Why do only about 5% of dentists understand the relationship between selling and marketing? Because the other 95 percent never had to. Routine general dentistry has historically operated on a referral and word-of-mouth model that did not require explicit selling. Patients arrived, the dentist did the work, and the practice continued. The model worked for decades. It stopped working as insurance reimbursements compressed, as patient acquisition costs rose, and as patients became comparison shoppers. The 5 percent who adapt and learn selling thrive in the new economics. The 95 percent stuck in the old model wonder why their margins are shrinking. [...]

Why do only about 5% of dentists understand the relationship between selling and marketing? Because the other 95 percent never had to. Routine general dentistry has historically operated on a referral and word-of-mouth model that did not require explicit selling. Patients arrived, the dentist did the work, and the practice continued. The model worked for decades. It stopped working as insurance reimbursements compressed, as patient acquisition costs rose, and as patients became comparison shoppers. The 5 percent who adapt and learn selling thrive in the new economics. The 95 percent stuck in the old model wonder why their margins are shrinking. [...]

Why do only about 5% of dentists understand the relationship between selling and marketing? Because the other 95 percent never had to. Routine general dentistry has historically operated on a referral and word-of-mouth model that did not require explicit selling. Patients arrived, the dentist did the work, and the practice continued. The model worked for decades. It stopped working as insurance reimbursements compressed, as patient acquisition costs rose, and as patients became comparison shoppers. The 5 percent who adapt and learn selling thrive in the new economics. The 95 percent stuck in the old model wonder why their margins are shrinking. [...]