Episode 643: Making CE Actually FUN!

Kiera and Tiff are tuning in once more from the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention, fresh off three Dental A-Team events. Together, they reflect on how beneficial a) creating entertaining, powerful CE presentations, b) being willing to participate during those classes, and c) debriefing with your team after can be.

You’ll also learn about how an ice cream cone united Tiff and Kiera for life.

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Transcript:

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0:00:05.8 Kiera Dent: Hey everyone, welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent. And I had this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives.

0:00:19.2 KD: I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner and I have a team of traveling consultants where we have traveled to over 165 different offices, coaching teams.

0:00:31.7 KD: Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental, and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress and create A teams. Welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:00:52.8 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And you guys it's me and Tiff. We're hanging out at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention Podcast Pavilion. It's kind of weird to podcast with a bunch of people walking by. I don't know if Tiff's distracted. I'm trying to be very, very present. Tiff's here with me today, guys. I adore podcasting with Tiff. Tiff, welcome to the show. How are you doing. Are you distracted? Are you hanging in there? How are you doing in the podcast pavilion?

0:01:12.8 Tiffanie Trader: I'm good. I have this weird thing about me, I don't know why... Probably because I forget everything immediately, but that whole thing, I don't know. I have this weird thing about me that I just don't like... I'm like, "Yeah, I'm podcasting." Like, "Hello. Hi."

0:01:25.4 KD: Hello.

0:01:26.5 TT: 'Cause I think the weirdest thing is that there's hundreds of people walking around us. So not getting distracted, like seeing faces for sure. But then also not getting distracted thinking people think I look weird or whatever. So I'm really glad that I have this weird thing in me that I'm like, "I will be the weirdest goofiest person and you'll love me for it." So like... Yeah, I could stand here and do cart wheels with you and I'd be happy.

0:01:47.6 KD: Honestly, that's why you have a job with Dental A Team.

0:01:50.3 TT: It is literally, why I have a job.

0:01:51.7 KD: If you guys haven't heard, Tiff, got the job, because when I met her for the first time in person. I had hired her, had never met her. Met her in person. And I was at an ice cream shop and we were making a video for our old company Dental Placement Pros. And the commercial was about unicorns are real. So I convinced, Tiffanie, to take an ice cream cone. Not with ice cream in it. People ask this question all the time.

0:02:13.7 TT: I don't know why we get that question.

0:02:13.8 KD: Guys, I'm not that ruthless. Alright. But I had her put an ice cream cone on her head and look like a unicorn for this little commercial. And she was like, "Absolutely."

0:02:23.2 TT: And, time out. So there is a way better way to tell that story. I walk in the ice cream shop to meet two people I've never met in person in my life. I've talked to you maybe three or four times on the phone, text, a couple of times. I've known you by phone and text for three weeks. I walk into this ice cream shop and the first thing you say to me is, "Oh, my gosh, thank you so much for coming over here. So I have an idea, which... " That is like Kiera's coined statement.

0:02:51.4 KD: That's gonna be on my headstone. Your's is efficiency clean. Mine is, "I have an idea."

0:02:57.7 TT: Yes. "I have an idea." I should have known. So I walk into this, I have an idea. We're recording a video today, and I want you and I to put an empty ice cream cone on our heads and we're gonna dance to Black And Yellow. And I looked at her and I said, "Okay." And she said, "What, really?" And I was like, "I mean that's... I don't... I guess... Is it not a unicorn? That's what you're doing?" And she's like, "Yup, we're doing it."

0:03:18.3 TT: And then 30 minutes later, she's like, "I don't want you recruiting. One, because you suck at it. Two... "

0:03:25.6 KD: I did not say that.

0:03:27.1 TT: I really did though, but it's fine. "I don't want you as a recruiter anymore, I want you on my consulting team." And 30 minutes later, I had a much better job lined up for me all because of an empty ice cream cone.

0:03:35.7 KD: There you guys go. So Tiff, doesn't mind being the goofiest person ever. And honestly, we just kinda wanted to pop on the podcast and recap about in-person events and what Rocky Mountain has been for us. It's been a while since The Dental A Team has actually been on the road at conventions. I kind of feel like I went a little bit into... I wouldn't say hiding and recluse. I had a lot of personal things last year as some of you may know. And so it really was a moment where I was just kind of taking a back seat. And we decided this year, we were going to get back out there. And Rocky Mountain was super generous. They invited us to speak. We had three speaking events yesterday, had hundreds of people in the room. It was probably one of the most fun experiences that I've ever had.

0:04:17.7 TT: It was so cool.

