Rick Goodwin once said the following about change: “One reason people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain.” How many times have you brought new ideas to your dental team only to meet with heavy resistance as people focused on what they had to give up? Change is challenging. This is why it is especially important to frame change appropriately by focusing on what your dental patients and team have to gain by your suggestions.
For example, if you want to increase your new patients, one thing you can do is start asking for referrals. However, when discuss asking for referrals, some team members may feel like you are asking them to give up their professional relationship with patients to become sales people. Others may feel like you are dumping one more task in their schedule and they do not have time to do it.
If you frame the change differently by focusing on what you and dental team gain, you can have a much more productive discussion with the team. For example, if you and the team acknowledge that your best new patients come from existing patients, and that everyone would like to gain more great patients, you can discuss internal marketing from the perspective of what you gain. In addition, by bringing in more new patients, you have the opportunity to help more people, which is a win for everyone.
When you want to implement new ideas that will make your practice even stronger, please remember to frame the suggestion effectively. Focus on what everyone has to gain instead of what you may need to give up.