Anne: Hello, everybody. It is Anne Duffy and welcome to the Dental Entrepreneur Podcast, Dental Entrepreneur, the future of dentistry. And I have a really fun guest for you today. I'm so glad you're joining us to learn a little bit about him and his company. And, um, I just, before we started recording, I learned a lot about, you know, how he grew up and who he is and he is.
Really cool and a neat guy. And he is vice president and general manager of dental sales for Patterson Dental Company. Please help me welcome Chad Bushman. Hello, Chad.
Chad: Hi, Ann. Thanks
Anne: for having me. You are so welcome. Gosh, you know, um, sometimes when we do these podcasts, we don't push record until like we get into the, you know, a good conversation and it, and boy, I just had so much fun learning about you and who you are and how you got where you are today.
within Patterson. Um, as I told you, I, I love Patterson. They've been really supportive of dental entrepreneur and now dental entrepreneur woman. And so I'm, I'm happy to, to meet you face to face and, or zoom to zoom and to say thank you to you and to Patterson for supporting us and, and especially supporting, um, women in dentistry and the growth of women that we see in the industry.
Well, thank
Chad: you. And I appreciate that. I mean, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on your podcast. We appreciate our relationship with dental entrepreneur and dental entrepreneur women. And, um, like you, we, we, um, we value. Women in dentistry. And we've created a number of initiatives around that and look forward to continuing to partner in that area going forward.
Anne: That's awesome. That's awesome. Well, I was telling you, I just finished a career in dental hygiene 45 years in, I was doing five hours a week, uh, seven state boards. I loved. my dental hygiene career. And I actually loved our Patterson rep, Kyle Brown was our, was our rep, and he still is the rep in our, in our dental office.
So shout out to Kyle. And, um, you know, you, there's so many different moving pieces now since COVID things have changed so much. So I have the question is like, how is Patterson adapting to the next generation of incoming dentists? Because as you know, well, I guess. 54 percent now of the graduating dentists are females, but what's Patterson doing to adapt to, to, you know, dentists that come out with debt, they, they're, they don't know which way to go.
What, what are you doing within Patterson to, to, to impact this group?
Chad: Yeah, that's a great question. And I think, um, You know, you said something right before you asked the question, I think we're having to learn to adapt on a number of different fronts, right? It's, it's, it's not just the next generation of incoming dentists.
It's, it's sort of the new world that we're operating in. You know, um, I, I don't want to say post COVID, but, but since COVID started, right, things have changed. I mean, you and I are doing this podcast via zoom where we might've done it before face to face, right? Yeah. So I think we're having to learn to adapt on a number of different fronts and the next generation of dentists is just one of those fronts.
And I think for Patterson, what we recognize is that what dentists want from us has evolved and changed over the years. And I would say that, um, that evolution is moving more quickly than maybe it has in the past. Um, you know, I think dentistry for a long time had a reputation of moving very slowly. And I think, uh, you know, if you're paying attention and looking around, you realize, wow, Things aren't moving slowly anymore.
Things are moving pretty quickly. And I think what Dennis wants from us has changed. Um, you know, I think relationships are still really core in this industry. And that's part of what I love about the dental industry is, is how important relationships are, but I don't think relationships are enough anymore.
Uh, it's not enough for us just to be a friendly face that comes in and, and, and takes care of your products. Right. Our customers and especially the next generation of dentists have different expectations. And a lot of those expectations revolve around, um, them being business owners, not just dentists, right?
Uh, you know, dentists, they, uh, they spent a lot of time in school learning how to be great clinicians. Um, and then they come out find out that, oh, my goodness, not only am I expected to be a great clinician, I've also got to figure out how to be a really good business owner. And those aren't necessarily things that they're taught right during dental school.
And I think that we have an opportunity, and I think there's an expectation on the part of our customers that we can help them in that area.
Anne: I think that's so key, Chad, and you're, and you're, and you're right. I've, that's where I started like dental entrepreneur. We used to call it business beyond the classroom and because they didn't get any, uh, business, you know, curriculum in dental school, and that was 20 years ago and they're still not getting any business curriculum in dental school.
And the, and the, you know, the, the professors and the deans, they tell me they don't have time for it. I have seen. That, um, shift in the trend that you're talking about, and it looks like you're way ahead of it. It's more than a relationship. I mean, it, it seems like they are helping, I, I, I think they're partnering with dentists.
