Dental Marketing Speaker | Grace Rizza | Dental Marketing Speaker Near Me

Best Dental Speaker | What’s More Important Than Money?

March 16, 2020

Today I’d like to share a story that happened to a doctor I’ve known for a very long time and who I have a great deal of respect for.

Having been in practice for many years, this doctor was in the process of training an associate to take over the practice after their eventual retirement. The two had formed a strong connection and all seemed to be well for a long time. What my friend didn’t know was that their associate was secretly opening up their own practice down the street, catering to the same market, the same patients, and even bringing some team members with them. The rest of the team knew about the betrayal and even supported the other doctor by liking posts on Facebook and other seemingly minor actions.

Upon hearing this story, I simply couldn’t believe that it was true. The fact that someone could be that blatantly unethical was astonishing to me.

I know that some of you will shout from the rooftops, “That’s why we have non-compete contracts”, but shouldn’t we live in a world where people want to do the right thing, not because they have a contract telling them they have to, but simply because it’s right?

As I continued to think about this story, I realized that at its core, it is a situation that all of us will face at some point in our careers. As a business starts to gain traction, and everything seems to be going amazing, you’re going to face decisions that will determine who you are.

In those moments, you’re going to have to choose between making more money or doing the right thing.

For example:

Let’s say you consider making a recommendation to a patient who really doesn’t need the treatment, but you want to hit your numbers.

What do you think you’d do?

Let’s say your team has botched a service, resulting in more costly visits for the patient that should have been unnecessary.

Do you own up to the mistake?

Sometimes doing the right thing in situations such as these will cost you money. Sometimes it will cost you time. However, if instead, you choose to make money the deciding factor, the cost will be much more significant in my opinion.

That cost is going to be your ability to look yourself in the mirror at the end of your life and be happy with the person you’ve become. Choosing the money over what’s right once or twice, may not cost you your soul. You may even think you’ve “gotten away with it”. But gradually, the little decisions will pile up.

So, every time you face that decision – make a good choice. Not “good” in the sense that you think it’s best for your business, but “good” in the sense that it’s best for your soul. Surround yourself with people that have a high sense of integrity and know that when you do reflect back on the life you’ve lived, you’ll be proud of what you’ve accomplished and how you did so.

Ethicality has a pivotal role in my own business and life. If you want to talk about the choices you’re facing in your business, and whether or not they are the right ones, reach out. I may not be able to solve the problems you face, but I’ll offer guidance and support to help you conquer them.

Contact me at https://gracerizza.com/contact/.

Dental Marketing Speaker | How Are You Celebrating Your Wins?

March 10, 2020

Whether you’re running a single dental office or the entirety of a global enterprise like Amazon, there’s a focus on how we can improve and grow our businesses. This is one of the best parts about owning a company and I would never suggest you do otherwise. At my speaking events, in my business, and even in conversations with friends, I talk openly about the importance of embracing the need to improve. Considering how we can be better is a great way to induce change and create a stronger business.

However, the “too-much-of-a-good-thing” rule applies here. When we focus solely on “fixing” our business, there is no time left for celebrating our wins.

It can be challenging to focus on the good when you’re overwhelmed by your business, worried about your patients or your schedule. But taking the time to stop and celebrate is critical.

When your team only hears from you when things are stressful or wrong, they never see the other side. Ignoring the wins can be not only demoralizing for your team, but can also sabotage your long term success. If you’re not consistently celebrating the good, you may be creating an atmosphere that people neither want to work for or with.

Today, make the conscious effort to celebrate a win. Ask yourself, “what is worth celebrating in my business and how are we going to do so?”

Did you recently have a larger number of five-star reviews than usual?

Have you received a large number of patient referrals?

Did you go for a week with no missed or canceled appointments?

Did a particular department meet a set of goals you had created?

Have you met or beaten certain benchmarks of the industry?

Know that these celebrations aren’t just “nice”. If you want to improve your team, your practice, and yourself it is absolutely necessary.

