Last night I was emailing my buddy Dr. Chris Kammer…you know,
the “wild and crazy” dentist known for his many television
interview appearances and his unending passion for promoting
dentistry in a positive light on a national scale.

Chris has spoken all over, igniting energy and profitable ideas
for rooms full of dentists for years.  One of the absolute best
concepts I’ve seen from him is his “Gums of Steel” presentation.
I first saw it in Destin at Woody Oakes’ Spring Break Seminar,
and it was awesome.

I know this is late notice, but TONIGHT you can attend Dr. Chris’
“Gums of Steel” webinar, absolutely free, with my compliments.
He has made this opportunity available for my members and
subscribers, and I hope you can join him.  It’s at 8:00pm EST.

Get ready for an eye opening event!
Here’s the info about how to attend:

Title: Gums of Steel Hygiene Transformation
Time: Thursday, February 11th at 8:00pm EST
(7:00pm CST; 6:00pm MST; 5:00pm PST)
Listening method: Web PowerPoint Simulcast with audio (recommended)
or Phone (audio only…you can’t see the slides)

Go to this link now and print the page as a reminder.
(Use the same link to attend about 5 minutes before it starts)

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventID=11312625

Don’t miss this chance to catch Dr. Chris Kammer at his best.
Always entertaining, but most importantly, informative!

All my best,
Chris

PS: I’m not sure if he’s offering or promoting anything on this
webinar…just letting you know about it.  Regardless, you
should attend, as Chris always delivers a TON of content.
Enjoy!

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

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

As an extension of yesterday’s message, I mentioned that I would
describe today the importance of including ALL relevant information
when helping patients make good decisions about their dental health.

I barely remember seeing reruns of the old TV show “Dragnet”,
where two detectives would always investigate a crime.  The
only quote I remember from the show is: “Just the facts, ma’am.”

The detective knew that he usually couldn’t solve the crime until
he had all the relevant facts…and only the facts.  Many times
the same is true with your patients.  They often can’t (and won’t)
arrive at the best “dental decision” unless they have access to
EVERY fact related to their situation.

And it’s up to you and your team to be SURE they have all the
facts at their disposal.  After all, no one else has the
professional dental expertise to guide your patients through
the important decisions they must make about their health…
except you and your team.

I’d even contend that your MOST important job is to ensure
that your patients have all the info, every time.  It’s much
more important than that one remaining little speck of tartar.
Have you ever had a patient call with a “tartar emergency”?

Patients have little chance of making smart dental decisions
if they don’t have all the data.  Most important among the facts
usually is a detailed explanation of the RISKS involved in not
moving forward with treatment.  A realistic assessment of the
risks of losing more tooth structure, the whole tooth, or needing
more extensive and expensive procedures than they need now is
critical, helping patients understand the urgency of their problems.

If patients aren’t having symptoms, the perceived urgency is
low.  Add to that the natural tendency to avoid or put off “going
to the dentist”, and you’re starting with an uphill battle at
best.

Even if they said “no” or “not now” last time, they deserve the
same opportunity at EVERY visit to REvisit that decision.  And
at every visit they need a COMPLETE review of all the details!

Please don’t think they’ll remember what you told them last time.
And don’t think that they’ll automatically say no this time if
they said no last time, because that will influence your
presentation of the facts.

I’d rather have the patient say, “Yes, I remember that photo,”
than for him/her to say “I didn’t know that tooth was cracked”
the day it breaks…and you told them a year ago but not most
recently.

Fact is, people aren’t sitting around all day thinking about their
teeth!  I know it’s hard for us to swallow that, but it’s true.

I know it gets boring sometimes to have to go over the same things
again and again…but it’s a NECESSITY to do so, period.  And it’s
best BY FAR if it starts with the team, and then the doctor
verifies the findings as the “second opinion” in your own office.

When you and your team are in the habit of communicating with
patients about their dental conditions consistently, as if
each interaction were the FIRST interaction, your CONVERSION
RATE to “yes” will reach its optimal level.

So again, give your patients the opportunity to say yes or no
every time…but make sure they have all the info first.

