How’s your energy today?  How was it yesterday?  What about tomorrow?

I’m not talking about your physical energy, like whether you feel tired or not.  I’m talking here about your MENTAL energy. There’s a BIG difference.  In fact, the former is often a product of the condition of the latter!

Here’s a simple, down ‘n’ dirty way to take inventory of your mental energy.  Just ask yourself: “Do I feel POSITIVE or NEGATIVE today?”  Yes, it’s that easy.

Please don’t dismiss this exercise as unimportant.  It’s a CRITICAL step you must take DAILY if you want to get the MOST out of your practice…and your life.

Your TEAM’S mental energy will often mirror YOUR mental energy. Similarly, your PATIENTS will instinctively pick up on your energy levels, and react accordingly.  As the dentist, you set the tone for your entire practice every day, like it or not.

Negative energy emanating from you will pervade your practice. Like a virus, it’ll spread among your team AND your patients. Even worse, negative energy will SABOTAGE your outcomes and thrust you into a “negative feedback cycle”.

However, when you radiate POSITIVE energy it’s equally contageous! Your team will be motivated and inspired, and your patients will find themselves magnetically ATTRACTED to you and your practice. Positive energy PROPELS you toward IMMINENT SUCCESS!

Here’s the best part…it’s YOUR CHOICE.  That’s right, you decide whether you want to be filled with positive or negative energy.  Please, please, always remember that. 

So…given the decision…and the outcomes that stem from it…

How’s your energy today?

All my best,
Chris

If you haven’t done so already, join the growing number of savvy dentists who are embarking on their “Shortcut To Success”! Take your 2-Month “Test Drive” of Dental Insiders Alliance Preferred Membership.  Details can be found at:

www.DentalInsiders.com/testdrive

Yesterday my oldest son Reid, who’s almost 4, had his teeth cleaned in my office for the first time by one of my hygienists. Even he was nervous (son of a dentist…sheesh), but everything went well…until he told me later that night:

“Daddy, I don’t like your office.”

I was stunned. Here’s my own son, my pride and joy, who told me that he wants to be dentist when he grows up. And he says he doesn’t like my office. I had to get to the bottom of this.

“Why not, Reid?” I asked.

His answer surprised me, and it speaks to 2 BIG LESSONS that I want to reveal here. He said:

“Because you don’t have Superman and Spiderman and Batman toothbrushes. I don’t like Winnie the Pooh toothbrushes.”

Hmmmm, I thought. We just bought 12 DOZEN Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, etc. brushes! No one asked for them specifically…we just ordered ‘em. I know other kids will love them, but one of my kids doesn’t, and that’s important.

What are the BIG PICTURE lessons?

Lesson #1- Reid made a GENERAL judgement about my whole practice based on just one little SEEMINGLY insignificant detail!

Guess what? Many of your patients are doing the same thing, every day. They will decide whether to do more or less business with you based on “little” things that mean a lot TO THEM. How much you pay attention to that will go a long way toward determining how successful you are at:

- KEEPING them for the long term
- getting REFERRALS from them

2- Lesson #2- Reid didn’t GET what he wanted…because we never ASKED him what he wanted! Thus his “opinion” of us was unfavorable.

How often do you PREVENT your patients from getting what they want? Do you even know what they REALLY want? And WHY they want it? Aye, there’s the rub!

You see, it’s MOST important to not only find out what our patients want…but to also learn WHY they want it. Usually there’s an EMOTIONAL reason behind them wanting a certain service. Cater to their prferences (the more the better), and you’ll have patients FOR LIFE! Better yet, they’ll REFER their friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers to you over and over again!

So, ASK your patients what’s most important to them with regard to your practice. Why did they choose you? What do they like about your office? What would they rather see more of, less of, or just different?

Find the answers to those questions, make the appropriate adjustments, and watch your practice SOAR ever higher!

All my best,
Chris

PS: If you haven’t already, embark on your “Shortcut To Success” today. Get your FREE 2 Month “Test-Drive” of Preferred Membership in Dental Insiders Alliance. All the details are here:
www.DentalInsiders.com/testdrive

Should You Add Capacity? See if you can find the answer in this update from me about my practice.

I hope you’ve been doing well! July has been an especially WACKY (but GREAT) month for me. A long vacation with the family at beautiful Figure 8 Island, NC…a 2-day meeting with my “Marketing Millionaires Mastermind” group…and a rare speaking engagement at Dr Tom Orent’s annual GEMS Super-Conference jammed my already busy schedule.

On top of that, Rachel (my 2-day hygienist) just gave birth to her first baby, little Anna Grace, on July 7! So we’ve added a wonderful new hygienist, Jennifer, to our team, who will actually continue as a 2-day hygienist even when Rachel returns. Added to Mary Catherine (4 days/wk), this will increase our hygiene capacity by 33%! And it’s a good thing, because…

…We now have a new DENTIST, Dr. Ryan, working with us one day per week. A recent graduate of dental school, he (ironically) LOVES endo. That’s a match made in heaven for me, ’cause I’m quite frankly not a fan of “cleaning out the pipes”! He’s already getting rave reviews from our patients. This addition will add 25% of “doctor time” to our schedule…until I feel he’s ready to run the show while I back down to 3 days per week.

