Increasing Case Starts: Five Keys to Success
(print this full article)

Click here for the full article (including part I).

So, how do you fix the problem?

Landy Chase says the first step in the process is to review the definitions of "marketing" and "selling" that he covers in his "Closing Skills for the Orthodontic Practice" workshop. "Marketing" is defined as those practice activities that create opportunities for the doctor to obtain new patients. Dentist referrals, patient and staff referrals, and various forms of external advertising all fall within this category. "Selling" is  what you and your staff get to do, or in Chase's experience, too often fail to do, once your marketing works and the new patient shows up at your practice's door.

Utilizing these definitions, the initial practice consultation is essentially a sales presentation. It is the doctors' one, singular opportunity to persuade a prospective patient to commit to treatment. Simply put, you and your staff's ability to sell the value of your treatment will determine the number of patients who start in your practice.

Chase lists five key selling skills that doctors must have to improve case starts:

1. Develop a polished, effective method for ensuring that all decision makers attend the consultation - if one parent visits your office with their child and the other does not, your practice's value is reduced to a brochure and pricing for the non-attending spouse, the one who is usually the final decision maker.
   
   
2. Have the doctor personally go over fees with the prospective patient - learn how to do this properly. Do not delegate this critical step to a staff member. Since the doctor is responsible for the service delivered, the fee should come directly from him or her.
   
   
3. Since the treatment coordinator is the key salesperson for your practice, make sure that you correctly hire and train this individual. Doctors must hire individuals who have an aptitude for selling. More importantly, they must be professionally trained to lead prospective patients to make a well-informed buying decision.  Most importantly, this training must be ongoing and continuous, not sporadic.
   
   
4. Develop a polished professional step-by-step methodology for every staff member involved in the initial consultation. Doctors cannot afford to have staff members "winging it" in this economy.
   
   
5. Make it a habit to discuss not only the benefits of treatment, but also the negative consequences of putting treatment off. A beautiful smile with the accompanying benefits of improved self-confidence and higher self-esteem is a wonderful thing, but it can wait - - - unless, of course, there are significant negative consequences for postponing it.

In closing, Chase advises doctors not to confuse the term "selling" here with being pushy, brass, or unprofessional. Such stereotypes are inaccurate. Rather, professionally selling your valuable, needed services to patients who have made a decision to visit your practice, is the hallmark of a well-run practice.

--

Landy Chase, MBA, CSP is a sales and marketing expert who specializes in helping orthodontists and other elective procedure doctors improve their treatment acceptance rates. He is the creator of Closing Skills for the Orthodontic Practice, an onsite staff workshop.

--

The above article was reprinted with permission from The McGill Advisory, a monthly newsletter devoted to tax, financial planning, investment, and practice management matters exclusively for the dental profession, available for $217 a year from John K. McGill & Company, Inc., Lake View Professional Building., 8816 Red Oak Boulevard, Suite 240, Charlotte, NC 28217; or call (888) 249-7537 for further information.