Chris Barrow’s Blog

How do you achieve overnight success?

• get discovered on a national TV show?
• rob a train and run to Brazil?
• work your niche for 15 years?

I unfortunately, like many others, didn’t have the benefit of the first two and have had to rely on the latter.

Chatting to Alison King at The Dentistry Show, HR consultant extraordinaire, who is taking her first steps into the dental market.

She asks “how come everyone knows you?”

And I reflect on my first visit to a dental show – the BDTA – in 1996 here at the NEC.

Wandering around for a full day and meeting one person I knew – Jeff Caddick at Castle Ceramics – not another soul knew me.

Since then I’ve:

• written articles, ezines, blogs, tweets and anything else I can get my head around
• driven up and down the country attending endless BDA, BACD, Study Group and Supplier meetings
  • sometimes big fees, sometimes none
  • sometimes big audiences, sometimes few
  • sometimes hit the mark, sometimes bombed
  • made some friends, made some enemies
  • said the right thing – and the wrong thing
  • upset some and inspired others
• attended multiple trade shows and conferences every year
• turned up at interminable dinners
• coached over 700 clients for fee
• helped many more for free
• listened to a million stories with an empathetic ear
• kept confidences and promises
• heard wonderful testimonials
• heard outrageously untrue and unfair gossip about myself and others
• tolerated the greedy and the power-mad
• started new ideas that have fallen at the first fence
• innovated ideas that have worked slowly
• wobbled but never fallen down
• lifted other trainers, consultants and coaches on the first rungs of their career ladder
• made catastrophic mistakes and faux pas
• made a few good decisions

And now I know everyone – and 2010 is evolving into my busiest and most enjoyable year for a decade.

Day one at The Dentistry Show has been superb for networking and, along the way, I have secured over £5000 of consultancy business and agreed dates for more gigs later this year and in 2011.

I’ve also taken possession of my shiny new referral business cards from Cathy Johnson – and I love them.

The quick way to become an overnight success is to take 15 years.

Ready, steady, go!

A grumpy client emails me this morning as follows:

OK.

So the ad “Attention Denture Wearers” went in for 2 consecutive weeks in the local paper and the local freebie.

3 replies in total so 3 reports sent out. Nobody has taken up the free consultation offer.
 
So what do I do?
 
Run it again with a bigger ad in more papers? Maybe change the ad a bit?

or

Forget it and add it to yet another complete and utter waste of time, money and effort?

Advertising – you take a look at the numbers after a minimum of 12 weeks exposure – and then decide if it has worked or not and move on.

Look at the experience of another client in a City Centre:

what worked:

• radio
• SOE
• word of mouth
• open days and evenings

what didn’t work so well:

• skins on taxis
• posters in stations
• adverts in the Echo
• adverts in magazines
• signage on tube stations
• Chamber of Commerce
• and quite a few other things!

I could go on…..

You have to try different things – but as the marketing sage Jay Abraham said many years ago – 7 things, 7 times in 7 places.

Heading North on the M5 yesterday, I was bemused by the sight of a student progressing slowly whilst

• driving a clapped out old banger
• surf board on the roof
• watching a small flat screen TV mounted on his dash

I thought that was illegal?

Anyways, it got me thinking about “what we listen to when we drive” and around to answering that question for my readers.

So here goes:

Audio-books:

My thanks to Dave Cunningham at Spring Grove Dental in Glasgow for reminding me last year that driving time was an excellent way to keep tabs on all the business books we are encouraged to consume.

I’m currently enjoying Seth Godin’s latest – Linchpin.

Podcasts:

• BBC History Magazine (super feature in March on how they found the real Bosworth Field)
• Excess Baggage (and thanks to Annie B for getting me interested in that)
• Friday Night Comedy
• In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg (where else, in successive weeks could you enjoy Boudicca, Calvinism and The Infant Brain?)
• Material World (the latest in science)

Music:

Here I confess an obsession with House, Dance and Trance Music:

• Masashi Osaku
• Taku Nakahara
• Paul Oakenfold
• DJ-Eros
• DJ Brad Miller
• Tiesto (with thanks to my eldest son Jon B)
• Johnny Monsoon

No big surprise that this only gets played when I’m driving alone – but that’s most of the time – and I’ve whiled away many a late night motorway hour with the beat.