I've seen that with Kyle in our, in our office, partnering with the, your customers, which I guess your customers are the dentist on how to build. A career and a successful career serving patients and it comes with your clinical skills and your business skills. And I think the reps are key to those decisions that they're making within the practice.
Would you agree with
Chad: that? Absolutely. I mean, I think there's a couple of interesting, um, You know, a couple of things that I find interesting, um, you know, for Patterson dental and for our, our people, especially our salespeople, you know, if selling something to a dentist or to a dental office is not in and of itself, uh, a success or a win, right.
Uh, we're never going to be successful if the relationship is transactional for us, it's very much about how do we. Partner with this practice with with these dentists from, you know, call it cradle to grave right from when they open their practice to really when they want to transition out and go take some well deserved, you know, time off and retirement for us.
That's a win, right? And we're not going to get there. We're not going to get that win, um, by just Handling a number of transactions. It's really about becoming embedded in that practice and recognizing that while relationships still matter, and they're always going to matter. And, you know, I remember when I came into Patterson about 15 years ago, all I ever heard is this is a relationship business.
It's a relationship business. And, and, and that's true it is, but I think it's shifted where. It's no longer enough that it's just a relationship business. I think you kind of got to flip the words, you know, it used to be that if you had the relationship, you'd get the business, I think now, and you talk about what is the next generation of incoming Dennis want now, I think what their, what our customers are telling us is if you can help my business.
then I'll give you the relationship. So it's sort of flipped, right? It's no longer, Hey, you and I are going to become friends and then you're going to do business with me. Now it's, I'm going to bring you value and I'm going to show you that I can help your business. And then you and I are going to, you know, build that, build on that relationship moving forward.
Anne: Yeah, that is so key. And I, and I've actually had articles on that and dental entrepreneurs saying, you know, like, it's so important to build that relationship with your rep, because if you have that, he's going to have, he or she is going to have your back. And like you said, it's not a pay for play. It's not like, okay, buy this piece of equipment or technology.
You want, I, what I've noticed about Patterson and, and the reps out there and in every company in dentistry, because like you said, it's a relationship company. It's not that it's, how are they going to be successful using that technology, using that equipment? And that's, what's really important. And at the crux of, you know, I think what your reps really see is their future because you, you know, cradle to grave, you really, you want to see.
Success in the industry. Um, and the only way they can do that is to have a profitable practice serving patients at the highest quality.
Chad: I couldn't agree more. I mean, I think, you know, I, I tell dentists this all the time, you know, outside of the dentist, their staff and, and, you know, their families, there should be, and there probably is nobody more invested in the success of a dental practice than their Patterson rep.
Because when you think about what we are and what we do. Um, you know, we're, we're, uh, we're a part of their over to some degree. Right. Um, and so the only way that we grow is if our customers grow. And so our singular focus needs to be to figure out how to, how do we help this customer grow? How do they want to grow?
And how can we be a part of that? How can we support that? How can we accelerate that? Because if we can help them grow, then we're going to grow. It's, it's, it's a rising tide lifts all boats sort of a thing. Um, and I truly believe that. You know, the, the, the best salespeople, um, and, and, you know, I'm biased, but I think Patterson has the best salespeople are truly invested in the success of their practices because they know that's how they're going to be successful.
Anne: You know, not only that, you just hit something. Um, made me think about something. It's, it's, it's personal, it's, it's business and, and, um, and personal though relationship, because I think so often the reps kind of know what's going on in the industry more. They know people that are looking for jobs that haven't, that are looking for a good place to land.
Um, also like if they have problems even just, I don't know, with personal development, I think they can, they have, um, they have solutions for that. To, and sometimes the rep knows more of who to plug into that dental practice or to the dentist, the leader of the practice, which is broader than just.
Technology and equipment, right? It's it's it's a lot of different things that they can do to to impact the practice. Um, that really we don't talk about, but that they're there for them in all capacities and the whole circle of life. Sure.
Chad: I think, you know, I think it's interesting to think about. If you're a, if you're a dentist, odds are your, you, you have a really deep knowledge of one practice, your practice, right?
You understand your practice better than anybody. Um, our Patterson reps, they have. They have, um, knowledge of 100 practices, 120, 150 practices, right? They get to see a really broad scope of how, how are practices adapting to this technology? How are they dealing with this issue, whether it's around patient retention or staff retention or marketing?
