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HOW TO CULTIVATE THE IMAGE OF QUALITY IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY

Two questions: First, what’s the first thing a patient does when he sits down in your reception room? Answer: “Grab something to read.” Second, how much do your patients know about you and your professional qualifications? Answer: “Probably nothing.”

That’s the perfect opportunity to expand your internal marketing program, strengthen patient confidence in your professional abilities, and provide material for patients to share with family and friends who may need your services.

The Vehicle: A “Reception Room Resume.” It’s brief (three or four short paragraphs), professional (focusing on education, honors, association and society memberships; service on boards and committees; speeches and publications), and personal (translating everything into patient-oriented benefits).

The starting point would be your practice brochure biography, updated and expanded to include recent professional activities and their significance to your reader. That is, membership in the “International Dental Knights of the Round Table” sounds impressive but what does it mean?

If you find yourself resisting this personal promotion, remember that every year you take hundreds of hours of accredited continuing education courses, attend lectures, seminars, professional association and society meetings, participate in study groups, even serve on committees and task forces. All to improve your skills, increase your knowledge, and better serve your patients. So don’t be shy about publicizing your efforts - but do it in ways that are meaningful to your reader.

Results. Dentist S.S. thought he’d tell his patients a little about himself. So he printed up his C.V. (curriculum vitae or resume) and put several in plastic sheets around the waiting room. Patient comments included:

“I didn’t know it took so much training to become a dentist.”

“Flying down to Mexico on weekends to doctor in a poor community is prettyimpressive.” (S.S. was a member of a group of professionals who volunteered fora clinic in Baja, California and were flown there by volunteer light plane owners.)

One man said, “I didn’t know you were that smart!”

Your Resume or C.V. Resumes and curriculum vitae are nothing more than marketing tools. They are not simply a factual sheet of your background, but should be a carefully crafted advertisement. In fact, it’s far more convincing because its format is so uncommercial. Given the fact that 99.9% of professionals don’t view their CV or resume in this way, when a patient reads one, he or she is bound to be impressed by it.

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Take a look at your own background. With a few colorful words and professional presentation, you too can be thought of as THE well-qualified practitioner in your area. And, the addition to the bottom line - more referrals and better retention.

Use the following outline to write your own biography. Make notes in the spaces provided. Take your notes and polish them into a single typed page of copy. Don’t hesitate to have your spouse or a friend read and comment on your biography.

The Established Practitioner

For the professional who’s been around awhile, there exists a rich fabric of background material from which to draw. No matter how bland a practitioner’s resume or vitae may look, there’s plenty there - if you think about if from a patient’s point of view. Examples that engender TRUST:

Over X Year’s Experience. You must have at least 10 years behind you to use

this platform. Anything less sounds lightweight. If you’ve got over 20, simply say“Over 20” to avoid being perceived as out-of-date.And what does your experience really mean? That there are things aprofessional can’t learn in school. Things that come only with years ofexperience. And all this translates into TRUST.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Honors & Awards. If you’ve been recognized by your peers or a third party, tellpeople. But also tell them how difficult the competition was and how fewprofessionals receive these honors. If it wasn’t difficult, mention the requirementsyou had to have to win. That’s impressive enough.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Published Articles or Books. When you’re in print, you’re an automatic expert.So inform prospects about your book, your chapter in a book or your articles in“The Journal of Jordanian Back Care.” No publications, consider publishing yourown. And, with Desktop Publishing these days, it’s easy. Then you’ll be anexpert.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Memberships. When a patient was recently asked why he chose a particular

allergist, he said because when he looked in the Yellow Pages, this practitionerhad more letters after his name than any other. Those were all memberships.(The fact that you pay multiple dues appears to be impressive.)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Achievements. Diplomat or Fellow status is not impressive by itself. The

problem? Few are familiar with what they mean, so you must tell people that ittook three years of study and a difficult examination which only 49% ofprofessionals who take it pass the first time. Now, that’s impressive andtrustworthy.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Number of Patients. If you’ve seen a particular case often, prospects feel morecomfortable about your ability to deal with it. After all, how many eyes, feet, bankaudits, teeth or whatever do you have to do before you get it right. So the claimof helping thousands of people or businesses with similar needs is a strong one.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Young Practitioner (the seasoned doctor can use these tips too)

Professionals just starting out may believe they have nothing with which to differentiate themselves to establish trust. WRONG! Below you’ll discover a list of ways that effectively accomplish the task.

