Surrounding Yourself with Good People

When asked what she thought was the most important ingredient in achieving his success, Debbie Phelps, mother of the phenomenal 2008 Olympian Michael, responded: surrounding yourself with good people.

How can you, as a lab technician or manager working intently at your job, surround yourself with more good people?   One excellent way that comes immediately to mind is to join the internet forums for your industry.   These are basically set up to exchange ideas and information, opinions and news pertinent to dental labs all over the world.  The internet makes this easily possible for anyone with a few moments a day, a computer or other device connected to the internet, and a willingness to listen and share.

As in any endeavor, there are those who are leaders, movers and shakers who like to communicate frequently and have their opinions heard.  Others who are members of the forums are known as lurkers because they tune in but do not make their voices heard.  And in between there are those who participate from time to time, asking questions, seeking opinions or whatever comes to mind.  Out of these exchanges, there develops camaraderie, giving support and friendship when needed, joking and good-natured kidding, a way to find good people who share your profession and livelihood. 

On these forums are also representatives of industry organizations, journals and vendors who have a mandate not to advertise directly but to share information and expertise when requested.   Also included in this group are dentists who can add knowledgeable viewpoints from their side of the fence.  The net result of tuning in is that you find those good-hearted folks who are willing to give back to the industry.

After a time in this quest, you come to know the personalities of the active participants:  who is witty, who is wise, who never seems to quite know what is going on, who is always trying to impress, who is willing to provide whatever education they may have to give---but basically all good people who care about this industry and each other.

To get you started, here are the contact points for some of the online communities for dental laboratories:  

Popularly known as the IDF:            internetdentalforum.org

-       to sign up, go to this link:

http://www.internetdentalforum.org/subscribe/subscribe/subscribe/sigsubscribe.html .

Dental Lab Network:                         dentallabnetwork.com/forums

Worldwide Dentaltown                     towniecentral.com or docere.com

-       First choose your area, then message boards and  dentallabtown

Lab Management Today                  LMTmag.com

-       Then choose The Bridge

Give them a try.  Find one or two that you like best.  We’ll look for you there.

Published in Spectrum Dialogue-Voice of Techno-Clinical Dentistry

About the Author:

Elaine Whelan is president of Mainstreet Systems & Software, specializing in software, training and support for dental laboratories as part of the Intuit Developers Network.   The flagship software system synchronizes case management with the QuickBooks products for accounting and financial management and services a large number of laboratories in the USA, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom. She has been a columnist for three journals of dental technology and has been guest speaker and lecturer at a number of dental conferences.

She is a graduate of Drexel University, has completed graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University, and has earned a CDP from the Institute for Certification of Computer Professionals.   She is the author of two books “My Mom’s Making History” and “Jameer” that have been chosen for Read Across America Day.  Pennsylvania has honored her as one of the Best 50 Women in Business for 2007.

 
Contact through:   http://www.mainstreetsystems.net

Artistic, Creative, Custom, Elite, Precision, Quality....

The list of superb adjectives goes on with many more…Aesthetic, Excel, Natural, Premier, Reliable, Superior, Unique.  These are not just adjectives, however, but dental laboratory names from our in-house license manager software that helps us keep track of both existing and prospective customers.  Many of the others in this industry are family names—names such as Dantonio, Glidewell, Killian, Rogers, Root---reflecting years of hard work to establish strong reputations for the very same superb characteristics. 

In these tough economic times, however, the qualities that have been the hallmark of many dental labs have taken a back seat to low-cost bottom dollar choices by dental practices.  To continue to succeed and prosper, labs must find ways to challenge this competition through more and better marketing, managing and innovation.

You may be thinking that your budget may not be big enough to do the things you would like to do in terms of time, money and other resources.  But think again….there may be a resource already in house, already paid for, that can be a great aid in meeting these challenges.   That resource is your dental laboratory software. 

Going beyond the tracking of cases and billing, many of the systems designed specifically for dental laboratories also include other capabilities that help you to reach out and find more business, both from your existing customers and prospective customers.  Sales and production analysis can pinpoint what types of services your customers have been using as well as those they have not used or used very little.   Is a particular customer only sending posterior cases and not anterior?   Do they use your lab for  crowns and bridges, but not implants, not dentures?

For prospective customers, you may need to ask these and other questions and record your notes in the software memo fields or activity logs.  Are they happy with their current lab in some ways but not in others?  Do they value excellent communication to achieve excellent results, do they need more expert guidance for their lab work, are they looking for faster turnarounds or bargain pricing or to try new techniques?

To help retain your existing customers, it is wise to take advantage of reports that show a change in activity.   If a customer has become inactive or greatly reduced the volume of work being sent to you, it would behoove you to find this out and resolve any issues, nipping trouble in the bud, as quickly as possible.   Reports that rank or sequence sales as well as graphs that show monthly sales can likewise be very helpful in spotting changes within your customer base.

In trying to attract and retain business, you can also let the dental offices know of capabilities you have not only with your products and services but also within your software that can of help to the doctors.   Some of these might include the ability to receive graphic images and imbed these in the case records for easy lookup both when performing the work and in the future.   Another might be materials disclosure forms sent with each completed case that specify the manufacturer, location, batch and lot of each component, as well as your own professional registrations, alliances and certifications.  Still another could be the capability to send invoices, statements and reports specific to the customer via email, as well as any special requests they may have.

To distinguish yourself from your competitors, you may be able to offer rapid and easily accessible case and invoice histories that can be printed or emailed upon request or simply answered in a phone call.   If your software system provides for direct entry via the internet for case information and requests from the dental office and then tracks these as well as billings and payments, this is another exceptional capability you can offer to save time and help assure accuracy for both of you. 

Doctors particularly value not having to repeat their preferences over and over again so it is wise to request these, record them, keep them up-to-date and then use them when performing lab work or making your next contact.  These can also provide an easy lead-in to discussing new work, an added way to build a reputation for trust and reliability.

Some labs market primarily by calling dental offices, others do mailings, seminars, in-person visits, sponsor events, email newsletters, maintain a website, exhibit or speak at trade shows and conferences.   To do any or all of these well, it is important to develop the habit of capturing and recording contact names and numbers with postal as well as email addresses and then extra pieces of information such as the type of practice, any specialties, preferences, alliances, how they like to be contacted, what they value most, the labs they currently use, and potential work for your lab.   You can then use your software to select from these criteria to generate communications in a variety of ways.  When you connect or receive a response, you can record your notes in activity logs to guide you on the next steps to follow through.  

Knowing that your schedule will be busy, it is good to provide alerts for yourself with dates and notes for your next communications.  One of fundamental rules of good marketing is to keep a steady beat of contacts so that through repetition your name and reputation become known.  Setting up an entrepreneurial program for your lab with the aid of your software can be accomplished with a little bit of determination, some guidance and input from your software support team, small chunks of time and minimal expense.  Then with some luck and good timing, you may be right there when a dental office is ready to send their lab work your way.  

Published in the Spectrum Dialogue-Voice of Techno-Clinical Dentistry