They get to see. You know, all of the things that are going on in these practices, and I think one of the things our reps do really well is they, they take all of that information that they absorb over the course of their, of their work, and they distill that, and the best ones take the things that are necessary for a particular customer and go, hey, you know what, you're having this issue.
Turns out I've seen other practices that have had that issue, and I've seen some things that have worked and some things that haven't. Let me share that with you, right? I'm not selling you anything at this point. What I'm doing is I'm trying to help you solve a problem, because if I can take a lot, if I can take, um, you know, if I can take a lot of problems off of your plate, that allows you to focus on what matters most, which is Providing, you know, tremendous clinical patient care.
Anne: That is so good. It's like, you know, they know what works, what doesn't work. And then they know you're the practice because they built this relationship. So they, they're probably like, we should get bands. We'd let's get little wristbands for, for all the Patterson reps or for all the dentists, right. To say, what would your Patterson rep say?
What would your Patterson rep do? Right. I mean, because they do have that. So that's, that's genius. When I think about that, they. The broad range of, of, uh, experience working with all these different practices that they can pretty much they're sage. They, they really are like the, um, the guru of, uh, the overview for the dentist.
And that's why the dentist needs to treat the, the reps. Well, to new dentists that are listening to me. And to Chad, have this conversation, be good to your rep because he will be good to you. He or he will be good to you as well. I think it just goes both ways. Right.
Chad: Oh, yeah, I agree. I mean, I think, um, your Patterson rep is arguably an underutilized resource in your practice, right?
Um, there's a lot that they see. And a lot that they're willing to share and to give and, uh, you know, just ask, just ask them and they'd be happy to help. Yeah.
Anne: That's so neat. That's, that's, that's good. People find good people and, um, it, it really does ring true with, with this, uh, relationship with the rep and the, and the dentist and the leader and all the team members as well.
Right. I mean, you know, they, uh, Just, I, I think about that, um, getting to know them and what they want, what they need listening. And so often the rep has a little bit more time and can get a little bit more out of the team members than the dentist who's back in the chair working and just, you know, chop, chop.
So I
Chad: think one of everybody, you know, sorry to cut you off, you know, from my, from my perspective. Every member of the team in the dental practice is one of our customers, whether they're buying something or not, right? I mean, if we can bring value that can help that practice provide better patient care, um, more efficient patient care, if we can help that practice grow, everybody in the practice is a customer.
And I think that You know, our reps do a really good job of recognizing that and engaging with the team. And to your point, sometimes they get more time with those team members and they need to help the dentist through those team members, right? Because the team might get time with the dentist. Our rep might not that particular day.
How do I help the dentist through this through this person? Yeah.
Anne: That's so cool. That's really cool. It makes it, well, one thing that you said earlier, and this was before we started recording was, you know, you've got, of course you're, you were vice president, general sales, general manager of dental sales is a big, big, big company here, but you realized, and I, and I'd love you to share that, you know, a lot of different, you were in a lot of different verticals, right.
Outside of dentistry. And then, um, you know, as a sales. person and looking for a new opportunity. Tell me a little bit about how you, um, navigated to the dental industry. Cause I think that's fascinating. Yeah,
Chad: it's a, it's a, it's a little bit of a funny story. I mean, I kind of fell into sales early in my career outside the dental industry.
And, um, you know, I, I, I had some success, you know, I had enough success that I got to keep my job. So that was good. Um, and you know, I, I kind of bounced around, as you mentioned, a couple of different verticals outside of dental. And, um, you know, I enjoyed what I did, but I don't know that I came home and felt, you know, passion, right.
I was passionate about helping. my customers, but I don't know that I was passionate about, you know, what I was selling, right? And, um, and I, I remember thinking, you know, I, I want to do something where I actually feel like, and maybe this sounds a little naive, but I really wanted to do something where I felt like I could make a difference.
I could make a difference in people's lives. Um, and I was going to do it through selling because that's what I knew, but I wanted to, I wanted to be in an industry that I felt like, uh, I would have the ability to impact people's lives and it was kind of by chance. I had a number of friends. Um, you know, people that, you know, parents of, of Children that my kids played sports with and friends of theirs that were that happened to be in the dental industry.
And, uh, and we would talk about, you know, what we did for work periodically and something that really jumped out at me was, yeah. You know, whenever I ask these people, you know, usually when you ask somebody what you do for work, they'll tell you and, and very often then they'll start to kind of complain about the people that they work with or the industry that they they're in or the company that they work for.
And, and what I found was. The vast majority, in fact, almost everybody I talked to in dental seemed to love what they do. They loved the business that they were in. They loved the people that they got to work with. They loved the industry. They felt like they were making a difference. And it was It was noticeable enough that I, you know, I stopped and said, okay, this, you know, I'm over here having some success, but maybe not feeling fulfilled.
These people feel fulfilled and they're having success. I need to think about this. Right. So I actually sought out dental and, uh, and, and started doing my own research and trying to figure out a way to break into the industry. And, uh, I was fortunate enough, you know, about 15 years ago to be able to do that.
Anne: That's, that's just really neat. And it, you know, I, I, I think it's funny when people do, some people will leave dentistry for a while, but they're going to miss it. They're going to miss the people. They're going to miss the fulfillment that we have. I mean, we know how important it is to get a great smile and a healthy mouth and then the oils, you know, the oral systemic connections and how that's going to be growing in the next, you know, the next years, um, It's just, it's, it's a wonderful thing.
We've got to keep these good people in. And I'm so glad you landed in dentistry and with again, a great company, but the technology thing is, is really, is, is really coming full force. I think people say that dentistry is behind medical and all those things, but talk a little bit about how investing in new technology and software is the game changer, uh, for any office out there now they're, they've been, they've been hesitating a little bit, you know, things have settled in.
You know, let's see, why do they need to, like, really take a look at what's new and vibrant and important to their growth.
Chad: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, I'd love to talk to those people that say that dentistry is behind medicine because I would argue that, um, as a general dentist or even a specialist, your average general dentist has far more technology in their practice than your average medical doctor.
You know, that's, that's so true. So I would love to have those conversations with them. Um, you know, I think I feel pretty fortunate. I came into the dental industry about the time that the digitization of the dental practice is starting to take off. Right. Um, and, you know, I think one of the interesting things about dentistry and especially as it relates to technology is if you think about it, a practice can do most Everything that they need to do without technology.
Right? So from that standpoint, you almost have to think a little conceptually about it because, hey, I can make a, I can make a, I can make a crown for a patient without dealing with technology. Right? Impression material, send it off to the lab or backseat. I can do it without that. Right? Um. But what's the experience for the patient if I do leverage technology, right?
When you think about if you're, you know, we're all consumers to some degree, right? So when you go into a dental office or you go into any business and you have some technology in general, you're evaluating a practice. Based on you're, you're evaluating a business or a practice based on how advanced they feel to you.
Do you feel like you're getting cutting edge care? Right. Um, or, or do you feel like you're getting, you know, are you getting the, the cutting edge or are you getting, you know, sort of the good enough? Right. And I think that's an important thing for us all to, to kind of keep in mind is that. Um, we're still dealing with consumers, right?
We call them patients and they are patients, but they're still making decisions on their perceptions of what they see when they walk in. You know, I think about, uh, technology and dentistry. I mean, it's come so far so quickly and I don't see, I don't see it slowing down. Right. And what I love about our customers and what I love about dentists in general is They're so focused on providing optimal patient care, and that's, you know, and when they realize that there are pieces of technology that can help them do it better.
Um, we find that they're very receptive and they're very open to that now. Listen, that it's a bell curve right there's going to be some that are on the bleeding edge. There's going to be the fast followers and then the kind of majority in the middle and there's going to be some people that say, you know what, I'm okay, I'm going to keep doing it the way that I do it and my patients are okay with that.
And that's fine, right? I mean, that's fine for them. But, you know, I look at it, I look at the opportunities that technology brings. to provide that top level of patient care to identify all of the opportunities to really help that patient achieve maximum oral care. You mentioned it before, you know, more and more we're learning about the connection between, uh, you know, that, you know, a person's oral health and their, and their overall, you know, uh, whole body health.
Right. Um, and, and the technologies that, uh, we're bringing into the market and that, you know, we're helping our dentists integrate. really are helping our doctors provide that care to their patients. At a much, much higher look than, than they would otherwise be able to. Yeah.
Anne: Yeah. And you know, something else that you mentioned in the consumer, right?
People talk. People talk, Hey, oh, you got your crown and it took you five weeks to get, or like three months to get or whatever. I mean, you know, you can just, uh, and, and Oh, you, they got paper charts. Oh my gosh. I mean, there's certain things there that, um. People will understand when they walk in the office.