With this knowledge, I challenge you to celebrate at least one win in your practice today. Think about what your team has been doing well and celebrate. For this first time, the how and the why aren’t nearly as important as simply making the effort. See how your team reacts and let us know if it helps create a happier and more productive work atmosphere.

In the meantime, if you want to more useful business management tips, or want to get started on a marketing plan for your practice, contact me to learn how you can book me for your next speaking event. https://gracerizza.com/contact/

Video Link:

https://www.facebook.com/gracerizza/videos/10102670433451954/

Dental Speaker | Let’s Talk About Why Most Business Owners Never Grow Beyond the $1 Million Mark

February 10, 2020

No one is born being a fantastic business leader. You either enjoy it and do your best to learn more, or you don’t. Despite this fact, I often hear dentists claim that they are “bad at business” when the reality is they are only holding themselves back.

So, what’s holding you back from finding success? What’s stopping you from not only reaching that $1 million mark but surging past it on your way to greater things? In all the time I’ve spent in the dental community I’ve noticed a commonality between those who realize their potential for growth and those who do not.

The doctors that do the best and continue to grow past the one million mark are the ones that are willing to take risks.

Different Kinds of Risk

When I talk to those who are hesitant to take risks on anything, I tell them that there is an inherent risk in every aspect of life, whether they realize it or not.

There’s risk in hiring and there’s risk in firing. Investing in your marketing, your advisors, or a dental CPA are all risks too. Even becoming a dentist was a risk.

While those financial risks are a major factor, there’s also the risk that comes with being known. Many don’t want to market their business and grow because they don’t want to be exposed to a larger world. They don’t want to risk that someone might not like them. To that, I say – are you really going to let the rest of the world determine your success?

What if You’re Happy With Where You’re At?

When I talk to a doctor or another practice leader for the first time there is always a great deal of pride surrounding the fact that they’ve only grown their business by word of mouth. While I can appreciate the sentiment, to me it’s an indicator that they just haven’t yet figured out how to leverage marketing effectively. It also shows that they may not be willing to take the necessary risks to grow beyond their natural growth rate.

This is not to say that leading a successful dental practice is as easy as saying yes to risk. In fact, I truly believe that building success in dentistry is an extremely difficult pursuit. Not only are you trying to grow a business, but you are responsible for leading your teams and treating patients. You truly are the “Chief Everything Officer”.

You’ve worked hard to build the success you have, and putting that success on the line is not an easy task. However, if you find yourself constantly avoiding risk in the interest of saving your practice ask yourself this:

What is all that saving costing you?

If, after reading this blog, you think it’s time to take a risk and do something different, you can contact our dental marketing team about setting up an event. My programs discuss marketing plans that will get you started on growing past that one million dollar mark and talk about you and your business as a whole.

https://gracerizza.com/

VIDEO LINK: https://www.facebook.com/gracerizza/videos/10102669342902424/

Top Dental Marketing Speaker | The First Three Steps You Can Take For Your Perfect Dental Marketing Plan for 2020

December 28, 2019

As 2019 comes to a close, it’s time for many of us to look towards the new year and begin planning for our growth in the new year. To help you get started, I’ve outlined the first 3 steps of my 13 step guide to creating a marketing plan that can take your practice to the next level. It will be easy to rush through these, but it’s worth taking the time to really consider what you want to accomplish and how you want to accomplish it. If, after reading this blog, you want to continue on with the next 10 steps, all you have to do is join our free Facebook group, Dental Marketing With Grace at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DentalMarketingWithGrace/ and watch the video where I explain each step in detail. For now though, let’s get started.

Step 1:

It’s hard to get to where you’re going without knowing where you’ve been, especially when it comes to marketing your practice. To help you better understand your current situation, you should first evaluate your current new patient flow.

How many new patients do you see, on average, per month? How have they changed throughout the year? Where are these patients coming from?

If your numbers aren’t as high as you’d like them to be, that’s ok. It’s better to know. Accordingly, you can target your marketing campaign to help you see improvements in the necessary areas. When you understand your needs, you can then begin to think about how many new patients you can honestly accommodate and build your marketing plan around those numbers.

