, are adapted from OUTSIDE of the
dental profession, through the mastermind and numerous other means.

While much of what we share in that room is confidential, I will
continuously be providing new strategies for you… based partly on
what I bring home from these meetings, and from my own analysis
of what’s new AND working in dental practice marketing and business.
Simply put, there is no one in dentistry with “ear to the ground”
and “antennae in the air” more so than yours truly.

NOTE #3: OK, this is a request for a favor. If you’re benefiting
from the information I provide, PLEASE HELP YOUR COLLEAGUES by
recommending that they join this E-Alert network. Have them
go to www.DentalInsiders.com to subscribe for *free*.

Or if they want to take advantage of my BEST new member offer EVER,
they can go to www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction to join
Dental Insiders Alliance as a Preferred member. I’m giving away
over $2378.00 in content at that webpage only to the next 23 doctors
who join! I started with 57 “Patient Attraction Collection”
packages, but I have only 23 remaining. Once they’re gone,
they’re gone.

Just forward this message to 2 or 3 colleagues that come to mind.
They’ll no doubt thank you for it… and I thank you too!

*****************************************************************

Today: Are you stepping over DOLLARS to pick up PENNIES?

Lately I’ve been imploring you to “get going” and make the moves
you need to make to grow your practice in these challenging
economic times. Today I want to caution you against a behavior
that tends to rear its ugly head during economic downturns. This
behavior can crush the morale of your patients and your team at
a time when you most need them to be “raving fans”.

I was prompted to share this with you after reading about Irish
discount airline Ryanair. This week the CEO of Ryanair announced
that he intends to install PAY TOILETS in their fleet of planes!
This is not a joke. With an estimated charge of $1.40 per use,
Ryanair estimates annual revenues from this “pay to go” policy
to be about $21 million annually.

My opinion, in a word: stupid. Yes, $21 million sounds like a
lot of money, but Ryanair’s fiscal year 2008 revenue was over
2.7 BILLION Euros (about $3 Billion), with an estimated profit
of 481 Million Euros (over $500 Million)!! By the way, passenger
flow was estimated at 50.9 Million seats for the same period.

Hopefully you’re thinking what I’m thinking: what in the world
are THEY thinking? $21 Million is a drop in the bucket for a
business this size… not to mention the bad press and NEGATIVE
CUSTOMER SENTIMENT they’re already getting from such a move.
Add in the costs of installing “toll booth” doors on their lavs,
and you’ve got a financial and PR disaster on your hands.

Hey Ryanair… want more revenue? Raise your fares on your 50.9
million seats sold (and growing, oddly enough) by just one euro,
and you’ll more than DOUBLE your estimated “pay to go” revenues
~FOR NO COST~ to your airline. And no one will notice!
Hello… anyone home??

Now, let’s apply this to your practice. It’s time to closely
evaluate your policies and protocols related to your fees and
financial options, for example. Are you “nickel and diming”
your patients, when you should be focusing on the bigger picture?

It’s an all-too-easy trap to fall into when economic conditions
worsen and business owners look to “cut costs”. But it’s often
a BAD IDEA because of what it costs in terms of headaches and
customers’ (translated, patients’) lowered satisfaction levels.

Here are some things to look out for:

- Charging for every little x-ray, and other piddly things
- Reducing prepayment savings if paying with a credit card
(my biggest business pet peeve…have you EVER had a clerk
at any retail store reduce your % off when you pull out
your Visa card?!)
- Adding annoying itemized charges to a patient’s bill, instead
of bundling services into one simple fee
- Limiting the scheduling of certain procedures to only certain
times of the day
- Only allowing new patients to enter your practice through either
the doctor’s side, or through hygiene, but not both
- Not allowing patients to make monthly payments through automatic
bank draft (with sufficient up front payment required)
- Cutting back on marketing and special offers for new patients
- Not sending monthly patient newsletters because of “the expense”
(the return from this is among the highest around if done right!)
- and on and on and on…

I imagine by now you’ve got the picture. If your services are
excellent, and your fees are positioned properly, AND your team’s
communication skills are good, you will benefit far more from
“giving in on the little things” in return for capitalizing on
the BIG things!

What’s more, focusing on this now, while everyone around you in
business is “cutting back”, will position your practice better
than ever before. Your patients will appreciate this, and they’ll
tell others about it too… especially if you ASK them to!

All my best,
Chris

PS: Remember to SPREAD THE WORD about this E-Alert network
(www.DentalInsiders.com); and the most amazing “Patient
Attraction Collection” offer you’ll ever see (found at
www.dentalInsiders.com/patientattraction). Thanks a BUNCH!

