“My best friend since we were teenagers—who I hadn't seen in years—came to visit a couple weeks ago. I had a week of activities planned: hiking, bike riding, and lots of hanging out. I knew he'd been drinking excessively and heard that he'd put on a few pounds. I almost didn't recognize him outside baggage claim. He had doubled in size. It was like a BOGO version of himself. His labored breathing from the walk through the terminal blocked out the songs I had queued up from our old band. 30 minutes later, we made it to the house, &…

As the inaugural Transform Dental Sleep Symposium was winding down, we surveyed hundreds of attendees and asked what they wanted to learn more about and how we could improve the meeting in 2025. Many respondents made clear two things. First, they wanted to learn more about these 3 topics: Pediatric sleep disordered breathing Medical billing Marketing their sleep practices to physicians and patients Secondly, they wanted deep dives on those topics. We aim to continually improve the TDS Symposium, but we pack a lot into two days. Our lectures and panel discussions are all 30 – 60 minutes which enables…

I’m a recovering Dental Sleep Medicine cynic. For nearly 20 years, I’d heard the chatter about how oral appliances were going to supplant CPAP as the gold standard. As Sam Cooke sang, “A change gon’ come, oh yesss it will…” I called BULLSHIT. Supposedly E0486 was going to change everything. Dentists finally had an appropriate code to bill for oral appliance therapy. But Medicare didn’t publish the allowed amount. Eventually payors began paying for treatment, but the machinations of the medical payors proved too much for many dentists. Others bailed claiming that the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. Back in…

What is your story? Seriously, what is YOUR story?

Stories differentiate products and services to potential customers and make them want to know more about you. To many prospective clients, oral appliances, home sleep testing units, or billing services have been commoditized. They don’t know or can’t discern the differences.

“So how do you differentiate yourself?”

IS IT PRICE?

Maybe you have the lowest price, but you’re viewed as subpar by those in search of quality.

You might be a premium service that is worth every penny, but you haven’t told the story to justify your cost to those who haven’t experienced your exemplary service.

Or you could be in the middle; the JCPenney of Dental Sleep Medicine, representing neither prestige nor desirable value. In the eyes of prospects,

YOU’RE JUST THERE.

IS IT SERVICE?

Let me guess – You have the best, most committed and knowledgeable team in the industry. Says who? Says you? Um, you’re probably a bit biased.

Do you have dentists on your team? Has your team completed a renowned customer service training program?

Do you have testimonials from recognized leaders in the field?

DIFFERENTIATORS THAT MAKE UP THE CHAPTERS OF YOUR STORY

IT THE UNIQUENESS OF YOUR PRODUCT?

Many companies place emphasis on features rather than benefits. Features are technical aspects of your product while benefits are what your customer will derive from the product. Oftentimes we’re intimately familiar with our product’s features and love to geek out about them, but the prospective client doesn’t understand how this will benefit her.

If you have the only device with adamantium hardware, that’s a pretty cool feature. BUT, if you explain to your prospect that it’s the same material Wolverine’s skeleton is made from and if it’s damaged, it will self-repair rendering the appliance indestructible which means no repairs will ever be needed resulting in less chairtime, happy patients, and no remakes. That, my friends, is a BENEFIT.

So many companies have cool products and phenomenal services that dentists need. All of them have incredible stories, but most of them can do a better job telling the story. Maybe you need some help crafting your story. Give me a shout so we can discuss how we can Transform Dental Sleep together. My email is: [email protected]

CHECK-OUT MY BOOK!!!

This book is the culmination of all the interviews, books, articles, life experiences, team meetings, leadership summits, amazing educational courses, waste-of-time CE events, and everything else – crystallized through my brain with a dash of vinegar and a sprinkling of humor.  Check it out here

“Hey, Karen, how’s it going?” “Oh, you know, livin' the dream.” There’s 10 seconds you’ll never get back. Gone, lost to the ether. This exchange didn’t build rapport, nor did it lend any insight to why Karen is in your chair or what’s caused her to stop wearing her device. Remix that question and everything changes. “Karen, what’s new or noteworthy since the last time we met?” “Well, my daughter had my grandbaby. They finally had to induce her ten days after the due date. And, Doc, I was wearing that sleep appliance cuz it felt really tight on my…

That vacation is when the real work began. Right-sizing my ego. Heightened awareness about how my words or tone might impact others.

Dr. Glassman’s words of wisdom are excerpted from my book, Transform Dental Sleep: The Step-by-Step Guide to Doubling Your Sleep Patients, Increasing Physician Referrals, Simplifying Processes, & Improving Your Life. Order your copy with this link. It lives up to the title.

Demonstrate a vision is realizable by acknowledging and celebrating progress. Ensure that every team member understands how each of their daily activities contributes to realizing a vision.

If you want to be a dental sleep medicine practitioner, the only way to make it happen is to practice dental sleep medicine.

Start working on yourself. I’ll be here on this road with you, and there are lots of other people out there who want you to think big, live big, LOVE BIG. Here’s the thing: when you consciously create your own life, you inspire others to do the same.