Maybe for your practice, you have the numbers, but you’re not seeing as many big cases as you would like. Think about the cases you want to specifically target and how many of these cases you’d like to see. Painting this picture for yourself allows you to identify your goals in a concrete way, then structure your plan around them.

Step 2:

What’s special about you? Some may think there’s nothing special and others may have a hard time picking just one. If you’re struggling with the former, consider why your patients are loyal to you and why they refer their friends and family to you.

When generating ideas for your special quality, take a look at what dentists in your area are saying about themselves. If all the general dentists are referring to their care as “gentle”, you won’t want to do the same. You’ll need to find something that differentiates you while remaining true to who you are. This differentiator will be the underlying tone for all your marketing.

Once you figure out what that is, it’s important that your whole team knows and understands why it’s so important to your brand. They’ll be able to bring this quality to all their patient interactions until it becomes a part of the practice culture you develop over time.

Step 3:

Many dentists still feel uncomfortable about marketing their practices and themselves. What we can tell you is that your patients and your community want (and expect) you to market.

People want to be able to engage with you and hear from you. A better way to think of your marketing is to understand the purpose behind it.

If not you, then whose responsibility is it to educate the community about oral health? Take this mission upon yourself and create a reputation of care for your entire community. Embracing your marketing in this way is both a positive experience for both your community and your practice.

To accomplish the third step in creating your 2020 marketing plan, write down 5 things that you want your community to know about oral health. If you’re a pediatric dentist, you could discuss how you help infants receive proper nutrition. If you’re proud of your technology, you can educate your patients on the benefits of your favorite gadgets. Even the relationships you have with your patients can be shared with the wider community.

With these ideas in place, it’s easy to create custom educational pieces that get your face, your name, and your brand well known in the community.

If you need help with any of these first three steps, my team and I are here to assist you. Just schedule a complimentary marketing planning session at https://identitydental.com/cmps/ and talk to me about your practice and your goals. If you want to continue your plan on your own, join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DentalMarketingWithGrace/ and follow along with the rest of my video lesson.

(847) 629-4646

https://gracerizza.com/

Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?

December 20, 2019

It’s morning! In those few moments before your alarm clock goes off, before the sun rises just above the horizon and you are nestled under the covers, snoring away in blissful ignorance, the whole world holds its breath in anticipation for the start of the day. Truly a picture perfect scene of peace.

Unfortunately, it’s all about to come to an end. There’s something waiting for you, lurking all around, ready to spring when you open your eyes. What is it?Decisions.

From the moment your alarm clock goes off to the moment your head hits the pillow again at night, you are bombarded with the daily decisions that dictate your life.

Should you hit the snooze button or roll up and out of bed? If you’re like me, you’ll also have to decide whether you want to hit that snooze button a second time. Maybe even a third. When you finally decide it’s time to wake up, do you immediately check your phone or wait until later? Do you check your text messages? Your email? Facebook? Which requests need immediate responses? How should you respond? When should you finally put the phone down and get started on the rest of the day?

Already, you’ve made more decisions than you can probably count and you haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.

As the leader of your practice, the CEO, or whichever title you prefer, decision-making is quite literally a part of your job description. It’s likely that as your day continues, the number of decisions you’ll have to make is only going to increase exponentially. When those decisions pile up, your brain gets tired of making them: a phenomenon known as decision fatigue.

Decision fatigue hinders your ability to make decisions that are really important to you and your business, like, should you have another child? How do you tell an employee that they’re not a fit for your business? Should you open a second location? The bigger the decision, the more you’ll struggle with it, because you’ll know that the consequences are going to be far reaching and life changing. Grappling with those consequences only increases the difficulty of making the final decision, paralyzing us from making them at all.

So how do you overcome the issue of decision fatigue and remove the fear from decision making?

The truth is, you probably won’t be able to. At least not completely. Making a decision without knowing what will happen will likely always be a stressful endeavor. However, there are a few ways you can mitigate the effects.

