The story of Two Frogs
Negative Frog, or Positive frog, which one are YOU?
Two frogs were hopping through a farm yard one day, when they both jumped into a bucket of milk. As they were both very thirsty, they drank the bucket dry and sat at the bottom of the bucket feeling very full. After a short while, around a dozen frogs came over to the top of the bucket and started screaming that the farmer was coming and he was going to get them. The screaming got louder and louder and both the frogs started to hop as high as they could, so that they could try and get out of the bucket.
The frogs who were watching at the side, started to scream louder and louder, except this time, they started screaming negative comments such as that they would not be able to get out as they had drank too much and that the farmer was getting closer and closer. As the negativity increased from the frogs, then the two frogs just tried harder and harder to try and get out. Eventually, one of the frogs, believing what his friends had been saying, just gave up and sat at the bottom of the bucket to wait for his fate. On the other hand, the other frog was even more determined and as the frogs screaming got even louder, he launched one final effort and he managed to hop out of the bucket to safety.
As you read this, you probably want to know how the second frog managed to hop out of the bucket?
He was deaf. He could not hear what the frogs were saying.
You see the first frog gave up because he kept hearing his fellow frogs saying that he could not do it, so he agreed with them and gave up and of course the farmer got him. Because he was deaf, the second frog thought that his fellow frogs were encouraging him and that they were being positive, then that encouraged him even more and of course he managed to get away and he survived.
So what message can we take from this story. Well after this week, several lessons come to mind. Like everyone else in the U.K. I have been intrigued with what has been going on in the world economy and last Tuesday night I started watching the 10.00 pm news. By the end of it, I was so depressed and I must have had the worst night’s sleep I have had in ages. You know what – the news had got to me. The next day I was working from home and as I switched on my computer to check my emails, I was exhausted and again feeling down. However, in my in -box, I had received three testimonial letters from delighted clients who had taken my course the previous week, with one dentist telling me that the next day he had secured a £10,000 treatment plan. Another telling me that they had managed to secure over £15,000 worth of treatment in 7 days and another thanking me for a great two day programme I had delivered in Salisbury the week before .
How did you think I felt after this?
I can re-assure you it was show time all day in my office and it has been show time all week. Since Tuesday, all I have listened to is music in my office and Personal Development CDS in my car. I have decided to become deaf to all the bad news and ensure that what I listen to and read, is only positive.
Last week, I signed some new business with a client who took one of my courses a few years ago. The programme was an In House Programme that I would be delivering in September. At the end of the conversation the client said something that really made me feel good. He said ‘Ashley the reason why I am going ahead with you, is that you walk the talk’.
He then went on to tell me that that he had also contacted another company about this programme and yet 24 hours later he still had not heard from them despite having left a message on their answerphone. During those 24 hours, we had
1. Spoken to the client in depth about his objectives.
2. Put a proposal together.
3. Answered all his questions.
4. Agreed a fee and then booked dates.
He was delighted.
I was obviously delighted not only to be able to deliver the programme, but also with his compliment.
Just picture the scene; you are waiting for your exercise workout, in the studio of a gymnasium. You are nervous and you are waiting in anticipation for your Instructor, who you have never met before and you have only spoken to on the telephone. Then all of a sudden, the Instructor walks in and he or she is 24 stone and eating a bag of chips.
What would you think? Would you feel comfortable and confident in the abilities of your teacher? Of course you wouldn’t.
Isn’t it important in business that we walk the talk?
If your business is a 5 star hotel, you would give 5 star service all of the time, if you are in sales, you look the part when you go and visit clients and demonstrate world class communication skills. If you are dentist of course you have a beautiful smile and naturally that goes for all your team. On a separate note, some of my clients have told me that once there team had their teeth whitened their sales of teeth whitening increased dramatically.
So in summary, make sure we all walk the talk, and are a perfect example of the products and services we provide. It not only builds trust, but gives people confidence when they are choosing whom to do business with.
Following on from yesterday’s blog.
Another myth that people believe is that you have to be an extrovert to be successful in sales. This is truly not the case. Both introverts and extroverts can do well in sales. The major difference between these two types of people is that extroverts tend to be interesting while introverts are more interested.
