A friend of mine, Dr. Mike Maroon (founder of Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics), wrote a nice endorsement of my blog on Facebook today. But, along with fans, come the odd “anti-fans.” When you’re an idea-man or simply vocal, you’re bound to cultivate some haters. So it goes. Nature of the beast. And it was no surprise that another dentist wrote some unfavorable comments about me on Mike’s FB thread. It reminded me of a quote by one of my favorite authors, Harry Beckwith:
If everyone feels comfortable with your idea, it isn’t an idea. It’s an imitation. Push beyond that toward the edge, toward something like a fingerprint – something so distinctive it resonates powerfully with a few. Avoid “nice.”
– Harry Beckwith from his book: What Clients Love
Read that quote again. Every dentist should read his book “What Clients Love – a Field Guide to Growing Your Business.”
Beckwith’s books are easy to read and understand. He has a firm grasp on marketing a service business (I believe he was an attorney). I emailed him about his book “What Clients Love.” I told him that I felt every dentist should read it. There was a lot of great stuff in his book that related well to a dental practice. He wrote me back and told me that some of the material in his book was inspired by his own dentist! Coincidence??
Other books by Beckwith I can also highly recommend:
Selling the Invisible – probably his most famous book
You, Inc.: The Art of Selling Yourself
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Actually Mike, in a new book by blogger Hugh Macleod called Evil Plans, he has a chapter called “Get Other People to Hate You.” In other words he claims it’s a good thing to have haters because those that love you will way outnumber them. the haters are a sign you are doing something right…I know it has worked for me.
Also– Beckwith has a new book out called Unthinking…pretty good too.
Nice blog.
Thanks, Barry! I agree. If everyone agrees with me, then I’m not pushing hard enough. 🙂
I’ve got Beckwith’s new book but haven’t gotten to reading it, yet.
Hi Mike, I’ve been reading your blogs for a while now….love the stuff you put out here, thanks. Saw you endorse Trevor Maurer’s Smile Source initiative. Are you a part of it? Sounds like a great idea…but I share your idea of working with other dentists and, as a rule, I’m skeptical.
Thanks,
Justin
Hmmm… where did you see my “endorsement???” I am not involved at all.
I must have misunderstood your mention of Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics under your “Must read” blog. My bad
Ah… OK. You had me worried there for a moment. Yeah… I was an active member of ACE for many years. then a few years ago, we parted ways, though I remained friends with a bunch of the guys.
ACE was recently sold to “Smile Source.” I am not a member or involved in any way. They have reached out to me, but I don’t know that it would be a fit for me. My understanding is that they charge a percentage of your monthly collections. I can’t even wrap my mind around such a thing. But, hey… if it works for some… more power to them. 🙂