First, don’t be afraid to delegate and regulate. If you’ve built a strong team, chances are you trust at least a few of your employees to make the day to day decisions for the business. Not everything will need to get cleared by you before it happens. This action can keep you focused on only the most important decisions, helping you make better judgement calls when the time comes.

If you already take those steps, but still struggle to make those big decisions, you’re not alone. When that mental block of anxiety or uncertainty happens, I like to return to what’s important – my reasons for starting my business.

For you, this may be your desire to improve people’s lives, or your commitment to patient care.

If your focus is something like creating the best possible patient experience, don’t just write it on your website, or above the door. Prove it. The core values that you created when you first thought of owning a practice should be the same values you use to make your decisions.

If your debating about whether to add another doctor or location to your practice, think about how it will affect your patients. Will the quality of care suffer or will you be able to provide great dentistry to even more people? Those answers are unique to your circumstances and will be able to tell you if it’s worth the risk.

Sometimes however, the biggest decisions require a little help from an expert. When it comes to your marketing or strategies for growth, that’s something that we can help you with. If you’re looking for extra help with those important decisions, schedule a complimentary marketing planning session at https://identitydental.com/cmps/ and talk to me about what concerns you have. We can work through them together, and find a solution that fits your needs.

Why Transparency Is So Important To Your Business

December 18, 2019

Recently, I had some unexpected time on my hands and thought I’d check out the corporate optometrist near me. I was curious what kind of shenanigans I’d get to witness. After seeing specials for $35 eye exam, I didn’t have much to lose. Of course the exam was next to nothing and the eyeglass section was abundant. Since they were 15 minutes late for my appointment (no biggie), I picked out my glasses before my exam.

The process was smooth, the doctor was very nice. All was well.

I picked out frames that were $190 and on sale 40% off. I went to pay it was just shy of $400. I paused, asked again the cost of the glasses and then again asked the cost of the exam. She said the glasses and exam were on sale. Now the basic exam was $50 (not the same as the sign outside) and the glasses were on sale from $190. I then asked to see an itemized breakdown. I’m no mathematician but $190 + $50 doesn’t equal $400. It equals something less than that. 😂

It was all digital and presented on an iPad. The descriptions of items were not things I recognized. I noticed the $300 coating on the lens and said “well we can definitely remove that”. The price didn’t change much. Everything else just adjusted its price to equal almost $400 again. Again, I’m not a mathematician but $400- $300 isn’t $400. I was then given a discount for having medical insurance (Weird! Especially since it didn’t include vision.)

Now my price was down to around $350. The math still wasn’t clear. I decided to take my now $59 exam and leave. I said, “this pricing just doesn’t make sense and I’ll have to take the prescription and move on.”

After I paid, in a last-ditch effort to sell me the glasses the woman said, “just so you know, the price of the frames is $190. The lens’ are not included in that price.” Now I know anti-glare coating and some other options cost money— but this was just crazy.

There was a lot of clever and somewhat sneaky things happening in that optometrist’s office that day and I know it’s very similar to how some dental offices operate. While I’m sure that some people may go along with the trick and get taken advantage of, I have to believe that most people would take the same course of action that I took. What could’ve been a higher sale and perhaps even a loyal customer, turned into much less because of their attempt to pull one over on me.

The same lesson goes for your dental practice. If you’re willing to lie and offer anything just to get patients in the door, you’ll lose something more valuable than business. You’ll lose your reputation and you’ll lose the trust of your patients.

Transparency, honesty, or even just being a decent human being are critical components of your business. Without them, there’s simply no way you’re going to experience continual growth and success. While it hopefully seems like common sense to most of you, I’ll reiterate for those who rely on false advertising – patients go to health professionals that they trust more readily and more frequently than they will ever go to someone who lies to them.

Later that same day, I took my prescription to a website called Zenni Optical and purchased SIX pairs of glasses for under $200. It wasn’t that I was unwilling to spend. It was that I was unwilling to spend with a company that wasn’t transparent. Your patients are going to be the same way.

