The Everything Dental Rep

Loyalty – do you really treat others as you wish to be treated?

I am a loyal person. I am loyal first to my higher power. I am loyal to family and my friends. I am loyal to my customers and give the best of myself at all times.  Its’ how I wish to be treated – and I really believe in treating others how I wish to be treated.

Do you walk the walk and talk the talk? Loyalty from others comes when you express loyalty to them…..

I don’t like phony people.  Did you become my friend only to sell me something, or do you value me as much as I value you? Loyalty from friends comes from genuine interest and friendship. Why try to be friends with people you can’t genuinely take an interest in?

I believe that loyalty is a virtue.

Thoughts

If you are the kind of person that trusts people,  I believe you are the kind of person that can be trusted.

If you are loyal in your relationships, you will gain loyalty back.

If you help others, others will help you.

If you give true love, you will attract true love.

If you are greedy, you will attract greedy people….

Greed or passion for your job?

If you are the kind of person that looks at a customer and sees opportunity to make money instead of the opportunity to help a person improve their life – you will probably never be truly rich, and you probably don’t truly love what you do.  You may gain short term riches, but every one of those who lives life this way ultimately pays a price.

If you are the kind of dental rep that looks at a Dentist as an opportunity to put a few bucks in your pocket – you will probably have a short career and hate it the whole time.  You may be a good ‘salesman’ and make plenty of one time sales – and I hope you work for a direct seller too, because you won’t develop long term relationships!

If you are the type of consultant who is trying to get rich by telling others how to get rich….I hope its’ rich with integrity and morals….the money will follow, right? The true rich is in the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day – of feeling like we really gave our best, and others will treat us the same.

Why practice management consultants might hate me….

If you are the Dental Consultant who only educates Dentists on how to ‘get rich’ by charging more and cutting their costs! I don’t believe this is the best formula, because its’ difficult to accomplish for average dentists. Here is what I believe, and why….

Charging more can definitely make more profit.  That’s a no brainer! At the same time – you must have sufficient volume and a reason to warrant charging more.  Just the fact that you want to be more profitable is not a good enough reason (sorry).  When you charge more, the patient must get more for their money.  What have you done differently that warrants charging a higher price? I just want to make sure if you are charging more, you feel good at the end of the day!  I really believe that dentists with a huge volume practice can raise their prices since they could then afford to schedule a slower pace and perhaps increase the quality of their visit with their patient.  The patients are coming because they like you – and they may be willing to
pay more for this.  As long as you feel good, go for it! When the patients are happy – you will know it from the consistent growth of new patients they refer to you!

The problem with charging more is risk.  What if….the patients you have don’t perceive the same value as you do for what you charge? What if they decide to go elsewhere and stop referring to you? You worked hard to build a great practice, and have a loyal following.  It is difficult to bring back a customer that no longer trusts you…Please be very careful if you are implementing this change….

If you are comfortable with what you charge because you feel you have made investments in your extended education and business to warrant a higher price resulting in  a higher quality product – that is awesome!  I have a philosophy of constant improvement for myself.  I spend hundreds of hours per year on CE  – and I also invest in new equipment for my business ongoing – I have to in order to compete.  Whenever I realize efficiency, my prices stay the same or become even more competitive.  My goal is to provide a high volume of the highest quality service at the most reasonable price.  Maybe you can find a way to provide the higher level of services and become more profitable by becoming more efficient instead? It is possible!

How do you feel when your favorite store or service increases prices? Was there a noticeable difference in quality? Did you feel it was worth it, or did you feel you might shop around?  Would you feel better getting a higher level of service and a decreased price due to efficiency?

Analogy – Computers, flat screen televisions, intraoral cameras…..better and better but cost less….

Companies that thrive on ‘Kaizen’ – Toyota, Honda, Danaher (huge conglomerate involved in many dental business) Constant improvement resulting in efficiencies and the most competitive pricing…

My free advice after 26 years of observation of my loyal friends ….

-Perform the procedure more efficiently – less talk more action.  Use an Intraoral camera, digital xray, patient education, treatment co-ordinaters, chartless computing (sales reps – blackberries, FSC tool, Internet ordering, proper scheduling)

-Use better materials – faster procedures with less warranty work, better equipment that performs faster and breaks down less often (Sales reps – winter tires, the best car you can afford to drive in comfort, high performance electronic tools)

-Improve staff morale – education and a great work environment and then staff incentives. Team work comes when everyone on the team understands the playbook and feels great about the possibilities.  The team needs to have the same philosophy on treatment – they need to feel good about WHY they are performing, not just for financial gain, but because its’ ultimately better for the patient.

-Keep costs in line – there are some great guidelines from the experts – but keep in mind – TIME IS MONEY! If you cut costs and it takes away from efficiency you are not doing yourself any favors…you will decrease production and decrease profit.  Use cheaper materials and you may re-book work.  Cement that doesn’t work, higher incidence of sensitivity, more chair time, unhappy staff with poor fitting gloves or masks.

My average office works at $5 per minute – If they can find just 1 hour per week in efficiency, there is a possibility of $300 per week in time gained.  This is not hard to do, and any good Dental S
ales Rep who has taken the time to study will be able to help you with this ongoing….

Dentists – fire the guy who is telling you he can make you rich quick.  If you need help – get on track for long term wealth.  Find people who have ‘walked the walk’ – those successful practices and people you can trust and who truly care about you.  Add them to your team. Perform truly caring dentistry in an efficient environment and be proud of the work you do.  If you are charging more for your service – then make sure the quality of the product is also there! I am happy to pay more when I am treated right! Truly successful people have a large and loyal following because they provide their service at an incredible value – they treat others how they want to be treated…

Consultants-  If your true motivation is to help others – then I admire you and would recommend you.  Are you experienced enough to be offering the advice you do? Are you ‘book smart’ or ‘street smart’? What do you think is more important? How about both? Do you practice what you preach? .If I want to play my guitar like a rock star, then I want to learn from a rock star….

Dental Salesmen – The best advice I can give is to take the time to educate your self on products first and foremost.  Think about what you get paid to do.  We are paid a percentage of the dental supplies we sell – the equipment we sell.  In order to establish a long and trusted relationship – make sure you know and trust the products you are selling. Help your customers find the most efficient and clinically proven products that suits their style of dentistry.  Help them to recognize opportunities to become more efficient with the equipment they use and to understand the true value of quality….help them understand that you can decrease their overhead by using your services, be a part of the solution!

Please take a minute to fill out the survey or leave me some comments….

Smile all!

☺

Warren Bobinski

Your ‘Everything Dental’ consultant  

Success in Dentistry and life.™