When my dog Jake was just a puppy, we thought it would be hilarious to teach him a new command: SQUIRREL! The squirrels would run across our back fence, and whenever he would see one he’d go tearing off after it. Unfortunately, we didn’t think that through very well and it got to be that he’d start doing the same thing when we went on a walk as well.
Duh!
So, since then we’ve been trying to get him to be calm around squirrels. Dogs LOVE chasing squirrels, and whenever one pops up, they drop everything they’re doing and rip off after it like it’s the last thing they’ll ever do.
Unfortunately, a lot of dentists these days are no different. Every time some dental speaker/marketer comes out with some crazy, get rich, never before heard or seen strategy that will make geniuses out of your kids, an underwear model out of your spouse, and produce an unlimited number of new patients who will stand in line to write checks for $50,000+ to acquire the next iteration of implant, sedation, TMD, cosmetic, aesthetic whatchamacallit, they go after it like old Jake and the squirrels. Instead of being a logical, sane individual that would laugh and run away as fast as they could, we dentists immediately spend our hard earned cash in order to grab the last 5 seats available for their amazing, new, platinum level program. Marketing to dentists truly validates the old adage that there is a fool born every day (in our case it might be dozens every day). Why do we chase squirrels? Why do we hope there is some last ditch strategy that will reverse a lifetime of coasting and poor judgment?
Success in any dental practice is built on sound business principles, competent clinical skills, great people skills, consistent execution, and persistence. There are short cuts, and there are proven systems that guarantee your success. Most are not new, few are easy to attain, but all are learnable and workable anywhere in our country. I want to encourage you to take the time to read the Super General Dental Practice. Just email me and let me send you a copy at no charge. For those that have read it, congratulations, because now you are on your way to attaining the next level of dental practice success. For those that just can’t or won’t make the effort, you are missing a logical approach that emphasizes integrity and consistency in a model that will change the way you look at your practice. No hocus pocus, just well thought out arguments on how to embrace the business of dentistry in a consumer driven market fraught with the perils of more debt, predatory corporate practices, and volatile relationships with insurance companies that are being overshadowed by Obama Care. Find out what it will take to be one of the survivors.
In addition, if you will go to our website, we also have the newest book on transitions called The Roadmap. You can order your copy at www.summitpracticesolutions.com/products. The next book, which will arrive just after the first of the year, is about marketing the Super General Dental Practice. I look forward to hearing from you. This is how you Summit.
Michael Abernathy, DDS
972-523-4660 cell
[email protected]