I want to think about it!

Of all the patient objections, this seems to be the toughest one. Here are some specific verbal skills worth committing to memory for immediate use the next time you hear a patient say “I want to think about it.”

You: “That’s a good idea Mrs. Thinker. A decision this important deserves the proper consideration. In fact, many of our patients tell us that when they think about treatment like this, they think about one or more of three things:

1. Do I really need it?

2. Can I afford it? Or

3. Is it going to hurt?

“Which one of those three things are you going to think about the most?”

Then shut up! Let the patient tell you which of those three issues they are going to think about the most. Most patients will start to tell you what is on their mind and that will provide an opening to further discussion and possible resolution/acceptance.

A word of warning: Most patients are not going to think about much of anything once they leave the office. With the immediate urgency gone, they will be off to other things in their mind until they see you again and the urgency rises again. The best time to get the thinking done is right now!

The reality of “I want to think about it” is that the patient is telling you that there is nothing he or she has found in the treatment proposition that is compelling enough to move forward. Either you have done nothing to move him or her emotionally, or there has not been a connection made with what the patient perceives to need and what you have proposed. If you have done the proper “priming” on the front end using your other ToPS (Total Patient Service) skills, the number of times the “I want to think about it” objection will come up will be minimized. But in the cases when it does come up, now you have the best solution we have found to address the objection.

It’s something for you to think about!

The Emotional Environment in Your Office

It is no secret that we all make emotional decisions and then justify those emotional decisions with logic. While the dental office may seem like a logical environment, patients are making decisions all day long based on how they FEEL, not necessarily on what they know. So what are you doing to regulate or manage the emotional environment in your office? Beyond the personal treatment which is the most powerful emotional influence your patients feel, over the next few weeks we’ll consider some of the other powerful things in your office that have an influence on your patient’s emotions.

Emotional influence #1: Brag a little. What things do you intentionally place in your office that brag on you and what you do? The natural law of “Pre-heat” says that people believe more what they overhear than what they hear. The information that patients gather from independent, third party, trusted sources, will have a greater impact on them than anything you could tell them directly.

For example, what awards and certificates do you have on the walls of your office? Are they displayed prominently or do you have them hidden somewhere. Someone once said, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” Patients are interested to know that their dentist is credentialed, certified, and knowledgeable about what he or she is doing. Give them that reassurance. Don’t hide it.

Articles from the local newspaper where you may have been featured for anything (unless it is your name featured in the police report!) Will Rogers once said, “All I know is what I read in the newspapers.” To some degree, patients are the same. If it is in print, they have a tendency to believe it more than if they just hear it directly from you.

Pictures. Don’t just put pictures of beautiful smiles on your wall, put up pictures of yourself with well-known people; especially well-known people in the community. Mother always said, “You are known by the company you keep.” Your patients judge you the same way. If you are associated with people they trust, they will trust you as well. You take on the same characteristics in people’s minds as those with whom you associate.

Letters. Just about every office I know of receives letters or notes from time to time from happy, satisfied patients. Where are those letters now? There is only one place they should be and that is on the reception room table with the patient’s permission of course. We have always called it a “brag book.” Letting your patients know how other patients feel about you in their own words has a powerful effect. By reading page after page of testimonials, a patient can’t help but think, “All of these people can’t be wrong. I think I have made the right decision.”

Take a quick inventory this week of the intentional identifiers you have placed in your office. What other items could you add that would give off an even more powerful impression resulting in patient confidence and reassurance? Any time is a good time to increase your emotional influence.

The Ego Drive / Empathy Secret

The Gas Peddle and the Breaks
The Ego Drive - Empathy Secret to Case Acceptance

When you jumped in the car this morning, you intuitively managed to balance two opposing forces that, working together, safely helped you arrive at your desired destination.

The gas peddle provides acceleration and speed. Properly applied within the given speed limits, applying the gas peddle allows you to get to where you want to go in the quickest way possible.

The breaks, on the other hand, give you a tool to manage your speed. Going to fast? Apply the breaks to keep from crashing into the car in front of you. Stoplight ahead? The breaks help you come to a complete stop until it is safe to proceed.

It is the proper use of the gas peddle and the breaks that gives us the convenience of reaching our desired destination safely at a much faster pace.

In the same way that the gas peddle and the breaks work together, there are two ingredients to outstanding case acceptance that must be present and work in harmony to achieve outstanding results.