Better, I think, than watching back episodes of Friends as I drive…..

• Home at last – but for less than 24 hours…… #
• Mad busy all morning – I have to leave for Southampton soon… #
• Out for dinner with my eldest boy Jonathan- currently at Southampton University – proud Dad #
• What a beautiful day… #
• Tuesday evening blues – another hotel and missing my home and my lady – dinner with a good mate later though.. #
• A good night's sleep and I am ready for the new day……get me out of this hotel #
• Yesterdays conversation sharpens my focus. Today some very important conversations. #
• Just loving working with Camtasia in my hotel room http://bit.ly/aP0rX4 #
• A night "in" for once. In my Altrincham flat and waiting to hear that Annie has arrived safely in Cardiff #
• I think I'm getting man flu sympathy please… #
• Feeling better – I'm too busy to feel bad. Soooooooo much to do today. #
• Friday evening and the finish line approaches – I sniffle…. #
• Poorly….. #
• Even poorlier. Serious man flu this morning. Motionless and moping. #
• A toast to all the tireless Mums who never stop #

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Saddened this morning, when I’m forwarded a fellow professionals newsletter that professes opinions prompted by an alleged question from a prospective client.

“What makes you different from all the other coaches out there?”

I don’t actually believe that any client would ever ask that before choosing and advisor – after all, we know that such a choice is based on 80% relationship and 20% skill.

The inference in said newsletter is that you cannot do as good a job of helping clients if you are:

• a one-man/woman band
• you haven’t run a successful dental business yourself
• you don’t hold a dental qualification
• you have a strong personality and are not afraid of speaking your mind
• you offer packaged solutions

And on that analysis I have to admit that I would make a lousy coach.

        ❑        I’m a one-man band and I love it
        ❑        I have never owned or worked in a dental practice – successful or otherwise
        ❑        I don’t hold a dental qualification
        ❑        I have a very well developed ego and use it to express strong and sometimes unwelcome opinions
        ❑        I offer packaged solutions as well as tailor-made coaching

Oh dear – perhaps I should sail back to the BVI?

But then – on that analysis, a lot of other very talented people would be in the same boat.

Later in the same publication is an invitation to hear a member of their team speak at The Dentistry Show.

Why is it necessary to include the phrase “Don’t listen to the same old stories, come and hear a fresh approach.”

I’ll be delighted to attend both days of the show – and to hear what other people have to say, old and new – because the age of the material doesn’t matter if the material helps people to build better businesses and lives.

Let’s refer back to an article “what I wrote” just 10 days ago in my own newsletter – and which I am motivated to repeat here in its entirety.

Before I do so, let me suggest that on the above criteria for ‘The Difference“, most of the advisors mentioned in the article below would “fail” to qualify – and that, of course, is pure nonsense.

Abundance is about recognising a few simple facts:

• competition stimulates demand – the more coaches there are, the more coaching gets bought. The more dentists there are in a town, the more people buy dentistry.
• Its OK to recognise that there are consultants out there who have specialities and that you can pass work on to them without damaging your own business – what goes around comes around – look at the list below – I’ve been thanked by every one of them for the “mention”
• clients are looking for strong leadership and guidance – a good business coach has a strong ego – refer again to the list below and point out the ego-less?
• Its OK to mix “old stories” with thought leadership and innovation – the clients appreciate both
• When you denigrate your competition, no matter how subtly done – you make yourself smaller – and I appreciate the paradox here, that I am writing a blog post, criticising the fellow professional who authored the original comments. To clarify, I admire the results that they undoubtedly achieve for their clients but feel prompted to comment on this particular article and the negative attitude that it promotes

I’m motivated this morning to establish a new “tribe” – The Association of Dental Coaches, Consultants, Trainers and Advisors (or some such – needs a zippier title).

