CREATE : C=COMMUNICATION
C=COMMUNICATION
Communication is the bottom line to your success—no matter what your role at work or at home–no matter what relationship. How you communicate makes all the difference. You can say something one way and get a positive response and say something another way and get a negative response. It does matter what you say and how you say it: 60% of the perception of a message is body language; 30% is the tone of your voice; 10% are the words you speak. While the words you speak are critical, they may be dampened by the body language and tone of voice. One the telephone tone of voice accounts for 85% of the perception of a message.
Know that each interaction you have with a client, a team member, or a family member –on the phone or in person—can make or break that relationship. In each interaction—you make a difference.
There are 4 things we all do with language:
Read
Write
Speak
Listen
In order to determine the wants or needs of another person, the most valuable of all those communicative skills is listening. You must listen in order to define what a person wants or needs. Otherwise you may bark up the wrong tree.
The ADA found in surveys that that 77% of people in Americans said that they can’t afford to do $500 worth of dentistry unless they have some way to pay it out. Do you think that one patient per day might go ahead with $500 worth of treatment because they could pay $30 per month rather than the full $500? Do you think they might? The average dentist works 200 days per year. 200 x 500 equals $100,000!! And that’s from one hygienist.
Again referring to the ADA, the number one reason people don’t go to the dentist on a regular basis cost. Not surprising and the number one reason people do not proceed with treatment is cost—again, not surprising. So, in the practice marketing and in every conversation, I want a practice to address this potential negative of money with the intention of turning that potential negative into a positive.
“Mrs. Jones., if we could finance the treatment that you need so badly in a way that would be comfortable for you and for your family, would have make it possible for us to proceed with your care? We could do the crown that Dr. Jameson is recommending for you for $30 per month. Not only would that be a reasonable monthly payment for you, but it would keep you from losing that tooth and needing to make a much larger investment in the near future.”
Communicating the value, need, urgency, and trust. Communicating the benefits. And communicating about the financing. That’s the most important element of practice building.
The oral cavity is an intimate zone of the body to be handlesd with the greatest of respect and care. And so is the pocket book. The communication of both must be held in private by someone who is a great communicator, confident, knows dentistry, knows the financial options and believes in them, and believes so passionately about the dentistry being offered that she hurts if the patient does not say yes and schedules the appointment.
Communication also means constant marketing. Effective marketing means educating people about the services being offered and why coming to that particular office is a good decision. When does a practice market—always. When does a practice stop marketing? Never. When do they marketing about patient financing: constantly and repetitively to both potential and existing patients.
A practice wants to market the following opportunities:
New services to existing patients.
Existing services to existing patients.
New services to potential patients.
Existing services to potential patients.
