We’ve all heard the old cliché, “It’s not what you say that
matters – it’s how you say it that counts.” When trying to
motivate patients to take better care of their teeth, mouths
and gums, “what you say” is the foundation from which you
figure out how to say it. So, we can’t ignore that aspect of
communication.
As a highly skilled dental professional, you think and act
according to the particulars of your training. Understanding
and using the terminology specific to dentistry is like knowing
a foreign language. In fact, it is foreign to the vast majority
of your patients. Very few of your patients will know
what deciduous teeth are or the numerical notations used in
your practice every day.
Even though dental shorthand is helpful when making
notes and communicating with your hygienist or other staff
members, it confuses patients. And, when patients are confused,
they either tune you out or start building walls of
resistance between you and them as if you just landed on the planet and have antennae sprouting from the top of your
head. Neither of those situations is good for your practice.
Your goal is to communicate with your patients in such a
way as to draw them to you – to build their trust in you and
want to do as you advise.
After all, you invested many years of your time and a lot
of money to develop your expertise. If you don’t know how
to “sell” it to others, you won’t be anywhere near as successful
as you could be. And by “success” I’m referring both to
personal success in helping a large number of patients benefit
from your services and the financial success you can
achieve with strong revenue-generating practices.
Knowing that the use of that term “sell” in the previous
paragraph might have sent a shudder down your spine, from
this point forward, I will refer to what you do as “getting
patients involved in your services.” Do you feel the difference
those words make? I took your mental picture of either fear
or some other negative emotion related to the word “selling”
and created a positive mental image of you helping your
patients enjoy the results of your work. That’s really what you
want to have happen, right?.
All words create mental pictures in our minds. When I
have you read the word “tree” here you might have a mental
picture of a giant oak tree come to mind. The people sitting
next to you might picture a pine or an orange tree. It doesn’t
matter. The point is that no one pictures the letters T.R.E.E.
in their mind when I refer to a tree. Our minds work in pictures
and those pictures create emotions. The emotions generate
thoughts which cause people to take certain actions. My
goal in this article is to get you to pay attention to the pictures
you create in the minds of your patients directing the actions
they cause. Those actions might include having specific dental
treatments or they might involve doing a better job of
brushing and flossing at home.
We’ll review some standard dental terms that probably
turn your patients off and go over some more acceptable
(and less threatening) options for replacement terms. In my
basic sales training programs, I refer to the negative terms as
being fear-producing or in some cases “the nasty words.” The
outcome of using them is to create fear and possibly rejection
of whatever is being “sold.” They contribute mighty
bricks to the wall of sales resistance that keeps people
from making wise and prudent decisions regarding
their dental health.
I would suggest having everyone on your staff
refer to the list of terms here and to begin using the positive,
acceptance-building terms as soon as possible. You
might even challenge your staff members to come up
with additional terms that might give your clients new
ways of saying those things. Make a game of it. Reward
your staff members for using the new terms with the additional revenue you’ll have from patients who feel good
about what you say and take action to follow your advice.
Appointment – The mental image of this word for most
people is that of a calendar. The feeling it often generates is
that of “inconvenience.” They have to carve time out of their
daily schedules in order to see you. Even though most of
your patients will believe seeing you is a necessary thing, for
many the initial reaction to setting an appointment will be
that it’s an interruption of their normal schedule – their
habitual routine – that feels very comfortable to them. Even
though they might be in your office less than an hour, they
have to include time for driving to your location and back to
whatever this appointment took them from.
For some people they will be taking time off work to
come to see you. For others, they will take time off work, pick
up little Billy from school so he can see you, take him back
(maybe with a detour through McDonalds because having
dental work makes kids hungry) and then going back to work
themselves. That could involve half a day of inconvenience.
Of course you will have patients who are enthusiastic
about their dental health and look forward to their routine
examinations. However, as you know, they are the minority.
The word “appointment” makes most of your patients
wonder when and how this can be most convenient for them.
If you don’t have evening or weekend hours, there may not be
a super convenient time for them. Do you feel the stress that
one word that is so common to your practice can create?
So, I’m going to ask you to try using a different word.
Substitute the word “visit” for “appointment.” What comes to
mind when you think of visiting someone? It’s usually something
positive, isn’t it? It generates a softer emotional response
in your mind and body … and it will for your patients as well.