It's not like we can't find that out. It's not like it's a hidden secret and you do, you're right. Good, better, best. And you, you want to put your, your best foot forward. I think it's interesting with the new docs coming out, they need to start. Investing in the technology, the newest technology out there because they're, it's going to carry them through, um, you know, to the next, you know, five years because every five years things are going to be changing.
And so I think we do have to give that to our consumers and our patients and we have to look at it that way like if you want to be, you know, where do you want to sit, I mean you want to sit at the top of your at the top of your career, and at the at the highest level of. Of patient care, and that does come with being open to new technology and understanding it and then having someone that's going to guide you through that purchase process.
Not only that, Chad, but I've seen the patterns that the reps that we've known they, you know, they They are also very involved in utilizing, executing, using of that technology, right? I mean, it's not like they just drop off a new piece of equipment and it's, you got to figure it out on your own. They walk you through it for, for years and years and years, helping you make sure you maximize the investment that you make, which again, you know, you don't want to, you don't want to buy it at Amazon.
You want to buy it from a rep that's going to be dedicated to your success.
Chad: Oh, for sure. I mean, I think. Selling a piece of technology or, or on the flip side for a dentist, buying a piece of technology, that's the easy part, the hard parts, the integration right into the practice. How does it change your workflow?
How does it change your day to day? How does it change your patient experience? And, and I think, and again, obviously I'm biased, but I think that that's something that, you know, Patterson dental has proven over the years that, you know, there's, there's nobody better in the dental business to help a doctor, um, integrate.
And execute against a particular piece of technology. I mean, I think one of the things we don't talk enough about is our is our Patterson Technology Center. You know, we have, we have, you know, 350 400 employees who sold job is to support the technology that we sell posts. Right. So, you know, we, we will come in at the local level and we'll do the installation, do the training and we'll walk the customer through.
Um, but then what happens when we leave, you know, when we leave, obviously you can still pick up the phone and call your rep. Uh, but we also have a technology center that you can pick up the phone and say, Hey, I'm struggling with this. Can you help me with it? Um, and so I think, you know, it's, it's really an unmatched asset that we have in this space.
Um, and it's something that I think has allowed us to really differentiate ourselves, uh, in the marketplace when it comes to, you know, being the preferred, you know, distributor of, of technology products. Yeah.
Anne: I mean, and, and I think that is a big trend now. We want that information now and, and not wait on hold for, you know, Hours or days or weeks or months.
So kudos to you to putting, for putting that in place. I think that they're very lucky that you decided to jump in the dental pool and to make a difference in this industry. And it's been just a great pleasure to, to meet you and to hear about your story and where you think Patterson is going and where dentistry is going in the future.
Would you like, are there any parting words, Chad, and that you have for our listeners today? Well,
Chad: I just, you know, a couple of things. Number one, I'd say thank you for the kind words. That's that's very generous of you. You know, I'm more than anything. I'm a product of the people that have been around me, right?
So any success that I've had has certainly been supported or fueled by by the teams that I've been fortunate enough to work with. Um, you know, I've been with Patterson for 15 years. Uh, you know what I love about this organization? And listen, every every organization likes to talk about the culture that they have and the people that they have.
But, uh, you know, I'd have no problem, you know, standing in front of anybody saying, you know, we've got the best team, we've got the best people, we've got the best culture. And it's really a function of the people that, you know, I'm fortunate enough to work with. And, you know, the partnerships that we have both with our customers, but also with our manufacturer partners.
And, and our industry partnerships, including this one. So, and thank you very much for having me on. I really appreciate it. Um, thanks for giving me a chance to talk a little bit about what we do.
Anne: Well, it's my pleasure. My pleasure. It's been great. And I look forward to more conversations like this. And we, we discussed that too.
You're going to write your story for, for dental entrepreneur, the future of dentistry and incoming and upcoming issues. So you can get ahold of, uh, Patterson, pattersondental. com. I believe that's correct. Um, and Chad's. On the, on the masthead, I'm sure if you look and contact us. So, uh, any questions you may have, um, you know, please reach out and they'll be in the show notes, everybody.
So listen, you guys all, they're listening to us today. Just have a great day. Most importantly, everybody out there keep doing you. Thank you, Chad, so much for being with us. Thanks, Anne.
