AVOIDING ICEBERGS Pt.1

There are Titanic shifts that might be coming our way, like PRICE CONTROLS. The stock market rollercoaster indicates uncertainty in the future.  Over the next several weeks, I hope to give you actionable information that will help you deal with any economic turbulence by avoiding potential icebergs.

Most dentists have never taken a course in sales.  In fact, the word itself, SALES, conjures up an image of a ‘sleazy used car salesman’.  Fortunately, we’re promoting ethical and valuable care to our patients.

I know what is being taught in dental school.  I experienced it and have seen it as a professor at Columbia for 30 years and now at Temple University since 2020. I’ve been witness to a training process that focuses on educating patients.  It assumes that a thorough explanation of NEEDS, the process, and the risks will convince patients to move ahead.  Little if any consideration is given to the financial commitment, as many dental school patients are on some form of public assistance.

When doctors take that system to private practice, the results are staggering.  Studies have shown that more than 55% of people reject proposed care in dental offices across the country.  And, when it comes to out of pocket care, the statistics are even worse.

When it comes to Dental Sleep Medicine, a 55% failure rate means more people will succumb to the effects of Sleep Apnea.  We know what that means!  Increased risk of:

Do you want to increase your case acceptance?  Do you really want to help people avoid these consequences?

I practiced comprehensive, oral-systemically-focused practice in Manhattan, arguably one of the most challenging environments.  During my 43 years in practice, I was able to get an 80+% treatment acceptance rate without accepting any insurance.  I was also able to so efficiently and profitably while adding the following niche treatments into my general practice:

And more!

And while I enjoyed caring for Celebrities, Sports legends, Politicians, Billionaires and Physicians, my average patient was none of those.  Most were nurses, cab drivers, musicians, restaurant workers and ordinary people.  The commonality was they each wanted the BEST.  Who doesn’t?

And, my practice didn’t start off with an “A” list patient roster.  It was purposefully built to attract anyone who appreciated the best care and didn’t want to let insurance companies dictate their care.  You’ll be hearing more about that unique system in a future episode.

Some think such a practice is no longer possible.  That would assume that people’s psychology has changed.  It hasn’t.  People still make decisions based on the same factors they have for millennium.  It’s the reason luxury brands always perform well even during rough economic times. It’s why the luxury brand CEO Bernard Arnault of LVMH (Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, Bvlgari, Moët & Chandon, Hublot, and more) is worth $194 billion. People buy what they WANT, not what they NEED.

You too can use some of the same principles that the most successful companies do and I used to build a moat around your practice.

Through the use of scientifically validated and Nobel Prize winning principles of decision-making and influence from people like Daniel Kahneman, Robert Cialdini, Cass Sunstein, Richard Thaler and Dan Kennedy’s marketing principles, throughout the entire practice, you too can craft an INFLATION, RECESSION and TURBULENCE resistant and resilient practice.

Here are the 10 keys to such success:

And, if you’re thinking of reducing your dependence on Insurance, these factors take on an even greater urgency.

Let me touch on the first key is having an “A” team.

Dentistry is a team sport.  No one practicing today practices without a team in front of them, behind and beside them.  The contribution of the team is no where more evident than in Dental Sleep Medicine and TMJ.

As Jim Collins, in his best selling book “Good to Great” showed, the difference between average and the BEST businesses began with their focus on getting the right people on their bus and putting them in the right seats.

Without an “A” team, exacting any change is doomed, so that is where you should start.

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be discussing each of these success keys.

If you’d like to keep your team engaged, give them a gift.  Show them that you care by giving them the tools to help you. Register now for The Liberated Practice Program, which is designed to give your team the resources they need and take the burden of training off of you.

You have more important things to do like speaking to referrers and generating more referrals.  That’s something you can’t offload…YET.  So liberate yourself by signing up now for The Liberated Practice Program, and when you apply the secret code Liberated24 you’ll save $500 of a yearly membership.

To Iceberg Avoidance,

Michael