Prologue:
As of now, Sunday November 8th, it appears that Joe Biden will become our next president. So, the following Blog, which was written in middle of last week, when the election was a tossup actually takes on greater meaning. It’s never too soon to plan.
First, I would like to discuss TWO important trends that will impact Dental Practice during a Biden Presidency(there are others that I will discuss in future issues). One is short-term and the other longer term but of equal importance. Both require your immediate attention,strategic accommodation and tactical action.
How will a Biden Presidency impact the dental profession?
ONE thing we know is that candidate Biden believed in a LOCKDOWN approach to fight the COVID pandemic, or as he says “Tackling the Virus”.
While such a lockdown PROBABLY will NOT include dental practices again, it will impact the actions and thought processes of YOUR PATIENTS. Just the President-elect’s emphasis on “The Virus” will make it a source of public concern.
That’s why the education and communications system that I discuss towards the end of the blog is of such CRITICAL importance. YOU must work harder to get people to appreciate the safety of the dental office and the value that YOU can bring to their overall health and wellbeing.
I use the word “CRITICAL” with purpose. Many practices are already on life-support, having used Government bailout money to prop up sagging revenue. Another lockdown can be the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’. Please don’t let that happen without at least checking this system out.
https://practiceperfectsystems.com/mlive/
The SECOND thing we know is that Biden believes in the “Affordable Care Act”. If he can, he will attempt to expand the ACA. That means that there will be an increased trend of reliance, if not total dependence on Government and Insurance funded health care for a significant segment of the population.
At least half the population of this country will expect that this will happen. Whether or not YOU like it or not is irrelevant. It’s what your patients believe and desire that counts.
Will that ‘segment of the population’ include YOUR patients?
If you’re not maximized to accommodate an insurance dependent practice, if you prefer to go the other way and reduce reliance on PPO or other programmatic reimbursement system and want to move towards a Fee For Service model, NOW is the time to start taking action.
Don’t wait until you’re behind the 8-ball. Check this system out NOW!
Enjoy the rest of the blog but don’t forget to TAKE ACTION. It could mean the difference between survival and…oblivion.
THE BLOG
This portion too takes on a new meaning as at least ½ of the population are disappointed. Will that result in happiness or unhappiness?
IT’S YOUR CHOICE!
Where does YOUR happiness come from? Perhaps our founding fathers did us a disservice when they promoted the phrase “the pursuit of happiness” as an “unalienable right”. Is it truly a pursuit?
Note that they didn’t say that Happiness is a “Right”, just that the pursuit of it is.
Is happiness galloping away from us? Does it have to be wrangled down and overcome? Can it be lassoed and subdued?
This week saw many unhappy people as their happiness was vested in the outcome of an election whose results they could only watch.
Social media has been ablaze with evidence of UNHAPPINESS. During a time when one’s immune systems would be at peak performance, unhappiness and it’s companion, stress, threatens to wreak even more havoc.
”Every day, stand guard at the door of your mind”
-Jim Rohn
What are you feeding your mind?
I gathered a gaggle of quotations that describe the definition or formula for happiness by thinkers of some renown. Pick a few or choose one. Write it or them down and post it somewhere where you’ll see it often, preferably every day. Say it aloud. Internalize it. Put it into action.
-Nathaniel Hawthorne
-Thomas Jefferson
-Dale Carnegie
-Naval Ravikant
-Leo Tolstoy
-Helen Keller
-Dalai Lama
-Mahatma Gandhi
-Buddha
-Maxime Lagacé
-Arthur Schopenhauer
-Albert Camus
I hope you enjoyed these and that at least ONE brought you some measure of reassurance. If it did, STOP reading. I’ve accomplished my goal.
One of my personal favorites is;
”The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.”
-James Oppenheim
This is particularly true when it comes to your dental practice. People look elsewhere, particularly to New Patients as the MAGIC DENTAL PRACTICE HAPPINESS PILL.
In my experience, it’s not the best solution. Not even close.
New patients are great but present many challenges. Every additional human being that enters your sphere of influence presents complexities.
One of my favorite mantras in practice was:
NO PLAN SURVIVES PATIENT CONTACT.
The more contacts, the more likely that the best laid plans will fail. That’s exponentially more likely for people whom you don’t know and who don’t know YOU.
So, what’s the alternative to more New Patients?
How about maximizing what you have ‘under your feet’?
These are people who have already chosen you. These are people who have some built-in trust level. These are people with whom you have, hopefully, developed some bond or relationship.
There’s a new system that allows you to maximize the value of your existing patient base. It can be used to focus efforts on generating new, referred patients as well.
The answer to your lack of busy-ness, decreased productivity and diminishing profitability is under your own feet. Don’t look elsewhere before checking this amazingly simple solution out.
https://practiceperfectsystems.com/mlive/
And, if NEW PATIENTS are what you want and need, this system too is invaluable, as it MAGNETICALLY attracts the patients YOU DEFINE.
Whatever your circumstance, check out the mLive system.
To your excellent clarity and success,
Michael, Laurie, Merideth and the PPS Team
P.S. Listen to the WEBINAR as I speak with Adam Witty and we discuss the importance of marketing during this pandemic.