0:04:18.0 KD: Tiff, was with me. And so we'll just give you guys a quick recap of number one, we've decided that we're going to change how Dental CE is done. And you might like it or you might not like it. But for us as team members and also for me as a business owner, guys, CE, can be downright boring. And I don't mean that as a disrespect to any speaker, but for my style, oh my... I can not sit for two hours and not get antsy. So it also could be that I'm being influenced by Tony Robbins. I'm not sure.

0:04:50.0 TT: I think, we've always been that way. We just like... I think our influence is... We are movers and shakers, and I don't... I've gotta be really engaged. I've gotta be really excited if I'm gonna spend two hours in a room with someone.

0:05:02.6 KD: For sure. So we decided to change it up this year. So our speaking... We had music, so when people were coming into our room we had music playing. And we got them up and moving and getting that energy change of state. And then the first thing we talked about was winging it to bringing it. Because I feel so many offices struggle with that. I know as an office manager, I felt every day I did not know what the heck I was doing. And I was winging it on the fly, hoping to make it. And so to help offices realize, what do hundreds of other offices do to actually bring it, be prepared, and not just as the illusion of preparedness, but to actually be that way, was a really awesome presentation. I think we had the most people at that one. Tiff, and I were roaming around...

0:05:43.3 TT: For sure.

0:05:45.3 KD: We had this throw-able microphone to get everybody engaged. Tiff, would walk around with her music, her phone on that microphone. Really just... It was a fun group. And so shout out to all of the at Rocky Mountain.

0:05:55.8 TT: For sure.

0:05:55.9 KD: I thought the participants were just incredible. And so I would say guys, for you also as participants of CE... And also I'm gonna put a plug for Dental A Team's Virtual Summit CE, April 28th and 29th, guys. Tickets are going on sale real soon. Hang out around Valentine's day, it's going to be there. If you guys are really early birds, go on our website, email me, I'll definitely get you a ticket, [email protected]. It's for the full team. It's secrets of the multi-million dollar practices is what we're doing. And we're giving you guys full team CE. But I would say as participants, the big thing I took away was the people who participate, the people who play full out always take so much from CE than those who just sit there thinking it's stupid and dumb.

0:06:34.1 TT: Always. I totally agree. I totally agree. Because those were the people that were feverishly taking notes. I saw people with their computers out. They had their laptops up. They were taking notes and building things out. Taking pictures of the screen. I'm like, "KD, like scooch a little bit." Because you were like in front of the screen and it was perfect because they could see you. But then like... Oh my gosh, it was just so magical. And I think that... I think you forgot to mention the best part, in my opinion, my humble opinion about winging it to bringing it.

0:07:03.9 KD: I know what you're going for. It was the best part.

0:07:06.6 TT: We had... Well, number one, Rocky Mountain Dental Convention pulled through for us and we needed a ream of paper. And it was...

0:07:15.0 KD: Shout out.

0:07:15.1 TT: Blizzard-ing outside. Not really. But I'm from Arizona, so it was blizzard-ing outside. It just means there's snow on the ground. So walking to Target did not seem like a thing I wanted to do, and they kept me from having to do that by getting us a ream of paper. And they're just... Customer service has been top notch. It's been stellar. So a ream of paper means 300... What do we have? Like 352 or something...

0:07:38.5 KD: Yeah.

0:07:40.1 TT: Paper airplanes flying around, this course room. And that's how we started our day, you guys. That was the first 10 minutes of that course was get that paper, make a paper airplane. And I think it really set the tone for our entire day. We had a lot of people that were coming back to our courses. We had some repeat people who were like... We had people that were not even leaving the room in between courses. They... I don't even know for sure that they were signed up for the next course, but they were not leaving that room. They were posted up.

0:08:10.3 TT: So I just... It was so cool. I think that we set the stage. We did it differently and we said, "We're here at Rocky Mountain because we wanna do things differently, and we wanna positively impact the world of dentistry." And I think we did that yesterday. I think Rocky Mountain Dental Convention that gave us an outlet to really touch so many more lives than we even thought we were going to be able to. It was so cool.

0:08:31.4 KD: I agree. And that's what I thought was really fun was you forget the magic of in-person, but also it was on-demand. So there were offices who were watching it on demand. And I just feel if you're going to take CE, my best advice to you is truly take notes as if you're going to go teach it again and be that involved. Because when you can be that involved and feel that pressure and feel that urge that you are going to need to present this, how are you going to learn it that well.

