“Flat Fee” Success! Plus, My “Webinar Mulligan”…
Customer Service, Dental Marketing, Dental Team, Financial Issues, Treatment AcceptanceI’ve got TWO things for you tonight…yes, tonight, mainly because
I just couldn’t get this out to you earlier today. This 3-day week
has been a little hectic, although mostly in a good way. Except
for the “drama queen” patient I saw today and the new patient
whose teeth “itch” yesterday (someone HELP me with that!), we’ve
been quite productive. Two “10K+ Days” (both over $16K actually)
plus a $9K “close call” make almost any situation a little more
tolerable.
OK, so here, as Dr. Seuss would say, are “Thing 1″ and “Thing 2″:
an announcement and a KILLER idea.
Thing 1: My “Webinar Mulligan”
If you tuned in to my webinar last night (Instant Team Meetings…
Your Formula For Success) you witnessed perhaps the worst technical
webinar nightmare I’ve ever experienced!
PowerPoint and virus protection software issues plagued me from
the start, as my presentation kept closing and opening all by
itself. I was forced to switch to an alternate P.Point Viewer
software, which prevented me from utilizing many of the live web
examples I had planned to share. Even though I did manage to get
most of my content out, no question it was a MESS.
So…I’m taking a “Webinar Mulligan”! I simply can’t allow that
sad excuse for a webinar last night serve as a representation of
me and Dental Insiders Alliance. And, I want you to get ALL of
the content I had intended to share with you last night, but
couldn’t because of all the glitches I had to deal with.
For all these reasons, I’m going to REDO last night’s webinar
for you! Whether you were there or not, you’ll get a second chance
to attend MY second chance at “Instant Team Meetings…Your Formula
For Success”. [Be on the lookout for the announcement of the date
and time, coming very soon to your inbox.]
And, don’t make the mistake of assuming that this webinar is just
about team meetings. FAR FROM IT! Those who attended last night
and “stuck it out” with me would testify under oath that I unloaded
a TON of real, usable, “Monday Morning” content. Plus I revealed
the absolute BEST method for IMPLEMENTING it consistently over
time. And I’m going to do it all over again. You do NOT want
to miss it.
Thing 2: Flat Fee Success!
I conducted an informal TEST this week in my practice. (HOLD IT!
That fact alone is a lesson. You should frequently and actively
test new concepts and strategies in your practice, always looking
for better ways to do things. I hope you caught that.)
I decided that, instead of constructing my treatment plans the
usual way, with my usual fees adding up to whatever…I would
present all treatment plans in a FLAT FEE format. The reason I
did this was to SIMPLIFY things for my patients, making my fees
easier to understand.
Why? Because the confused consumer buys NOTHING! If you haven’t
noticed, most people are ALREADY more nervous and confused
nowadays about the economy, their jobs, their businesses, etc
than they were a year ago. The last thing you want is for them to
be confused about their dental problems, your recommendations,
and worst of all, your fees.
Here’s what I did. I picked a flat “per tooth” fee for:
- small fillings (like “Diagnodent” sized)
- big fillings (incl. multi-surface)
- ANY indirect restorations (onlay, crown, veneer)
- ANY root canal
Then I simply added everything up on the spot for each patient
based on their needs. Using this approach I was able to arrive
at a TOTAL fee easily and IMMEDIATELY.
But here’s the most important part. I explained this new “Flat
Fee” approach to each patient, including the REASON WHY I chose
to do it. I told them that I wanted to make my fee structure
simpler for them, and that I wasn’t going to NICKEL & DIME them
with extraneous added fees for anything else, like laser
gingivectomy, build ups, etc. They LOVED that!
Don’t worry…my flat fees were a little HIGHER than my typical
average fees. So I wasn’t giving up hardly any gross revenues
by using this fee structure. I estimated that, at most, I
would end up charging about $100 to $200 less per quadrant on
average. HOWEVER…
A. I got more YES’s…at least two this week who specifically
stated that they APPRECIATED me simplifying things and SAVING
them some money. And these two also mentioned to Kim that they
were not planning on moving forward, but the flat fee approach
was the MAIN REASON they said yes!
B. One of the two “extra yes’s” was a $3800 quadrant. The other,
a $10,900 anterior case! You think it was worth it to “give up”
a few hundred dollars here or there to acquire these cases?
C. Although anecdotal so far, the reaction from my patients was
100% overwhelmingly POSITIVE. As “dicey” as things are out there
these days, they seemed somewhat relieved that I had adapted
and tried to make things easier for them. That’s a HUGE
“intangible”, and a potential reason for them to REFER others to
my practice. You can’t underestimate the value there.
I can’t say how long I’ll keep this going, but I can confidently
report that, early on, my new Flat Fee approach has been a big
SUCCESS. Give it a try for a week or two in your practice, and
let me know how it goes.
That’s it for now. Have a fantastic weekend!
All my best,
Chris
PS: Have you looked into my new “10K Day” Coaching & Mastermind
Program yet? If you haven’t, or if it’s been a little while
since you’ve seen the website, you should go there now and learn
about it while it’s fresh on your mind. I’m only accepting a
maximum of 16 doctors into the program, so don’t put it off any
longer:
www.10KDay.com
PPS: Don’t forget about my “Webinar Mulligan”, when I redo the
entire “Instant Team Meetings…Your Formula For Success” webinar
in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled for the announcement.
Dr. Chris Bowman
Dental Insiders Alliance
www.DentalInsiders.com/patientattraction
www.10KDay.com
