Embrace Selling with Dental Practice Consultants

By Drs. Bill and Christina Blatchford Dental Practice Consultants

Generally, there is an outgoing ,“people,” person on a dental team, someone who embraces the idea of sales. The rest of us let her handle all sales, as we shy away from even trying because we don’t like to put pressure on people.

The good news is a successful sale is a result of NO PRESSURE.  We like to think of it as sales conversations.  As Dental Practice Consultants we recommend that you make a friend, become acquainted and find out what THEY want, not what you think they should have.

What is your reason for being in dentistry?  It must have something to do with helping the guest get what they want. That’s all that sales is—helping people get what they want.

Some skills for being successful are:

• Shifting your paradigm (or thinking) from what they NEED to what they WANT
• Entering the conversation with a clear mind—no dental agenda, nothing about straightening those crooked laterals or whitening their smile
• Being the awesome listener by asking questions, instead of being the dental authority
• Making your guest right, no matter what they say
• Never putting any pressure on your guest

We think we have to talk our guest into something.  We put pressure on them to do what we think they should do.  Who are we to think we know what they want, even before we ask them questions?

People will buy anything from you if they want it, they trust you and they like you.  Everyone remembers the sales person who put too much pressure on you to buy an item, like a car.

We make decisions to buy something permanently, instantly and emotionally.  We see something we like and we want it now.  Most dental conversations are technical and not emotional.  The problem with that is your guests make their decisions emotionally, not technically.  How will it look?  Will it make me look younger?  How white will my teeth be?

As Dental Practice Consultants we try to talk patients into a result by educating them about the treatment, which is not an emotional approach. Teaching them how to do an endo procedure is the reverse of emotional.  You can see their eyes rolling back in their head from boredom.

A better approach is building trust, an important part of the sales process.  Put yourself in their shoes with active listening instead of just nodding and waiting for the next time you can jump in and tell them some more technical information, which interests you but not your patient.

In your office, what systems do you have in place to develop trust and relationships? Do new patients sit alone in your waiting room completing health forms? Have you and your team moved beyond the “fix-it” mentality? Do you ever find yourself saying “the endo in room 4?” Do you and your team take the time to discover a real person connected to the procedure?

Learn to ask questions.  When answering the phone, make a friend instead of being an order taker.  Conversation can be discovering why they called, why they called you, how you can help them, what they have in mind, where they are in their research and more. Your script can be an outline so the patient can lead you.

In today’s digital marketplace, many people have done their homework, asked colleagues and neighbors about dentists. Some may even know what they want. Give them a chance to share without your comments. Let them talk.

Everyone on your team can ask questions and build friendships. You cannot hide in the lab or pretend you do not have time.  Start with “how can I help you?”  Depending on the response, you can ask, “when did you first notice this?” Try, “How did you try to solve this?”  Keep asking with, “What else have you tried? How did that work?”  “How has this affected your life, work, relationships?” “How would this improve your life?”  Let me show you an example.  Have you thought about a budget?  What do you want to do next?”

Note:  As Dental Practice Consultants we advise our clients not to offer solutions, but to keep the conversation emotional rather than technical. After the exam and findings, after they have said yes to the concept, then you discuss technical aspects.

Sales require life-long learning. Dive in and get involved. Sales can be fun when you embrace the friendship factor.  Even if you don’t agree with the guest, you will find you have learned something new for the next time.

Drs. Bill and Christina Blatchford are unique Dental Practice Consultants, helping you reach the results you want of more time off, more balance, more net return, and experiencing the joy of dentistry again. Their latest book No Nonsense Transitions is for the new doctor, the senior doctor, and the doctor who wants to increase practice by merging another practice into an existing one. Reach us at (888) 977-4600 and www.blatchford.com.