There is nothing that moves a patient forward more than the positive energy inside of your practice and your own enthusiasm and confidence about what you are suggesting to them.
Last week, I gave you a great strategy to create the motivation for your patients to move forward with what is in their best interests. That strategy being to tell them how they are supposed to think in advance of them having to make an actual decision about it.
You do not want to wait to have to convince someone after they have heard the price. Now, everything in their mind is about the money instead of what they just experienced. This requires great foresight and focus with every patient. You must be purposeful about your time with your patients no matter what position and responsibilities you own in the practice.
The next strategy I want to arm you with is often subtler and yet quite possibly one of the most significant things that must happen during any patient’s engagement in your practice.
If you want to get more successful outcomes, larger case acceptance, more cash up front and everything else going right with your patient experiences (whether new or old; hygiene or emergency), you must ensure that your patients have complete and total CLARITY about their problems and the benefits of the treatments you suggest.
Technically, every step of your process must be clear in the patients’ minds. Why you are scheduling an appointment at the time you are, how long the appointment is, the necessity of the paperwork they will complete and so on and so forth. Once they are there, you want to ensure they grasp why you are taking pictures, what the x-rays show you and why all x-rays are not created equal.
Call it understanding, comprehension, whatever – I’m telling you plain and simple that clarity in your patients’ minds is the key to keeping them moving forward.
This is especially the case when it comes to the actual clinical experience, the exam, the discussion about what’s going on in their mouths and the pathway to health you layout for them.
There is an expression I have said here before that is taught in many “sales” or “marketing” books… THE CONFUSED MIND NEVER BUYS.
The CONFUSED PATIENT never moves forward. They come up with lots of excuses or questions or just say they will think about it. In reality, it’s because they don’t fully understand, believe or buy into the treatment. They lack clarity.
There are many ways to ensure clarity. Most importantly of course, are the use of photographs when discussing clinical treatment. Any type of “proof” of the problem is helpful to make the patients believe by letting them see what you see. However you can’t stop there. Because seeing may be believing but believing doesn’t mean understanding why it matters, is important or needs to be addressed.
Often the value benefit (which is the money they pay to solve this problem versus the value they perceive receiving from having it), is really the battle we have to fight. Therefore, you fight this battle before hand by making sure the patient is completely and clearly understanding everything before we ever go to money and the exit.
This is where many team members and doctors shortchange themselves on getting a real actual clinical yes. The ONLY clinical yes is one where the patients understand what they are saying yes and agreeing to.
Once you master this skill, of making certain patients are believing, understanding and have total clarity about what is going on, what you are talking about, what they need to do and why all before we exit, it will make the rest of the process of paying and scheduling so much easier.
I’d like you to assess how well each person in the practice and each process throughout every patient experience is doing on making sure patients are ready for the next step, ready for the treatment, ready to move forward with the benefits of solving their problems, and enhancing their smile and overall health.
If this is rushed, missed or not achieved you will lose a large amount (if not all) of the case acceptance that is possible. Then you have to get the patient back in and start all over again, if you even get the chance.
Clarity comes with questions and the magic of great dialogue; that’s where we are headed next week. The power of questions to get your patients thinking deeply about dentistry and elevating their desire for what is in their best interests.
Remember: the confused patient never buys – and the only way to really know if the patient is clearly understanding is to ask. Then we have to make them want the outcome, not just understand it which links us right back to last week and the motivation strategy that gives the patients the answers in advance.
Exiting patients that have a solid clinical yes because of their clarity and understanding of what is being done are patients that will follow-through.
That is what it’s all about. Not just educating, talking or visiting with your patients; that’s not enough. You must take responsibility for compelling them to act, to move forward, to pay and to benefit. That is why this matters so much. You must make sure you are bringing your patients along with you through the process, journey and experience – not just going through the motions.
