7 Ways Your Business Can Comeback from Covid Crisis Even though I consider myself an optimist, this situation has proven to challenge even those with extreme mental fortitude. I’m sure you’ve also experienced moments of deep concern for our country and the world, and our physical and financial health now and in the future. 60% of my daily responsibilities typically include facilitating strategy sessions with dentists. During these sessions we evaluate the current health of the business, as well as what can be done to meet and exceed business goals. It’s always my mission to only give the advice that is in the best interest of the person I’m talking with to the best of my ability. This situation is no different. I hope you find the following strategies helpful. I hope they help you to stay positive and focused on your business comeback plan during this difficult time. Create a game plan for how your team can strengthen themselves and their ability to serve your community upon returning to work. Whether you host a quarantine book club ( I recommend anything by Patrick Lencioni or Gino Wickman) or you each take online CE in your respective areas of expertise, give your team a goal and a skill that they can improve upon in this downtime. Contribute to a quick rebound by keeping your team employed (if you can) and keeping your relationship with critical business advisors that will become key resources for you when opening back up. Terminating your team and key advisors could actually put you back significantly in the progress you’ve worked to build when it comes time to reopen. Many programs, including: team training programs, consultants, marketing initiatives will be necessary when business operations resume. There will likely be employee turnover, patient loss to a degree due to financial difficulty in some, and a shift in the needs of your community (more on this next). Stay in contact with your patients. Call and check in on them. See how they’re doing and how they’re feeling. Talk to them about your infection control policies and your response to COVID-19. Make sure they are safe and feel safe in your care when the time comes to open the doors. Join our Facebook Group Dental Marketing with Grace and receive daily social media content that’s appropriate for your dental practice currently. Consider changing the tone of your marketing to reflect the current needs of your community. You should include your infection control measures, as well as shifting focus to emergency care, if you are open for those services. Once life returns to our new normal, you’ll also benefit from communicating the importance of oral health to have strong overall health. We will have a very health conscious community. Contact us to set up a marketing planning session. Consider expanding your hours to have more convenient appointment times when you reopen. You’ll have many patients seeking care and may experience a large workload when it comes time to get back to work. Reconsider your brand, website and online presence now. Many Americans are unable to leave their homes for much besides grocery shopping and other essential errands. Your online presence NOW is going to build your brand, establish recognition and strengthen your business when it’s time to open again. This kind of event is unprecedented. Digital ads only utilize spend with views, clicks or impressions. If you’re in a financial situation to be able to invest, your dollars can go far in terms of exposure. STAY POSITIVE! Your patients, team and community will look to you for a smile. Be the person to spread hope and positivity. Grace@identitydental.com
Are You Asking the Right Questions? https://identitydental.com/wp-content/uploads/10000000_112380970304924_4535593805372788659_n.mp4 Do you work hard to avoid having difficult conversations with your employees? Do you do everything in your power to keep the peace, just accepting some poor behaviors rather than start a confrontation? Whatever reason you choose to avoid these conversations, you shouldn’t allow the inability to confront the things that truly matter to the success of your business hold you back. For many of us, it’s not the fear of confrontation that’s holding us back. Rather, we are fearful of disrespecting someone who we’ve come to depend on or even like as a person. In essence, we fear that any confrontation will result in the loss of a relationship. Before we become comfortable with these kinds of conversations, it can seem like a big deal to confront someone about their behavior. However, once we do, we realize that these conversations aren’t about an argument or a “fight”. They’re a way to clarify expectations and check-in with your team. In many ways, confrontation allows you to ask your team questions that help them grow as both employees and people. Let’s say you have an employee who’s become unreliable. Once a week for a month they have an excuse or reason for not coming in or showing up late. You see the pattern and you feel like you can’t rely on them. Not only are they letting you down, but they’re letting the entire team down too. A lot of people shy away from that direct line of communication and instead bring up their issues in an indirect way. Here’s what that Indirect Communication may look like: “I’m glad you’re feeling better and I’m happy that you’re back. We definitely need you here.” Did you get your point across? Does your employee understand that their attendance matters and that you need them to make a change? Not at all. Conversely, here’s what Direct Communication/Confrontation may look like: “I’m really glad that you’re feeling better. We definitely need you around here. What can we do to make sure you arrive on time every day?” What have you changed? You’ve asked your employee to consider what their actions have cost the team and the business. You’ve also given them an opportunity to consider how they could improve without being accusatory or judgemental yourself. Now, when asked this question, people can react in a few different ways. One of which will be that an employee seeks to avoid the confrontation. Yes, your employees dislike confrontation as much as you do and they may try to sidestep you. An example would be: “Oh absolutely. I love this place. I can’t believe how that thing happened, and then how that happened, and everything that happened was all so far outside of my control, but I can tell you right now – it won’t happen again.” While it may seem like the issue has been resolved, it really hasn’t been. The problem is that the employee isn’t taking any responsibility. Maybe one of the four times