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The Real Cost of Dental CE
Dental CE is great. It’s the path that unlocks all kinds of ways to serve your patients better IF it’s thought through. Most dentists don’t think anything through carefully regardless of whether it’s CE or not. That’s the simple truth–wish it wasn’t but it is what it is.
When it comes to CE, most dentists really don’t understand what they are paying for, getting, or will ever use based on the structure they have back in their in-practice systems and their chosen level of leadership. Yes, better leaders do far MORE dentistry. Lousy leaders do one tooth dentistry even with massive CE levels.
Ultimately, there are only two types of CE. One is world class handing the doctor tools that are quite valuable (if the tools get to be used) and there’s all the rest. Most in the profession choose “all the rest” as a default option and their skill levels show it.
Examples of “world class” courses include those conducted by Kois, Misch, Spear, LVI, etc. If you aren’t taking courses at that level, then you’re better served not traveling at all and simply doing all your CE online and at the most minimal cost since the ability to learn something well enough to put it into clinical use via a lesser level of training (not world class) is nearly impossible.
Now that the bar has been set, for those considering or in the midst of pursuing “world class,” let’s look at the economic costs of attending such to set the tone for how important other aspects unrelated to the actual course are to make up for the investment.
As I believe that Kois’ Treatment Planning I course all by itself would transform the entire profession (The ADA should buy it on DVD and send it to every practicing dentist) let’s talk specifically about the cost of attendance for that particualr course.
Here’s the breakdown for a dentist in Knoxville traveling to Seattle for the 3 day course:
$280 Current airfare (cheap in the rainy/crappy winter time of year)
$650 Hotel with taxes
$150 Food/sundries
$5395 Course fee
$2000 Minimum opportunity cost (no income for two days out of clinic)
$6475 MINIMUM total cost. If you like flying direct, first class, staying at better hotels, or have a greater minimum opportunity cost when you are away from work, you can adjust the minimum total cost appropriately.
It’s expensive AND it’s valuable when the doctor’s leadership, ability to promote, and team and doctor ability to ethically and systematically sell are all in place as a part of taking such a course.
In fact, only when those 3 planets are aligned does it make sense to put resources of this magnitude into play. John has NINE courses……you can do the math.
Knowing the minimum total cost on this, it’s amazing that the first step on the path to better clinical skills isn’t one in which a foundation of ethical selling for elective services is laid first. Everything taught in world class courses are elective and mostly outside the reimbursement systems. In other words, you have to find the patient who needs/wants and then discuss treatment in ways that make sense for buying.
In an age, where online education exists for such a thing (solid, ethical, selling foundations)…….one either gets smart on this or stays really DUMB….
Which is it for you?
Why it takes more than “just ads.”
Why does one need ethical selling training (i.e. case acceptance training) first before pouring money into external marketing….
Here’s the answer….
Kodak Death Watch
Kodak, Dollar Stores, and Your Choices
I’ve watched the series of plunges and gradual descent into economic hell by Koday Corp since the dawn of the digital camera. In corporate time lines, it’s been a very quick race from market giant to ineffectual pipsqueak.
There are some serious things to learn from this for every dentist out there. Yet, most will barely pay attention to this headline or to other even more pertinent ones that apply directly to their livelihood.
Even fewer will spend time thinking about what’s underlying the headwinds they continue to feel “post-recession.” They’ll head into the office another day and simply think about what bur or scalpel they’ll start the day with or when that next (insert special interest here date/activity) arrives.
Kodak’s leader’s realized way too late in the game that it’s model got moved. Lots of smart very highly educated engineers and business men were paid well to be vigilant and to “think strategically” but Mr. Market and Mrs. Consumer changed the rules in broad daylight while a the brains were tending to the company’s well being.
At Koday, quick changes were needed but they didn’t happen. Half-butted attempts at printers and cameras were launched. Sitting in my desk is a pretty darn good HD portable video camera branded/sold by Kodak with a battery life of about 5 minutes. I like it but it needs a power cord at all times to operate it. Sort of removes most benefits of use. THAT was to innovation as what throwing gas on fire is.
Fortunately, for dentists, none of us are behemoths like Kodak, we’re not big and lumbering. We can choose quickly to be smart OR dumb.
We can, when economic conditions or patterns change, make very quick turns and changes in response to the marketplace as long as there is a cash flow and debt service either in the business or personally isn’t out of control.
The first catch is we have to realize things are changing. The second catch is that one must realize that clinical leaders, professional organizations, MOST business consultants, will either be just as ignorant of what’s afoot or see what’s happening and refuse to point it out becuase by oding so they must offer solutions. It’s simply easier to distract everyone and hope that things go back to how they used to be.
When was the last time ANYTHING went back to the way it was? Answer: N-E-V-E-R.
