I say many things that shock Dentists hearing them for the very first time. Things like…
It’s not all about new patients.
You don’t have to be in network.
You can collect full fees up front the day you present (not do) treatment.
You really can work less and make more, a lot more.
Your gross revenue can become your personal income in 12 months or less.
Anything in Dentistry is possible.
The thing that I say that shocks people the most is when I say that I do not worry about Corporate Dentistry – not at all – because the more corporate practices there are, the better it will be for the independent, relationship-based, concierge, private practice.
Doctors, maybe you, just can’t understand why I say that. It’s true. I prove it, actually my doctors prove it, every single day with every single patient.
First of all, it doesn’t matter how many patients you have or how many patients you get, it only matters how many patients say yes. You make money from the number and the size of the yeses, not from the volume and quantity of mouths.
And it is true that corporate dentistry expands the industry. They help to get more people going to the dentist than would otherwise go; due to their cheap gimmicky advertising, their insurance manipulation and commoditization, and their giant budgets.
This is because they are NOT in the ‘dental’ business and certainly NOT in the patient care or relationship business. They are ONLY in the money / investment / percentage of profit business.
They don’t need 30% profit to fund their lifestyles (average dentist). They couldn’t possibly, even if they tried, achieve 40-60% PROFIT (like my doctors do, routinely). They have razor thin margins because they are in the “little from a lot” business.
You are (or at least should be), in “a lot from a little” or “a lot from a lot” if you want; but not a little from anything (volume of one tooth at a time, insurance reimbursement check after another, churn ‘em and burn ‘em dentistry).
Therefore, the more patients experience Corporate Style Dentistry, the more Patients seek out, look for, want a real relationship with a Dental practice, a family, a place they can call their Dental Home and they can actually go to get something done.
At the end of the day, there is one REASON above all others – if you do it right, if you commit to it, if you truly embrace what I’m about to say – that you do NOT have to fear or ever worry about Corporate Dentistry again. Even if they are in your city, down the street, or coming to a location near you in the future (and rest assured they are).
Heck, your best friend dentist colleague in town could become your worst enemy in concept because they just might sellout one day. Hopefully you are never in the position where you HAVE TO sell to the Enemy and you can keep your integrity intact along with your legacy long after you retire, stop, move on, ride off into the sunset from your active dental practice ownership career.
There is one thing that Corporate Practices never have that you can have and it ties into relationship based care and ultimately boils down to one word…
TRUST.
No one trusts a corporation. Do you? Facebook? Uber? Heck even GE? Doesn’t mean you like or dislike. That wasn’t the question – TRUST is the question. Take a look at “America’s Company” stock (GE) and tell me how much ‘trust’ there is in that once dominate ‘in every household’ consumer brand.
Because Corporate Entities Are PROFIT DRIVEN – NOT Customer DRIVEN.
Corporate Dentistry is PROFIT DRIVEN – NOT PATIENT DRIVEN.
Rest assured, you can be BOTH. You, in this case, MUST BE BOTH. Profit and Patient Driven. I’m going to show you how and we are going to talk through every nuance and every point of significance that will allow you to be exactly that.
So, let’s begin on this journey of putting patients first and getting more yeses by cultivating and creating more trust… in your environment, in your language, in your experience, in your diagnosis, in your treatment planning, in your scheduling, in your overall relationship.
When you do this it’s magical. Literally. And you will not just say ‘you have a patient driven practice,’ you will live it and your patients will know it. They will want to support you, pay you, refer to you and stay with you.
They will never feel this loyalty for corporate dentistry, ever.
Next week, we will move into why trust matters so much. We’ll define what it is and how it impacts dentistry and patients’ preconceived ideas.
This week, you can think deeply about your practice right now and what you believe about how patients see you, make buying and treatment decisions with you, and take an assessment of just how personal your practice, care, experience, relationships really are with your patients.
Trust is nurtured and cultivated out of many things. To name a few…
Empathy, Transparency, Proof, Validation, Listening, Reassurance, Understanding
All of these come from:
Consistent and Congruent Communication and
Genuine and Authentic Relationship
The final ‘truth’ I will leave you with this week is to know that with every single action, communication, interaction and engagement, you are either enhancing or diminishing trust with your patients.
Next week, I’m excited to begin a very special Weekly Report series all about
this journey you take your patients on and how you can better build trust to create case acceptance and more importantly than that create real relationship with your patients. This will forever be the advantage over the rise of corporate dentistry and you will be able to help more people because you’ll be getting more yeses.