But why do they work? Because of the public’s imperfect knowledge. They don’t know about your competitors’ backgrounds because professional ethics and law for many years prohibited differentiation. So all professionals were equal in the public’s eye. And since most older, more credentialed practitioners refuse to promote themselves, young bucks can walk in with lighter resumes and walk away with the business. Here’s how:

Testimonials. In any business, these are powerful promoters. Pick testifiers thathave a lot of respect in your community. If not, use an “average” patient withwhom your prospects can identify. (Check state regulations for local guidelines.)

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Your Greatest Case Story. By describing your greatest case, people expect that

you could accomplish the same for them. Your impressive story creates TRUST.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Continuing Education. You can make the case that you not only keep up withthe latest developments, but you surpass those required by law, spending Xhours in the last two years alone. And you do this because of your commitmentto bringing your patients the latest in techniques or treatment. Therefore, byimplication, if a patient is interested in breakthrough knowledge, you’re the ONE.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Community Service. If you do work in the school system or volunteer for a

nonprofit group, make people aware of it. Prospects tend to trust a practitionerwith a good heart.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal Standards. Explaining your personal standards underscores yourunwavering commitment to excellence (e.g. you don’t believe anyone should feelpain when they come to the dentist). You realize that at times some people do,but if that happens, you don’t forgive yourself. That’s your commitment to yourpatients’ comfort.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And the effect of all this? Those who don’t know you, respect you before they come. And those who do know you, respect you even more.

The next step is to get your photo taken for your biography. Use the following guideline to get a good photo. Remember, with your photo on your biography your new patients will recognize you when you meet them for the first time.

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HOW TO TAKE A PUBLICITY PHOTO

Your photo helps prospects “see” what they’re buying before they buy. And if the photo creates that solid “Perry Mason” or “Trapper John” feeling, it’s worth a lot more than 1,000 words.

Guidelines. This is too important a shot to leave to home experimentation. A

professional photographer is a must. He’ll pose, light and shoot you in ways you never thought of to put your best smile forward. Here are the techniques a pro is concerned with. If he or she isn’t, reconsider your choice of photographer.

1. Men should wear a solid dark suit, white shirt, dark tie against a light background.Women should wear a solid dark suit with a light blouse against a light background. Or,wear your working duds and shoot against a contrasting background. The contrastexudes strength. No patterns (checks, plaids, polka dots or big stripes) on clothes orbackgrounds which distract the eye from you. And no black suits. They are so dark thatthey become an area of flat black lacking detail and dimension.

2. Have the photographer shoot both color and black/white. You’ll have need for bothover time.

3. Have multiple poses taken. Just your head and shoulders; waist up and leaningforward while sitting; sitting on the corner of a desk with both hands on one thigh; sittingbehind a desk and variations of each. The fewer props, the better. And never includeyour latest office gizmo. Props distract from the most important subject …you. So, "noprops" is always better.

4. SMILE. It reassures prospects that everything’s going to turn out okay.

5. RELAX. If you’re feeling stiff, you’ll project it. Have the photographer shoot a fewshots just to relax you. You need to be loose, so joke, laugh. Do whatever and enjoyyourself. Otherwise, you’ll look like a mortician.

6. Have the photographer light you so as to create depth in your face. A three-quarterangle flood will cast enough soft shadow to give your face character. Also diffuse allbackground shadows and make sure nothing casts a shadow on you.

7. Have the photographer shoot and print in higher than normal contrast. It makes for astronger photo and will reproduce better on paper.

8. If the photos on the proof sheet aren’t perfect, don’t worry. The photographer canhave a photo airbrushed. Airbrushing can take care of facial blemishes or virtuallyanything unwanted in the print.

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Suggestion. Give your photographer a copy of these guidelines. It’s your insurance

policy for those photographers who don’t specialize in portraits.

One Last Directive. Tell your photographer, “Above all, make me look trustworthy.”

*These guidelines have been adapted from The Practice Builder Newsletter andcombined with work done independently by Du Molin & Du Molin, Inc.