Blog | Dental Blog - Ashley Latter

HOW TO SELL MORE CONSUMABLES

When I visit dental practices in the UK, I am often surprised that many of these practices don’t make a better effort in selling their consumables and oral health products. I regularly see half hearted, shabby displays, with empty shelves, often very dusty. When I ask at reception how are the consumable sales going, I get an unenthusiastic answer and the classic line, “We cannot compete with Tesco and Asda”. Let’s be honest who can? But if that is the mind-set of the practice, then we might as well give up now.
Did you know though that you could actually be sitting on a potential gold mine?

HOW TO DEAL WITH A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT

Although no one likes receiving a complaint, they present you with an opportunity to identify and rectify specific problems with your current systems or service. They can also help you to develop your relationship with your patient, by allowing you to demonstrate that you value their business by taking their concerns seriously and dealing with their complaint. So believe it or not, they are good for business. It gives you an opportunity to become a hero; however, it also means that if you don’t deal with it effectively, you can become a villain

HOW TO BE A GOOD LEADER TO YOUR TEAM

One of the biggest challenges a leader faces is influencing their team, getting the best out of them and of course getting them to do jobs willingly with a smile on their face.

How many times have you ever woken up in the middle of the night thinking about a difficult team member or how you can sell an idea to the dentist? If this is you, then don’t worry you are not on your own. There are probably hundreds of Practice Managers up and down the country facing the same challenges.

TURN MORE ENQUIRES INTO APPOINTMENTS

Have you ever considered how much a new Patient is worth to your Practice? In fact have you ever had the discussion at a team meeting to discuss this all so important question?

If you have heard me speak, or maybe read some of my previous articles you will know that a new patient enquiry to your Practice could be worth at least £5,000. If a new patient joins your Practice, maybe joins your plan and sticks around for ten years, has a little bit of treatment, they will probably spend that amount with you. That does not include any referrals that they may also introduce to the Practice.

Without doubt the Reception Team are the most important people within the Dental Practice. They are the first point of contact when a patient either telephones or visits.

Here are seven simple tips to help Receptionists deal with new enquiries to ensure they are most productive and profitable.

DO YOU KNOW THE COST OF BRINGING IN A NEW PATIENT TO YOUR DOOR?

Do you know your numbers? Not knowing them leaves us in the dark – not a great place to be in business. Knowing them gives you an immediate advantage; it enables us to invest money in the right areas and often significantly increase what we can spend in bringing in new clients

THREE QUESTIONS TO ASK IN A COSMETIC CONSULTATION

Which three questions can you ask in a cosmetic consultation to help you build incredible trust with your patients and have more patients saying YES to your treatment plans?

When you are presenting a cosmetic treatment plan to a patient, they are buying your treatment plan based on emotion and they back up their decision based on logic. If you want them to proceed with your treatment plan, then you must deliver it to them in an emotional way. Many dentists find this challenging as they are technical people by nature and often like to talk about features of their services. It’s not what the patients are interested in.

THE BIGGEST COMMUNICATION MISTAKE

What happens when you prejudge patients?
1. You may be costing yourself many thousands of pounds’ worth of new opportunities for you and your Practice.
2. By not making your patients aware of all the options, you will be denying them the opportunity to choose their favourite. You won’t even be making them aware of your diverse range of treatments. Remember: as a matter of informed consent, it is important that you do mention all the options.
3. You will be missing out on delivering technical skills that you have probably spent hundreds of hours learning – skills which you may well have developed during weekends and nights away from your family. Some of these courses will have cost you thousands of pounds, not to mention the amount of kit you will have invested in that will now have to remain pristine in its box!

THE POWER OF EVIDENCE

Nowadays we all spend time researching a product before we make a purchase. The internet makes this very easy to do from our own home. Whether its a new piece of furniture or a car or even a hair-dryer lots of us will go on line and search for information and customer reviews. We feel more comfortable parting with our money on a product that has a good review. We can apply this same rule to our Dental Practice. Do you have a video of your Practice on your home page which includes Patient reviews? How about testimonial letters in a nice folder in your waiting room? You will of course need your patients permission for this but if you do an outstanding job for them, on the whole, they will want to help you

