Page 102 - The Dental Entrepreneur

The Dental Entrepreneur

Level 2 : Building A Business Network.

Building a strong network among other professionals can be invaluable but it is also fairly
difficult. One thing that I want you to be aware of from the very start that these networking
skills require personal time and must be managed. What I mean by that is that you will be tired
after many long hours and wasting an evening will get old very soon. Especially if you have
growing family obligations. You want to make this as high a quality opportunity for you as can .
I will give you an example of what I consider a low quality opportunity but most of you will do it
anyway. That is your local dental society. It is usually a well meaning but odd group of
individuals with very narrow or negative outlooks on the world. You have zero chance of
developing any business out of it and it will probably leave you discouraged. Leave that one for
the aspiring politicians.

Service clubs can be a great way to network with people from a lot of different backgrounds
and as quickly as you can I would get into presentation mode. Speaking to ANY group is one
of the most effective ways to tell your story and get the golden word of mouth referral train
rolling. The topic is really immaterial. People like to get a sense of who you are and build some
initial trust. Take classes on this if it intimidates you. It is that important. The important thing
that you have to be aware of is you are constantly building your personal brand and telling
your story as it evolves. As you find out what niches in dentistry you want to focus on then it is
pretty straight forward to get in front of the corresponding appropriate groups.

Level 3: Meeting New People

I consider meeting new people a separate category. Here I want you to et involved in
something you are passionate about and forget about the networking. Join a running club, a
cooking club, anything you really enjoy. Here you will enjoy yourself, meet a lot of new people
and find that they will eventually approach you about becoming a patient. This network can
grow pretty fast so don’t be shy. This is where I would concentrate my personal networking. It

is the least painful!

Patient Relationship Management

At the conclusion of all your great marketing efforts, then comes the next challenge. Managing
the growing personal relationships throughout the continuum of care. One of the companies in
a leadership position here is Solutionreach.

Solutionreach.com

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