If you want to work with a marketing company that places the same emphasis on integrity and transparency as you do, contact Identity Dental Marketing. We’ve been helping dentists create honest, ethical, and effective marketing for over 10 years and we can help you do the same. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with me online at https://identitydental.com/cmps/ and let’s have a conversation about you, your goals, and your transparency.

Dental Speaker | The Recipe For Successful Relationships: 1 Part Integrity, 1 Part Openness, 1 Part Trust

November 27, 2019

Have you ever met someone who is incapable of admitting when they made a mistake? Whether it is from fear of punishment, or a simple unwillingness to believe that they could be wrong, this inability to apologize is a serious hindrance on your business growth.

No one likes to mess up and admitting when you made a mistake can be difficult. However, doing so demonstrates an invaluable quality for any employee, or for that matter, any person to have: a strong commitment to integrity.

Integrity is the foundation of true growth and success. When someone possesses integrity, it allows you to depend upon them to get the job done, correctly and completely. That level of trust allows your business to do more and operate more efficiently.

Like any house, your relationships are built upon a foundation of integrity. When someone fails to honor a commitment, or doesn’t own up to their mistakes, it’s like taking a hammer and chipping away at the foundation you’ve established, bit by bit.

No, the house won’t fall immediately with a few chips in the foundation, but if these chips continue to occur over a long time, there will eventually, and inevitably, be a destructive failure.

Similes aside, the little promises we make to people throughout our day can add up. Whether this is in employee exchanges, a business partnership, or a marriage, all of your relationships are built upon your ability to trust that the little promises people make to you will be honored. If they are not, then you should also be able to trust that the person will be open and honest in their communication about their failures.

When looking at your own team, make a conscious effort to gauge the level of trust you have in each person. Who are the people you trust to see things through? Who are the people who could use some time to develop into a more dependable person?

Determining these answers is a big step to ensuring your team is a powerful and cohesive unit. When you count on your employees, you can delegate more responsibilities, freeing up your time to work on big picture business growth ideas. If any member of your team seems to be incapable of moving up on that meter, it may be a sign that they are not a fit.

As a business owner herself, Grace brings her knowledge in management and team creation to speaking engagements across the country. Helping dentists build more successful practices is one of her greatest passions, and she is ready to help you find success of your own. Learn about her presentations for both single practice and multi-practice organizations at https://gracerizza.com/.

Grace Rizza Dental Speaker | Small Steps That Build Your Brand in Big Ways

November 26, 2019

When it comes to building a successful personal speaking brand, it may seem tempting to focus on the big picture. Booking the biggest gigs, meeting the most important connections, and speaking about the most interesting topics may be a few of those big picture items for you.

Doing these things are definitely worthwhile, and they’re part of the reason why being a professional speaker is so exciting, but they are not the only way to generate success. In fact, if you try to take on these larger projects before you’re ready to do so, it could be detrimental to your career. The old adage “you can’t run before you can walk” still holds true for most things in life, and your professional speaking career is one of them.

Here, we’ll outline a few of the small steps you can take to build your brand and explain why they’re critical to getting you to greater success.

Include video content to your offerings

Pay attention, because this is important: video content is one of the most powerful pieces of marketing content.

Allowing people to see you in action is how you get hired. Video content is a great way to build your brand while giving audiences and event planners a preview of the skills you deliver. What form that content takes is up to you and your brand.

You can provide instructional vlogs, you can respond to common questions in an interview format, or if you’ve already had a speaking engagement, you can expand upon clips from the event. While it may seem like the more free content you have, the less likely people will be to pay to see you in person, the opposite is actually true.

Chances are, you know an “influencer” who is already taking full advantage of this method to grow their brand. The first that comes to our mind are entrepreneurs, life coaches, and even fitness/makeup YouTubers. These individuals have been creating free video content that not only contributes to their brand exposure, but also makes people more inclined to purchase their products and travel across the world to see them.

Video marketing is a small thing, but it can yield big results when done right. All you need is yourself, a camera, and a strong message.

Why it’s okay to take smaller speaking roles

It would be a great thing if you could decide to become a speaker one day, and have an audience of a few thousand people the next. Unfortunately, it very rarely works out this way, and that’s okay. You shouldn’t be disappointed with these smaller roles, or turn them down in the hope that something better will come along.