Ego drive is the “gas”. It is the need to achieve; the innate desire to get a “yes.” It is ego drive that keeps us asking discovery questions and seeking for a common ground with the other person. It is ego drive that asks for a commitment at the end. It is ego drive that basks in the thrill of having the other person say “yes” to you and your treatment proposition. Ego drive is the internal gas peddle of the entire case acceptance “car.”

Empathy on the other hand is the “breaks.” It intuitively surveys all of the verbal and nonverbal signs in the environment sensing when things may be moving too fast or too slow. Empathy is always reading the cues from the people in the environment to see how they are feeling and how they are responding. If things are moving too slow, empathy will trigger the ego drive “gas peddle” to speed things up and move ahead. If empathy senses that things are moving too fast, it will apply the breaks to keep things at a more manageable and safe speed in order to “arrive alive” at the desired case acceptance destination.

So how much ego drive and empathy do you have? If you don’t have much ego drive; if you don’t get much of a thrill when patients accept treatment, it might be time to revisit your vision and goals. What are the things you are really passionate about that really get you going to step out of your comfort zone to ASK the other person to take action? Without desire, an overriding vision, a goal, and a passion, it is not likely that ego drive will be very high and thus…case acceptance will suffer.

Just as important, how’s your empathy? Without it, you don’t have the ability to “feel with” your patient and sense their concerns. In fact, ego drive without empathy is like a run away truck roaring down a steep mountain road with no breaks. With nothing to slow it down, the result will be a disastrous wreck. Conversely, too much empathy with little ego drive is like a beautiful car without an engine or gas. People may come by and admire its looks, but if it won’t go anywhere, who is going to buy it?

So how to you measure your level of ego drive and empathy? Take a look at your current results. How often do you present and really ask patients to accept treatment? Ego drive pushes you to ASK. Empathy, on the other hand, can be measured by patient retention, referrals, and patient loyalty. They come back and refer because they feel good, because they feel like you understand them, because they feel your empathy.

Which skill do you need to develop more; ego drive or empathy? Or do you need to work on the balance? They are both essential just like the gas peddle and the breaks. When they work together in balance, they create case acceptance magic that will move your practice results quickly and safely to the next destination of practice growth.

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.

Redirect and Appoint

While speaking this week at the Canadian Dental Association/Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver, B.C., a point came up worth revisiting from time-to-time in the office. It has to do with doing the right thing for the patient when the patient has not been doing the right thing for him or herself!

Here’s the scenario:

A patient who has not been in for a couple of years or more, who has unscheduled treatment, calls with a “problem.” A tooth that you had discussed in the past, but the patient refused treatment has now broken. The patient is not in pain, but wants to come in to get it treated or “smoothed off.” Before you jump right in and schedule the patient to get the tooth fixed, you might want to rethink your direction. There might be a bigger opportunity here that would be in the patient’s best interest. Is it better for the patient to just keep patching things when they break, or get on a path of lifetime care? So here is how you Redirect and Appoint.

Appointment Coordinator (AC): “Mr. Jones, I am so sorry to hear you are having problems. Could you hold for just a moment while I get your records?”

Hold

AC: “Mr. Jones, I have your records here. Let me guess. Is it the tooth on the lower left?” (Make the best guess you can without asking which tooth.)

Patient: “No, it is on the upper right.”

AC: “Interesting. I would have guessed that the tooth on the lower left would have broken before the one on the upper right. Mr. Jones, it looks like your body is starting to tell you something. I can tell by looking at your chart that this is not going to be an isolated incident. There are other teeth that are much worse off than the one that broke. Let’s go ahead and get you scheduled right away to come in and address the tooth that did break and while you are here, I am going to schedule an exam so you can have an update on your current health and you can discuss with the doctor what to do so this does not happen again or worse in these other areas. Does that make sense?”

Here’s the point:
1. The only way to get a patient on the right track is to have current records and a treatment plan. Doesn’t it make sense to do that in one visit when urgency is compelling them to come in rather than trying to convince them to come back for an exam after the urgency is gone.

2. All of us need a little push from time to time to be reminded of what is really important. When the body gives patients a reminder that it is being neglected, we need to be right there to reinforce that message and get them on the right track instead of supervising the patient’s neglect.

So, watch and listen for these opportunities to “Redirect and Appoint.” It is the right thing for the patient, the right thing for the practice, and the right thing for your professional and clinical integrity.

Better than "Yes"

Among the many things we measure on a daily basis is the ratio of prospective new patient calls to the number of appointments that get scheduled from those calls. It is not cheep to get the phone to ring and we want to make sure we are maximizing the return on that investment.

