Friday morning reflections

Friday morning, Marylebone, London and off for a Groundhog Day with the BDA at Wimpole Street, there to repeat last week’s marketing presentation at the BDA Whitening Day.

It will be interesting to see how many attend and also the mix in the audience.

Last week most of the delegates were from Yorkshire area (I sometimes wonder whether London folk think “OK – we need to deliver a version of this for people in the North – let’s pick a town somewhere past Watford and they can all go there. Is Leeds in the North?”).

Anyways – credit to the back-office team at the BDA who have made the experience a pleasure and covered all the bases – I’m sure if I’d asked for M&M’s without the blue ones, they would have nailed it.

This concludes yet another week of travel, I’ll spare you the head count on planes, trains and places but it has been a blast.

People continually ask “so what exactly are you doing now?” so here’s a digest of the conversations I’ve attended this week:

  • building GDP referrals for a specialist in restorative dentistry
  • overseeing the creation of a new dental practice web site
  • reviewing a referral pack
  • advising an associate who is planning a cold squat in a major city centre
  • advising a dentist who is developing innovative diagnostic technology and requires angel funding
  • helping a busy owner-manager to create a personal training schedule for a coast to coast bike ride
  • reviewing financial performance and KPI’s for a specialist referral clinic
  • advising on the curriculum for a post-graduate Study Club
  • facilitating a conversation between two practice owners, one buying and the other selling, to agree a headline valuation and intention to proceed
  • advising on the establishment of a brand-new privately owned micro-corporate
  • training an owner, practice manager and external marketing consultant on how to win at dental practice marketing in 2016
  • training a team on how to create a remarkable patient experience
  • coaching clinicians on how to overcome objections and close sales (ethically)
  • building a 3-year vision and action plan for a successful owner who has plateaued
  • and, of course, lecturing on marketing (again)

That was my week.

There’s no rest though – I’ll be catching the 17:00 to Newcastle this evening, picking up a minibus from Newcastle Airport and driving (even further North!) to the Kielder Forest for the first 7explorers training weekend for Oman 2017.

The 7explorers team and guests arrived there last night and today will be indoors and listening to lectures from Sandy and Tino that will be jam-packed with safety advice and instruction for life in the wild.

I’ll arrive about 21:00 and first light tomorrow we are off into the Forest for a full day of rigorous physical training before we camp under the stars on Saturday night. I’m preparing myself mentally for tomorrow and the challenges we have planned.

Next week, two days of training and coaching before Annie and I head South for the BDIA and a schedule that I’m excited about, speaking with Planmeca and Practice Plan and supporting Bridge2Aid as well as all the usual networking.

Phew.

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Chris Barrow

Chris Barrow has been active as a consultant, trainer and coach to the UK dental profession for over 20 years. As a writer, his blog enjoys a strong following and he is a regular contributor to the dental press. Naturally direct, assertive and determined, he has the ability to reach conclusions quickly, as well as the sharp reflexes and lightness of touch to innovate, change tack and push boundaries. In 2014 he appeared as a “castaway” in the first season of the popular reality TV show “The Island with Bear Grylls”. His main professional focus is as Coach Barrow, providing coaching and mentorship to independent dentistry.