Chris Barrow’s Blog

• enjoyed great night’s sleep and spending another morning at the flat – lovely sunshine, birdsong, no pressure – big grin moment #
• desk day until lunchtime, meetings this afternoon and dinner with clients – back to it! #
• off to Sheffield for a long day before watching the big game back in Altrincham tonight #
• working in Sheffield and having a blast #
• Barcelona – better side on the night. ManUtd – great season, team and manager – focus on the positive! Off to Warwickshire bright and early. #
• RT @tony_appleton: hoping my brain wil soon stop hurting after a phenomenal day with @coachbarrow – payroll to do next – must hire a boo … #
• meetings in Bolton this morning and then a long drive to Cornwall #
• meetings all done at IDH – now just a 400-mile drive … #
• Parked on the M6 already #
• Tapas and cocktails with Dan and Sarah last night – great fun but feeling a little jaded this morning – blue sky!! #
• Annie’s Percy Pigs seem to have restored her http://yfrog.com/11gpvj #
• after 4 hours at my domestic desk I’m going to enjoy the sunshine now with a clear mind #
• Just completed a 24.00 mi bike ride with @runkeeper, check it out http://bit.ly/q5za2 #runkeeper #

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The new Ollie and Darsh web site has now gone live:

CLICK HERE

and is a considerable improvement in many ways.

Not the least of which is overcoming the challenge that the average “browser” invests just 4 seconds in your home page to see if “it suits”.

To entice them to stay longer requires a home page that is “sticky” – rather like fly-paper.

To do that, either show me moving images and/or make me a KEDO (knock ‘em dead offer).

Congratulations to the team at O&D for a great result here.

Business manager Suzy Gorman also writes:

We have 32 new members up to today for May’09
· We have celebrated National Smile Month with Radio City offering FREE smile checks – and those who attend will be entered into a draw for ZOOM!
· Our relationship marketing has increased due to a recent exhibition at Hill Dickinson Solicitors and BNI
· A networking event was held at our clinic – creating awareness of our wonderful facility
· Initial trust and confidence is started in my office- all new consultations are dealt with by myself. This proves very successful as potential clients are quite often more relaxed in this type of surrounding, we have a relaxing chat and share a drink, without the ‘dentist’ present.
· All patients receive text or email reminders of their appointments 48 hours before their expected visit.
· Are your clinicians Invisalign trained? This is very successful here at O&D
· I run reports at the end of each month for open courses of treatment and will contact these clients to hopefully re-book – this depends on your software
· Whitening Wednesday’s are a complete success – this is a great concept at O&D

Here’s a great marketing idea from The Fountaine pub situated in the Yorkshire Dales (Linton).

When you arrive for an evening meal, the price of two courses is the same as the time on the clock:

• £6.30 at 18:30
• £7.00 at 19:00
• £8.00 at 20:00

and so on.

What a brilliant way of getting customers in early.

Apparently Jack Cooke was racing to get the orders in – that’s Yorkshire men for you.

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Working in my Fortress of Solitude in Altrincham – the only way I can get through the task list for the day.

I went to bed last night feeling a little overwhelmed at “everything I have to do” today – but, true to form, I made a list of it all this morning at 06:00 and prioritised the list.

Apart from getting shaved, showered and dressed at 09:00 and a quick trip out for a Costa Coffee at 10:30, I’ve been here all morning, accepting very few phone calls from the inner circle.

A chance to get through a load of preparation:

• PowerPoint slides for IDH practice managers, introducing them to the IDH Business School
• revised PowerPoint slides for Practice Plan, following the feedback from last week’s workshop
• this week’s ezine (out in the next 24 hours)
• setting up a strategic alliance between an accountant and a dental client to discuss a future business idea
• paying some domestic and professional invoices (still haven’t delegated all of that yet – note to Chris – get it sorted)
• booking time with my excellent accountant Doug Murphy to agree some medium term financial plans
• preparing for a conversation with my financial planner, Simon Booth, this afternoon

There’s more on the list yet to achieve today, before I have dinner with clients who need help with a business that is suffering cash flow problems.