“Mrs. Smith, it’s time for Billy to visit with Dr. Tim again.
He has time available next Thursday at 7 a.m. or Friday at
3:30 p.m. Which would be most convenient for you?”
Problem – No one wants to have one, do they? Never say,
“Sally, there’s a problem with that incisor and we need to fix it right away.” That makes you sound like a car mechanic.
Try the word “challenge” instead. “Sally, the last thing I
would want to have happen is for you to have an emergency
situation arise with this incisor (pointing to X-ray)
at a time that is inconvenient for you. Since it’s impossible
to predict when that challenge might arise, why don’t we
arrange a convenient visit within the next 10 days to take
care of it?” Feel the difference? So will Sally.
Cost – The word “cost,” for most people, generates
the image of money leaving their wallets or credit card
bills increasing. Yuck! Never use that word or allow your
staff to use it either. Replace it with the word “amount”
or “total amount.” They know you’re talking about the
amount of money but it creates a kinder, gentler image
and a usually more proactive response. People know your
services aren’t free. But they just don’t create the kind of
memories a trip to the amusement park would (with that
same money).
Down Payment or Monthly Payment –
If any of
your patients are in a situation where they need to make
multiple “payments” for your services and you make that
option available to them, please refer to them as “initial
amounts” and “monthly amounts.”
Extraction –
This is a fun mental image, isn’t it?
Hopefully, you already refrain from using this word
within earshot of patients. When you are speaking with
them or within their hearing range, use “remove” or as
one oral surgeon I know of says, “sneak them out.” His
focus is on taking care of the little buggers causing the
challenge for the patient – the results the patient will have
of no future pain from those teeth – rather than on the
discomfort of the actual removal and healing process.
Sign – As in paperwork. Take into consideration the
mental images of “signing on the dotted line” and “signing
your life away” or mom and dad’s admonition to
“never sign anything without reading the fine print.”
Rather than allow those negative mental images to permeate
the minds of your patients, use the terms “approve,” “authorize,” “endorse” or “okay.” “If you’ll just okay the
paperwork, Marvin, we’ll get you taken care of as quickly
and easily as possible.”
If you just want to have a little fun with people, ask
them for their autographs. If it fits your personality, smile
and say, “I’d like to help you enjoy a moment of fame,
Mrs. Johnson, by asking for your autograph right here.”
Point to the paperwork. Keep smiling. She will smile, too.
And, she’ll give you her signature. It happens all the time.
Cheaper, Cheapest –
As you know, with fillings and
crowns there are options for those treatments. If your
patient is concerned about the “amount” required for
these various services, never refer to the lowest cost version
as being “cheaper” or “the cheapest.” The mental
image for that term can be something that is of poor
quality. Instead use the terms “more economical” or
“most economical.”
Many words in the English language have more than
a single meaning. Once you start thinking about them,
you’ll probably be amazed. The goal is to get you thinking
about those mental images you are putting into the
minds of your patients. In reality it’s more than “every
picture tells a story.” Every word you use creates a story.
If you want your patients to follow your advice, be treated
sooner rather than later, and keep coming back to you,
pay attention to how you speak with them.
Sometimes it’s easier to observe the impact of words
used by others than to pay strict attention to what comes
out of our own mouths. Practice that with the very next
conversation you hear. Once you begin paying attention
to the resulting actions from words that are used, you
will come up with many others that can be replaced with
better mental pictures, which will result in more of the
actions you want.
More than just tone, volume and speed of speech
make an impression. Substituting a few words with the
“happier picture” words suggested here will make a difference
in the results you are getting.
Author's Bio |
Tom Hopkins is a world-renowned expert and authority on selling and salesmanship. His simple yet powerful strategies have
been proven effective in many industries, including the dental industry, and during all types of economic cycles. The foundation
of his training includes both the “people skills” of proper communication and the nuances that impact every situation where
trying to persuade others. Tom’s style of delivery is practical and entertaining – making the strategies easy to remember and implement.
Learn more about how Tom Hopkins can help you increase revenues in your practice at www.tomhopkins.com/blog.
Tom’s Three-day Boot Camp Sales Mastery will be held August 23, 24 & 25 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Information can be found at: www.tomhopkins.com/boot_camp.shtml.
Details about Tom’s speaking schedule can be found at www.tomhopkins.com/live_events.shtml.
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