I have personally trained many hundreds of introverted people who have used my techniques and have become outstanding and successful in building relationships and creating new sales opportunities. Some of you may know that for 10 years I used to work for the world famous Dale Carnegie Training Organisation and in his best seller How to Win friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie tells a story about a man who was invited to a party where he only knew the hosts. During the evening, he mingled with many of the other guests. Afterward, many commented to the hosts on what a wonderful person this new guest was. When asked what they found so interesting about him, the guests realised they hadn’t learned much about him at all. He had made them feel important by getting them to talk about themselves. He was interested.
I feel you need to have a bit of both qualities. You need to be obviously interested in your clients, but at the same time, you don’t want to come across as a wet lettuce.
However, if you keep your focus on asking questions about the clients’ needs, why they want to purchase what you are selling and you hear the emotions behind the words, then you will uncover more selling opportunities and create more sales. That of course all depends on the fact that you can provide what it is that they are looking for.
I am often told by certain clients that they are no good at selling and you have either got it or you don’t. In other words, successful sales people are born. This is incorrect. I have never been past a hospital yet that has a banner outside saying “Sales Person born today!! No woman in the delivery room looked at her newborn child and said “we’ve got a sales person!”
Everyone starts out with pretty much the same abilities. Where you go from there then depends on many factors. However, what you become in life boils down to the skills you master along the way.
Selling has been called both an art and a science. The title doesn’t really matter. What matters is that selling skills can be learnt just like the skill of riding a bike. It just takes practice, practice and then more practice. It has to be an ongoing thing.
Another aspect of this myth is that in order to succeed in sales, you must have “the gift of the gab”. While it is true that you must not be afraid to talk with people, it is even more important that you learn to listen.
The human body is amazing. We have been given two eyes, two ears and one mouth. However, very rarely do they get used in that order. If we spent more time asking questions and truly listening to the wants and needs of the client, more opportunities and sales will be created.
Tomorrow I reveal another myth.
I often get asked; in fact it is a question I am asked on a weekly basis from my clients, on where they should pitch the prices of their services compared to the competition i.e. other dental practices in the area. I often hear stories of practices lowering their prices, because the other Practices in the area were doing so. One Practice told me recently that they lowered the price of their teeth whitening to £195 because the other practice in their street had done the same. She was bombed out, but she was more or less delivering the treatment at a loss.
Price is always going to be an issue, but never is the major issue. The problem I find is that just because you might get the odd telephone call of people shopping around, Practices feel everyone is obsessed with the cheapest and that price is a major issue. We are in a recession and people are more cautious, but there are many advantages of charging more for your services.
1. You will increase your Profits.
This is the obvious one. However, most people don’t realize the impact it can have. A small price increase say of 5%, can have a significant impact on the profits, by up to 15% if you manage to keep the costs more or less the same. .
2. Better quality of Patient
It is another obvious one. If you charge higher prices, you will attract a better class of patient to your practice. No more tyre kickers, no more unappreciative patients. People that respect and value what you do. That alone has got to be worth charging more.
3. More Profit, means more Investment
If you make more profit, you can make more investment into the practice. For example you purchase better equipment, invest in the surgery and reception areas. Most importantly, you can attract better quality staff to work for you, because you can pay more. Better staff means better patient care and it goes on.
4. You can spend more time.
If you charge higher prices, you can invest more time in building relationships with your patients and more time when you deliver the dentistry. You will enjoy your day more. This has got to be a major bonus.
5. It will give you more self confidence.
I can promise you one thing, your self confidence and that of your team will grow, because you are getting properly awarded for the work that you do. Have you ever delivered some treatment to a patient and you know that you are not getting properly rewarded for the work that you do. It deflates your self confidence and you cannot put a price on having more self confidence.
There you have it – five major advantages of charging more. If you get together with your team you probably could come up with more advantages. Don’t be the cheapest in your town, not only will you make the least amount of profit, but you will be attracting all the other patients that the other practices don’t want and that cannot be good for business.
