Community Opinion, by Dr. Ogi Ressel

Wednesday, May 13th 2009

Warm hellos to everyone!

Ok.....I need to vent a bit here! I need to shout, scream, and rage!
I need to address the issue of your image once again! ...And Christie
talked to you about this not that long ago - in October of last year.

There are many doctors that Christie and I deal with who have no idea,
no clue whatsoever, that their community actually sits in judgment
of them.  They are oblivious of that fact!

Many simply cannot see that their success in practice rests on the opinion
their community has of them!

You see, your patients do see the carpet stains, the peeling and faded
30 year old wallpaper, the cobwebs by the ceiling spun by your pet - Charlie
the Spider, the dim-burning 40 year old fluorescents, the coming-of age
antique furniture, the coming of age antique staff, the antiquated procedures,
the 30 year old "reactivation" system, the duct-taped adjusting tables you
were going to have recovered last decade,  your elevator tie, your elevator
music, your elevator shoes, the mismatched shag carpet remnants, your
faded and barely decipherable, from years of copying, clinic forms, and
your second-rate attitude.
....I could go on!

And to those doctors who are not doing well in practice, I need to tell them
that there is a reason.

 ...And in almost every instance, the reason is that their community sees them as either:
•1.     below average,
•2.    average, or
•3.    as some sort of a huckster. 

With that thought in mind, let me cement this idea in your cranium, and ask you this:
Would you, as a parent, ever take your children to a doctor who you
consider to be just average? Or below average? Or the town huckster?
No? There is a shock!

If that is the case, then why are you surprised when people do not break
down your door to get in and see you?

See...this is the problem - you don't see what your community sees. You
see yourself as amazing and your office as magnificent - your castle. Here
is where the plot thickens: it is not important what you think.
No.
It is important what they think.

Now we're getting somewhere!
You need to make certain your community has the utmost respect for
you and thinks incredibly highly of you. They need to see your name out
in the community all the time - and not in some cheap flyer offering a
50% reduction in your fees for this week only, or some blue plate special
offering a chance to win a plasma TV, or, for the poor schlep who refers 2
people to you - a free check-up for the family, or that amazing Patient
Appreciation Day that makes you and your staff gag, or that slicko
newspaper ad with your picture - you know the one, the one that makes
you look like you just sold your first used car - the one that has you wearing
a white t-shirt under your golf shirt with some of your chest hairs carefully
combed and brushed and parted. That one! Or...some other entertaining
ploy designed to capture that evasive and elusive new patient.

No. Your community needs to see you in the role or a Wellness guru, a
Wellness coach, a leader in family health, and.... an expert in the care of
their children. (and if you don't know how to do this, I'll teach you. Easy.)

Listen...this is so incredibly simple: People will only see you if they consider
you absolutely amazing. I've talked to you about this issue countless times
and many doctors still don't get it - they feel it applies to the guy down the
street, not to them!

So....I am talking to you. Yes, You!

In order to "make it", the people in your community have to see you as the
best doctor they have ever seen . Ever. Period. Nothing else counts. No amount
of wishing, dreamin', hoping, marketing your brains out, spending countless
dollars on ads that go nowhere, slick marketingcampaigns, building better
mousetraps, etc. - none of these will give you the practice of your dreams.

The only thing that counts is the image your community has of you.
And that is what my Program is all about - making you the very best. End of story.

You know what to do....

Warmest wishes,
Dr. Ogi Ressel