How To Get Dental “Patience”
Dentists often remind me of junkies.
When you talk to some, it’s like they’re ‘jonesing’ for patients. How can I get ’em, where can I get ‘em!? I need ’em, I need ‘em!
Just like drugs, the high gets shorter and shorter and you need more and more to satisfy your addiction. Patients’ actions are a response to your message to them. That’s how you market to, communicate, etc. So if you attract patients based on quantity rather than quality, don’t be surprised that they are conditioned to be a transient fix for your practice’s dependence .
Sorry, but the problem is you. You have created or bought into the infrastructure that demands this fuel of patient quantity to keep on churning. You will need to take deliberate action if you want to change this cycle.
Starting from scratch taught me this. I was forced to grow the practice slowly and develop “dental patience.” This allowed me to value each patient, develop rapport and develop the business model around a quality experience. More importantly, I was forced to discover my core vision, principles and mission.
Did I market? Yes, and well for that matter. But I matched the marketing to my model of dental patience and grew the practice accordingly.
As a result, the practice was exceedingly profitable with less work because patients saw the value in me and I in them. Patients never felt like a number because I truly never saw them that way or provided a reason to sense that.
Our plan when we started was that we would grow steady, knowing that the scale between external and internal marketing would be lopsided at the start. As we grew with our deliberate core values and vision, we would tip the balance the other direction. And we did.
Our patients valued us and referred other patients who appreciated that value.
So, what do you need to do?
Reflect. Think of the dentist and human being you know you really are. Think of the practice and day of work that you know in your heart would make you happy.
Start by brainstorming, “What am I all about?” You need to know your core values and vision. This will ground and guide you in everything you do moving forward.
I promise that if you really do this and put yourself in “dentist rehab,” you will see with new eyes the erred ways of your current marketing and the stable, deliberate path to your practice future.
I get that in this day and age, you want everything fast, but following this path will lead to more personal and professional and financial balance.
Change is tough, but not changing is tougher.
