Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017 - 71

Healing

The Great Why
Wendy O'Donovan Phillips
President of Big Buzz,
a dental marketing agency
Denver, CO

My mother died in a car crash when I was five
years old. When lecturing in front of orthodontists
and orthodontic students, I often mention this.
That may seem odd.
Yet this story, my "why," is an integral part of my
lecture, and of my work on the whole.
Share Your Story
I start by sharing this: "I grew up in the South. Let
me take you back there: I am six years old, lying
in my twin bed under my Mickey Mouse blanket,
listening to the sound of the cicadas in the trees
that surround my home. I know that in the morning my sister and I will dash out to the woods
and down to the ravine on the hunt for crawdads.
Only the biggest ones will do."
I go on to say that this is how corporate practices
scout out their locations. They search out the
communities with the largest numbers of viable
households; often, homes with children ages 7 to
18. Only the locations with the biggest opportunities will do.
I circle back, and I say this: "I am seven years old,
riding bikes with my sister along the path in our
neighborhood. Along the trail, we spy wild blackberry bushes. When we are careful to pull back
the thorny branches, we find our treasure: bold,
juicy blackberries, some almost an inch long. We
gather up the darkest, largest ones. Only the
boldest ones will do."
I remind my audience that this is exactly how
corporate practices recruit. They spend more marketing dollars attracting great talent than they
do on attracting new patients. They know that
the best team will attract and keep all of the
patients that the practice needs to be profitable.
Only the boldest candidates will do.

I shift again, saying: "I am eight years old, running
with my sister through the trees at dusk to our
fort. As the day's light fades, twinkles appear
magically in the air: fireflies. We have stashed lidded jars in our secret hideout. We catch the
brightest of the tiny orbs and gently place them
in the jars. They become lanterns for us to gaze
at as we fall asleep, safe once again under our
Mickey Mouse blankets. Only the brightest ones
will do."
Search for the Biggest Lights
In this context, I share the principles of marketing
an orthodontic practice. Survey happy patients,
for no one can showcase the practice's brand like
they do. They light up and share stories of transformation that are like marketing gold. Document that message and paper the world with it.
This is how corporate orthodontic practices do it,
and you should, too, I tell my audiences, "Only the
brightest stories of transformation will do."
At the conclusion, I mention Simon Sinek and his
viral TED Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action,
which spun off into a movement: Start with Why.
When we start with why, we:

 Lead more fulfilling lives.
 Lead more fulfilled teams.
 Attract our ideal circle of influence, including
life partners, friends, mentors, coaches, business partners, associates, team members, etc.
 Are more relatable.
 Feel safer.
 Help those around us feel safer.
 Leave longer-lasting, higher-impact legacies.

I tie it all together with this: "Finally, let me take
you way back, to my why. I am five years old, lying
in my twin bed under my Mickey Mouse blanket. I
hear the phone ring. I hear the sound of my
father's voice. He's calling to my sister and me.
We go to him in the family room, squinting in the

continued on page 71

Summer 2017  PCSO Bulletin

https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action https://www.startwithwhy.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2017