Case Acceptance Destroyer and Sabotage Trait #5 of 5:
Not collecting at the time of scheduling
If I had to point to the one thing that can literally shift and transform your practice from being dependent on production and always running through your days to catch up to your goals – versus – getting ahead of the schedule and breaking through any plateaus as you drive your cashflow forward (which, I remind you, is how everyone is paid; not production dollars, but with real money that goes in the bank).
Real businesses base success on cash. Yes you have to do the dentistry in order to earn the money but this is the last step in the process.
The one single greatest leverage point of cashflow is…
Collection the day something is scheduled, and depending on the case size and the approach you have clinically, the day it is diagnosed.
There is no one moment in time that the patient is more compelled to accept, commit, pay and schedule than the day they stare at their pictures and learn about the consequences of doing nothing as they instead look forward to the benefits of health, function and beauty.
Now many people will say they collect money when they schedule but usually, at best, they are talking about a deposit or something so small it hardly matters – or even worse than that is – getting paid for just the “next visit” instead of the entire treatment plan.
Since this is an article and not a seminar, I’m just going to bullet point out where most people go wrong…
1st – They schedule in steps and visits instead of comprehensive treatment BEFORE they even ask for the investment on the total outcome of the entire treatment plan.
2nd – Because of that, you have now automatically limited yourself on the value of your possible visits and therefore your daily production will plateau because you are scheduling in steps instead of securing the investment first. Scheduled based on the flow of money so you can capture as big of chunks of treatment as possible and that requires you to secure money first.
3rd – Scheduling patients without financial commitment means that the patients can, if they want, make a decision to NOT move forward on the exact day they are going to walk into the practice to get the treatment done and pay.
Of course, they can change their minds if they have already paid but once the money leaves their hand and moves to yours they have emotionally bought the treatment and that is what really matters.
Also the most successful practices delink money, treatment, visits and your relationship from one another. You want everything based on their goals for their health and the value that you are providing them in exchange for their investment.
4th – Never forget: the place where most people screw everything up is by not breaking down money and instead breaking down treatment.
When someone says “no” to money, they are not saying “no” to treatment. If you received the clinical yes properly, then they have already said yes to treatment. Therefore, if you take their first resistance to price and default back to the next tooth or break apart everything in the treatment plan, you are doing yourself and them a disservice. You will have wasted all the time in the new patient experience because you will have to resell everything again the next time around.
Like I said last week: your numbers speak for themselves as to whether or not you have mastered this and are doing it consistently.
Please do not be bashful and give in to presenting treatment like you are giving a presentation in school. The end result is suppose to be someone making a commitment, wanting what you have just outlined to them and giving you money. The work has already been done to get them to this point… then and only then do you get to do the dentistry.
Some people will find a lot of reasons to make excuses why this is hard to do…
Existing patients always pay at the time of service
We don’t know their insurance benefits
What if things change during the procedure
And on and on and on
All obstacles that you put up in your own way.
The point is: set yourself up for success and to be proactive. Break the link between collections and production so you can get ahead of the schedule and your goals aren’t dependent on just what is crammed in the schedule today.
This is the ultimate leverage point in the battle for case acceptance and growing your practice. This is the true test of Champions and the best practices.
Now, at the end of every day, there should be a pile of money to put in your actual bank account and a whole lot of treatment put into your production bank account (the schedule), and that is what really determines your future growth.
This one switch is the difference from being ahead or behind; proactive or reactive; in control or being at the mercy of who shows up; having a healthy and abundant practice or operating in a constant cycle of up and down production.
We have nothing if we don’t have case acceptance. I hope you have enjoyed and really studied this special series on how to avoid sabotaging yourself and your patients from saying yes. It’s important to give yourself and your patients the advantage by structuring your systems, experiences and process for all patients with the concepts, strategies and protocols we have discussed here over the past several weeks.
If there is a specific topic or question you would like to me to dive deeper into please let me know. I appreciate and enjoy your feedback. Anything that will serve you and help you help your patients – that’s what this is all about. I am committed to making sure you keep winning, because that’s what Champions do!