they’ve made an excuse, it was a completely unavoidable set of circumstances. Those other three times? Not so much. If that person wants to be a part of your team, they’re going to have to start taking responsibility. How can you help that happen? Ask the right questions. “How can you be better prepared for that situation so that it won’t interfere with your ability to make it to work?” If the person cares about you and their job, they may become quiet and introspective for a moment, truly considering how they could have done things differently. They’ll come back with something to truly better themselves. If they are just trying to take advantage, that employee will come back with some sort of inflamed comment: “Well, there was no way that I could have prevented any of this!” Either way, you’ll know where you stand with your employees and whether or not they’re going to be a part of your long term team. As a dentist, you may feel that this isn’t something you need to deal with. You went to school to be a dentist and you’re very good at it. However, it’s still important to master the leadership of your team. Get comfortable with confrontation. It’s a part of your business and it’s nothing more than a discussion and dealing with a situation. The more comfortable you get, the more you’ll be able to use it to your business’s advantage. Master it, and see the results impact every aspect of your life. If you’re looking for help when it comes to your team communication or your leadership skills, you can contact me today at grace@identitydental.com. Let me know what issues you’re facing and I’ll do my best to give you advice that helps you find solutions. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
5 Ways to Stay Motivated at Work Remember Why Who are you serving? As dentists, it’s likely that you’re helping change people’s lives for the better with great oral health every day. You’re important, and so is the work you do. Get up and do it as best you can. Break it Down How do we eat an elephant? One bite at a time. When facing an overwhelming workload, focus on what you can accomplish in the next hour, the next day, and the next week. Before you know it, you’ll be ready for the next project. The Un-Comfort Zone By trying new things or new roles, you’re more likely to keep your brain entertained, alert, and ready to tackle your day. Be Open When we refuse to listen to feedback or constructive criticism, we’re refusing to grow. Know that you’re great at what you do, but consider how you could be even better. Positivity is Everything Your attitude is everything. Whether you’re leading, or a member of the team, you and your energy impact the work of everyone around you. Stay positive, be grateful, and remember to reward yourself and your team for a job well done. Contact our office for more information.
The Secret to Eliminating Failure From Your Life https://identitydental.com/wp-content/uploads/10000000_130039995204573_2089643387187351963_n.mp4 I have a friend who’s been thinking, and dreaming, and planning on launching her own business for years. Unfortunately, she hasn’t done much “doing”. She’s the kind of person who has no lack of experience or knowledge, and she’s been growing and learning in her chosen industry for years. She has had all the tools she’s needed to be successful for a very long time. So what’s been holding her back? Recently, she made the first real steps to get her business off the ground and I couldn’t be more proud. I asked her why she thought it had taken so long for her to finally get started and she gave me the response that I was expecting, but still didn’t understand. “I can’t believe I haven’t done it sooner. I think I was just too afraid to get started.” It’s not only in business that this fear rears its ugly head. What about when you want to start dedicating yourself to the gym, or when you want to finally read that book you’ve been putting off? What things have been nagging at you, begging for you to accomplish them before the end of your life? What’s been holding you back from doing so? Fear of failure? What is that? Maybe your original plan doesn’t pan out exactly how you thought it would. Is that failure? No. Maybe you didn’t reach the specific goal you had set for yourself. Is that failure? No. These imagined failures are arbitrary and created solely by you- don’t allow them to prevent you from moving forward when achieving your goals becomes challenging. When I first started my business, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would have labeled me a “failure”. In my first year, I produced less than $13,000 before expenses. In 2009 (the year I first started Identity), the median household income in the United States was nearly $60,000. Ouch. Could I have thrown in the towel right then and there, living the rest of my life as a failure? Absolutely. Perhaps other people even would have. Instead, I chose to look at each of those 13,000 dollars and feel pride for what I had accomplished. I understood that it meant I had made a real step towards my goal of owning a successful business. Not only had I made money for myself, but I had truly helped a few clients grow their own businesses along the way. From that experience, I learned something critical to my success. When you learn to appreciate your journey towards success, you eliminate the possibility of failure. By focusing on what’s going right, you prevent the worry over things that have gone wrong to slow you down. Very few people are successful overnight, or in this case over a year. But that willingness to appreciate the journey, to love every step you take, including the highs and the lows, means that you’ll be incapable of allowing the fear of failure to hold you back. In fact, failure won’t even be an option as long as you’re alive. This isn’t to stay that you should always stick with your original goals in the hope that someday they’ll pan out. Rather, continually learn from the successes and mistakes you make and apply that knowledge to the adaptation of your goals. Eventually, you will find success. As someone who’s been where you are, and who continues to love being on her journey towards success, allow me to offer one more piece of advice. If you’re sitting in place at work, or in your life, fearing that things may not turn out exactly the way you want them too, know that it’s better to go and make an effort than to stay stuck in a place you’ll regret when you go on to the next life. If you’re in need of a little extra guidance or a push, I’m always here for you. Schedule a call today at https://identitydental.com/cmps/.
