And Who Has the Key ?
“We are all just walking each other home.”
-Ram Dass
Defining “HOME” is the key to converting a NEED into a WANT. And that is the key to what dentists refer to as “CASE ACCEPTANCE” or what other businesses refer to as “CLOSING THE SALE”.
Most dental practices actually do not suffer from a lack of new patients, though that is what most focus their marketing dollars on. Getting new patients can be costly, time consuming and frustrating. And yet, many practices don’t focus on making the most from each and every new patient they receive.
There’s an ABC principle taught by sales gurus; Always Be Closing.
I don’t agree. I think it risks people becoming pushy. I hate pushy. I hate being told what I NEED to do. I want to do what I WANT, when I WANT and how I WANT and with whom I WANT.
I believe that a better approach is the ABV philosophy, or Always Build Value.
Sounds simple but its not. Value is in the eyes of the recipient, or in this case, the patient. It’s not in what YOU or your treatment presenter might think the VALUE is to them. Dentists and dental office personnel have a distorted idea of what normal people truly desire.
No one wants the process that dentists spend so much time explaining to patients. It’s scary, fear inducing, and stress elevating. What people do want is to get to some destination. Somewhere like HOME, where they are safe, secure and at ease.
My definition of VALUE is anything that helps the patient find HOME, as the saying says. We all want to go there. We all feel most comfortable there. But we sometimes don’t know how to get there. That’s YOUR mission. You and your team are the guides.
WELLNESS DESTINATION GUIDES. That might a better title and job description for those in healthcare practices.
What’s the VALUE in a dental office treatment, service, or procedure? How is that communicated on your website? How is that communicated over the phone? How is it reflected in the voices, tone, body language and even décor of the office?
But a person’s first view of YOU is probably your website. And many fail miserably in promoting VALUE. Most promote a process (services) or the Doctor. These are just the vehicles used to get to a given destination.
Imagine a Travel Site that shows pictures of the airport, crowded airplane, lines and the other unpleasantries of travel. No one would go unless they had to.
Most websites, when looked at through the eyes of a potential patient are scary, confusing, and off-putting. Few sites build value by promoting the kinds of outcomes that deliver a “we’ll help you get home” message.
The entire dental Team’s mission should be to gain clarity of what a patient’s definition of HOME is. Who is in that home and what being home means to them? It’s what we call a patient’s WHY.
The more you know about a patient’s HOME or destination, the easier it will be to tie what you propose the person NEEDS into a part of that. That is what builds VALUE and that is what will ultimately turn a NEED into a WANT.
People WANT to go home. They WANT to arrive at a destination.
Our job as dentists and out team’s job is to identify the destination. Where is HOME?
This came naturally to me. Certain personality types are better than others in getting others to open up. I’m sure that you’ve seen that in action.
The good news is that this can be learned. There are specific questions to ask and a tone in which they are said that conveys “I really care about you.”
This is an example of what I’ll be discussing on the monthlyCoffee With The Coach interactive webinars. CWTC members will be able to ask me questions, interact with other successful offices and share “best practices” among their teams.
I’m curious. Have you shared any of these BLOGS with your Team? In the Program, they will have access to our FaceBook Group as well, where they can interact and get support. It will become part of their HOME.
Our first episode, like so many other things today, was postponed because of Covid-19-related issues. It will now be on January 28th at 10 AM ET. And, everyone who signs up for the program will get access to the recordings and a great deal more.
While this Program is valuable to you Doc , but it might be even more valuable to your administrative or management team. Everyone should be on the same page when it comes to delivering VALUE to your patients.
This Program will help THEM HELP GET MORE PEOPLE HOME.
To you and your team’s excellent success,
Michael and the PPS team