Skip to content
Back to Blog

948: 1 Bold Move to Outshine Your Competitors – Adriana Booth

How do you outshine your competition without the ads and billboards? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings back Adriana Booth, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share one way to make your practice stand out from the crowd. To learn how to find your unique value proposition to get patients through your doors, listen to Episode 948 of The Best Practices Show!

 

Learn More About Adriana:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Episode Resources:

Main Takeaways:

  • You truly differentiate by giving patients an experience they can't get elsewhere.
  • Your unique value proposition needs to match the experience you deliver.
  • What experience or benefits do you offer that your competitors don't?
  • Who are your core customers? Identify the patients you want.
  • What do you excel at? Identify your core competencies.
  • Where do you fall short? Identify your weaknesses.

Quotes:

“As a dentist, you are a clinician. That's where they spend the most time, the most brain power. They love CE and they love to learn. But how do we translate that to the patient base or to potential patients? They don't know the difference between really great clinical skills, but they know how you make them feel. Really, at the end of the day, we don't want to have these flashy gimmicks. We want to really be bold and deliver our unique value that those patients cannot find anywhere else. So, then the price of the dentistry becomes secondary because it's all about experience, relationship, and how you make them feel.” (2:48—3:36) -Adriana

“Consumers are smarter than ever. They have this guard up more than ever. We know when somebody cares about us. We know if a business is different than the next. And I would say this — this is my experience. Even when it comes to restaurants or healthcare providers, I think I'm almost becoming more particular. Like, now, the number of restaurants I will send anybody to is not more; it's actually fewer. There are a handful, like three of them. So, when it comes to something like dentistry, especially when it comes to discretionary dentistry, the question becomes, how do you truly become unique in a way that there's only one of you in this whole marketplace?” (3:42—4:26) -Kirk

“It really comes down to this: why should I choose you as a dentist? Now, you might think that's a benign question. No — it's a very important question because you’ve got to be able to influence the question that most times you won't even answer. Now, a lot of times, people say, ‘Why should I go to your dentist?’ There's got to be something that's strong enough. A strong UVP focuses usually on experience, benefits, or emotional connection to make you stand out, not just your clinical.” (5:12—5:43) -Kirk

“When we think about our differentiation, that's really, what does your practice and experience bring to the patient's life? They're going to be much more loyal when they truly feel cared for. They're going to send their friends and family to you when they walk through the door, you recognize them, you know their name, and you ask about their personal life because you do truly care. That's when it doesn't become sales, which is why we don't love to say “unique sales proposition”. It's more about the unique value proposition. We want it to highlight what you offer that your competitors do not, and that's around patient experience. Your clinical focus — we work with the best of the best. There's no question about that. But also, how do we show our patients that our team is the best of the best, and what the dynamic is, what the culture is like, what are our core values like, not just our clinical services? What are our standards of care, our philosophy, and what we believe in as a practice? That is what we want to convey with our UVP and our differentiator.” (6:24—7:42) -Adriana

“You’ve got to identify your core customer. Don't skip over that one because that's usually the hardest work. When we ask dentists to get crystal clear on their customer profile, you should see them . . . It's like they can't put a finger on it. They're looking for somebody who can pay and show up on time. Well, that might be a good place to start. But your core customers usually care about the same things that you care about.” (11:30—11:55) -Kirk

“As you start to identify these people, the core customer, you're going to find that these patients are typically profitable in your practice. As a result, they choose dentistry, they want to pay for it, they're enjoyable to be around, they value your services — basically, they value what you do, and they believe what you believe, and they refer other people. Your least favorite people don't care about the things that you care about. You've been talking to them about what you care about forever, and they're not interested. So, don't do that. That's exhausting. It's tough on your schedule, tough on your energy, and really tough on your profits because they're not buying what you're selling. So, you’ve got to start there.” (12:59—13:37) -Kirk

“Once we've identified our core customers, who do we want to see more of, then we look at our core competencies. Some of the dentists that I've worked with don't always get to do as much of what they're really great at, but they want to do more of that. So, we have to know what our strengths are. We have some amazing clients in our community that say, ‘I'm a bread-and-butter dentistry kind of person, and I'm okay with that because I'm really good at it.’ Awesome. Go for it. We may have someone who specializes in implants. Awesome. Go for it. There's enough space in the dental field that we can all fit and all have our own share. So, the core competencies are the things that you are really good at, better than most, and that will set you apart from the others. You have to answer three questions, though, to get there. Is it easy for others to imitate? Is it actually something sought after by our patients and future patients? And then, does it contribute to the patient experience?” (13:43—14:54) -Adriana

“I don't want someone to think, ‘Well, I'm really good at crowns, but other people can do crowns. Do I have to have something so unique?’ No. But you could be really great at crowns. But on [question] number three, does it contribute to the patient experience? Absolutely. Like, are you going above and beyond to make sure the patient is comfortable, that you're talking patients through the process and educating patients? So, don't feel like you have to have this crazy unique property that nobody else is doing. You can just have your spin on it to make it a very different experience for the patient.” (17:22—17:57) -Adriana

“Identify your weaknesses. That is number three. We’ve figured out what we’re really good at, but now we’re going to get honest with, ‘Hmm, what are my weaknesses?’ Be honest with yourself. Maybe your spouse, maybe your office manager, maybe your favorite hygienist or assistant will sit down with you and you can bounce some ideas off because we want to know, as a dentist and as a leader, what are your weaknesses? Maybe it's chairside. Maybe they notice some things that you could tweak a little bit and really improve on. So, we don't want anyone to feel bad about themselves when we say weakness. But it's just, get a list of things you'd like to improve. Turn that dial up just a few percent every now and then. That's going to always help us improve. But when you go through that exercise, it'll also help you determine if you're spending your energy in the right way or in the correct area. So, that is really key. Time is the new rich, and where we spend our energy is really where our focus goes and grows.” (18:42—19:50) -Adriana

“When you get out of that range of doing things that you're not good at — maybe they are some of your weaknesses — they actually become strengths of other people.” (21:36—21:45) -Kirk

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:34 Why this is an important topic.

4:26 Unique value proposition, explained.

5:46 What should your UVP convey?

9:28 ACT’s Differentiation tool.

10:47 Identify your core customers.

13:37 Identify your core competencies.

18:37 Identify your weaknesses.

22:38 Final takeaways.

24:13 ACT’s Creating a 6-Star Experience.

25:36 ACT’s BPA.

Adriana Booth, BS, RDH Bio:

Adriana Booth is a Lead Practice Coach who partners with dentists and their teams to cultivate leadership skills, build practice growth, and streamline business practices. After spending nearly two decades in the dental industry working with top-notch dental teams, Adriana came to ACT to share her passion for professional growth, high-level training, and systems creation with our clients. As a dental hygienist with a love for continuing education and personal growth, helping a practice become successful is at the heart of her passion for dentistry.

Adriana has a B.S. in Dental Hygiene from West Liberty University/O’Hehir University. By being involved in several Columbus, Ohio, study clubs, Adriana maintains strong relationships within her local dental community. She enjoys a variety of fitness activities, family time, good books, and at the top of her list, her fur babies.
ACT Dental Team

ACT Dental Team

    Subscribe to our newsletter