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

[Note: I'm getting some great replies to my question
that I posed to you in the last message. To see the
question again and share your answer, go here:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=ECEMN&m=1cfyii02ZFhxOT&b=qAnw2kRb81MQqQkiUKLLXw

I'm extending the deadline for replies to this Friday,
March 6. Then I'm going to reveal the answers that
you all gave, and break them down one by one in my
subsequent messages to you Don't delay... answer now!]

Well, the past 24 hours have been very interesting in
the Bowman household. We’ve had a very unusual March
snowstorm, and we lost power overnight and into this
morning! Not normal for Charlotte.

Needless to say, we get crippled by snow down here, and
my day at the office is canceled. But at least I got to
get outside with the kids and play in the snow… that is
until little Olivia (2 y.o.) started freaking out when
her hands got cold. Didn’t quite finish the snowman.

OK… back to business…

More detail on “whatever it takes”:

Last time I left you with the charge to “get going” on
that thing or those things that you’ve been holding back
on, and thus they are likely holding you back.

Today I want to expand on that thought with a couple of
guiding principles and a BIG TIP. If this doesn’t get
your creative juices flowing, have someone nearby check
your pulse.

First, a friend of mine recently pointed out an extremely
important fact about recessions and economic downturns.
It’s that “spending doesn’t just ’stop’ during economic
downturns. People are more selective, and they work harder
at getting value for their money — but they’re still spending.”

“So you want to make sure you’re out there where they can
see you, and that you offer a superior value to them.”
(Yanik Silver)

That’s HUGE! On Saturday night Elizabeth and I had a date
night, and we went to dinner at a great local restaurant.
It was PACKED. All day I noticed that no parking lots were
empty anywhere. Not all full, but none barren.

There IS money being spent out there, folks. Not as much,
though, and it’s saved for those who motivate, inspire, and
attract it the most. But how do “us dentists” do that, when
dentistry is not necessarily at the top of everyone’s lists
of “favorite things to do”? Keep reading…

Second — and here’s the BIG TIP — focus NOT on elective,
wants-based services, but on NEEDS-BASED services at this time!
This speaks to Yanik’s second paragraph. You want to position
yourself and your practice so that you become the “obvious
choice” when people need you to fix their problems.

I know it’s not as “sexy” to market problem-fixing dentistry
as it is to market gorgeous cosmetic smile makeovers. But
the stubborn fact is that when economic selectivity goes up,
elective procedures go down. Ask any cosmetic plastic surgeon!

What am I focusing on right now? In no particular order,
sedation dentistry, sleep apnea solutions, periodontal disease
recognition and treatment (and it’s connection with systemic
diseases), and solutions for broken and missing teeth, including
implants. Oh, oral cancer detection too.

Does your current marketing mix EMPHASIZE these solutions?
Just having them on a laundry list of the “things you do” is
NEVER good enough. In fact, it’s best to focus on only ONE
of these per marketing piece or campaign. Then you’ll be
recognized as THE choice for THAT problem.

Now I realize I’m speaking mostly here about marketing to
prospective new patients. Or am I?? No, this too applies
to your existing patients! If you haven’t started on that
monthly newsletter, what are you waiting for? And if you’re
wondering what to write about… well, you can start with
one of those topics two paragraphs above this one.

OK, you’ve got the point. Now, third, another guiding principle:

Outproduce your future tax liability!

Yes, I’m ticked off to no end about what’s happening in
Washington too. Yes, I’m concerned about where the markets
are heading (Dow down 250 today at time of writing). Yes,
I’m concerned that we may not be “turning the corner” for
quite some time AS A NATION. That’s “THE economy”, though,
and there’s not much you can do about any of that.

However, you can and do control “YOUR economy”! Your practice,
that is. You can make all the difference you need to succeed
wildly, and you can do it NOW. No need to wait for “things to
get better”… why give so much power to external forces?

Step up to the helm, grab the wheel, and steer your practice
in the direction of success! Even in stormy weather, with
the right navigation, the proper plan, and a good crew, you
WILL get to your intended destination. All ahead FULL!

All my best,
Chris

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

PS: If you haven’t joined Dental Insiders Alliance yet, this
may be the best time ever to do so. I’ll help guide you to
more fertile ground through application of the innovative
concepts, strategies, and ideas I share with my members.

Right now I’m sharing my Patient Attraction Collection with
new Dental Insiders Alliance members that join now. Curious?
Go here: www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction