In my lecture series, “Lost that Lovin’ Feeling? Success Is All About Relationships,” I talk about how my practice implemented relationship-based systems that are simply powerful and powerfully simple to enhance our success.

In a previous “Daily Grind” post, I discussed the Pareto Principle, whereby it is my contention that 20% of our practice success is due to our clinical knowledge and skills and 80% is from everything else. I like to talk about that 80%.

Knowing that “mindset + systems + consistency = success,” I talk about how inexpensive systems done consistently and with the right attitude can transform our business for long-term success. One of those systems, if done consistently, is what I call “Moments of Magic,” which are 10 or more moments that change how our patients respond to us and become raving fans who pay their bills, show up for their appointments, schedule their next appointments, and refer their family members and friends (what I refer to as pay, stay, repeat and refer).

In this blog series, I will outline each one of those Moments of Magic. The ninth one is a handwritten thank-you card to the referrer.

We have had eight Moments of Magic for the new patient in our practice. From the time they first heard about us from one of our existing patients (the majority of all new patients are referrals from existing patients — or they should be) to them checking out our online reviews, website, social media and more. They were welcomed and thanked in the first phone call, given a pre-visit welcome phone call from the dentist, toured the office upon arrival, established a connection by utilizing the Golden 10, were engaged in a comprehensive codiagnosis so that they became true partners in their own health outcomes and then surprised with a handwritten thank-you card sent in the mail.

Like I wrote in the last blog, most of the mail we get today is junk. People rarely get handwritten letters anymore. So, when someone receives a handwritten envelope, they are going to notice it, open it, read it and be amazed.

This time, I recommend you send this handwritten note as a thank-you to the person who referred the new patient. It’s a great opportunity for the referral source to know the person listened to their recommendation and acted upon it by coming to your office, and it validated their trust in you and your team. It also reinforces the relationship you built with that person, and it sends the subtle message that they are encouraged to send more your way as well.

Just like the new patient will show off their welcome card to friends and family, the referrer will show off the thank-you card as well. This is especially true if you use a custom card, not a stock one.

If the new patient and referrer are work colleagues, send the welcome and “thank you for referring” cards to their workplaces. That can encourage more people from the company to come to your office as well. If others see how welcoming, appreciative, grateful and friendly you are, many more will decide they want to be part of the group.

This takes seconds to do, is inexpensive and will be something that people will notice and talk about.

As Maya Angelou said, people will forget what you said to them, but they will never forget how you made them feel, and these eight moments of magic will have them feeling amazing about you.

The next blog is the last of my “Moments of Magic” series. It is along these same lines, but it moves beyond the new patient visit and referral sources.