0:08:55.9 KD: I feel like that's how you're going to actually get so much out of CE. But then the next piece that we are encouraging all of our participants was you guys are going to all these CE. There's no way you can implement everything that you're learning. So I think one of the next biggest takeaways from when you attend a CE event is to truly have a full team debrief...

0:09:13.6 TT: For sure.

0:09:14.8 KD: Or whomever you're with, just so that way you guys can actually figure out what's going on, what are we going to implement, what's the game plan. Because that who, what, when, where, why, with a timeline is what's going to be the magic of actually having these things come to pass.

0:09:26.9 KD: 100%.

0:09:28.9 TT: So the winging it to bringing it with a good time. We talked about four different tips. If you guys can imagine 350 paper airplanes. People who have no system of how to make an airplane and just throwing it haphazardly...

0:09:39.6 TT: At Kiera.

0:09:41.2 KD: That is how your office might feel and look. And there are ways to get away from that. So we talked about a lot of systematization. If the Dental A Team can help you. We actually had quite a few offices come up and reach out. So shout out to those offices who are new to our Dental A Team family. It was really fun to welcome some people in. If you guys didn't attend, but you know that you don't wanna be that office who's constantly winging it and you wanna bring it, honestly, I think that that's what Dental A Team, was made to do. We're here to...

0:10:08.0 TT: I totally agree.

0:10:08.1 KD: To truly make you guys bring it in simple, easy, systematized ways, rather than feeling like you're always winging it. So that was the first one. And then the second one was operations manual creation in 90 days. And while I know that that's not a sexy title, that was our least attended course. And for my little ego over here, it was a slight bruise by looking at the numbers, I'm thinking, "That's it." And then I had a change of heart and realized, the people who are coming are those who are truly desperate for systematization.

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0:10:37.6 KD: If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with our Dental A Team podcast family. And because of that, guys, I wanna give you guys a little bit of love for this season. So from today, Valentine's Day, all the way through March, I am giving our podcast family sneak peak access to Dental A Team's Virtual Summit, April 28th and 29th.

0:10:57.9 KD: You guys, this year, we are doing secrets of the multi-million dollar practice. Full team, nine hours of CE. It is going to be explosively epic, amazing. You guys, you are not going to wanna miss this. Full team day on Friday where we're going to go through true practice life examples, case acceptance, your gap on your systems and how you can fix it from a full team's perspective.

0:11:20.3 KD: Plus, I'm bringing in lots of offices that are truly going to come here and teach you guys exactly what they do, Saturday is going to be full leadership... You got it. I'm bringing in the best of the best. Popular proficient, amazing CEOs, who are going to come tell you exactly what they do day in and day out. From hospitality to their ways they're going to structure their lives, to how to make an incredible associate. You guys the speaker line-up is top notch.

0:11:46.8 KD: So right now, head on over to thedentalateam.com/summit2023, read up all of our speakers and use podcast code LOVE2023, and you guys are gonna get early access. Tickets are not going on sale until March 6th. So from today until March 6th, guys, you early access and we're only saving 50 spots at this price point. So go sign up today, thedentalateam.com/summit2023, coupon code LOVE2023, and I will see you at Summit, April 28th and 29th.

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0:12:23.3 TT: Yeah, and I have to say... I have to say, first of all, that was after lunch. Okay. Again. And I'm glad that they actually put that one after lunch because I felt like the people who said, "You know what, I'm not gonna roam the floor. I'm gonna eat lunch. I'm gonna go to my course." The people who showed up...

0:12:37.1 KD: Yes.

0:12:37.2 TT: They were literally writing the protocols when we asked them to, and my little heart was so happy. And I'm like... By a little room, we had like...

0:12:49.3 KD: Hundreds.

0:12:49.7 TT: Hundreds... We had so many people in these courses, so even that being a smaller room, I felt like number one, they were more attentive because they knew there wasn't 300 people to hide in the midst of. Right?

0:13:00.7 KD: Right.

0:13:02.2 TT: They got more out of it and they played full out. Because they had us... They basically had us one-on-one. There was a... It was still a massive group of people for two people to work with, but they really had our attention because it wasn't 300 people this time. It was a smaller more intimate group. And they literally got these pieces done. And the most exciting part was some of them were... Like I said, some of them came from other courses, so it was really cool. Because in your first course you taught, you talked about the mission, vision, core values. You had them write out their vision. So that's like step one in Ops Manual.

0:13:36.7 TT: So it was really cool because they already knew how to do it and they could help the other people in the room to write theirs. So it was just this really tactical hands-on fun two hours that I was like, "You know what, I think it's okay that not even everyone who registered showed up. They decided to walk the floor. 'Cause the people who showed up are the people who are like, they're gonna kill it." They're freaking here for the information and they're doing the things.