Call me old fashioned, but I believe most people are spoilt today. If something either does not fall into their lap, or is handed to them on a plate, they moan and act like a jilted lover. I feel there is a sense of entitlement in our society and to be honest it bugs the hell out of me. People tell me when I deliver a programme or coach people on my courses, it looks effortless and I make it look easy. If only. I personally went through hell and back to get where I am today. When I worked at Dale Carnegie Training, (who are regarded at producing the best Instructors and Coachers in the world), I had to go through over 750 hours of unpaid training, spread over two years. It was like going through the SAS and often I would go home saying that I could not do this, I wanted to give in, only to wake up the next day and start over again.
So where am I going with this.
My youngest daughter Martina has never been a sporty person. She has always been artistic and the thought of training or going to the gym brought about the same level of enthusiasm as me going to watch Manchester City on a Saturday afternoon. On sports day she would often always come last in her three races and guess what, she was never bothered. It did not help her that her birthday is in July, and she looks the youngest in the class.
However, over the last three months, there has been an incredible shift and I have been taking Martina and her friend Libby to the gym. Each week, we have been running, sprinting and then swimming after. To be honest it has been brilliant, we have been running round the track, often completing a 3 miles work out, followed by a sprinting session and then we all go swimming. To be honest it has become a bit of an obsession, as she loves going.
Well, all the hard work has paid off and last week at sports day she came first in the sack race, first in the relay team and then second in the 60 metre dash. Unfortunately I was working and could not attend, but was delighted to hear her news and we celebrated together when I came home.
This Saturday when we finished at the gym, she came up to me and thanked me and gave me a kiss that made me go weak at the knees.
You all know that if you ever want anything in life, you have to work damned hard to get it and I cannot tell you how pleased I am with her progress and if she can take away the hard work message in later life, then I think she will be in a good place.
Last week I spent three days working in Dublin and this meant that I had three days of reading their national newspapers. Now I thought our press was full of doom and gloom, but I even think the Irish are better than us at this. On most days the papers were full on how poor the economy was performing, unemployment was rising, taxes going up, you get the picture. They even had a two page spread every day, with the title of the pages called Recession Update. By the time I got to page 20, even I was ready to jump off a cliff and I don’t live there.
One particular day, on page 18 there was a small paragraph and I mean small, on how an Irish Manufacturing Company had won some orders abroad and was creating an extra 85 jobs. What a story that was, a real success story, a company expanding and yet it was hidden away on page 18. Now I don’t know about you, but if that was put on the front page and then a 2 page spread later on in the newspaper, what would that do to the economy of Ireland. That would be a great story to promote and I am certain would benefit the whole economy. Yet they want to fill it with doom and gloom.
The papers make me sick and that is why I don’t buy them anymore, except the Sunday Times in the winter. They are full of bad news. It makes my blood boil. In fact I go far as to say that they are a Recession’s best friend.
In last weeks Express, I am certain it read that many people were not going on holiday etc, you get the picture. In the same note I spoke with a receptionist at the Hilton Hotel at Manchester Airport and she told me that they are bombed out and when I have been travelling, the Airports have been busy.
When I spoke to two Irish clients of mine, they told me they were as busy as ever and were making record sales and profits. Yes these clients have taken a number of my programmes and it has worked, but they have are also gone on other courses and are full time Marketers. When I told them about the headlines in their papers and that there is a recession on and they should not be doing so well, there answer was they they don’t read the newspapers, don’t watch the news and their radio plays music all day. They said they didn’t even know there was a recession on.
They said this with a sarcastic smile.
Enough said.
A simple exercise to do is to think of a Leader who you admire in business and list that persons’ qualities. When I run this exercise on my programmes, most people select Richard Branson and come up with a list which includes charisma, personable, shows empathy, good listener, outstanding communicator, positive attitude, shows a genuine interest and the list goes on. Very rarely does product knowledge appear on the list. You can be an outstanding clinician, but it does not necessary make you a great Leader. If you look at the above list, then you can safely say they are just as important in a Leader of a Dental Practice as well. A successful leader of a Dental Practice not only needs to have outstanding clinical skills, but also needs to demonstrate World Class Leadership and that is where the problem lies. From my experience of training Dentists over the last 16 years, most training income is spent developing clinical skills, but very rarely is money spent on developing Leadership and the softer skills of communication and managing people.