Getting involved at smaller events you are familiar with can be a great way to practice your skills, test out new ideas or techniques, and network with more people.

Ask event coordinators about opportunities and try to be open-minded about the answers you receive. It may surprise you how beneficial something such as a panel discussion can be to your career and your speaking skills.

Focus on helping your audience

Speakers can get so caught up in their presentations and their careers that they often forget about why they became a speaker in the first place – to use their unique message to help more people.

When you focus on providing actual useful content for every person you talk to, you have a much better chance of succeeding than if you only thought about your own desires. People like to listen to useful things, not a sales pitch. When they trust that you deliver excellent content that improves their business and their lives, people will continue to come back for more.

These little steps really do add up. Before you know it, you’ll have the background, experience, and influence to book the big events. If you have more questions, or want to get started on developing a marketing campaign for your speaker brand, we’re here to help support you. Feel free to set up a complimentary marketing planning session with our team at https://identitydental.com/cmps/.

Grace Rizza Dental Speaker | The SWOT Analysis is Broken, Long Live the GIST!

August 30, 2018

Dental Marketing Presenter

The SWOT analysis is broken. When working with companies, I have seen firsthand how the SWOT analysis creates redundancies in their business plans. Their lists of weaknesses and opportunities are often the same, creating confusion and unnecessary efforts. This is why I have tossed the SWOT analysis and created a fresh way to scale your business, making practice growth simple to understand and execute.

The GIST is a simple acronym that you can implement into your quarterly business meetings to evaluate your business. GIST stands for Growth strategies, Innovation implementation, System development, and Team cohesion that easily leads to accomplishing your desired growth.

When you look at these four areas of your business, it gives you a complete overview of your progress and what you are moving towards. Business plans often contain so much detail that the action items get lost. With the GIST, there is more action than detail which allows you to get your entire team on the same page. Only when a team collectively knows the goals of the business can they begin to work towards them and ultimately achieve them.

This is how you see dental practices go from good to great in the matter of months.

If you would like to learn more about the GIST analysis, visit https://gracerizza.com/GIST or sign up for one of my full or half-day GIST workshops. In these workshops, I will work with you individually to give you the tools and resources to create a GIST for your business.

For more information on Grace Rizza or her GIST Analysis workshops, contact her today.

Dental Speaker Grace Rizza | My Philosophy on Photography of Slides

June 7, 2018

Dental Marketing Presenter

In recent weeks, on Facebook, the issue of whether or not you should allow your audience to photograph your slides has come up. I see no problem in it. Of course, there’s always going to be at least one troll in the audience who thinks he or she can deliver your exact content.

In my opinion, a great speaker is not made only with interesting content. Great speakers have mastered their confidence in body language, their own personal flair, as well as the content shared. A great speaker can think on her toes and move an audience to action through story, examples, hard facts and stats.

There’s much more to a person than the images on his or her slides. So to those wanting to remember what I said and want the visual aid to accompany the information, I say, “Snap away!”

My only request is that you publicly share the photos so that others can also learn from the information shared during my presentation. The more lives we can touch, the better.

Educate, empower, entertain your audience with Grace Rizza.

Tag: Presentation Speakers

Best Dental Speaker | What’s More Important Than Money?

Dental Marketing Speaker | How Are You Celebrating Your Wins?

Dental Speaker | Let’s Talk About Why Most Business Owners Never Grow Beyond the $1 Million Mark

Top Dental Marketing Speaker | The First Three Steps You Can Take For Your Perfect Dental Marketing Plan for 2020

Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?

Why Transparency Is So Important To Your Business

Dental Speaker | The Recipe For Successful Relationships: 1 Part Integrity, 1 Part Openness, 1 Part Trust

Grace Rizza Dental Speaker | Small Steps That Build Your Brand in Big Ways

Grace Rizza Dental Speaker | The SWOT Analysis is Broken, Long Live the GIST!

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Dental Speaker Grace Rizza | My Philosophy on Photography of Slides

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