I see it time and time again; “how to sell dentistry.”
Does anyone want to buy dentistry? Do the want to buy anything involved in the process of delivering dental care? Of course not.
The opposing tactic seeks to “EDUCATE” people. Just look at any website. They’re replete with descriptions of processes and procedures along with pictures of disembodied teeth, peeled back smiles, bear-trap looking appliances and of course…the high-tech equipment.
As if any of that really matters to normal, non-dentite people.
If anything, people FEAR anything related to dentistry. So why would you want to try and “sell” people or even educate them about something they don’t want?
Yes, of course they NEED it, but people would more sooner buy what they want and procrastinate getting what they “need”.
So why bother?
Why not offer people what they want?
When someone calls your office, they are motivated by something. Finding that “something” out is the first and most important piece of information to be harvested. It’s not “what insurance do you have” or some other piece of data that is irrelevant to WHY the person called.
We shouldn’t have to “sell” anything. Every person in the office should have the same primary goal; to guide a patient along a path towards their desired destination.
DEFINING AND REFINING A PATIENT’S WHERE is the mission of all marketing and patient interaction.
Once the WHERE is discovered, uncovering the WHY builds value. What benefit will a person gain by reaching their destination?
The stronger a person’s WHY, the more emotional it is, the greater the value.
Being a DESTINATION GUIDE is not a job title seen in any dental practice, but it should be the title of every role, because that the objective of every position in the practice. How’s this for a Brand Promise:
Helping people achieve their goals one smile at a time.
Finding out where a person wants to go is the key to patient satisfaction and practice success. While that process starts with a marketing campaign, a website or what a referrer says, it is often ignored during a potential patient’s first phone call.
The challenge is having a practice-wide mindset about what we actually do.
Do we fill holes, remove schmutz from teeth, insert plastic or nylon appliances or attach pieces of porcelain?
Or do we do something way more valuable?
And since value is in the eyes of the beholder, how can we discover that?
Or do we leave the VALUE to be determined by some insurance company?
That’s why I’ve created the Coffee With The Coach program. It’s for Doctor leaders and their administrative staff. It’s a way to shift mindsets to a more patient-guiding process than a treatment providing one.
So, if you believe that there’s more to dental practice and some plastic, porcelain or exchange of money, check out the Coffee With The Coach Program. If you believe that Insurance is an impediment and not a facilitator to relationship-based practice, then you and your team will benefit from the Coffee With The Coach Program.
And, because this is an active, participatory program, we can tackle issues of immediate concern such as The Great Resignation, inflation, Cyber-security, and how a war between Russia and Ukraine might impact your practice.
To your excellent clarity and success,
Michael
P.S. This coming week’s 1-hour webinar will be about YOUR BRAND PROMISE and will look at how websites and even practice names communicate messages about you to potential patients.
P.P.S. If you’re already a CWTC member, congratulations. I urge you to participate in the Facebook Group and check out all the resources in the Membership Site.