Now is the Time to
Get Out of Dentistry...
and Thrive!

 

Most of the dentists we coach are serious about learning and implementing changes. The technical concepts, treatment planning, and thinking about improvements in dentistry become very exciting. Prior to the recession, many dentists could really get their hands wet with these improvements. It is intoxicating. Sometimes this education is the reason you stay excited about dentistry. You see things with new eyes and so does your team.

 

While this is all very important and critical to your fulfillment in dentistry we have to be careful not to forget the one reason why people come to us in the first place - the experience and the relationship.

 

Even in a difficult economy people still want to take good care of themselves and they want to experience excellent quality. People really aren’t spending less on wants. Look around you. People are still going on vacation and making new purchases. They are, however, freezing their spending on NEEDS. We hate paying for needs. As dental providers, we just have to make sure we help people with their wants. If you are trying to help patients with things they need...good luck...you are fighting an uphill battle. 

 

There hasn’t been a better time in history than NOW to get back to the basics and really revisit how we can connect with the souls we serve. Here are 4 steps to get out of dentistry and back into people business to thrive.

 

1.  Examine “THE WHY” in your practice. I’m not talking about reading your mission statement, but rather ask this of yourself and your team, “Why do we really do this?”   If the answer is truly to “make a difference in people’s lives” then you are on the right track. Be honest with yourself. Some dentists “sold out” and traded the passion of serving people for the glory of the lifestyle of being dentist a long time ago, so serving people is just rhetoric not reality...and everyone knows it. Congruency is what matters here.

 

2.  Ask yourself if your business is TRANSACTIONAL or RELATIONAL. Practices that are truly relational have very healthy new patient numbers. Practices that are transactional will never have enough to support their needs. Many practices that are transactional do a lot of “tasks” which always steals from relationships.

 

3.  Make sure you truly understand the difference between WANTS BASED dentistry and NEEDS BASED dentistry. This is a concept that has been taught for a long time, but very few practices really make this happen on a regular basis. Remember, we hate spending money on things we need and we love spending money on things we want.

 

4.  Make sure your new patient process isn’t just about data collection and listening for clues. Make sure it is truly about CONNECTION. You know when you are firing on all cylinders and you can feel the energy coming out of the patient and it is making great chemistry with the energy coming out of you. That is called CONNECTION. It is different that communication. Communication is noise and process. Connection is deeply emotional and engaging.

 

Get out of dentistry....and get back into people. You’ll see things change around you. Your team will feel better, your patients will feel better and you will feel better. When you get out of dentistry and back into people...your profits will return....along with your happiness.

 

I wish you the very best!

 

Sincerely,

 Kirk Behrendt