Avoiding the dreaded ‘no’

Are you finding more patients than you’d like are declining treatment plans? There can be a number of reasons why this happens. Medenta Business Development Manager, Lesley Turner, looks at why you may be getting the brush off and how you can turn things around.

1. Lack of rapport

When you recommend a treatment plan to a patient, for them to agree to it they need to trust you. They need to trust that you have recommended the course of treatment because you have their best interests at heart and want the best possible outcome for them.

By building a rapport you are more likely to gain the patient’s trust too. Rapport is built by spending time talking with and getting to know your patients. Focusing on the dentistry and the technicality of what needs to be done isn’t enough. Your patient needs to feel they matter to you as a person.

A good rapport with your patients also helps with communication. They are more likely to listen to your advice and recommendations, which, ultimately, should help them feel happy to say yes to your recommended treatment.

Building a rapport involves taking the time to talk to your patients and getting to know them. Taking an interest in them, their families and friends, and finding out about their oral health goals and addressing their concerns will help them to develop their trust in you.

2. Never assume

There have probably been times when you’ve been discussing a treatment option with a patient when you’ve seen an uncertain look come over their face. You may have assumed that they were about to decline the treatment and so you changed tack with your conversation. If that’s the case, you may have talked yourself out of a possible yes.

There is a saying often used in selling that applies equally well to our interactions with others in everyday life – ‘Never assume, as it makes an ass out of u and me.’ When you spotted the uncertain look, rather than changing your approach at that point in the conversation, you could have tried asking them what their thoughts were about what you’d advised? You may have discovered that their look of uncertainty was due to something completely unrelated to the treatment option, such as needing to leave to pick up their children from school.

By asking the question, what they were really thinking and not what you had assumed, could be revealed and you could have arranged to have the conversation at a more convenient time.

3. For the want of a TCO the treatment was lost

Ideally, dentists should be busy doing the things that make the best use of their skills.

Presenting treatment plans to patients is something you may want to do, but do you always have the time? Whilst you may be able to give the broad outline while they sit in the chair, some patients may want more detail than that. You then run the risk of overrunning on their appointment, which then affects the next patient.

However, if you have a treatment co-ordinator (TCO) that person can take over from you somewhere private and comfortable. They can go into as many of the details of your recommended treatment plan as your patient needs and answer all their questions. They can take their time explaining what post-op care is needed and even discuss payment options, such as patient finance.

If you don’t already have a TCO in your practice, you may be missing out on a valuable resource.

4. Cost vs affordability

It’s no secret that we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis. Personal finances are being squeezed and people’s disposable income is being squeezed.

Now, more than ever, the cost of treatments can be an issue. A patient may well understand the value of the treatment on offer; however, affordability will be at the forefront of their mind, especially if the need for the treatment is unexpected.

In cases like this, it’s important to focus on how the patient may be able to afford the treatment, rather than the overall cost. This is where patient finance can be useful. Giving them the option to spread the cost over a period of months (typically from 6 to 60 months), may make it affordable after all.

The overall cost of the treatment becomes less important as they appreciate the monthly payments are manageable. Once a patient understands they can afford the monthly payments, they are more likely to go ahead.

With patient finance, as well as helping your patient to say yes to the treatment, your practice will be paid in full, up-front at the start of treatment. What’s more, it will be up to your finance provider to collect payment from the patient meaning your team is free of the hassle of checking Direct Debits and chasing late payers. That’s a big win!

And so..

It’s a good idea to take a step back and review how many patients agree to the treatment options you present. If possible, calculate your conversion rate and compare it to that of your peers.

Work out whether there were any indicators as to why you got a ‘no’ from some patients. Some time spent reflecting on how things have gone and assessing how you could do things differently could pay dividends.

About Lesley

Lesley Turner has been a Business Development Manager at Medenta for over five years. She has worked in dentistry for many years, including 10 years as a practice manager, during which time she won a Practice Manager of the Year Award. As a previous end user of Medenta, Lesley is well-placed to understand our customers’ needs and can empathise with practices’ patient finance requirements.

If you’re interested in learning how Medenta can help you to improve your patient experience, give us a call on: 01691 684175, or visit: www.medenta.com

Medenta Finance Limited is a credit broker and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Medenta Finance Limited (Registered in Scotland No SC276679) Registered address: 50 Lothian Road, Festival Square, Edinburgh, EH3 9WJ. Tel: 01691 684175.