Perhaps to establish a code of professional conduct which might include

• acknowledging that there is room for us all and more business than we can all ever cope with
• freely passing potential new business to each other
• without financial inducement
• a central web site where prospective clients can search for a speciality
• regular meetings to share ideas and plans and create an incubator for innovation

Any interest?

If so please email me at coachbarrow@me.com

To quote once again…

Scarcity is about fear – abundance is about sharing.

Here’s that article again, showcasing all those less competent people like myself

Abundance This week – an issue primarily devoted to other people who are offering professional services to dentistry. Go to guys and gals I am constantly (and I mean constantly) in receipt of requests for referrals to other professional service providers for dentistry. Chris, can you recommend a good: accountant lawyer financial advisor web architect graphic designer marketing consultant employment law expert recruitment agency search engine optimiser social networking expert front desk trainer ethical sales trainer treatment co-ordinator trainer tax advisor restorative course provider and so on……. and I do – recommend – but with the important proviso that no commissions, introducers fees or other inducements change hands. That’s been a house rule since the early 90’s and it has served me well over the years – my judgement is never coloured or favoured by hidden sources of income. As part of my current re-brand (as mentioned last week), I’m going to create an area on my web site called a “G2G” section – featuring the best “go to guys and gals” for every other service (and perhaps even other business coaches who I rate highly). So if you are a professional advisor to dentistry and would like to be included in that section over the next few months – drop me an email to say “hi” and prepare a brief synopsis. I’ll then use the G2G section to showcase your talents (and save myself a lot of emails to prospective clients). On the subject of competition – I’ve been involved in a few conversations recently that come from a scarcity mentality. “Chris – a practice has opened across the road – should I be worried?” “Chris – if one marketing agency are serving two practices in close proximity, is there a conflict of interest?” I have always maintained that the busiest dental practices are in the areas with the most dental practices – competition stimulates demand. I equally maintain that the more business coaches, trainers and consultants there are in dentistry, the busier I become. Here are some people who I trust, respect, like and admire their work: Ashley Latter – ethical sales training Emma John – front desk training Laura Horton – treatment co-ordinators development Jane Lelean and Kevin Rose – business and life coaching Sheila Scott – team development Tony Gedge and Hilary Ford – marketing Guy Levine – optimisation Mark Oborn – social networking Ray Prince, Martin Haines and Thomas Dickson – financial planning Krishan Joshi – web design Kate Adam and Alex Nicolau – marketing Cathy Johnson and Yvonne Wallace – branding Alun Rees – business coaching and team development Kim Black – iPhone app development Jem Patel – video on web Kelly Michele-Hagget – recruitment Alison King – HR consultancy Sital Ruparelia – headhunting and recruitment Andy McDougal – financial modelling The profession is full of outstanding advisors who are committed to helping people create a better future for themselves – there has never been a better time to hire them. And I’ve never seen so much business opportunity for us all. Scarcity is about fear – abundance is about sharing. Remember – a new G2G section on my web site – apply now – its free!

If you are going to do something – do it as well as you can.

Happy Friday!

​

and its only a matter of time.

“Would you like Flying Club points with your tooth whitening Mr Barrow?”

And caused a bit of a stir at The Royal London last weekend…….

Dentistry is becoming a retail business, offering products and services to a high professional standard.

And in the latest issue of Dentistry on-line….

Hi Chris
 
Have you see this?? Or seen this elsewhere??
 
Might be worth letting the tribe know that this is out there cos it looks SO BAD!
 
Today I searched “Dentist Edinburgh” in YouTube.
 
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=edinburgh+dentist&search_type=&aq=f
 
All the videos are made by the same “Dentists Edinburgh” person. All low quality. AND use the names off all the dentists in Edinburgh as tags so it looks like various practice have posted the video, or at least given their permission for their names to be used.
 
It continues on over the next 3-4 pages.
 
Look for Polwarth Group and Stafford Street Dental Care… those videos are so BAD.
 
These guys need to know that this is out there!
 
Everything links back to http://dentistsedinburgh.com/ a video site chap based in the Philippines.
 
Does this break all the rules? Is this the next thing video spam??
 
Thought you’d like to see this.
 
Pete