So what is leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management?
In a nutshell, the difference between leadership and management is:
• Leadership is setting a new direction or vision for a group that they follow, i.e. a leader is the spearhead for that new direction.
• Management controls or directs people/resources in a group according to principles or values that have already been established.
The difference between Leadership and Management can be illustrated by considering what happens when you have one without the other.
Let’s say we take Leadership without Management. The Leader sets a direction, and creates a powerful vision, but does not consider how the new direction is going to be achieved. Other people then have to work hard in the trail that is left behind, picking up the pieces and trying to make it work.
Management controls resources and manages the status quo, or ensures that things happen according to already-established plans, such as a referee manages a sports game, but does not usually provide “leadership” because there is no new change, no new direction – the referee is controlling resources to ensure that the laws of the game are followed and status quo is maintained.
When you have Leadership combined with Management, then you hit the bulls eye. You get a new direction and vision and you also have the Management of the resources and people to make it happen. One without the other, then you will fail.
Often over dinner with clients, am asked what are the most important attributes a Leader can possess?
In my opinion, one of the most important traits of Leadership is getting the best out of your team. You see, many Leaders think that people come to their work and the most important thing to them is the money. Money is a very important factor, however, once a person has had a pay rise, the benefits only last one month once they have seen the difference in their pay cheque. People come to work for other things as well. For example most people want to be involved in interesting work, being involved in decision making, being part of something special. Of course everyone wants a pat on the back for doing a good job. We all crave for appreciation. You might throw away a salary slip, but you will never throw away a thank you card from the boss. So if this is what people want in their workplace, then if we concentrate on what they want, then you will not only meet the needs of your team, but your needs will also get met as well, as your team will go the extra mile for you to help reach your goals. In 1937 Dale Carnegie wrote a book called How to Win Friends & Influence People and in there are 36 human relations principles on dealing with and getting the best out of your people. Although it was written over 75 years ago it is still as relevant today as it was then. If you follow these principles, you will not go wrong as a Leader.
When I am working with my clients on strategy I strongly suggest that they hold a regular team meeting, listen to their ideas and take them on board. Your team have loads of ideas in their heads; they are just waiting to be asked. A recent example of this was a Specialist client of mine from Glasgow who wanted to make changes in the way the reception answered the telephone and also abandon the idea of having an answer machine in the practice. Rather than telling the team they were going to abandon the answer machine, he arranged a team meeting and asked the team for their thoughts. By the end of the meeting, not only had the team decided that they would not put the answer machine on anymore, but they came up with the staff rota to cover the telephones for the next three months. Because it was all their idea, the new change happened.
That is true leadership in action.
To summarize
1. Develop a powerful vision and share with your team
2. Get them involved in day to day decision making and ensure as much as possible your team are involved in interesting work.
3. Listen attentively to their ideas. People will always run with their own ideas, rather than yours. Nobody likes to be told what to do.
4. Praise your team, people crave appreciation.
5. Arrange on going team meetings and set goals for your practice.
Today I am delivering another of my Reception workshops in London to 28 delegates. This is the second group I am coaching this week. Normally the group is made up of 90 per cent ladies and me, can’t be bad.
In yesterday’s class, we had a lot of detailed discussions on how many practices/businesses still use answer machines at lunch time. I just don’t understand why they would do this as they are communicating to the public that they are closed.
Today I have some urgent business to do and the only time I can do this is lunch time and that is the same with your patients and clients, they do their business at lunch time as well. If potential clients contact you about your services and they do this at lunch time, the chances are they won’t leave a message and they will go elsewhere and the opportunity is lost forever.
Just finished reading the 80 20 principal by Richard Koch. The book does what it says on the tin and it basically states that 80 per cent of your results will come from 20 per cent of your efforts. In the book it gives lots of examples and gets you to focus on just doing the activities that bring about your best results. You have to identify what the 20 per cent is and do more of it to become even more productive. My main activities are writing, speaking to clients, presenting courses and planning. If I do anything else, then I become unproductive. I really recommend you to read this book, then start taking action and you will enjoy more production in less time.