I know I’ve said it before but I couldn’t achieve any of this without:

• planning the time to prepare
• switching off the emails and calls whilst I do
• enjoying the support of a fantastic internal and external support team
• delegating as much as possible
• allowing my trusty new Franklin time management system to establish my priorities
• having enjoyed adequate sleep, meditation, fresh air and fun over the weekend

• back from Portugal after a fantastic weekend – back to work tomorrow morning! #
• catching up at my desk this morning before driving to Leeds and then 9 days away #
• First Practice Plan workshop today – and I wake naturally at 5:15! Big day ahead, beta testing new material and delivery. #
• you know how sometimes you wake up with zero energy? Last few days have caught up with me and I am burned out this morning – aching tired… #
• Just woken up after falling asleep in the airport (a first). Good job my flight is delayed? #
• XmjmdydyxxJJobuvhxyxddmymxmmymmudxxyxudmmhdh xxyxuxmm #
• To all the concerned. The garbage in my last Tweet was generated as I fell asleep on my way to Belfast. Better now thank you! #
• a full morning on communication – what to do when the demand for your services exceeds your capacity to deliver concierge class service #
• shoot the breeze with 7 clients today in a Manchester hotel. Question – how best do we expand our businesses? No agenda – just conversation #
• Off to bed after an inspirational day and a lovely evening #
• slept for 9.5 hours – that’s a recent record – and sat in my PJ’s this morning pootling around the apartment #
• and now.. shopping with 2 teenage girls – if I’m not back in 12 hours, send help #
• Survived the shopping and enjoyed chatting with old friends #

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Perhaps unusual to be investing the Saturday of a Bank Holiday weekend in a meeting with no agenda.

But you have heard me declare the benefits of “shooting the breeze” – just a good conversation.

I’m not asking for any medals – but want you to know that I made no charge for facilitating this day – it was just “added value” for some good friends and clients who have demonstrated their support and loyalty in a variety of ways over the last year or two.

Our subject matter was “how best should I expand my business over the next 3 years?” and the variety of practices present ensured a stimulating result.

We began formal conversation at 10:30 (after a good night out on Friday for some) and ended at 17:00 with real clarity in the room about choices.

From left to right:

• David Boulton – Penistone Dental Clinic, Yorkshire
• Yours truly
• David and Dawn Cunningham – Spring Grove Clinic, Glasgow
• Alex Jones – Penistone Dental Care
• Mark Whetstone – Whelby Health, Essex
• James Hamill – Blueapple Dental, Northern Ireland
• Daz Singh – Ollie and Darsh, Liverpool

We have agreed that this should be a more regular event – perhaps twice a year.

The message here is that we all need peers to bounce ideas and fears around without judgement.

Everyone, myself included, came away with a clear focus on next steps.

Nice blog post here from James Hamill:

CLICK HERE

Thorpe Park Hotel in Leeds was a fitting location to begin the Practice Plan workshop tour.

My relationship with the hotel goes back many years to the early days of The Dental Business School and I can remember presenting there with Karen Jones as my business manager and support – that’s a long time ago!

One of the many pleasures of yesterday’s event was the level of support and preparation from the Practice Plan team.

I cannot tell you how uplifting it was to walk into the room at 08:00 and find the tables set out with branded table numbers, slide booklets, notes booklets, action-planning worksheets and agendas – all looking lovely in the same branding as the PowerPoint template.

It makes such a difference, not only to the room but to the speaker.

Yesterday was very much a beta test of the material (and we let the 60 delegates know that right up front).

Last night 7 of us attended a 60-minute debrief and agreed which “bits” to include/exclude, expand/contract – so as to create an even better event in a month’s time in Crewe.

My over-riding impression is that there is just as much work to do with practices as there was all of the those years ago.

The only significant change from 10 years ago is the additional material and knowledge on web attraction and the combined potency of

• branding
• search engine optimisation
• a “sticky” home page
• special offers
• relevant content
• the benefits of practice membership
• niche marketing

The majority of those attending were looking very glazed by about 15:00, whilst I was still bombarding them with marketing “to do’s” – we had to take a little time out to explain that the material I share in the workshop can take up to 2 years to implement.

My special thanks to Alex Jones of Penistone Dental Care, who kindly brought copies of his new “Cathy Johnson” Welcome Pack and Referral Business Cards.

Alex also shared with the audience some very honest and open information about how long everything had taken and how much he had invested.

To deliver a dynamic workshop to an open-minded audience; to feel well supported; to be proud of the brand; to call on the experience and acknowledgment of friends – it doesn’t get much better!

pp-workshop

Click on the link above and you will see a mind-map of the subjects we are covering at today’s workshop.

I’m excited to be delivering a brand new day full of ideas – and a day with a difference in that its not about CB and “death by PowerPoint” – we are creating lots of break-out time so that delegates return tonight with the homework done.

We also have Practice Plan regional sales managers and resident experts on hand to provide help with all aspects of practice marketing.

Innovative and ground-breaking.

Just where I like to be.

To read the latest issue of this new on-line magazine:

CLICK HERE

and you will find an article in there from yours truly on what to do about a gappy appointment book.