So what is a reasonable expectation for appointments set to incoming calls? If the marketing is targeted to the right group and the verbal skills are correct, is there any reason why the appointment percentage shouldn’t be 100%. Note that I said the percentage. That does not mean that 100% of the patients who call are going to schedule. For example, what if someone calls to find a dentist who takes Medicaid and you don’t. You can use your best verbal skills to help him or her understand the benefits of coming to you anyway, but there are people who have life conditions important to them that direct them to other offices. That’s OK. You are not going to get them all. In fact, you don’t want them all! You’re not everybody’s dentist. But for every prospective patient who calls that you are not able to schedule, there should be another call behind it where you are able to inquire about other family members who might want to come in as well. Instead of scheduling just one appointment from that call, you could schedule two. That increases your average. When you look at it from that perspective, 100% is achievable. At least that is what I used to think.

Here’s the rest of the story.

Recently, in an office we work with, I started to notice an interesting trend. The call to scheduled appointment ratio was greater than 100% on a regular basis. At the end of each month when we totaled up the numbers, the appointment ratio was 120 to 130%. Was this a mistake or was something going on here? We checked into the numbers and they were correct. What was going on is that the appointment coordinator had a “Better than YES!” attitude. She was not satisfied with just getting one “yes” per call, she wanted two or more. And two or more she got! With good verbal and relationship skills, you can engage each caller in a slightly extended conversation with questions like:

• Who else at home is over-due for their regular dental appointment?
• Tell me about your family. We love families in our practice.
• Since health is a family affair, we like to invite the whole family to be part of our practice.
• Who else is at home that should be coming as well?

Like most situations, when you ASK, people respond. And respond they did. Just by virtue of expecting something “better than Yes,” this office starting getting one of the best percentages on their calls to scheduled appointments that we have ever seen.

This great example has raised my expectations. 100% is no longer good enough! 120%, 130% or more is possible if you just ASK and expect something “Better than Yes!”

So, raise your expectations. Don’t be satisfied with a simple “Yes.” Commit to “Better than Yes” by asking for more than just one scheduled appointment per call.

The Power of 3

I don’t know if there is any such thing as a magic number, but if there is, the number 3 would one.

Consider these 3 applications of the magic power of the number 3:

Application #1: The 3rd inquiry. You usually get the true answer from a patient or a person after asking the 3rd time. The first response is the most convenient, superficial response. Ask a follow-up question and you’ll get a little more information. Ask another follow-up question and you’ll most likely get the truth. Most people just run out of creative excuses and come forth with the truth after the third request. For example, as you greet the patient and ask them how they are doing, the patient might say, “I hate the dentist.” Instead of laughing it off and moving on, you might ask, “You’re not alone. What is it about the dentist that you don’t like?” The patient might say, “Well you know it’s just the drill, the smell, all that stuff.” That’s two questions. Let’s try one more just to see what else is going on. You might ask, “It sounds like you have had some bad experiences in the past. Tell me what’s happened.” Then the patient proceeds to tell you the story. You finally have the truth. Only when you have the truth can you serve the patient with satisfaction. So don’t just take the first response at face value, keep asking. By the third inquiry, you’ll probably get to the truth.

Application #2: The 3rd alternative. When seeking a solution for a patient, we usually give them the best course of action first. When that does not work for any reason, it is tempting to stop. Suggest another option. Listen to what they have to say then suggest a 3rd option. By the time you get to the third option, you will have the highest likelihood of acceptance if they are sincerely interested. For example, you present your financial arrangements and the patient says that will not work for whatever reason. Listen to the concerns and then suggest another option like third party financing. If that does not work, suggest a third option like a co-signer or relative that might help out. Many times you’ll find a solution by the third alternative. Just keep looking.

Application #3: The third rejection. Human nature gives up after the first rejection. No one likes rejection because it strikes to our core. Instead of remembering that the other person is just rejecting our proposal, it is too easy to think that he or she is rejecting us. GET OVER IT! Keep asking! Instead of folding, suggest another route. Express your real concern. Let them know how important it is to move forward. If you get doubt or indecision, hang in there. Keep talking. Ask some follow-up questions. If you are really concerned, you’ll work to overcome the obstacles the patient might have. Many of the best “Yeses" come after the third “rejection” if you’ll just hang in there and keep asking.

One word or warning: you can come across as pushy if you don’t have the other person’s best interest at heart. But if you are genuinely interested in others and helping them, you won’t come across as pushing your own agenda.

