In dental practices, there are three kinds of herd in the dental business. The first herd in dental practices is the current patient base and inactive patient base. This base should be nurtured and offered more services every single month. The second herd in dental practices is the herd of all the people that we have relationships with. They are our friends, our family, and all the business owners that we go on the other end, where they call us and we write our checks to. And now for the third herd…

The Third Herd In Dental Practices:

The third herd in dental practices is what we call the “interested but not ready herd”. In other words, they are your lead. I have already talked about lead generation marketing in my previous articles . Take for example, if we’re going for cosmetic dentistry, and we call on a certain patient and ask them this question: “Are you embarrassed by your smile?”. Then we give them two options – first option: they can call directly to the office just to set up a consultation; second option: they can come in and get them to call toll free order message hot line number or go to a website to get a frequency awareness report. Then as time goes on, that group of people who requested would build up in number. And in a span of over a year, you might have 3,000 people or 5,000 people who are on that list. However, there are some people on that list who just will never come in. But on the other hand, the good thing about marketing with these people and getting a ton of leads of people who are interested is the fact that we know that they’re really interested! That’s why they requested for a report, which means that they’re interested of whatever it is that you have to offer them. Then you can do anything you want to in your business: you can have headache sufferers; you can go to implant patients; you can do cosmetic dentistry. So you get to decide on how you want to do it. You can mail them until the time comes that they ask to get off your list, or after 18 months minimum and they drop off and you just get rid of them.

Nurturing And Targeting The Herd In Dental Practices:

Truth be told, this is the herd in dental practices that most people fail to nurture and take care of. So how do you nurture or target them? You can do many things: first, you can run a website campaign for the tv; second, you can do radio advertisements; and third, you can send out tear-sheet mailing wherein they opt in and out of our funnel (wherein we mail them a direct mail package, then we go to postcard, postcard, then direct mail package and all on that time where we send them e-mails all at the same time). Now, the challenge here is how you manage all of them. Right now, I’m personally running five different companies under the same umbrella. There’s so much marketing that’s going on automatically every month, and it’s close to impossible that we’ll be able to manage all of them if we try to use the contact management system; or even try to use traditional management software we have. As a remedy, what we have done for the last couple of years is that we actually work with the company called Infusion and they’re speaking our next super conference, and probably in every event. If you would like to sign up for the next event, you can do so and just log on to our website over the next days.

Visit our website at www.DentistProfits.com and get a free CD and Book titled, “How To Predictably Grow Your Practice 25-35% Every Year While Enjoying More Control, Time Off, And Bottom-Line Net Profits!”.

My name is Ed O’Keefe, and over the past 7 ½ years I have shown over 5300 General Dentists world wide how to flood their practice with patients using my counter-intuitive, yet extremely effective dental marketing, internet dental marketing secrets, and dental advertising secrets that are proven, guaranteed, and unmatched by anyone else in dentistry!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/dental-practices-nurturing-the-third-herd-in-the-dental-business-1448656.html

There are three main places to channel your business development efforts: your current clients, your referral sources and prospects. While narrowing your focus is a crucial part of business development, the truth is that not everyone warrants the same amount of attention. With time limited, it’s important to recognize and measure your efforts by identifying who is helping your build your practice…and who is not. Here are my best tips for putting your time and money in the right place.

Look at your referral sources. All lawyers think they know who their best referral sources are. Take another look. A lawyer I recently coached came to me with a list of over 50 referral sources, but when we actually sat down and calculated the amount of work they had sent recently the number shrank to just 16. Take the time to look back and see who’s sending you business right now and place your focus on them. Don’t ignore the others, but concentrate on the ones who are making a difference today.

Focus on an industry. Look at your client list. The ones who give you the most business are most likely in the same industry. By concentrating on understanding industry nuances, you put yourself in a position to not only see where MORE work can come from within existing clients’ businesses, but to gain the ability to position yourself as an industry “expert.” This focus will help you better your relationships with existing clients, and it will provide fertile ground for prospecting and growth,

Rethink your commitments to organizations. The key word here? Participation. Take a look at the long list of memberships on your CV. Now cross off the ones you don’t actively participate in. If you’re not involved, it’s not business development. Being a name member only doesn’t bring you business—making connections and putting forth effort does. So either get involved or take it off your business development list.

Look at where you’re spending your networking time. Events are a great networking resource when it comes to business development, but they have to be the right ones. Look around at the next event you attend. How many of the people in the room are potential clients? Look at where your clients are spending their time and money and follow them. They will lead you to more clients.

Evaluate your Return on Investment. Are you getting a good ROI when it comes to your clients? Take a closer look at where and how you’re spending your time and you may be surprised. Who’s bringing you business on a consistent basis and who’s not? Who’s referring others over to you? All clients deserve great service, but cultivating relationships with those who don’t bring in work can be a waste of business development efforts. Reevaluate where you’re placing your focus and turn your efforts towards clients who are helping grow your practice.

NOTE: Though it’s important to concentrate on strategies and clients that bring in business, timing is just as important. Don’t judge too quickly. All initiatives should be given at least a year before being evaluated.

Drawing on over twenty years’ experience in branding and positioning, Paula Black has advised law firms around the globe on everything from powerful and innovative design to marketing strategy and business growth. She is the award-winning author of “The Little Black Book on Law Firm Branding & Positioning,” “The Little Black Book on Law Firm Marketing and Business Development,” and “The Little Black Book: A Lawyer’s Guide To Creating A Marketing Habit in 21 Days,” as well as founder and President of Miami-based Paula Black & Associates. For more information visit http://www.paulablacklegalmarketing.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/are-you-putting-your-business-development-focus-in-the-right-place-1255222.html