What’s More Important Than Money? https://identitydental.com/wp-content/uploads/10000000_1472710179577722_5996021347016423785_n.mp4 Today I’d like to share a story that happened to a doctor I’ve known for a very long time and who I have a great deal of respect for. Having been in practice for many years, this doctor was in the process of training an associate to take over the practice after their eventual retirement. The two had formed a strong connection and all seemed to be well for a long time. What my friend didn’t know was that their associate was secretly opening up their own practice down the street, catering to the same market, the same patients, and even bringing some team members with them. The rest of the team knew about the betrayal and even supported the other doctor by liking posts on Facebook and other seemingly minor actions. Upon hearing this story, I simply couldn’t believe that it was true. The fact that someone could be that blatantly unethical was astonishing to me. I know that some of you will shout from the rooftops, “That’s why we have non-compete contracts”, but shouldn’t we live in a world where people want to do the right thing, not because they have a contract telling them they have to, but simply because it’s right? As I continued to think about this story, I realized that at its core, it is a situation that all of us will face at some point in our careers. As a business starts to gain traction, and everything seems to be going amazing, you’re going to face decisions that will determine who you are. In those moments, you’re going to have to choose between making more money or doing the right thing. For example: Let’s say you consider making a recommendation to a patient who really doesn’t need the treatment, but you want to hit your numbers. What do you think you’d do? Let’s say your team has botched a service, resulting in more costly visits for the patient that should have been unnecessary. Do you own up to the mistake? Sometimes doing the right thing in situations such as these will cost you money. Sometimes it will cost you time. However, if instead, you choose to make money the deciding factor, the cost will be much more significant in my opinion. That cost is going to be your ability to look yourself in the mirror at the end of your life and be happy with the person you’ve become. Choosing the money over what’s right once or twice, may not cost you your soul. You may even think you’ve “gotten away with it”. But gradually, the little decisions will pile up. So, every time you face that decision – make a good choice. Not “good” in the sense that you think it’s best for your business, but “good” in the sense that it’s best for your soul. Surround yourself with people that have a high sense of integrity and know that when you do reflect back on the life you’ve lived, you’ll be proud of what you’ve accomplished and how you did so. Ethicality has a pivotal role in my own business and life. If you want to talk about the choices you’re facing in your business, and whether or not they are the right ones, reach out. I may not be able to solve the problems you face, but I’ll offer guidance and support to help you conquer them. Schedule a call at https://identitydental.com/cmps/.
