Category: Conversation

There are two creatures who need to be absent from a room before a good conversation can take place: The Elephant – an issue that nobody wants to acknowledge, even though it is patently true (example – a business idea or person that plainly isn’t working but all present are participating in an unfalsifiable hypothesis
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Aren’t they great? there was a second gunman in Dallas there was no Moon landing Hitler survived and opened a halal tapas bar in Montevideo Here’s my addition to the genre: HSBC moved their telephone banking operation overseas to save money (Lets face it – they have nobody left in the UK under 30 –
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In conversation with a client this week about their “whitening wednesday” campaign. They have invested lots of time in publicising the offer: mail drop to 15,000 local homes newsletter to 3500 existing patients signage outside the practice web site offers SEO and the results are coming through, with the hygienist working under supervision and a
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A delightful conversation with a Scottish Practice Manager this morning, reviewing progress since my last practice visit on 9th February 2010: all new patients now seen and triaged by the two principals happy associate attending implant training course whitening wednesdays has been a roaring success all whitening appointments delivered by hygiene team under supervision strong
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This from a client conversation this morning. Price Sensitive Not Price Sensitive New Patient Consultations Free Assessments Check Ups Healthy Mouth Assessments Fillings One-Visit Crowns Crowns Smile Makeovers Bridges Denture Stabilisation Implants Invisible Braces Any single-unit work Special Offers Hygiene visits Open Evenings Tooth Whitening Whitening Wednesdays Products! Branded Experiences! And this from a client
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Question from a client this morning: “My lab fees are 14% of sales and I’m pretty sure I am his biggest customer – should I be asking for a discount?” My response: Your overall net profit before tax is 37% (by the way – this a bloody good result). So, for every £1000 of dentistry
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Paddi made reference to this last week – and I was talking about it at yesterday’s marketing workshop. You have to give your patients a “story” to tell their family, friends and colleagues. I went to see my dentist the other day – and you’ll never guess what happened…… Nobody ever completed this sentence with….
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Let me be controversial (for a change). I invest many hours in calculating the average daily productivity of the fee-earners in a practice. Many previous articles have made mention of the plodding £800 a day associate who loses the owner money on a 50% contract the principal averaging £1000 a day who is drowning in
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Turned on the laptop at 6.30am this morning – no internet signal. Some checks indicate that the problem is not with the laptop, or the wireless router – its the phone company.Maybe somebody has put a virtual spade through a virtual pipe somewhere – I cannot see any white vans around so the source of
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Off to Italy this morning for a 3-day rest break, although I will be answering emails on the flight to Milan this morning. I am also expecting heightened security at Manchester Airport. I was discussing leadership again yesterday with a client – and the distinction between “hard” and “soft” leadership. Hard = orders and a
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