Get in the Right Time Zone
I often spend years talking to prospective clients about the market, their particularly circumstances and what a great plan for them to exit their dental practice would look like. It’s what we do. After all, our advice to clients is to start considering your options up to ten years before you exit.
You can imagine how people are at different stages of their decision making process. Should I sell, if so when, what do I want the deal to look like? Do I have the experience and bandwidth to sell it myself and if not, who am I going to appoint to act on my behalf?
Sometimes during these conversations, I think I understand the other persons perspective. But I then I realise we are not really moving the discussion forward.
Perhaps we are not in the same time zone?
I recently read an interesting book titled “The Anticipatory Organization: Turn Disruption and Change into Opportunity and Advantage” by Daniel Burrus. In it Burrus provides a framework for creating an organisation that in mindset and culture is future-oriented. It talks of focusing on turning change into advantage in order to exploit the future.
In his book Burrus posits that we all sit on a spectrum with regard to our comfort level with change. This is exactly where our clients are. They are all considering or actively seeking significant change but they are not all in the same time zone.
Burrus suggests that, in general, we fall into one of three personality types. We possess either a past, a present or a future-oriented mindset.
Clients with a past-oriented mindset are not comfortable with change. They resist change and would prefer things stay as they were.
Clients with a present-oriented mindset acknowledge that the future is approaching at full speed but tend to view change as an unwelcome disruption rather than a creator of opportunity.
Clients with a future mindset want to jump into the future with both feet as they can’t wait to seize upon the opportunities that change offers.
Taken together buying and selling a dental practice is two halves of an act of change.
An act that by its very nature disrupts the status quo. So, when I am talking to clients and I can sense a reluctance to move forward what are they actually saying? Are they really going cold on the idea of selling or are they in a different time zone to me?
Perhaps the vendor knows that ultimately time is against them, their peer group are exiting the profession or planning to leave practice ownership but they have a past orientated mindset. They know that they can’t stay where they are. But they’re so locked into their comfort zone that they’re turning a blind eye to the risks of standing still and putting off change as long as they can.
And here I am with my future-mindset assuming that any logical person, should be excited about the cool things we can do for them and the future opportunities that we can unlock for them. Instead, they’re listening or looking at me like I am a stranger from another planet. So, what do you do?
I could make the decision to park them until sometime in the future. Or I can apply some empathy to the situation and re focus on their view of the world. When someone has what appears to be a clear need for our services but is frightened of change, what should you do?
First, I have to go back to their time zone. This could mean something as simple as forgoing the virtual meeting where I share my screen to inviting them to one of our seminars or meeting them at their practice.
Confirm their time mindset.
I can do that by asking discovery questions that uncover past attempts to change and what prevented those from materialising. Listen slowly to their answers. Hear what they are saying instead of what I want to hear.
Stay in their time zone.
I can ask them what their vision for their business and themselves is? I can even write it down and share it with them. I look for opportunities where our services can help them achieve their vision and objectives. I am trying to connect with them on a human level at a tempo they are comfortable with. I want the client to see a way forward. I want to develop a shared mindset and establish a trust that will enable me to walk them into the future.
This article was written by Chris Mayor, Commercial Director of Lily Head Dental Practice Sales . It was first published in the October 2024 edition of The Probe.
If you would like to talk about anything to do with buying, selling, financing or refinancing a dental practice anywhere in the UK then Contact Us today.
