How do we, as orthodontists, encourage trust in orthodontics?
Harvey Mackay, the author of five New York Times bestsellers including “Swim with Sharks without Being Eaten Alive,” was recently interviewed by Claudia Eisenhuth for The Progressive Orthodontist. What does Harvey Mackay have to say about the word trust? “There are one million words in the English language and the most important five-letter word in business is TRUST.”
Google the word trust and you get the following:
trust
noun
1. firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something
“relationships have to be built on trust”
synonyms: confidence, belief, faith, certainty, assurance, conviction, credence, reliance
“good relationships are built on trust”
Let me repeat that last phrase, “good relationships are built on trust.” Now let’s go back to what Mr. Mackay said, “there are one million words in the English language and the most important five-letter word in business is trust.” Now let’s combine those two for our own purposes… good relationships are built on trust, therefore, the most important word in the business of orthodontics is trust. Without it our practices wither and die.
Building trust, therefore, is one of the most important things we do on a daily basis. Trust leads to success. How do we build the trust necessary to achieve that success? Mr. Mackay argues that today’s orthodontists must be salespeople. What are we selling? We are selling ourselves. If we do a good job, trust is created, and success is ours. What is required to create trust? First, we must be good at what we do. We must have exceptional people skills, likeabililty, and a terrific chairside manner.
According to Mr. Mackay, the best salespeople possess the following characteristics:
- consistency
- product knowledge
- phone skills
- good listener
- ability to build relationships
- sincerity
- sense of humor
- deal with rejection
- strong communicator
- good on your feet
- good presenter
- flexible
- fanatical attention to detail
I don’t know about you, but I think this list describes pretty much every orthodontist I know. If that’s the case, how do we set ourselves apart? How do we say to our patients, we are the person that you should put your trust in, not the other guy? I believe that it comes from truly caring about our patients, not just their teeth, but their lives. We have the opportunity to impact those young lives in a positive and lasting way. How are we going to do it?
Do you provide patients with the tools they will need to be successful?
First and foremost, of course, we are creating beautiful and healthy smiles that last a lifetime. Unfortunately, sometimes our adolescent patients are not at a place in their lives where they can really appreciate that. So how can we reach them in other ways? It comes back to caring and generating trust. What do they do other than come to your office? Do they play a sport or an instrument? Do they love the arts? Do they want to be an orthodontist someday? If you don’t ask the questions, you’ll never get the answers. Become involved.
Dr. Remington has been supporting her patients with her own compliance app and wants you and your practice to get the same successful compliance results that her team enjoys. As the co-founder of Docs With Apps, she is here to help guide your team to overcoming compliance issues with your own compliance app. Contact us for more details, we do all of the work so you can care for your patients. 👍
