No one wants what you have!

A lot of what is wrong with dentistry is that many are under the mistaken certainty that patients really want the services dentistry provides. WRONG! People don’t really WANT a cleaning, They don’t want a root canal. They don’t want a crown, filling or even a veneer. They don’t WANT any of these things.

Let me explain…

A man went to the hardware store because he was hanging a large picture at home and did not have the right sized drill bit to drill the hole. As he was looking in the section displaying the drill bits, a stock clerk came by and said, “I see you need a drill bit.” The man replied, “No, I need a hole!”

In the same way that buying the right sized drill bit would help the man get what he really wanted – a hole and a well positioned picture on his wall, patients are only buying what dentistry has to provide because they perceive that it will help them get what they really want. So what do patients really want? How about:

• Money savings
• Appearance improvement, self esteem, social acceptance
• Time savings
• Comfort, avoid pain, or more peace of mind
• Health

Those are the things patients really want. Now think back to the conversations that you have had with your patients over the last week. How much of your time did you spend talking with them about what they really want vs. just the service you provide? Too often we make the mistake of talking exclusively about what we do – fillings, cleanings, crowns, etc. and forget why people come to the dentist in the first place. It’s about what they WANT, not the service you provide. If it weren’t for the things they really WANT, no one would come for your service. They don’t want your service. They WANT the things that your service gives them. Get more focused on the benefits of your service and finding out what benefits each patient is really interested in and patients will repeat and refer others because you are giving them more of what they really WANT instead of just giving them a dental procedure.

Stay focused this week on discussing more with your patients the things they are really interested in -- the benefits that your service can provide and you will see a marked difference in the attention they give to the services you provide.