2021 AADOM Conference Recap
In September, Angela, the team, and I packed our bags and headed to sunny Orlando, Florida for the annual … This text opens a new tab …AADOM Conference (it’s hard to believe it’s been a whole month already!)
The AADOM Conference is a highlight of our year for many reasons, but this year was EXTRA special since 2020’s conference unfortunately had to be cancelled due to COVID. We were thrilled to be able to meet up with the AADOM tribe in person once again!
Sharing the love with first-time attendees
Roadside was privileged to be AADOM’s first-time attendee hospitality sponsor, which is a fancy way of saying we brought fun gifts and goodies for all the newbies. Angela and I joined the first-time attendee meeting bright and early at 7:00AM on day one, where Kim and Heather welcomed first-timers and gave them a TON of valuable information to help each and every one of them make a success of their first conference.
We hopped up on stage briefly to remind them all to pop by our booth for their gift and let them know where to find us. Angela also gave a plug for our famous Seattle Chocolates and told the entire group about my weight-lifting skills loading 35 pounds of chocolate into the overhead bin on the airplane (there was no way we were going to check those precious chocolates – carry-on only!)
“You’re like the Chik-fil-A of vendors!”
👆 This.
If I could sum up the vibe at the Roadside booth, I’d do it with this, which a member said to me as she observed the crowd at our booth.
First of all, it was such a compliment (love us some Chik-fil-A!) but we have to give props to our amazing team who worked together like a well-oiled machine to take care of every person who stopped by our booth to chat.
In all seriousness, we loved every second of it.
Interacting with dental office office managers from across the country and hearing first-hand their challenges, goals, accomplishments, and successes is one of our favorite aspects of the AADOM Conference.
Marketing Masterclass
On Friday morning, Angela and I taught our Marketing Masterclass workshop, where attendees were guided on setting up a 12-month marketing action plan for their practices. They all walked away with a 40+ page workbook and ideas to implement right away, as well as homework to help them through the next year of marketing efforts.
We LOVE teaching on this topic.
Seriously, it’s one of our favorite educational sessions we’ve ever created. The entire class was engaged, participating, asking questions, and sharing ideas — it was such a fun group, and we took away great ideas from our students to share with future classes.
A highlight of the class was our “snowball fight” – to get everyone up and moving around (seriously y’all, three hours is a long time to sit!), we had them write down questions on a scrap of paper, ball it up, and throw it across the room. There is something pretty great about seeing a group of grown adults throwing things at each other, ducking and dodging, even standing on chairs to get the snowballs farther across the room. 🤣
Afterward, Angela and I answered some of the questions, but time prevented us from covering them all. After we got back, we wanted to make sure to answer ALL of the great questions attendees had about their marketing, so we filmed a quick video to do so. In it we answered questions about reviews, getting your team involved in marketing, and more. It’s super valuable information for ANY practice, so we made it available to everyone! 👇 Watch below or click here to watch on YouTube.
Brie Clark, Practice Manager at Frederick Dental Group in Frederick, Maryland, has been attending our virtual and in-person workshops for years. In this video, she shares some of her favorite takeaways from the course and some of her plans for implementing what she learned.
“I’m just here for the chocolate” (and buttons)
Every year, we bring along 35+ pounds of … This text opens a new tab …Seattle Chocolates, and every year, we realize we probably should have brought 45 pounds.
Seattle Chocolates are literally the BEST chocolates we’ve ever tasted, and AADOM members agree. Many attendees make a pit stop by our booth daily to grab a few for a pick-me-up during their afternoon classes.
Additionally, every year we bring along thousands of buttons with funny and sarcastic sayings. I LOVE when I see an AADOM member come to the booth with a “vintage” button from a past conference! This year’s buttons were a hit and included sayings like “Silently judging your teeth” (sad but true!), “Nothing ruins a Friday like realizing it’s Thursday,” and “If my mouth doesn’t say it, my face definitely will.”
AADOM loves its sponsors and vendors
One of the things we love about attending the AADOM Conference are the many valuable resources AADOM puts together for its sponsors and vendors.
Our entire team attended the Anatomy of a Gatekeeper presentation with Lorie Streeter and learned how to become the HERO for our office managers and create and nurture strong relationships along the way.
Divina and Lyss, two of our Marketing Account Managers, also attended the Key Opinion Leader panel, a group of top practice leaders from around the country, where they learned important tips for effective communication and how we can really serve them in the best possible way. They came away from that panel PUMPED to try out some new tips they learned!
Those are just two examples of how the AADOM team goes above and beyond to make the conference an enriching experience, not just for attendees, but for sponsors and vendors as well.
See y’all in Scottsdale!
We can’t wait for #AADOM22 next September. See you in Scottsdale!
