Despite the economic slowdown, many practices are doing much more than merely surviving — they are thriving and growing! One big reason is case presentation. Successful practices are experts at motivating patients to accept treatment. Levin Group has found that with a strong case presentation system in place, patients are willing to accept cosmetic and elective treatment, even in today’s economy.
Levin Group’s Greenlight Case Presentation™ positions practices to dramatically increase production for both need-based and elective treatment. There’s no reason why your practice can’t be doing the same.
The foundation of Greenlight Case Presentation™ rests on these key principles:
• Building Value. Patients must realize the value of dental care and treatment. Create value by emphasizing the benefits of treatment from the initial consultation throughout the treatment process until follow-up. Explain to patients why the treatment matters to them.
For cosmetic treatment, focus on how the treatment will enhance the patient’s well-being and confidence. Paint the picture of a more attractive appearance and a better quality of life. Your team members can do the same for patients and should learn how to build value for treatments in their interactions with patients.
• Building Relationships. Levin Group teaches our clients that building a relationship with patients is essential, even before any type of diagnosis or treatment is performed. Get to know your patients, their backgrounds, professions and hobbies. Show interest in who they are as people, not just patients. The simplest way to achieve this is to learn 5-10 personal things about every new patient. By taking the time to show patients you care about them, you establish a strong relationship, which leads to trust-one of the key factors in case acceptance. Trust is a critical factor that determines case acceptance and continued loyalty to your practice.
THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO SUCCEED
Once you have the foundation, the next step is to build on it with these systems and strategies:
• Stage III Customer Service™
The way patients feel when they visit and interact with your practice depends on customer service. How do your staff members talk to your patients? Are your hours convenient? Do patients feel welcomed and special when they visit your practice? Does your scheduling system ensure patients are seen on time? Are you educating patients and providing them with information on your services? Is your staff trained to exceed expectations?
Stage III Customer Service™ is about exceeding patient expectations. From the initial phone call to the first appointment through every subsequent visit, your team members must strive to “WOW” patients. Educating patients, answering questions, promoting new treatments and stating appreciation towards patients helps provide superior customer service.
• Outstanding Communication
You, and your entire team, must effectively communicate with patients… but communication takes training and practice. Scripting is an excellent way to master communication. With scripting, nearly every aspect of the patient experience can be documented and scripted. Levin Group teaches our clients PowerScripting™ to ensure that the entire team masters communication with patients. The more scripts your practice uses, the better trained your staff will be and the more professional they will appear to your patients.
While scripts must be adapted to the speaking style of each team member, scripting conveys a consistent message to patients and sets a tone on how to address issues and develop solutions. The ability of your dental team to communicate effectively and efficiently will have a positive impact on practice growth. When well-trained team members effectively communicate the benefits of treatment, patients feel confident about the procedure, resulting in increased case acceptance.
• The Four Financial Options™
In many cases, case acceptance comes down to cost. If the patient can’t afford treatment, all the communication and trust in the world won’t matter. The payment is either affordable, or it’s not.
I recommend flexible payment options to ensure that all patients can feel comfortable paying for treatment. We recommend offering the Four Financial Options™:
— 5% courtesy for full payment in advance
— Pay half upfront and the balance before ending treatment
— Credit cards
— Patient financing
The more flexible your payment options, the more comfortable patients are in accepting treatment.
• Full Service Mix. Adding more elective and cosmetic services, along with at-home products, to your practice allow you to better serve your patients’ needs. These services present patients the opportunity to feel better about themselves with services and products that can improve their everyday lives.
Meanwhile, your practice benefits from increased production. The more services you can offer… the more chances to build daily production and profit. It all depends on your case presentation skills.
CONCLUSION
Never underestimate the power of creating value and building trust within your practice. These Greenlight Case Presentation™ strategies will bolster your case acceptance rates to unsurpassed levels. Even in this economy, you can succeed!
Dental Practice Management readers are entitled to receive a 50% courtesy on a Levin Group Total Success Practice Potential Analysis™, an in-office analysis and report of your unique situation conducted by a Levin Practice Development Specialist. To schedule the next available appointment, call 888-973-0000 and mention “DPM” or e-mail customerservice@levingroup.com
with “DPM” in the subject line. For more information on Levin Group programs and seminars, go to: www.levingroupgp.com.
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Never underestimate the power of creating value and building trust within your practice. Even in this economy, you can succeed!
