How to Stand Apart in a Crowded Market

A lot of dentists in big cities face this problem. They are one of many HUNDREDS of choices because in the mind of the consumer, all dentists are created equal, at least in skills, if not in the shag carpeting of their boring-ass waiting rooms.

So what do you do to stand out? To be unique? To be valued as a BRAND, a person, vs. a commodity service provider, like a gas station?

[Wow, I HATE when I start blog topics and the answer could literally consume a 4-day marketing event!]

Let me give you some brief solutions/answers:

1) Do charity events WITH your patients and for the less fortunate in your community that need a hand-up. At SofTouch Dental, we support the Salvation Army, the Boys and Girls Club, and other area-charities. No other dentist in the area can compete with the press that kind of stuff brings upon us…and the new pt flow is amazing. Everyone WINS. (These are my fav things to do!)

2) SHOW your personality in your office, in your reception/waiting area, the car you drive (Trust me, ALL your patients know or can guess which fancy-pants car you probably drive – me, I USED to drive fancy cars, but now, I prefer 1987 model year cars and trucks – a Toyota Camry and an F250 Diesel! They’re DAMN CHEAP to own and the Camry gets better mileage than most hybrids and I don’t have to worry about polluting a landfill with enormous battery banks!) and the conversations you have. BE yourself. Don’t be someone else. Don’t be what you think your patients want you to act like. The most successful dentists I know are goofy, nuts, unpredictable, fun, passionate about their hobbies AND, they share all that with patients! “Do not be afraid, my son.”

3) Market your practice. Spend money on postcards (the uglier, generally, the better!), on newspaper ads, on a patient newsletter. Don’t be a tight ass. Also, GIVE to the local charities. Writing a check to the Boys-N-Girls Club in Salem is a monthly pet project I have. The money always comes back 10-fold. Yours will too, if you loosen up the purse strings.

4) Do something PHYSICAL once in a while. Don’t be a sedentary lazy ass. For about 2 hours Sunday, I chopped down these fat, 7′ tall sedges (grasses) in my back acre or so or property. Bastards cut me up good, but I won. My little hand saw did the trick. I’d have used my power saw, but no gas at the house! (Which means no gas for my generators when the power goes out from winter storms! WARNING, Jerry!). I love walking. I see deer, coyotes, birds, dogs, my neighbors occasionally, and the fresh air rejuvenates me big time. I even walk at lunch sometimes. I’m not far from Burger King, so a walk there to grab my favorite evil sandwich, a Chicken Sandwich (original) with easy mayo and a slice of cheese, is a nice way to get out and take a break from the keyboard, etc. TRY IT! What, you don’t have time? Buy Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning (if you dare) and time won’t be a factor ever again. Generally, successful people and people that others are attracted to are NOT fat, lazy or stupid. Quite the opposite. Handsome, hot, fun, passionate people have more friends. More sex. More MONEY. More TIME to spend with their family. What else could you want?

5) BELONG to something worthy, something that stretches your mind, like my ClearPath Society. Why you’re reading this and not a member is beyond me. Just tonight, I created a KILLER ad for a member. And, if it’s OK with him, all the other members will get it to use for themselves. WHERE ELSE do you get that kind of collaboration and sharing and generosity?

6) Kiss your kids (or grandkids), make them a part of your business life. Hug your spouse. (Kiss him/her, too!) GET involved in their lives.

7) Do something CRAZY and tell the world about your experience! For ideas, look at what Sir Richard Branson has done. He’s a master publicist and many times, the front page coverage he ends up with is FREE. Does it get better than that? (Speaking of crazy, I remember a Halloween Party my wife told me about at a place she used to work. The owner/boss man, worth I am sure, $10MM or more, showed up dressed like a hippie packing around his bong (or his kids’?!). Maybe that’s a little extreme for you, but it sure was funny to hear about this guy that is normally all buttoned up and stoic. You’d just never imagine him young or a hippie! Odd, but it infused the lower ranks for some time, with an energy they’d not had before.)

WRITE A BOOK or hire someone to write it and publish it for you. I’ve written and published several books, and my latest one, The Business Anarchist, which is being held up by yours truly (something about a chapter on procrastination I haven’t gotten to yet!) will show in early 2010 in a format you’ll not see any other business book appear. If you want a book but don’t want to write one, let me know and we’ll collaborate on it. I’ll write it for you. And, it can be on ANY topic you want…even how to change oil in a D8 cat.

Anyway, you get the picture. Be you, take action, be crazy, daring, and have a zest for life that others can’t help but become infused with your passion!