With him doing endo regularly and my less productive procedures as well, my eventual 3 days will become just as productive as my current 4-day schedule. Then Dr. Ryan may add a day!

Why am I making all these changes at once? Because we’re overdue for them. New patient appointments are 4-6 weeks out… longer treatment appointments are just as far out. Although many practices brag about such backlogs, they are NOT good. Instead, they give patients a great reason to cancel, or find another dentist who is more accommodating…even if they SEEM to love you.

So I’m adding capacity. Perhaps even more than I may need right now? Why? Because I want to GROW the practice 30% this year. Besides, I’ve got to have somewhere to put all the new patients that April is going to drive into the practice. Did I forget to tell you about her? She’s my NEW “marketing implementer”, and she starts TODAY!

You see, even if you already have an ultra-successful practice, you can grow it further still. And one great way to do that is to ADD CAPACITY…even BEFORE you think you need it.

Most doctors think you need to have a jammed schedule before you add hygiene days, for example. It’s actually the opposite. Adding hygiene days CREATES a jammed schedule! But there is a big “IF”. And that is, IF the practice marketing and business systems are in place and humming along.

Look at any well-run retail store or restaurant and you’ll notice that they all have more “points of sale” than they need the majority of the time. More cash registers, more tables, etc. But at PEAK hours, they’re full. It’s a good lesson for us, when we get “stuck” on our current level of capacity. The “extra” chair time doesn’t have to be full ALL of the time at the beginning…but eventually it will be!

Opening up your schedule is like opening up the floodgates. So examine your current situation, and look for opportunities to add capacity. Then POUNCE on them…and watch your practice grow!

All my best,
Chris

I hope this message finds you well.

What’s the most valuable, meaningful asset in your practice?

Is it your equipment? No.
Your building (if you own one)? No.
What about your team? With all due respect, No.

Without question, your most valuable, meaningful asset in your practice is your PATIENT LIST. The actual list of your patients, active AND inactive, if utilized properly, can literally build wealth. Problem is, it also is often the most neglected asset in your business.

You can harness the power of your patient list relatively easily, but it does take some effort, diligence, and consistency. How can you do that?

STAY IN TOUCH!!

That’s right! Simple as it sounds, ask yourself if you’re staying in touch with your patients on a consistent basis. I myself have been guilty of not maintaining enough regular contact with my own patients. And I know better! Well, if you didn’t before, now you do too!

So…how often should you “touch” your patients? My answer may surprise you. Nowadays our population is so transient, their minds cluttered with so much “mental garbage”, that what worked yesterday won’t even make a dent today in your patients’ lives.

My recommendation is, at a BARE MINIMUM, that you contact your patients at least once monthly to keep your name and practice at the top of their “dental consciousness”. However, WEEKLY is far better! That’s right, 52 contacts per year! And recall cards don’t count!

You may be thinking that 52 contacts per year is way too much. Well, it’s not, as long as you can adhere to 2 simple rules:

1- Don’t be boring
2- Mix it up…use various means of contact

In your next E-Alert I’ll review several different methods that you can use to keep things interesting and stay in touch with your patients on a consistent basis. You’ll build loyalty among your patients, not to mention multiples more referrals, if you do it right!

All my best,
Chris

PS: If you’re not a member of Dental Insiders Alliance, then you’re missing out on what current members are calling their “Shortcut To Success”. Now’s your opportunity to take a free 2-month “test-drive” of Preferred Membership in DIA. Click this link to check out all the guaranteed benefits you’ll get, including “The Most Amazing Free Gift Ever”, worth over $2173.00!

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With Father’s Day rapidly approaching, I’ve whisked the family away to the beach for a long weekend of fun and sun and relaxation…not that you can actually relax that much when you’ve got 3 kids under 4 years old!

But it’s soooo worth it, isn’t it? If you’re a DAD, Happy Father’s Day! If you’re not, then Happy Father’s Day to YOUR dad, or your husband if he’s a dad. If I still haven’t covered you yet, well…there’s a dad in your life somehow, so send him my best!

Just 6 1/2 years ago I met my lovely wife Elizabeth. Back then I couldn’t imagine life with one kid, much less the three we have now. Today I can’t imagine my life without them! Reid, Kenan, and Olivia are my inspiration, along with Elizabeth of course. It’s so wonderful to be a dad.

I wish you a MAGICAL weekend, whether you’re a dad or not!

All my best,
Chris

PS: Want to turn your dental team meetings into true “Power Hours”? Starting Tuesday, July 24, 2007, you can! That’s when I’m starting the “Power Hours Formula / Instant Team Meetings System for participating member practices.

I will be conducting scheduled “Instant Team Meetings” via the telephone, each covering one primary practice building topic that can have an IMMEDIATE impact on your bottom line.

These tele-coaching calls are for the doctor AND the team. This is the ONLY comprehensive, LIVE tele-coaching series in dentistry that is delivered during business hours! And if enrolled you’ll have 24/7 access to all completed calls, so you and your team can listen to them ANY TIME!

Special premium bonuses are currently offered, and the fee has been slashed, but the offer expires TODAY. Click the following link for complete information, including call topics and to enroll, while there are still slots available!

www.InstantTeamMeetings.com/enroll