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• What I’ve Learned

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What I Learned:

Chris Bentson mentioned that his favorite book to give practices is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg.

I recap the lessons below through five practice visits:

The Five Laws:

 1. The Law of Value – Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in return. 

Monetary value and actual value are different things. The real value lies in the intangibles—thinking, experience, and emotion.  

There are practices where you get what you pay for. And there are practices where you get much more. The TC agreement doesn't mention cake, confetti, balloons, thank you cards, whitening, and celebrations….but what a difference those can make.

The treatment fee and the experience don’t match, for the better.

2. The Law of Compensation – Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. 

Success comes from expanding your impact.  Mathematically, you need to increase the number of starts to grow a practice. But how much thought is given to how well we serve each start? 

Give me two practices: Each does 200 bondings a year. If Practice A is only focused on how many more patients they start this year, and Practice B is focused on how well they serve the current 200 patients, Practice B will far exceed the growth of Practice A by year’s end. 

3. The Law of Influence – Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other’s interests first. 

As Gene Ruffing mentioned, “salespeople” and “sales professionals” exist in this industry. “Salespeople” are only out to enrich themselves and don’t care about the long-term outcomes. “Sales professionals” listen to the individuals they’re speaking with, identify if there is a need, and work to provide a positive solution.

4. The Law of Authenticity – The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.  Any fake persona ultimately fails.

Don’t emulate. We all have people in our lives we strive to be like. Practices fall susceptible to this. If a practice is trying something because they heard everyone else is doing it, and the doctor has no desire other than “a fear of missing out”— be comfortable missing out.   Match your products and appliances to your practice vision. Not the other way around.

5. The Law of Receptivity – The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. 

Paradoxically, constant giving prevents you from being your best.  Accept compliments. Receive a gift. Ask for reviews if you’re doing a good job. It’s not prideful.

It can be counterintuitive, but you might hurt your practice if you give and give to others without being open to receiving in return. The business world works in reciprocity. 

“Give more than you take, but take what life gives back to you.”

Bob Burg.

The inspiration from this post was in the full interview done with Chris Bentson and Gene Ruffing.