0:14:02.5 KD: And I also feel... Kudos to them for the humility that takes.

0:14:06.3 TT: Absolutely.

0:14:07.2 KD: I think it takes a lot of humility, especially as an owner or as a leader to accept the fact that something so basic as an Ops manual, which I will tell you to... Tiff, I don't know about you. Of all of the offices I consult, maybe 1% has a Ops manual.

0:14:20.2 TT: Maybe. I don't think... I wanna go like a half a percent.

0:14:23.3 KD: So the bottom line is, nobody really has one. Hopefully a lot of Dental A Team offices can say that they do have them. You guys better have them. We're running a course right now for you guys so there's...

0:14:33.7 TT: Exactly. That's what I was gonna say.

0:14:33.7 KD: No excuses. But I thought it was just such a... To me, I think of all the presentations we put on, that one shockingly was the most tactical.

0:14:43.5 TT: It was.

0:14:43.9 KD: The most impactful. And if you're gonna take anything away, it was to create that Ops manual, and how to actually do it in 90 days. That's what I love about courses, is I will truly share every secret.

0:14:55.1 TT: Absolutely.

0:14:55.1 KD: It took me years. And oh gosh, I don't even wanna talk about how much the Ops manual cost me to make. We're talking multiple thousands of dollars to have that edited, created, all those different pieces. And yet to be able to have them come through and to be able to teach that to people that had the humility to show up to a course, to admit the fact that they needed those systems in their practices was really an amazing experience. So that was a course two. And then course three was really fun. It was the end of the day, so to try and keep a crowd from 3:30 to 5:30 was really a feat. I could feel it. My feet felt it for sure, guys. Stilettos for not the win. I don't know. That floor was...

0:15:33.9 TT: I tried to talk you out of it.

0:15:36.9 KD: I wanna blame it on the floor 'cause I don't wanna accept the fact that maybe I'm getting older. But, oh man, I was rocking those stilettos and they were surely rocking me. But we had maximum case acceptance and it was super fun. It was a fun last one that was jam-packed. If you wanna increase your case acceptance, I would say the biggest takeaway that I took from that, that I feel... Yes, I presented the content. Yes, this is content that I've built. Yes, this is content that we have crafted over the last several years. The biggest piece I still think I take away from case acceptance is the 80% psychology, 20% skill.

0:16:09.7 TT: 100%.

0:16:10.0 KD: 'Cause people always think that with case acceptance it's all... They want the tactical... They're like, "Tell me how to do it. What do I need to do?" And I'm like, "You gotta change your mindset, which doesn't feel as fun." But when you can change and break that limiting mindset, you really have fun. So we we spent, honestly, I think it felt heavy Tiff, 'cause I spent almost the first half of the class on mindset and then moved into all the tactical for the last half. So they were getting, I feel, pummeled with case acceptance pieces. But I heard such good feedback and people asked a lot of great questions. So that was a ton of fun to have.

0:16:46.0 TT: I agree. It was... I loved that course. We had more doctors in that course, I think for obvious reasons. And I think they really took away some awesome tactical pieces for themselves. But then I think that they took away so much to take back to their teams.

0:17:00.8 KD: Yes.

0:17:00.9 TT: I know we had a lot of doctors and teams there too, but I think... It was just good. It was so much information, but it was so much really good information.

0:17:09.1 KD: I think it's also something that I wanna highlight for CE doctors. I know often times it's very easy to say, "Oh, I'm gonna send my team over there." Or team members to think, "Oh, that's just for my doctor. I don't need to be a part of that." Doctors and teams, when you guys can actually get together so much more traction and movement will happen in your practice.

0:17:27.8 TT: 100%.

0:17:29.2 KD: Because those doctors and team members, when they were sitting in case acceptance, they now know how to go back to the office and work together. 'Cause we literally... Dental A Team, will always coach on both sides of the team. That's why... Or coin. That's why I love our summit. Because our summit is not just for team members.

0:17:45.2 TT: No.

0:17:45.3 KD: It is for doctors and teams to come together to help you guys actually, work together as a unit rather than individual isolated pieces. And that was really something that was so fun. So mad kudos to Rocky Mountain. It's been fun to podcast. It's been fun to podcast with Tiff. We were podcasting with other podcasters, and it's just been a really fun event. So I would say for you guys, when you're looking at team CE this year, look to see what are the pain points you have and have the humility and then go and find who's gonna be an expert in that industry.

