Get ready! I have been waiting for this one because it is a difference maker that is often completely non-existent in practices and in patient experiences. Once it is fully committed to and embedded in the culture of your practice, your patients will accept more treatment as money will all of the sudden become a much smaller focus. Patients will elevate the value of what you are recommending (even without your help), as long as you have these two value-creating pillars in place.
Now, before I tell you what they are, let me give you a warning first…
You cannot fake these.
They have to be genuinely executed and really truly bought into by you and your team or they will never work. It could even backfire.
Of course, that sounds silly because you would assume everyone is sincere. But they aren’t. Sometimes it’s just because they (maybe even you), are tried or always grinding it out that you lose sight of the importance of being attentive and present with every patient or risk coming across to them as you are just going through the motions.
This is also why I always advocate for slowing down the pace so you can let every patient know they matter. The only way to do that is to make every visit singularly important.
So, here we go…
#5 – Give Patients Permission
Permission to be healthy, to have a beautiful smile, to invest in themselves, to want more, to dream… you get the idea.
At times, it can seem as though you are just dumping diagnosis onto patients whether they care or not. While it’s your responsibility to diagnosis, you should also convey the importance of everything you are doing to the patients and share with them how much they deserve to have the benefits of (or to avoid the consequences of) the treatment you are suggesting.
As simple as it sounds, many patients resist simply because of “money” getting in their way and thus using that reason to justify not doing something. When you take out money and insert “their worth and value” instead of the “money value” of the dentistry, it helps them flip the switch in their minds that this is not about money, it is about their health.
Permission can be granted any number of ways. Sometimes it can just stated bluntly and other times it can be woven into the conversation as part of the patient experience. Either way, it’s critical that permission is handled consistently from team member to team member and step to step. This can also be brought into the strategies and principles from last week with examples and stories.
Don’t forget, you have to believe it first. You have to believe your patients deserve this. No matter the amount of investment, every patient is worthy of optimal care and the best of what you can provide.
The 6th Value Creator goes right along with this and is probably the easiest of them all for the right person…
#6 – ALWAYS Be Positive and Enthusiastic on the Patient’s Behalf
I can tell you this much… some practices are so boring, dull and negative, it’s no wonder why the patients want to leave as fast as they can and come back as infrequently as possible.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a carnival or theme park – it just needs to feel joyful, optimistic, vibrant, alive. There has to be positive energy. And that is all about the people.
You owe this to yourself but above all else you owe it to your patients. Here’s the great news: when you are positive about what you are recommending and when you are confident, steadfast and certain, it comes across as being of much more value to the patient than if you are robotic or melancholy.
You already know that enthusiasm is contagious. I’m not talking about bouncing off the walls giddy (though you could probably lighten up a little). I’m talking about cheering patients on, expressing your excitement for them and sharing in the joy you know will result from saying yes.
Remember, if you aren’t excited about “dentistry” for your patients, they sure as heck aren’t going to be excited about it either.
In short… the magic is in helping the patient justify it in their own minds without you having to defend your position. That means giving them enough reasons why they deserve the benefits.
You are your patients’ cheerleader more than you may understand or even accept. Take this approach and you can bypass the entire feeling of “selling.”
That is where we are going to pick up next week as we bring this series to a powerful conclusion. It’s going to be transformational for you and make a huge difference in how you approach your patients. As a result, you’ll help so many more patients get healthy and be excited about it along the way.