So give the Power of 3 a test this week. In fact, why don’t you give it more than a test? Give it at lest 3 tests! It may not work every time, but I’ll guarantee that you’ll get at least one positive response if you test it at least 3 times!

No More NO's!

Maybe it’s just me, but there aren’t very many things that get me stirred up like being told “no!” Maybe it is last child syndrome in me, but I just don’t like to be turned down. I’ll bet that most of your patients don’t like to be told “no” either.

Here in Dallas, we have a well-known, five-star hotel, The Mansion on Turtle Creek. It is known for its exceptional service. Business legend has it that there is only one person at The Mansion that can ever tell a guest “no!” Only one. Everyone else says “yes” or they have to refer the request to their supervisor. Only the manager of The Mansion can say “no.!”

So how do they do it? By always offering the guest a choice of what IS available so they can choose. For example, if a guest asks a service person to take a picture of their group in the dining room, the service person would most likely respond to the guest that he would be happy to take the picture and invite the guest out on the patio where the lighting is better. (It is against the rules at The Mansion to take pictures in the dining room.)

You may remember my favorite story about one of the best presentations I have observed about 6 years ago when Cheryl and I were looking to "upgrade" the "sorority house" for our 5 daughters (now 6!) The best presenter we encountered never told us we could not have what we wanted. He simply continued to offer us choices of what they did have available. When Cheryl asked if there was carpet available in a specific color he did not carry, he simply responded by offering her the colors he did have. He was great! When I asked him where he learned how to do that, he said, "teaching 6th grade!"

Back at the dental office, take a look at all of your presentation systems, especially financial arrangements. All of your financial options, for example, should be in writing so your patients can choose from what you do have available. If a patient ever asks for a financial option you don’t have, the financial coordinator can simply respond, “That is great question. Could I share with you the financial options that we have available?” If the patient persists, the response can take them back to the options you DO have, not what you don’t have.

Take a few minutes this week to discuss with your team what they do if the patient asks for something you don’t have or don’t do. Make sure they understand that you can still say “yes” to the patient by offering them options of what you do have available. Several “yes” alternatives are always better than a “no!”

So just say “yes”. You’ll be amazed at how many yeses you get back in return.

The Power of Expectation

In one of the dental practices I was in recently, I was observing and overhearing the case presentations. In once instance, the financial coordinator explained, “Mrs. Jones, the fee for all of the treatment we have talked about is going to be $(fee). Would you like to do that or……..(pause).

OR what? It was almost as if the financial coordinator was expecting the patient to say “NO” or to object to the fee. Imagine her surprise when the patient said, “Let’s do it.” The financial coordinator said, “Oh! O.K.”

This was one of those rare occasions when what came back was more than what was expected. Clearly the financial coordinator was expecting rejection or at least an objection.

It is a funny thing about life, you usually get what you expect.

Come with me to another practice. This one is in Florida. A man came in whose wife had set the appointment. He had recently been to the dentist, but his wife wanted him to see her dentist. Early on it was clear that he had big problems. The initial probing readings showed 6 and 7 mm pockets and bleeding. Shortly there after, the hygienist excused herself to get something down the hall. I talked to her on her way. “He won’t accept treatment,” she said. Then followed a long list of reasons why not. “He’s in the military and he can get dental work for free at the base. He’s going to be shipped out soon so he won’t have time for complete perio therapy. He was sent here in the first place. He doesn’t even want to be here.” And the list went on. Upon hearing this long list of “expectations,” I suggested that this hygienist take a break and I invited another hygienist who had higher expectations to complete the appointment. Not surprisingly, the man accepted four quads of perio therapy and paid cash.

Now for every success story like that, I am sure there are many others that did not turn out so great. But, I do know one thing, if you don’t expect a “Yes” you won’t get one very often. But more often than not, you’ll get more of what you expect than what you don’t expect.

So start raising your expectations. You’ll be amazed how patients respond when you expect them to say “Yes.”

Why are you so expensive?

You have likely faced that question more than once from a patient. If it has ever caught you off guard or if you have ever wondered the best way to respond, here are some thoughts:

First, what is expensive? How do you arrive at a conclusion that something is expensive or inexpensive? It is usually by comparison. You compare the price of one item to the price of another item of similar “value” to arrive at your conclusion. But what if there is nothing against which to compare? Then about the only conclusion you can come to is that…it’s expensive!

