Accelerate My Practice Blog

How to build good relationships with your dental patients quickly?

If I were to give my overall analysis of Dentistry; I would sum it up by stating that it is definitely a relationship Business.  In order to Develop and Foster those relationships within the Dental Practice; we must be cognizant of our goal.  The Goal of the entire Dental Team must be to offer every Patient a "WOW" experience.  This must be the "Golden Rule" with every patient, every time, without any exception.  Let's look at the opportunities within your Dental Practice to achieve this goal.  The Primary foundation on which you built your practice was to have a "thriving (not just surviving) " patient first practice that promotes overall oral healthcare throughout the patient's lifetime.  One opportunity to accomplish that Patient First goal is communication.  This is a pertinent step for every Team Member.  It typically begins with that first phone call prior to the appointment.  We must "offer that WOW experience " from the beginning.  This imperative time is the initial start of "the patient relationship."  There are many ways within your Dental Practice to continue fostering that first experience.  However, a consistent method within your practice is highly recommended. 

Habit 6 discusses very simplistically the imperative need for "group thinking, brainstorming, ...synergy."  Let's face it, two minds are better than one in your Dental Practice. The overall approach when teamwork and open-mindedness are encouraged is highly effective in every dynamic. Synergy will allow you and the team to uncover and invent ideas that might not otherwise be discovered alone. As the entire team begins to interact and brainstorm ideas regarding the practice, they will also allow the influence of your leadership and other team members to offer insight on strategic planning moving forward. It will be captivating to listen to the experiences and expertise being demonstrated throughout this time. It is a must to set aside appropriate time and planning for such Team Building Time.

Your Dental Practice must be as openminded as the leader that is driving the influence. Thus, if you want to expand, grow, or simply maintain a healthy practice; a synergistic approach is essential for accomplishing those goals! Hopefully, you and the team are really driven in providing the level of excellence necessary to foster the "value" in the relationships throughout your Dental Practice. The labels of each team member should be placed aside. Every Team Member within your Dental Practice should be valued as an important factor in the practice. Take a step back and truly evaluate the Team as a whole. Allow the differences and experiences to be valued and respected. Once the Team realizes the value that "a Synergistic" approach offers the practice, the strength as a Team is recognized. Suddenly, those differences become stepping stones for strength to build upon. The level of respect amongst each Team Member of your Dental Practice will become so high that if a disagreement arises, a genuine effort to minimize the effect will be sought. An effective suggestion would be to create a mission statement for your Dental Practice, encourage the team to live it in their hearts and in their minds!!!! If there is already a mission statement in place, have each Team Member verbalize it to you and other Team Members. This will allow each Team Member the opportunity to share it as they perceive it.

Maintaining the Win/Win Attitude within your Dental Practice

I teach this process to my dentists everyday. The infamous rule of thumb " You can teach any skill, you cannot teach Attitude." Therefore, the dynamics that form the Dental Team and entire practice create a challenge involving attitude. The challenge is that while the concept of "think win-win" seems simple, its location is the challenge. The concept lies in our mind in our unconscious paradigm, in the way we view the world. Therefore, a vast majority will not think win-win. While understanding the concept might challenge you or the Dental Team at times, the biggest challenge is living by it.

To keep this simple yet comprehensive, let's define the paradigms.
When relationships are paramount, Win/Win is the only viable alternative. If on the other hand relationship building is not as imperative, Win/Lose might be the appropriate attitude. There are five angles to see when understanding the Win/Win model: Character, Relationships, Agreements, Supportive Systems and Processes. I will describe it as detailed as possible.

Does Your Dental Team Listen To You?

When learning to Seek First to Understand, we reach an "AH HA" moment within ourselves. The moment of "I really wasn't listening." This Habit will require your undivided attention as we understand how to seek first to understand in all of our relationships. One of the most crucial Lifelines within your Dental Practice is COMMUNICATION. Fundamentally, it is the most pertinent skill in life. It comes in many forms yet the impact is crucial. We have spent most of our lives in the early stages learning to speak, read, and write. Very little attention to the imperative "listening skills" necessary for communication to be balanced. By listening, we develop a deeper understanding of the other persons views. In order for the entire Dental Team be effective in communication amongst one another or with patients they must learn to balance the communication.

Habit 2 Begin with the End in Mind in Your Dental Practice

When you understand how the mind works, you can leverage this to create some amazing results within your dental practice. All things in life are created twice - first the mental creation then the physical creation comes next. Without first the mental creation, the physical one will never happen. This is something all dentists understand very well when it comes to clinical dentistry. When they look into a mouth, they all have a pretty good idea of what the outcome will look like. When it comes to the business side of the practice, this step often gets skipped, unfortunately. An example of the two creations would be with a building. The mental creation of your building is the architectural plans, the physical creation is the actual building. Everything in life is created this way.