Published in Our Bite-Sized Practice Management Newsletter
I just got off the phone with a dental professional who has a side business in functional medicine. Her website looked intriguing and right up my alley. I have run out of western medicine options and I’m looking for something complementary. I should have been a great customer for her. But when I hung up the phone, I knew I wouldn’t be working with her.
When patients tell you they can’t afford treatment, you can respond as either the Stern Dentist or the Concerned Best Friend. In this article, I show you what the Best Friend approach sounds like and how you can use this style to help patients convince themselves.
I have been on this soapbox before. If you want to change patients’ perceptions about the importance of hygiene treatment, then you can’t refer to these appointments as “cleanings.” Each time I have made this proclamation, dentists nod their heads and tell me they don’t say the word cleaning. Um…well, maybe. It’s just their websites do. Every dental website I’ve ever reviewed lists “cleanings” on the menu of services and most often, the word cleaning is followed by the phrase, “and dental exams.”
Recounting a story is a powerful method of connecting with a patient on an emotional level which is where decision-making really takes place. Read on how to use stories to help patients reduce their concerns about treatment.
Do your new patients view you with suspicion or with trust? How do you establish enough confidence with a patient so that she is willing to entrust you with her health, time and money when you only have minutes to talk?
Patients don’t agree to treatment because you’ve told them they need it. And most of them don’t clamor at your door begging you to do the most expensive treatment option. So, how do you transform reluctant patients to eager patients without being pushy, aggressive or fear-based?
Why do patients, who obviously need dental treatment, say they “can’t afford it” when they hear the fee? And why do these same patients simultaneously also tell you they are planning a vacation?
We’ll explore what is really happening when the patient has an objection. We’ll learn why patients say “no” and how to use psychology and marketing principles to respond to them without being pushy.
A potential patient calls and says she just moved to town and wants to come in for a cleaning. What’s the problem in this scenario?
It’s great that you have a potential new patient but she seems to be approaching this appointment as one would in taking a car to the car wash. She can just roll in, choose the amount of cleaning she wants, and then go back home, newly cleaned.
One word is that almost universally hated by dental professionals is the word “sell.” You do not like to consider yourselves sales people – you see yourselves as service people. No one likes salespeople and probably people whose actual job title is sales do not like the pressure and sleazy image that the word selling connotates.
I have been on this soapbox before. If you want to change patients’ perceptions about the importance of hygiene treatment, then you can’t refer to these appointments as “cleanings.” Each time I have made this proclamation, dentists nod their heads and tell me they don’t say the word cleaning. Um…well, maybe. It’s just their websites do. Every dental website I’ve ever reviewed lists “cleanings” on the menu of services and most often, the word cleaning is followed by the phrase, “and dental exams.”
Of course, you want your patients to value their dental care as much as you do. But, well… sometimes they don’t. So, to get patients back to your practice your front desk has sent automated:
Texts
Emails
Postcards
But do these really work?
Curious about why Dear Abby recommends patients shop dental prices? Like everyone else, I enjoy reading the Dear Abby column. A reader’s question and Abby’s response though, offers pretty scary insights into why your patients may choose another dentist to do significant work.
View your current payroll costs at a glance and forecast the impact of potential raises. You will be able to see any compensation inequities, compare payroll costs to your production and calculate the costs of proposed raises against your production goals.
“As an Office Manager, I’ve seen a great difference in my practice since starting with Sharyn. Three years ago our staff was in turmoil with a lot of infighting and gossip and some jealousy directed towards me.
I had given up because everything I did was judged. Now I have learned to have more one-to-one communication and by being more vulnerable with individuals I found my leadership voice. As a team, we’re all focused on the same goals.
Last year, in August we produced $88,000. This year we’re on track to produce $111,000 this month. I know it’s because we learned how to follow through with patients and communicate our expectations while building our systems.
Sharyn has gotten us out of our comfort zone and inspired us to dream bigger and it works.”