To what do people compare the price of dentistry? Let’s face it. It is pretty hard to shop the price of a crown, a bridge or anything else unless you take the time to have an exam. Most people do not have the time to do that multiple times. Most people don’t “shop” for a dentist. So lacking a real comparison, the average patient comes to the conclusion that it is expensive. Even if you do crowns for the cheapest price in your area, it is not likely that a patient will exclaim with delight, “That is a deal!” when presented the fee for their work.

My late business partner, Walter Hailey, loved to say, “If you are going to be accused of being expensive, you might as well be it!”

So quit worrying about your fees. They are not the problem. Perception is! You’ll gain far more ground by working on your patients’ perceptions than you will fretting over your fees.

But before you start looking for the quick fix, the silver bullet, or the magic phrase that will resolve someone’s questions about what you charge, remember that we often move too fast to solve patient problems that we really don’t understand. Maybe it is the scientist in us that looks for the perfect material, procedure, or instrument to treat the clinical problem. We have been trained for the “quick fix.” But people/patients are not problems to be fixed. Just consider if someone says you are expense, is it because:

1. They have not been to the dentist for some time and are comparing today's fees to outdated fees?
2. They have never had a lot of dental work done, so they don't know what it costs?
3. They are having some financial stress so everything sounds expensive?
4. They are surprised because they thought they were just going to have to pay for a routine cleaning and then discovered that there is more work to be done?
5. They have never placed that much value on their mouth or their health and have not considered what is was really going to cost to stay in good shape?
6. It is the first time someone has had a conversation with them from a “comprehensive care” point of view instead of just trying to maintain the status quo?
7. They just say that about everything to try and get a better deal!

The list could go on. The point is that you have no more idea of how to answer that question without additional information than you would know how to treat a patient who calls up and says her or she needs a filling until you did an exam personally to see the real condition.

Every patient has a unique situation…a story. Until you really understand them, their story, and their reason for asking, there's no quick fix verbal skill that will answer their question. It's about the relationship first, not the case or your fees.

So the next time you get the “Why are you so expensive?” question or one similar to it, just stop. Take a deep breath. And listen as you ask…”Tell me more about that.” You might be surprised to hear what comes next. The reason behind the question will most likely be something you had not considered.

The Power of One...More!

Imagine what would happen if you and your team committed to do just one more of something every day. One more whitening. One more crown. One more ViziLite or Velscope exam. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you committed each morning to do just one more of something? I am always amazed at how much needed treatment walks out the door every day in most practices because the team is too busy, too rushed, or too distracted.

Make the commitment every day this week to do just one more of something. You’ll be amazed at how much more you can accomplish.

What's Your Story?

What’s your story? I am always amazed that everyone has a story - things that have happened to them that have made their life experience unique and different. Knowing someone’s story helps you better understand them, their needs, and where they are coming from. Better yet, when patients feel that you understand their story, they will be more inclined to listen to yours - your clinical story for their improved health that is.

Take the time to ASK and LISTEN to your patients’ story this week. You’ll be amazed at the results.

Purpose or Pastime?

Take a tour today - through your reception area that is.  Sit down. Take a look at what there is to see.  What’s on the wall?  What is there to read?  Then just ask this one question:  How much of what you see leads your patients to more of what they need to do for their mouth and their health?  Or how much of what they see is a distraction?  Do the things you have in your reception room have purpose or are they just “pastimes” for your patients? 

The principle of “priming” says that we have a tendency to act on the things we have been thinking about most recently.  Give your patients the opportunity to get “primed” for their appointment by seeing and reading things that will educate, motivate, and inspire them to do what is best for their mouth and their health.         

The Power of "WHY"

“Don’t tell me to floss!” That was a common comment from patients surveyed in our most recent “Patient Perceptions of Dentistry” national public opinion survey.* That, along with other responses, let us know that you can’t tell patients WHAT to do any more – unless you first tell them WHY!

“So, Mrs. Jones, am I safe in assuming that you want to keep your teeth, have fresh breath, and avoid having unnecessary, avoidable health problems? Would you be interested in a couple of things you CAN do to make that happen?” Leading with an emotionally compelling WHY opens the door to the WHAT. But, until you have identified the WHY that your patients really WANT, no WHAT is going to interest them.

So, make sure to lead with the WHY. Your patients WANT to know. And they will be much more willing to DO when they know…WHY!

For a complimentary copy of the 21 page special report “What Patients Really Want” - the results of that national survey on public perceptions of dentistry, call us at 1-877-399-8677or e-mail your request to Answers@TotalPatientService.com.