How Are You Celebrating Your Wins? https://identitydental.com/wp-content/uploads/10000000_257094528603991_1119136990345554595_n.mp4 Whether you’re running a single dental office or the entirety of a global enterprise like Amazon, there’s a focus on how we can improve and grow our businesses. This is one of the best parts about owning a company and I would never suggest you do otherwise. At my speaking events, in my business, and even in conversations with friends, I talk openly about the importance of embracing the need to improve. Considering how we can be better is a great way to induce change and create a stronger business. However, the “too-much-of-a-good-thing” rule applies here. When we focus solely on “fixing” our business, there is no time left for celebrating our wins. It can be challenging to focus on the good when you’re overwhelmed by your business, worried about your patients or your schedule. But taking the time to stop and celebrate is critical. When your team only hears from you when things are stressful or wrong, they never see the other side. Ignoring the wins can be not only demoralizing for your team, but can also sabotage your long term success. If you’re not consistently celebrating the good, you may be creating an atmosphere that people neither want to work for or with. Today, make the conscious effort to celebrate a win. Ask yourself, “what is worth celebrating in my business and how are we going to do so?” Did you recently have a larger number of five-star reviews than usual? Have you received a large number of patient referrals? Did you go for a week with no missed or canceled appointments? Did a particular department meet a set of goals you had created? Have you met or beaten certain benchmarks of the industry? Know that these celebrations aren’t just “nice”. If you want to improve your team, your practice, and yourself it is absolutely necessary. With this knowledge, I challenge you to celebrate at least one win in your practice today. Think about what your team has been doing well and celebrate. For this first time, the how and the why aren’t nearly as important as simply making the effort. See how your team reacts and let us know if it helps create a happier and more productive work atmosphere. In the meantime, if you want to more useful business management tips, or want to get started on a marketing plan for your practice, schedule a complimentary marketing planning session with me for no charge, at https://identitydental.com/cmps.
Why Most Business Owners Never Grow Beyond $1 Million https://identitydental.com/wp-content/uploads/10000000_796236610855938_3946088467149403969_n.mp4 No one is born being a fantastic business leader. You either enjoy it and do your best to learn more, or you don’t. Despite this fact, I often hear dentists claim that they are “bad at business” when the reality is they are only holding themselves back. So, what’s holding you back from finding success? What’s stopping you from not only reaching that $1 million mark, but surging past it on your way to greater things? In all the time I’ve spent in the dental community I’ve noticed a commonality between those who realize their potential for growth and those who do not. The doctors that do the best and continue to grow past the one million dollar mark are the ones that are willing to take risks. Different Kinds of Risk When I talk to those who are hesitant to take risks on anything, I tell them that there is an inherent risk in every aspect of life, whether they realize it or not. There’s risk in hiring and there’s risk in firing. Investing in your marketing, your advisors, or a dental CPA are all risks too. Even becoming a dentist was a risk. While those financial risks are a major factor, there’s also the risk that comes with being known. Many don’t want to market their business and grow because they don’t want to be exposed to a larger world. They don’t want to risk that someone might not like them. To that, I say – are you really going to let the rest of the world determine your success? What if You’re Happy With Where You’re At? When I talk to a doctor or another practice leader for the first time there is always a great deal of pride surrounding the fact that they’ve only grown their business by word of mouth. While I can appreciate the sentiment, to me it’s an indicator that they just haven’t yet figured out how to leverage marketing effectively. It also shows that they may not be willing to take the necessary risks to grow beyond their natural growth rate. This is not to say that leading a successful dental practice is as easy as saying yes to risk. In fact, I truly believe that dentistry is one of the hardest industries to build success in. Not only are you trying to grow a business, but you are responsible for leading your teams and treating patients. You truly are the “Chief Everything Officer”. You’ve worked hard to build the success you have, and putting that success on the line is not an easy task. However, if you find yourself constantly avoiding risk in the interest of saving your practice ask yourself this: What is all that saving costing you? If, after reading this blog, you think it’s time to take a risk and do something different, you can schedule a call with me. Not only will we discuss a marketing plan that will get you started in growing past that one million dollar mark, but we’ll talk about you and your business as a whole. Work with Identity Dental Marketing, and see what’s on the other side of your risk aversion. https://identitydental.com/cmps/