All my best,
Chris

PS: Next week my Dental Insiders Alliance “Summer Blitz” Teleseminar
and Webinar Series begins, with two exclusive learning events:

1- “How To Profit From Your Own Dental Assisting School”
Tuesday, July 21 at 8:30pm EDT (7:30pm CDT; 6:30pm MDT; 5:30pm PDT)

Join my expert guest Dr. Mark Costes, as he takes a concept
you’ve probably heard about to the next level.  Dr. Costes is
helping dentists across the US demystify the DA School process,
so they can start profiting rapidly.  Even if you’ve heard
about this additional stream of revenue before, you’ll be
impressed with how Dr. Costes has literally reversed the weaknesses
of previous DA School systems and turned them into opportunities.

2- “Instant Team Meetings - Your Formula For Success”
Wednesday, July 22 at 8:30pm EDT (7:30pm CDT; 6:30pm MDT; 5:30pm PDT)

Back by popular demand!  Yes, the first time I did this webinar it
was filled with technical glitches.  So I did the “Mulligan” version
of the webinar, and the digital recording somehow got botched by
the webinar service.  Sheesh!

Still, the reviews were great, and I’ve had more requests for an
“encore” presentation of this content-packed webinar.  So I’m
doing this once again, for the LAST TIME.  Registered attendees
will have access to the recording, which I’m committed to capturing
this time (I’m using two sources!).

During this webinar I’ll reveal my 7 CORE Patient Attraction
Strategies that have helped me grow my practice into the exact
business I want, spinning off plenty of profit in the process.
Also, I’m including specific content that you can literally use
the next morning in your own practice for immediate results.

Reviews on this presentation are among the best I’ve received…
so don’t miss it!

Registration information will be sent to you tomorrow, but I
wanted to let you know about these events now.  Stay tuned.

Dr. Chris Bownman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction

Join me, Dr. Chris Bowman, as I reveal how you can…
Turn Your Team Meetings Into “Power Hours”!

During these challenging economic times, the difference
between practices that continue to grow and those that
struggle is the IMPLEMENTATION of effective, proven systems
and strategies that promote positive outcomes.  And the
best way to ensure that doctors and team members are on the
same page is to have regularly scheduled team meetings.

During this unique webinar, I’m going to share how I’ve
learned to take what WERE ordinary, dull team meetings…
and transform them into what I call true “Power Hours”
that immediately impact our practice revenues in a BIG way!

Do you currently have regularly scheduled team meetings?
If so, do you get frustrated when you spend a full hour or
more together, yet very little if anything seems to get accomplished?
Worse yet, do your team meetings sometimes turn into
tense, unproductive “gripe sessions” that leave everyone
tired and irritated?

Still worse, have you abandoned team meetings altogether
because they seemed to be nothing more than a “waste
of time”?

If your answer to any of those questions was a YES, then you
really should make a point to be on this call!  I’ll show you how
you can take advantage of my new Instant Team Meetings strategy
to train your team effectively and consistently…month after month…
for STUNNING profit increases!

When you put this simple yet powerful strategy to work in your
practice, your team meetings will never be the same again.  You and
your team will emerge from future team meetings energized, focused,
and motivated to IMPLEMENT new concepts, systems and strategies NOW!

The result:  an IMMEDIATE positive impact on your bottom line!

Register now for this Dental Insiders Alliance webinar.  You’ll be
glad you did.

All my best,
Chris

Title: Instant Team Meetings: Your Formula For Success!

Date:Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Time:8:30 PM - 10:00 PM EDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing
information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=ECEMN&m=1ZW3_jG07FhxOT&b=cq4_qYp_lnSbFT71GuYWIw

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now!
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=ECEMN&m=1ZW3_jG07FhxOT&b=cq4_qYp_lnSbFT71GuYWIw

I’ve got TWO things for you tonight…yes, tonight, mainly because
I just couldn’t get this out to you earlier today.  This 3-day week
has been a little hectic, although mostly in a good way.  Except
for the “drama queen” patient I saw today and the new patient
whose teeth “itch” yesterday (someone HELP me with that!), we’ve
been quite productive.  Two “10K+ Days” (both over $16K actually)
plus a $9K “close call” make almost any situation a little more
tolerable.

OK, so here, as Dr. Seuss would say, are “Thing 1″ and “Thing 2″:
an announcement and a KILLER idea.

Thing 1: My “Webinar Mulligan”

If you tuned in to my webinar last night (Instant Team Meetings…
Your Formula For Success) you witnessed perhaps the worst technical
webinar nightmare I’ve ever experienced!

PowerPoint and virus protection software issues plagued me from
the start, as my presentation kept closing and opening all by
itself.  I was forced to switch to an alternate P.Point Viewer
software, which prevented me from utilizing many of the live web
examples I had planned to share.  Even though I did manage to get
most of my content out, no question it was a MESS.