0:18:10.4 KD: Who's gonna be an expert to help you guys get there. And if there's a way for you guys to come together for full team CE by all means, do it. I would love you guys to come to the Dental A Team Summit, April 28th and 29th of this year. Head on over to our website, thedentalateam.com. Up at the top, there is a spot for the summit. It is all about the secrets of the multi-million dollar practice.

0:18:28.9 KD: So we're doing case acceptance. We're doing how to train and retain team members. We're also bringing in testimonial practices who are literally coming in and telling you how they do it. So if that's not enough excitement for you, I don't know what else to do for you guys. We're sending swag boxes. Honestly, to me, I thought about as a business owner, what would I want and what I want is to always pick the brains of the brilliant people so I can then mimic and mirror and become just as good as them. Because honestly guys, success leaves clues.

0:18:57.2 KD: And so if you can find those clues, why not come. So head on over to thedentalateam.com. Click on that summit page. Come guys, we're having it where it's doctor and team, CEO, or just doctors only. And there is surely an early bird. So head on over. Tiff, any last thoughts you've got on Rocky Mountain, 'cause I feel like that was kind of a good wrap up of our... An amazing event.

0:19:14.9 TT: Oh, I agree. I do wanna add a couple of things. Amazing wrap up. But there's one thing that I think you forgot, and I have to mention this about Summit because honestly, it's my favorite piece that we're doing. I'm truly so excited to take... I wanna take what doctors want to implement in their practices and reverse engineer it. I have so many doctors that are like, "Sleep apnea." And they're like, "Drop all my crowns. I don't wanna do fillings anymore. It's all sleep apnea." And it doesn't always work. So I'm like...

0:19:45.0 KD: It rarely works, guys.

0:19:46.7 TT: I'm so excited to take those massive things we want to implement and reverse engineer it in a way that you guys can strategically implement it without overwhelming your teams, without losing production and collections and really be successful in it. That's my... And then adding on top of that, attracting the patients that you want to supply that. So anyways, I had to say that because that's near and dear to my heart. I'm so excited about it.

0:20:10.0 KD: I actually think it's brilliant because I would agree. So many times we go to CE and then we wanna come back and implement it so fast.

0:20:15.0 TT: Yes.

0:20:17.2 KD: But it doesn't execute for usually a couple of reasons. One, because we fail to stay accountable and go through...

0:20:20.8 TT: Absolutely.

0:20:20.9 KD: But before even that accountability we don't even have a plan.

0:20:23.0 TT: Yeah. We don't have the steps.

0:20:24.7 KD: We don't have the plan. And so that's something that I love about what we do. So many doctors reach out and they're like, "Kiera, we wanna work with you." And I'm not the best at being accountable. And I'm like, "High five. You're in the right spot." Because that's our job. Our job as consultants, our job as the Dental A Team, is to hold you accountable. To give you guys the plan to help you build the steps so that way you guys actually can implement, execute and make the traction without burning out the team, without stressing everyone out.

0:20:48.2 KD: So I feel like that's what we did at Rocky Mountain, and that's what we're gonna bring...

0:20:52.1 TT: Absolutely.

0:20:52.9 KD: To you guys for Summit, again. So if you want to head on over to thedentalateam.com, click on that. It's April 28th through 29th. It's a Friday, Saturday. Friday is full team day. Saturday is a leadership doctor day. So it's going to be amazing. Like I said, we are having a lot of killer speakers come in. You guys know, Dental A Team, never ever halfway does anything.

0:21:11.0 TT: Ever.

0:21:13.3 KD: Our boxes that we're sending out, I cannot wait for people to get them. There are a lot of fun little prizes. It is going to be implementable into your practice with your full team, tactical practical, full team getting it. And I hope you see, you guys there.

0:21:25.3 KD: Tiff, thanks for being on the podcast. Thanks for being at Rocky Mountain...

0:21:28.7 TT: Thank you.

0:21:29.6 KD: I'm excited to do our next event at Summit with you. I just adore you and I'm so grateful you're on our team and in my life.

0:21:33.2 TT: Oh, thank you. That was so special. I just love you. I love you so much. And Rocky Mountain, has been incredible. It's been really cool to see all these people again. So thank you for having me here with you.

0:21:43.7 KD: Absolutely. Alright guys, as always thank you all for listening, and I hope to see you guys at Summit. Be there. I don't wanna be cheesy and say, "Be there, be square."

0:21:53.2 TT: I liked it though.

0:21:54.4 KD: But I feel like I should. So be there or be square. I don't even know what that actually means. So if you know what that means, email me [email protected]. And as always thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:22:06.2 KD: And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

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