Recently, practice owners, laboratories, distributor sales reps, consultants and marketing leaders and others met over an informal breakfast to discuss the current status of our economy and its impact on dentistry. I was amazed at how divided the individual perceptions amongst the group were.
One dentist explained that his office was the last remaining business open in a strip mall that previously housed 12 retailers. His belief was that the economy is “in the pits”. Another dentist from a neighboring community expressed that her practice is having its best year ever and is planning an expansion. Her belief was that the economy is doing just fine and full of opportunities. Similar con-trasting accounts were expressed by the most others in attendance.
There seems to be a significant trend amongst those already doing well but wanting to move to the next level. They are usually of the opinion that the economy is doing well and full of greater opportunities. Those experiencing any sort of slowdown tend to be of the opinion that the economy around them is in decline. In a sense they feel handcuffed and victim to the unfortunate circumstances of the marketplace around them.
In his international best-seller “You’ll See it When You Believe It” Dr. Wayne Dyer suggests that your belief in something before it actually exists in your life has everything to do with your ability to create/achieve it. He goes on to explain that our emotional responses to everything in life are caused by our thinking about a situation, and not the situation itself. Most of us erroneously believe otherwise. If you believe that the economy is the pits and that your practice is victim to the economy then it will be impossible for you to tap into greater opportunities that may be available to you, even if they are staring you in directly in the face. Simply put, “in life we become what we believe and think about the most. I guess Henry Ford was right when he said “if you think you can, you’re right! If you think you can’t, you’re right”!
Let’s examine what really determines practice success. Is it the economy or is it our internal strategic activities?
To break free of our external circumstances we must become internally driven and develop an attitude of abundance. Blaming a slowing economy (however real) will only serve to handcuff you and imprison your future to the limits of those beliefs. If we are to compete effectively in the 21st century marketplace, we must raise our belief in our selves, our services and in our patients, especially during periods of economic slowdown. This is important because what you are thinking in your mind and feeling in your heart while you interact with your patients, will be projected onto them more loudly than the actual words you use.
Of course we cannot fully dismiss the impact of the economy on our dental practice. I am well aware that certain communities thrive on one or two local businesses (as an employer) and that these communities can be greatly impacted if one of the employers suddenly decides to shut down or relocate out of the area. Let’s keep in mind that even in a grossly down market, not all sales dry up. People in business are still purchasing things and patients still require dentistry. Commerce doesn’t come to a full and absolute standstill. This realization is crucial. I am work ing with a client whose practice had been stuck in a decline for years but they didn’t actually feel it financially until recently. For years they have been coasting/riding their rapidly growing local community marketplace. Then suddenly things began to change, large openings began to appear in the schedule, treatment acceptance went down, new patient flow decreased and their profits started to be affected. So they blamed it on the most obvious culprit… the economy. Yet there were still a few offices around them that were not feeling it and doing quite well.
If your office is doing well merely because the marketplace (economy) is doing well, then you’re not really in control of your level of success. You could even be stuck! If your dental business that produced $1-million last year produced $1.1 million this year you could argue that your business is growing, but in actuality it may have been the marketplace that has grown without any internal proactive or strategic action on your part. In such cases when the market dries up, it takes the stuck practice down with it. Therefore, linking your practice opportunities to the status of your local economic marketplace cripples any control you may have over your level of success. We must always ask ourselves the empowering time tested question “what role do we play in our results”. What can we do? What control do we have?
In a slow market it becomes even more important for each community practice to more strategically compete with all the other things your patients are spending their discretionary money on. You have to believe you are worth more to your customers than what you sell. The way you package the entire experience people have while under your care will determine how well you are able to compete. It will also determine how well you are able to influence your customers to prioritize and see greater value in your services. There is a difference between good clinical dentistry and good patient care. Good clinical dentistry is delivered into a mouth but good patient care is served into the life of the human attached to the teeth.
The following are six personal growth and development initiatives that will enable you/your office to escape the forces of a slowed local economy…
1. Attend practice management courses that teach you about the business aspects of operating your practice.
2. Strengthen the effectiveness of your team meetings so that you continuously innovate and recreate yourselves.
3. Spend time strengthening your positive beliefs by talking with those clinicians that are doing well and not perceiving an economic slowdown.
4. Boost your patient communications excellence by learning the art of question techniques and high level listening.
5. Develop a healthy view of selling and strengthen your sales skills through courses and reading.
6. Enhance the people skills of your entire team. Developing deep bonds and healthy personal relationships with your patients is a tribal effort.
Life truly is a mirror. If you stand in front of a mirror and make a pleasant face, a pleasant face looks back at you. Our practice life is no different. The results we experience in large part are a mirror reflection of our output. We can all heed the advice of the late Dr. Jim Pride of the Pride Institute who often said ‘stop blaming…your team, your location, your patients, dental insur-ance the economy or whatever other external factors you see on your radar screen and adopt the attitude if it’s going to be, it’s up to me’.
We are only limited by our imagi-nation. It’s a recession if it’s around us; it’s a depression if we surrender to it.
Peter Barry is a Practice Mastery Coach and founder of Successful Practice Architects a coaching company dedicated to serving the Growth & Development needs of Dental Professionals. He is the creator of “The Dental Olympics Advantage(tm) Growth & Development Programs”. He is also a member of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants. Peter provides customized group and one-on-one success coaching to dental teams across Canada and the U.S. peter@practicemastery. com or (416) 568-5456.
