Sometimes you learn a lot from mistakes…
We all hate to make mistakes but if you are open to learning, mistakes can be your best teacher.
Years ago I paid a lot of money to fly to the USA and have a private consultation with a “guru” dentist.
This dentist had all the outward signs of success and I wanted to learn from him. He taught me how he presented treatment to patients.
It turns out that the method he used was like selling used cars — very high pressure. A real death or glory approach.
Having paid so much to learn from this person and assuming that he must know what he was talking about I brought the technique back to Australia and used it in my practice.
The results were catastrophic
I got to do some nice treatment but I also lost a truckload of patients.
“I’ll go home and think about it.”
These were the last words I heard from the patients prior to them leaving my practice never to return.
What I learned
Painful as this experience was it helped shape the next 20 years of my dental practice. The experience provided short term pain but in the long term it was a great gain.
I learned that when presenting treatment to patients pressuring them is completely counterproductive.
I discovered what I call the…
Pressure paradox
The more you pressure patients, the more they back away from you. The more freedom you give them, the more likely they are to choose the best solution to their problems.
A gentle suggestion
So, I suggest to you to try new things in your practice. Some will work and some won’t.
But, if you are open to learning, your failures can teach you a lot.
You just never know what you might discover.
