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Change the Words, Change Your Results by Jamie Hagen

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Header: Change the Words, Change Your Results
by Jamie Hagen

You may use fancy equipment, catchy videos and the latest technology to impress your patients and referrals. For the same reason, you might show off awards, certificates and accolades. But the best tools for getting patients to sign up for treatment are the words you use. Simply put, words build relationships, and people buy from people. Change the word and you'll change your results!

Change specifications to benefits
Let's say you want to buy a bicycle to ride at the park with your kids. Unless you're an avid cyclist, it's unlikely that the specifications will sell you on the type of bike you need. Will a BB30 system, 86.5mm BB shell, and taped tri-oval tubing profiles help you make a decision? Or, will you feel better knowing the bike has a comfortable seat, sturdy frame and a smooth ride?

That's why it is important to focus on what treatment will do for the patient. Focus on the results you will provide. It's not important to explain the technicality of how you'll achieve those results. Don't attempt to impress your patients with the specifications. Simply work to understand their needs and solve their problems.

Show each patient the photos, X-rays and images of their mouth, and point out exactly what you can fix and how. Point out the need and show how you'll meet it. Use simple, common language that focuses on the benefits of the treatment.

Change price to value
You're not selling furniture or cars, so you shouldn't need to take a haggling approach to sell your treatment. Don't get into the habit of discounting your treatment just because a patient has financial concerns or asks you to. If it's that easy to get a discount, your price was too high to begin with. Instead, shift your focus on all that comes along with the treatment. Focus on a greater value, not a lower price.

Boast about your team. Show your team members' individual personalities, explaining what they like to do in their spare time, where they went to school or what their favorite movie is. Welcome patients into your practice family. Making them feel part of something special will make it hard for them to go elsewhere—even for a better price.

Change assumption to confidence
When presenting financials to a patient, it is safe to assume, but safer not to. You've probably heard of the “assume the sale” approach, meaning to present your product or service to customers confidently and assume they'll make the purchase. Unfortunately, society, the economy and big brands have trained a younger generation of salespeople to do just the opposite. We now tend to assume that a price is too high or that customers will automatically expect a discount, want a deal, need an incentive or need to use a coupon. Stop assuming that the value of the service you offer is less than what it is worth. Have the confidence to present the treatment plan, offer the price and then stop talking.

Stop talking and start listening. Maybe you won't have to overcome a financial objection at all! Maybe they'll just say, “OK, when can we start?” Chances are good they'll want a deal, but don't begin by assuming it. Have the confidence in your service and team, and have confidence in your patients. Encouraging them to make a valuable purchase that will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives will help them to confidently make a decision.

Change reasons to emotions
Every purchase, no matter how ordinary or extravagant, satisfies an emotional need. As humans, we want to feel good about the decisions we make. Emotion goes into the majority, if not all, of our decisions. More specifically, emotions play a major role in purchase decisions.

Your patients are deciding to purchase a result from you. As “customers,” they will make a decision to purchase based on how they want to feel. In general, we want to feel safe, happy, smart, more attractive and so on. Sell to your patients' emotions, rather than to the reasons they came in to see you. Forget about the reasons and focus on the feelings. Make them feel good about their oral health, their smiles and themselves.

Change favor to opportunity
During a busy day, we can forget why we're actually in business. We go through the motions of our daily duties and lose sight of going above and beyond to make sure our patients get the best experience possible while in the office.

If business is not going well, we aren't adding new patients to our patient base and our profits are slipping, we also lose sight of the real reason for being in business. We blame patients for not referring, the economy for falling prices and values, or the competition for saturating the market.

Remember that the patient is the reason you are in business. The patient experience in your office is the most important part of your day. Neglecting to continually go above and beyond for your patients will provide openings for the competition.

By changing the way you view what you do and how you do it, you can have a major impact on the success of your business. This will transfer to your team and will transfer to your patients. Stay positive and stay profitable!


Jamie Hagen Performance consultant and customer-service sales expert Jamie Hagen has more than 18 years of experience in consulting companies and customers in the health and wellness industry. As the director of education at OrthoSynetics, Hagen provides on-site motivational and customer service training to doctors and their teams, and is responsible for planning OrthoSynetics' regional educational events. She also facilitates the development and delivery of all educational items available to clients, including training guides, videos, scripts, webinar training series and detailed educational curriculums.



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