Hey,
Thought I’d say “hey” this time. I hope you had a great weekend.
Today I’m going to cover the third of three phenomenal pieces of
advice from marketing and business building legend Dan Kennedy.
This series is designed to help you weather the current economic
conditions with confidence at the very least, and generate a
truckload of more moolah.
Just as I did with Strategy #1 (sell something different) and
Strategy #2 (sell to someone different), I’ll directly tie-in
Dan’s suggestions with how you can apply them to the business of
dentistry, and more specifically your practice. (If you missed
the last two messages, go to www.DentalInsiders.com/diablog
to find them so you can get caught up.)
Remember, what worked well “then” with regard to “successful sales”
in your practice most likely is either working less, or not at
all “now”. Spending is down, and people are being much more cautious
with their discretionary income. To achieve better results than
you got last year, you’re gonna have to make some changes…but
you’re a nimble small business. You’ve got a great team to help
you carry out the necessary steps, so go for it!
Strategy #3: “Sell DIFFERENTLY”
This concept is a “big whammy”, because it forces you to rethink
your current systems and processes, looking for ways to improve
and grow.
How exactly do your “sales systems” work? What’s working and
what’s not working? Where are the holes that allow patients to
slip through the cracks?
How can you alter your processes to increase your conversion
rates…from prospect to new patient…from new patient to
fully committed, long-term referring patient…from “not right
now” to “when can we start”? That’s what I’m talking about.
Example #1: Although I do a fair amount of external marketing,
it’s not all done the way you may think. For the past year I’ve
had a part-time “Public Relations Coordinator”, who is actually
also a patient. She visits the offices of many physicians,
professionals, and other small businesses here in Charlotte.
Her goal of course is to drive more referrals to my practice
through the development of stronger relationships with these
other businesses. By identifying how we can help their patients
and clients, we’ve become a “trusted resource” for many of them.
As a reciprocal gesture, we also look for opportunities to refer
TO them as well.
We’re “selling” the practice to these businesses differently
than we have before, and differently than anyone else!
Example #2: Several months ago I was noticing that more of my
patients were commenting that they “can’t afford to” move
forward with treatment (at this time). In most practices, and
during most times, there could be a whole host of reasons why…
and very few actually have anything to do with money! But
although we’re certainly not immune to problems in our treatment
acceptance protocols, I really felt that “affordability” was
the true issue here (for obvious reasons).
So I had my team simply alter the ORDER of financial options
they present to each patient. Instead of presenting the whole
fee first, they began with the lowest possible monthly payment
(Springstone, Chase Health Advance, DocPay, etc). Then they
presented higher payment amounts for shorter terms, and
ultimately the entire case fee, with prepayment savings of course.
The result: an almost immediate increase in acceptance by our
patients! Once they understood that they could make affordable
payments, they were more open to the full fee, and even payment
in full in advance. The gradual “step up” in payment options
has been working better for us lately than opening the financial
arrangements with the full fee and going down from there.
Again, what can you do DIFFERENTLY to get better results? This
is perhaps the most difficult strategy to implement, because
it requires accurate, objective, unemotional thinking and analysis
of your practice systems. However, when you do arrive at the
right changes, they can make a BIG difference!
All my best,
Chris
PS: Dental Insiders Alliance Members, please NOTE: your NEW
copy of Dental Insider Secrets newsletter is now posted at the
member’s website for your convenience! You’ll be getting the
physical copy mailed to you within about 10 days, but you can
download and print it now if you wish. Enjoy!
PPS: If you’re not a DIA member, but you’d like to “kick the
tires” a bit, you should take advantage of my “Patient Attraction
Collection” offer, which includes a bunch of great content on CD’s
as well as 2 ~FREE~ months of Preferred Membership. This offer
is being pulled within a couple weeks, so you may want to jump
on this now. Go to www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction
for all the details!
Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com