Right now, the most important change underway for your practice, future, and livelihood, has absolutely nothing to do with technolgy.
The biggest trend and change you need to be concerned with is the shrinking income and buying power of the vast majority of your patients and potential patients.
The dental insurance gravy train is ever more like a drying up crusty train. That fact isn’t changing.
Put these two together and the long show up to work and it always gets better for the detnist boom by simply floating with the trend (ever growing and rising middle class size, wealth, and insurance coverage) is retreating as quickly as Kodak’s sales of TMAX film did.
A quick perusal of the best and the worst performing highly visible and talked about businesses invariably would include Apple on the best side and Best Buy on the worst. Apple targeting the affluent AND those so motivated by the cult they’ll find a way to buy what they want. Best Buy selling to the shrinking middle just like the average dentist.
The latest data on Best Buy shows that on a profit margin per square foot basis, their performance is as good as an average dollar store.
Ultimately, this consumer parable, visibly effecting the good and not so good fortunes of the big guys, also means you have some choices to be making.
Will you continue to sell to a shrinking, poorer, middle consumer or will you move upstream and target those with enough real dental problems that they are motivated to find ways to pursue treatment (I’ll find a way to buy an iMac no matter what!) or actually target a more affluent patient and deal with what that means.
If you’re going to keep targeting the drying up middle class insured, I strongly suggest you start to earnestly study the dollar store model very very carefully as that is where you will need to focus your attention related to marketing, selling, and managing your overhead related to quality of facility, staff and technology.
If you plan to fight the trend and move upstream, I suggest you focus on creating and communicating why you are different from everyone else and address all the facets of selling and promotion. Only those things can take you out of the way of the sea change underway.
The choice is yours…..upstream or dollar store…..
If you choose upstream, and would like some help getting there, you can go and get a selling and promotion education for free by hanging out at the local book store (if it still exists). Cancel your weekend activities now…..
If you’d like specialized help (and speed), we’re ready to give you the first step in going upstream which is a solid foundation in ethical selling so you can begin moving further away from Dollar Store land. To get going, simply click here.
Dental Marketing, Apple, and Best Buy
Would you look at this…..WSJ yesterday…..
NOT a Big surprise……big discounter Best Buy continues to head for the inevitable as they ignore the discounting tactics that always put a discounter out of business. Increasing volume on decreasing margins.
Are you aware that there are solid laws regarding thinking about fees, margins, and then addressing this as part of your practice operation?
Did you know that we provide help to our members so they understand the danger with discounting and how to approach it so it makes sense?
These rules on fees and margins are contained in two member only presentations.
As a preview, here are the top 6 things that damage all dental practice margins…..of course in the presentation, we address what to do with these 6 items as applied to a dental practice.
In these presentations, I also go into why “context” is a big deal with whatever you are selling. If you don’t think so? Just ask Apple, Starbucks, or Williams-Sonoma.
They’ve got this nailed and the lessons are there for everyone to apply.
The two presentations combined, are designed to put $60K in added revenue into an average practice within 60 days after application.
Their history is having been designed to return our top level consulting program (Elite) member investment ($60K over 20 months) to those in that Program shortly after enrollment.
Now, thanks to the ability to control who sees the presentations (Members only controlled log-in), I’ve included them in Session I and II of the Maximum Case Acceptance online Program. Yep, that means you can access them if you choose.
FYI: In case, you didn’t get the memo, the world has changed a lot, everyone is accessing information differently.
As an example, current Wall Street types get up at 2 in the morning to monitor the real time data coming from other parts of the world so they are ahead of everyone else when the opening bell sounds in NY.
While there’s no need for any of us to change our sleeping habits, there are a lot of things that have moved on that must addressed in each and every practice’s communications and how it sells itself to prospective patients and patients.
Practices who aren’t in the process of fixing this NOW do not have a fun future ahead……
As part of our adapting to technology, we’ve made our foundational training in ethical selling available in this unique format. It’s become our most popular Progarm. It’s also the best thing I could ever do for the profession, so I’m proud of making it available 24/7 to every corner of the globe…….
By the way, the two fee related presentations return the first two month’s tuition for the online Program 60X.
How many clinical CE courses every offer such……….zilch…..
So……Best Buy in the ditch or appropriate margins. Do’er and adapter or lame and lazy…….
Choice is yours……
Dentistry Today names Dr. McAnally top dental consultant
Newton (MA), Miami Beach (FL): Dentistry Today, one of dentistry’s most widely distributed and read trade magazines has named Dr. James McAnally, CEO, Big Case Marketing and President, Master Dentists Academy as a top consultant. This marks the 5th year, in a row, that the publication has named Dr. McAnally to its annual list for his expertise in marketing and promotion of professional practices and in ethical selling professional services. 