Finding Your Purpose

Speaker 1:
Hi, guys. Welcome to another episode of the Delivering WOW Dental Podcast. Wow. It has been a while since I've come on and done a podcast from my car. Actually wanted to just jump in here and just tell you guys what I've been working on. I've been super busy, as many of you guys know, building out the back end of our Delivering WOW Platinum Mastermind program, which is where we have all of the different industry coaches. We've also been working in the mastermind creating content for our social bundles. We've been just adding on more and more resources for members who are currently in our programs. So, a lot of focus has been put to that, which, unfortunately, means that I have not been as consistent with the podcast. But fortunately, all of that work, or the majority of it, is behind me. I'm really excited to get back to our podcasts from the car.

Speaker 1:
Today, I actually wanted to talk to you guys about the power of creating an impact in your community. I actually just had a doctor who was going through our Facebook Bootcamp. They did a Project Smile, which many of you guys have heard me talk about Project Smile, which is a smile makeover competition that allows you to be able to come together with your team to be able to select someone to come in for a free smile makeover. What's really cool is, of course, it really connects you as a team. You serve the community. And ultimately, in terms of marketing and Facebook, it brings a lot of exposure to your business in a really, really positive way.

Speaker 1:
But, what was really neat is that this doctor actually tagged me. He was showing the video. This was the reveal of him and the patient. He's got the biggest hug ever from the patient, and what he said was, "It really feels good to be a dentist." It's so interesting that so many times I hear dentists that are coming to me that are burnt out, and they're tired, and they're exhausted. It's not easy being a dentist having to help patients with all of the emotional things that they've had to deal with in the past surrounding dental experiences and having to help them with that, having to manage people, having to work with different suppliers to get the lowest costs. It's not easy to run a dental business, let alone the toll that it takes on our bodies from having to sit in specific positions and things like that. So having this doctor say, "Wow. It feels good to be a dentist," it really made me feel good because it shows that, number one, the work that I'm doing to be able to help dentist is so powerful and it's so important, but it also shows how we as dentists can reconnect and find back our purpose and our passion. That really had me to start thinking about practices, purposes, and practices, gives.

Speaker 1:
A lot of times, we just go through the day and we don't think about our purpose. The purpose of our practice is definitely something that has not as much to do with teeth but what we're doing to leave a legacy in our communities. Interestingly, it has nothing to do with the money that we make. So, our purpose is, why do we exist? Why are we serving others?

Speaker 1:
And when you start looking at creating your purpose and your why, and you are having that culture in the practice, then what happens is that you're able to attract team members who are aligned and who are drawn to that purpose. It's really interesting is that when you look at a life cycle of a business, many times there are ups, and there are downs, and there are times when things are going really well, and there's a ton of new patients, and you're closing a lot of cases. Then, all of a sudden, you see that you have a slow month or you see that maybe there's a team member that is experiencing personal pain in their family and it kind of draws on everyone. So, that happens in every business.

Speaker 1:
Where you start to have a practice or when you have a practice that has a purpose, what you see is that you have team members that no matter if you're up, no matter if you're down, they're going to be there with the practice owner. They're going to be aligned to helping the business to be able to get over any struggles that it's going through. And again, when you start looking at what is the purpose and the purpose is to change the lives of your patients, when you start looking at what is the purpose, which is to give them better health, what happens is that when you start looking at case acceptance, then false beliefs that a patient cannot afford treatment or your beliefs that they will not be able to will not stand in the way of you telling people what they really need.

Speaker 1:
I see that a lot with talking to doctors. I say, "What is going on?" Actually had this happen recently with one of the practices that I work with one-on-one in my inner circle. We were going through their numbers, and their hygiene production per visit was really low. I'm like, "Why is this number low?" Everything else has been increasing like crazy. They smashed their production goals, and they've smashed their collection goals, and the doctor production per visit has gone way up, and their AR 30 days and up has been reduced significantly. So, they're working on so many things, and I said, "Well, what is going on with hygiene?" They said that essentially the hygienist had a patient that they offered a sealant to and the patient said, "I'm too old for this," and essentially told the hygienists that they didn't want to have the service done. From that point, the hygienist had in their mind that they were not going to offer that service because people didn't want it.

Speaker 1:
I'm here today to tell you that there's always going to be people that, number one, are not going to want what you're offering. Then, there are also times when people really don't understand how what you're offering them can truly help them. So when we are so certain that something can help them, it's really important that we break through that noise. I told the doctor and the office manager, I said, "What could have been said is that Miss Joe ... Just say, 'Miss Joe, you're being so funny. Actually, what's really interesting is that we have tons of patients who are even in their 70s that are getting sealants because they don't want to have a cavity pop up. They're in a position where they are getting older, and they have to worry about taking care of getting a cavity or having a toothache. So if we can prevent that, it makes a ton of sense, right?'"

Speaker 1:
So, sometimes it's just a little bit of coaching and verbal skills that we have to do with our team members. But what's interesting is that we have these concepts that happen with doctors as well. So they'll say, "Well, a patient really can't afford to have these implants or this number of implants, and so we're going to give them an alternate procedure or we're going to recommend something different." And in your mind, you're saying that and you haven't even spoken to them. You haven't even told them what you feel honestly is the best thing for them.

Speaker 1:
What's really important is that when you start looking at talking to patients, you have to talk to them as if the money doesn't matter. Because the fact is that it really doesn't. Because if we're serving people and we're telling them what we really need from our heart, they see that we care, and you're going to have patients to accept the treatment that you recommend. And when they do, of course, the funds will come in.

Speaker 1:
Again, I just wanted to talk to you about purpose and passion. Because if our purpose and our passion is to be able to serve people, to be able to help them, to make sure that they're healthy, to make sure that they're going to have peace of mind, then it's really important that we are all in with that purpose and we don't let false beliefs and internal beliefs get in our way of doing what we know is best.

Speaker 1:
Another final point to leave with on this podcast is to find a bigger calling. Find a bigger calling in your practice that will have you to keep working really, really hard. It could be that you want to be the number one practice known for helping patients who have sleep apnea. It could be that you want to be the number one practice known for helping patients who have dentures to be able to get a note, another option to be able to eat and have confidence. So, you're going to do everything that it takes to be able to get out there and serve.

Speaker 1:
And, again, having a purpose and a why, getting back to the beginning of the doctor that did the Smile Makeover Competition, there is nothing that you can do that's more impactful than to gift someone a beautiful smile. So if you've not had an opportunity to start Project Smile, I encourage you to do that. It would really significantly allow you to be able to, again, connect with your team and to be able to change someone's life.

Speaker 1:
All right, guys. So that is it for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you've not already joined us, make sure you join us on the inside of our Facebook group, and that is deliveringwowhangout.com. All right, guys. Take care. Until next time, keep Delivering WOW.