15 TIPS TO BE AN OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR

In business, and life it is essentially important for you to be able to get your point across, whether it is to patients on a one to one basis, whether you are giving a formal presentation to an audience, presenting to your team at a meeting or presenting to your referring dentists, you are always communicating. If you want other dentists to refer patients to you, they will only do so if you are outstanding in front of them. Even when you conduct team meetings, you are selling ideas to your team; they will only take them on board if you can convince them. The fear of public speaking is very real. However, there are techniques to help you overcome your fears. There are even ways to help harness your energy in a positive way.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXCELLENCE AND MEDIOCRITY

Throughout my 24 years as a Business Coach, I have spent hundreds of hours working, socializing, and interviewing very successful people. They have many traits. They are persistent, if you knock them down, they bounce back, smile and start all over again. They take responsibility for their own lives and for their own results. If things don’t go quite as well as they would like, they don’t blame other people, or circumstances for their results. They never make excuses.

REJECTION – COUNT TO FIVE, FORGET IT AND MOVE ON

If a patient does not say yes to a treatment plan do you take it personally? Could it sometimes affect the dialogue you have with the next patient? The truth is there are many reasons why a patient may not wish to go ahead. It could be for example that you have not asked enough questions..or it could just be that their dental health or a great smile is not important enough to that patient in which case there is absolutely nothing you can do and you need to forget about it, move on and be sure it does not affect your next appointment.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

If you are a dentist or an orthodontist, I have some news that might upset you.

As an orthodontist, I am not sure your patients are interested in the fact that the treatment you are suggesting is made up of “passive self ligating brackets, which have low frictional forces using heat activated NiTi wires containing six per cent copper”. Similarly, if you are a dentist telling your patients that “an implant is a titanium screw surgically screwed into your jawbone under anaesthetic” is technical information that your patient may not understand.

The problem with too much technical information is that it can confuse the patient and even put them off taking up your treatment

THE PERFECT CONSULTATION

I received this email from Simon Belford and I have had permission to share his experience with a brand new patient with you. Please read and observe The Perfect Consultation. Simon has taken my Ethical Sales & Communication Programme several times

TWELVE STRATEGIES TO INCREASE YOUR MAINTENANCE PLAN SALES BY AT LEAST 25% IN THE NEXT 3 MONTHS

We all know the benefits to our practices if we have as many of our patients as possible join our plan, such as regular income, patient loyalty and not to mention money coming in whilst being on holiday! The big question is how do you grow the numbers and how do you get to hear a yes more often?
Here are 12 suggestions that if implemented can torpedo the sales of your plan.. Let me know how you get on!

ARE YOU IN SALES?

Have you ever had that situation where you have discussed a treatment plan with the patient, but for some reasons they do not proceed. Do you know why this is?
After training over eight thousand delegates on my Two Day Ethical Sales & Communication programme worldwide, here are the top 5 reasons why patients do not take up what we have to offer.
To start with you will need the whole team on board to help overcome your patients concerns and objections in an ethical manner

Keep in Touch with your Existing Patients

Contact Patients who you have not seen for a few years. You already have a relationship with them, they like you and respect what you do. Make sure they are aware of all the services you provide and you could uncover thousands of pounds worth of new opportunities with clients who may not know you provided these products and services in the first place. For Patients you have not seen for a while you could send them an offer inviting them to return, for example for Teeth Whitening treatment.

Do not make assumptions

Fully understand what the patient wants BEFORE presenting a solution. There are probably thousands of pounds worth of new opportunities within your existing client base. Have a good conversation with your patient, ask lots of questions and listen carefully to the answers. Do not jump in too quickly with solutions, or make assumptions.

Eight Steps to the Perfect Patient Journey in your Dental Practice

If you follow these eight simple steps, then not only will you have more patients saying yes to your treatment plans, but you will deliver the dentistry that you love to do and your patients want. You may think I’m trying to over simplify the process but I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to build rapport. Once you can do this the other steps will be much easier to carry out. The ability to build rapport with people is a key skill. If you can build rapport with your patients, colleagues and suppliers they are more likely to trust you and take on board your suggestions.

Open All Hours

I am still surprised by the amount of times I telephone dental practices at lunch time to be met by an answer machine. If you have read my articles over the years, then you will know how I find this bizarre, as you could potentially be missing out on new clients. This is the only time of day when many people can undertake their private business. I’m not suggesting you keep your Practice open 24/7 but here are a few things you can do to avoid missed opportunities

The Power of Speed

We are living in challenging times and customers are becoming more demanding when they spend their money. Being quick off the mark is one way of not just impressing your patients, but ensuring that the business comes to you and does not go to someone else.