So…I’m taking a “Webinar Mulligan”!  I simply can’t allow that
sad excuse for a webinar last night serve as a representation of
me and Dental Insiders Alliance.  And, I want you to get ALL of
the content I had intended to share with you last night, but
couldn’t because of all the glitches I had to deal with.

For all these reasons, I’m going to REDO last night’s webinar
for you!  Whether you were there or not, you’ll get a second chance
to attend MY second chance at “Instant Team Meetings…Your Formula
For Success”.  [Be on the lookout for the announcement of the date
and time, coming very soon to your inbox.]

And, don’t make the mistake of assuming that this webinar is just
about team meetings.  FAR FROM IT!  Those who attended last night
and “stuck it out” with me would testify under oath that I unloaded
a TON of real, usable, “Monday Morning” content.  Plus I revealed
the absolute BEST method for IMPLEMENTING it consistently over
time.  And I’m going to do it all over again.  You do NOT want
to miss it.

Thing 2:  Flat Fee Success!

I conducted an informal TEST this week in my practice.  (HOLD IT!
That fact alone is a lesson.  You should frequently and actively
test new concepts and strategies in your practice, always looking
for better ways to do things.  I hope you caught that.)

I decided that, instead of constructing my treatment plans the
usual way, with my usual fees adding up to whatever…I would
present all treatment plans in a FLAT FEE format.  The reason I
did this was to SIMPLIFY things for my patients, making my fees
easier to understand.

Why?  Because the confused consumer buys NOTHING!  If you haven’t
noticed, most people are ALREADY more nervous and confused
nowadays about the economy, their jobs, their businesses, etc
than they were a year ago.  The last thing you want is for them to
be confused about their dental problems, your recommendations,
and worst of all, your fees.

Here’s what I did.  I picked a flat “per tooth” fee for:

- small fillings (like “Diagnodent” sized)
- big fillings (incl. multi-surface)
- ANY indirect restorations (onlay, crown, veneer)
- ANY root canal

Then I simply added everything up on the spot for each patient
based on their needs.  Using this approach I was able to arrive
at a TOTAL fee easily and IMMEDIATELY.

But here’s the most important part.  I explained this new “Flat
Fee” approach to each patient, including the REASON WHY I chose
to do it.  I told them that I wanted to make my fee structure
simpler for them, and that I wasn’t going to NICKEL & DIME them
with extraneous added fees for anything else, like laser
gingivectomy, build ups, etc.  They LOVED that!

Don’t worry…my flat fees were a little HIGHER than my typical
average fees.  So I wasn’t giving up hardly any gross revenues
by using this fee structure.  I estimated that, at most, I
would end up charging about $100 to $200 less per quadrant on
average.  HOWEVER…

A. I got more YES’s…at least two this week who specifically
stated that they APPRECIATED me simplifying things and SAVING
them some money.  And these two also mentioned to Kim that they
were not planning on moving forward, but the flat fee approach
was the MAIN REASON they said yes!

B. One of the two “extra yes’s” was a $3800 quadrant.  The other,
a $10,900 anterior case!  You think it was worth it to “give up”
a few hundred dollars here or there to acquire these cases?

C. Although anecdotal so far, the reaction from my patients was
100% overwhelmingly POSITIVE.  As “dicey” as things are out there
these days, they seemed somewhat relieved that I had adapted
and tried to make things easier for them.  That’s a HUGE
“intangible”, and a potential reason for them to REFER others to
my practice.  You can’t underestimate the value there.

I can’t say how long I’ll keep this going, but I can confidently
report that, early on, my new Flat Fee approach has been a big
SUCCESS.  Give it a try for a week or two in your practice, and
let me know how it goes.

That’s it for now.  Have a fantastic weekend!

All my best,
Chris

PS:  Have you looked into my new “10K Day” Coaching & Mastermind
Program yet?  If you haven’t, or if it’s been a little while
since you’ve seen the website, you should go there now and learn
about it while it’s fresh on your mind.  I’m only accepting a
maximum of 16 doctors into the program, so don’t put it off any
longer:
www.10KDay.com

PPS:  Don’t forget about my “Webinar Mulligan”, when I redo the
entire “Instant Team Meetings…Your Formula For Success” webinar
in the near future.  Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement.

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction
www.10KDay.com