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Putting a plan in action Explain to your team that you have a way to grow the practice requiring low or no cost and no selling, but simply a commitment to sharing with others what you are doing. It is important to make this distinction at the outset, as many people are averse to being asked to sell even if it’s for a good cause. Demonstrate your commitment to making your event a success by using in-office displays and other communications tools to generate interest among your patients. Examples include: posters, brochures, patches or buttons on scrubs, promotional flyers for local area businesses to promote their involvement in your event, a link from your Web site home page to your fundraising page, direct mail, press releases, public service announcements, etc. Armed with these tools, your team can easily incorporate information about the event into their regular communications with patients because your team will be responding to, instead of initiating, inquiries. Thanks to desktop publishing, much of the above mentioned communications material can be done in-house. Any additional expertise should be secured by networking with staff, patients, family, and friends. As most business people appreciate the value of free advertising as well as supporting a good cause, you’ll be surprised to find most, if not all, needed assistance will be provided gratis. This first team meeting should facilitate an open exchange of ideas and feelings. Learn what your team’s interests and abilities are with respect to volunteering. All staff members' views should be heard. Decisions made based on consensus of the group about the type of cause you wish to support will help ensure follow-through and a sense of ownership by every team member. Before the meeting adjourns, be sure you have established an action plan, complete with clear task assignments and timeframe for completion, and scheduled regular follow-up meetings. Be sure to maintain the momentum you’ve established by adhering to your team meeting schedule, and by keeping positive and supportive, even when things do not occur according to schedule. For instance, instead of getting upset with a team member for not completing a task when or as promised, see what you and other members of the team can do to help them get it done, while gently reminding them of how important their task is to the success of the team’s agreed-upon objective. Following the event, gather as much feedback as possible on its impact, as this is the best way to achieve the goal of making next year’s event better. Annualizing your event Remember, the goal of your event is to make it so much fun and rewarding for all who participate that, not only will people be glad they were invited to contribute or attend, they’ll want to know the date of your next event so they can add it to their calendar! Indeed, an annual event may well become a regular part of your dental marketing plan. In so doing, you will have in place an ongoing strategy for keeping in front of, and showing your appreciation for, your patients, not to mention a great way to get to know their friends and family, and the public at large. After all, isn’t that what dentistry marketing is all about? Daniel A. Bobrow, MBA, is president of American Dental Marketing, a Chicago-based Dentistry Marketing Consultancy. He is also Executive Director of Dentists’ Climb for a Causetm. He may be reached at 1-800-723-6523. REFERENCES
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