New Year’s Resolution Check-In I’m going to say something that may shock you. January is almost over. If you are like me, you’re probably wondering where the time went. You may also feel a slight sense of guilt as you realize you’re not quite as far along in your New Year’s Resolution as you would like to be. As we move into February, it’s important to evaluate how you’re doing on your goals. Are you still going strong, or have you begun to taper off? Have you even started? Sometimes when we begin on our resolution plans, we realize that there is a major difference between knowing you want to change and knowing how to achieve the goal in a realistic way. Saying, “I want to see my business grow”, is a great ambition to have, but it probably isn’t going to provide you with enough direction to accomplish anything significant. To give you a more solid understanding of the changes you want to make and generate more specific goals, I’d like you to take a look at the following questions. 1.) How often do you assess the weaknesses in your company? Have you seriously sought out and considered ideas for improving processes, policies, and procedures in your business lately? 2.) Does every decision and idea go through you before being implemented in your business? What effect is this having on productivity? 3.) Do you focus more on the “rules” of your business than on the values your team should all share? 4.) When was the last time you challenged your team to go above and beyond? 5.) How clear of a communicator are you? Could you improve? 6.) Do you wish you could make decisions faster, or more thoughtfully? 7.) Do you actually listen to your team’s feedback? Do you give them the opportunities for feedback that they need? 8.) Are you afraid to admit your mistakes and acknowledge when a decision you made needs to be changed? 9.) Are you willing to seek outside guidance when you and your team don’t have the answers? 10.) When was the last time you thought about your motivation techniques and how each person on your team may react to them? 11.) Have you ever found yourself delaying a tough conversation? 12.) Have you been putting off marketing for your practice because of your need for perfection, or fear of the unknown, or the notion that it’s easier to stick with what you have than to find something new that actually works? Not all of these questions may apply to your situation, but I’ll bet that at least one of them got the gears turning in your mind. If so, you’re on your way to honing your resolutions and creating a real action plan to accomplish them. Whether you need help hammering out that plan, implementing the necessary changes, or even if you just want a supporter to help you through the process, we are here for you. Figure out exactly what you want to change and how to make it happen with Identity Dental Marketing. Schedule your call with Grace today. https://identitydental.com/cmps/
The First 3 Steps To Take For Your 2020 Dental Marketing Plan As 2019 comes to a close, it’s time for many of us to look towards the new year and begin planning for our growth in the new year. To help you get started, I’ve outlined the first 3 steps of my 13-step guide to creating a marketing plan that can take your practice to the next level. It will be easy to rush through these, but it’s worth taking the time to really consider what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it. If, after reading this blog, you want to continue on with the next 10 steps, all you have to do is join our free Facebook group, Dental Marketing With Grace at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DentalMarketingWithGrace/ and watch the video where I explain each step in detail. For now, let’s get started. Step 1: It’s hard to get to where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been, especially when it comes to marketing your practice. To help you better understand your current situation, you should first evaluate your current new patient flow. How many new patients do you see, on average, per month? How have they changed throughout the year? Where are these patients coming from? If your numbers aren’t as high as you’d like them to be, that’s ok. It’s better to know. Accordingly, you can target your marketing campaign to help you see improvements in the necessary areas. When you understand your needs, you can then begin to think about how many new patients you can honestly accommodate and build your marketing plan around those numbers. Maybe for your practice, you have the numbers, but you’re not seeing as many big cases as you would like. Think about the cases you want to specifically target and how many of these cases you’d like to see. Painting this picture for yourself allows you to identify your goals in a concrete way, then structure your plan around them. Step 2: What’s special about you? Some may think there’s nothing special and others may have a hard time picking just one. If you’re struggling with the former, consider why your patients are loyal to you and why they refer their friends and family to you. When generating ideas for your special quality, take a look at what dentists in your area are saying about themselves. If all the general dentists are referring to their care as “gentle”, you won’t want to do the same. You’ll need to find something that differentiates you while remaining true to who you are. This differentiator will be the underlying tone for all your marketing. Once you figure out what that is, it’s important that your whole team knows and understands why it’s so important to your brand. They’ll be able to bring this quality to all their patient interactions until it becomes a part of the practice culture you develop over time. Step 3: Many dentists still feel uncomfortable about marketing their practices and themselves. What we can tell you is that your patients and your community want (and expect) you to market. People want to be able to engage with you and hear from you. A better way to think of your marketing is to understand the purpose behind it. If not you, then whose responsibility is it to educate the community about oral health? Take this mission upon yourself and create a reputation of care for your entire community. Embracing your marketing in this way is both a positive experience for both your community and your practice. To accomplish the third step in creating your 2020 marketing plan, write down 5 things that you want your community to know about oral health. If you’re a pediatric dentist, you could discuss how you help infants receive proper nutrition. If you’re proud of your technology, you can educate your patients on the benefits of your favorite gadgets. Even the relationships you have with your patients can be shared with the wider community. With these ideas in place, it’s easy to create custom educational pieces that get your face, your name, and your brand well known in the community. If you need help with any of these first three steps, my team and I are here to assist you. Just schedule a complimentary marketing planning session at https://identitydental.com/cmps/ and talk to me about your practice and your goals. If you want to continue your plan on your own, join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DentalMarketingWithGrace/ and follow along with the rest of my video lesson.
