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

Here’s a quick update on my most recent 3-step internal marketing
campaign, during which I used 2 emails and one voice broadcast to
my patients in an effort to pack my December schedule and close
out the year strong.  (Check out my last message for all the
details to get caught up.)

During the past two days we’ve filled FOUR more appointments,
making for a total of ELEVEN filled from this campaign!  This
is a carry-over from last week’s campaign, as I’ve sent no
additional messages since then.  We didn’t have that many
openings, but we shifted a few things around to accommodate
these four patients.

Total value of these 4 new appointments: $4422.00.  Added to the
original $7468.00 value of the previous 7 appointments already
scheduled, we’ve now achieved a grand total of $11,890.00
worth of dental treatment generated from just $148.00 invested.
OK, even if you count the DemandForce $299.00 monthly fee,
my total investment in this campaign is $447.00.  That’s a
2660% return.  Twenty-six point six TIMES my investment.  Whoa!

Two appointments were scheduled out of hygiene for patients
who specifically brought up the offer, and they knew they needed
treatment from the previous visit.  They both had insurance
benefits to use…one had FLEX money available too.

The other two were calls generated from the campaign.  One patient
scheduled perio therapy, while the other scheduled a quadrant of
composites.  Pretty cool, huh?

Again, I’m sharing this with you to MOTIVATE you to reach out
to your patients on occasion with unique promotions when you
anticipate the need to add revenues to your practice.  The myth
that “discounting your dentistry” somehow cheapens it is 100%
FALSE.  The bottom line is that people LOVE to save money…
especially now.  And there will be patients who appreciate the
opportunity to save on the dentistry that they need.

If you’re worried about giving away too much, worry not.  If
your schedule is at least 70% full, chances are you’re already
going to cover your fixed overhead…so your margins on this
added revenue are much higher.  In other words, you’ll still
profit handsomely from this strategy.

Do you think it’s too late to do this yourself?  Think not!
Just do it (if you need to).  Today is December 10th, and
your practice likely has 6 to 10 working days left this month.
So there’s still time to make things happen.

Here’s a cool idea that still has “legs”.  Consider a “12 Days
of Christmas” offer, during which you can offer 12% savings
off your fees when patients prepay for treatment.  You can
even begin the offer today or Friday, and have a team member
volunteer to answer a cell phone over the weekend.  Your office
phone number is forwarded to the cell phone, and your team
member can carry schedules with her/him and fill slots as
calls come in.  Of course you’ll want to pay your team member
for her efforts.  I’d recommend a base of $75 plus $10 per
appointment scheduled AND KEPT.

Use a sequence similar to the one I used, mix it with the best
offer you can craft, and enjoy the calls and added revenues!

Also, if you end up doing this or something similar, please
email me with your results.  I’d love to report your success
derived from the implementation of these concepts.  Thanks in
advance…I really appreciate your interest and involvement.

All my best,
Chris

PS: Next Wednesday I’m hosting a teleseminar for DIA members titled:
“5 Voice Broadcast Strategies For Your Practice”
This teleseminar is a free benefit for Dental Insiders Alliance
members…but non-members can also attend for a small fee.
Keep your eyes peeled for the official invitation soon.

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance

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

2nd Notice

Dental Insiders Alliance Webinar on May 27th at 8:30pm EDT
(7:30pm CDT, 6:30pm MDT; 5:30pm PDT)

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!

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=5SAHJ&m=1h9Vk_M0NFhxOT&b=5HHRHeB2VLllGB_WZlmfNA

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 webinar!  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:    Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Time:    8:30 PM - 10:00 PM EDT
(7:30pm CDT; 6:30pm MDT; 5:30pm PDT)

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

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=5SAHJ&m=1h9Vk_M0NFhxOT&b=5HHRHeB2VLllGB_WZlmfNA

Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance