Shortly after Dr. Priest first engaged Driven Dental Implant Marketing to help him grow his implant practice, the importance of case presentation for dental implants became abundantly clear. Dr. Priest had everything in place that he needed to succeed. He had the marketing, support, and clinical skills in place to attract a steady flow of implant patient leads and serve them well. All he needed to do was help patients say yes to the treatment they need.

That’s where his case presentation skills would come in. Dr. Priest is a kind, caring, skilled doctor. He has a wonderful bedside manner and patients who love him and his team. But he had never before had to close a steady flow high-end dental implant patient leads.

Thus, when he received one of his first leads for a case valued at $27,000, he and his team reached out to Driven Dental Implant Marketing to guide them. Our team worked closely with his to ensure they were using best practices when it comes to case presentation and helping their lead get the care they needed.

How Case Presentation Differs for Dental Implant Patients

Dr. Priest and his team knew that dental implant patients have different needs than routine care patients. For example, the care they need costs a lot of money. From a simple case of a few thousand dollars to a complex case of more than $25,000, patients rarely have the ability to stroke a check and pay in full. Additionally, patients often need help affording their care, even if you accept payment plans. Finally, dental implants involve a complex procedure patients don’t often understand. 

Of course, these are just three of the many ways case presentation differs for dental implants but they all impact the manner in which you need to approach your case presentation to get patients to move forward.

That’s why, when a patient lead engaged Dr. Priest’s practice, his team reached out to us for additional help. We walked them through the steps they needed to take to help him close the case. And, in the end, Dr. Priest was able to help his patient say yes to the treatment she needed, a $27,000 case with $18,000 down and $9,000 paid in four months when the final prosthetic started.

Here are the steps Dr. Priest took and the lessons he learned that helped him start finding and converting a high-value implant case.

1. Use best practices for dental implant marketing.

While the act of presenting a treatment plan comes later, the trust you need to build with patients to get them to say yes to your treatment plan starts much sooner. It starts with your marketing. Marketing can lay a strong foundation for case acceptance by conveying trust, authority, and social proof to future patients.

Dr. Priest engaged Driven Dental Implant Marketing to help him put together an implant marketing campaign that reached the exact implant patients he wanted to serve. Having the right implant marketing campaign working for you sets you up for success in all steps of the process.

2. Speak to your patients’ cares and concerns in a conversational tone.

The best dental implant case presentation training involves making sure every interaction with patients is conversational and patient-focused. With a complex procedure such as dental implants, it’s natural to want to explain the technical details of the procedure to the patient. With the vast majority of implant patients, however, this is more likely to dissuade them from moving forward. Instead, think of your case presentation more as a case conversation. 

When Dr. Priest’s team reached out to us, we reviewed the patient’s assessment, which indicated that she cared more about having a caring dentist and great experience. These are two issues that match Dr. Priest’s practice well so we encouraged him to include what sets his practice apart in the market in terms of patient care. We coached him to talk about how he goes the extra mile to help his patients.

3. Offer incentives before discounts.

Although financial hurdles are high, those can be overcome without offering discounts to patients if you can help patients fit monthly payments into their budgets. Thus, we encourage our practices to help guide patients through multiple financing options.

If you want to offer additional incentives, consider offering additional treatment, such as a cosmetic feature to give patients even greater results. This additional procedure can be performed at a low cost while representing a higher value to your patient, who comes to you not just for improved health but also for improved cosmetics.

4. Get commitment before the patient leaves.

When a patient comes to your office, we know they are interested in dental implants. And if you have properly prescreened the patient, whether on your own or with our virtual patient advocate program, we know they are able to move forward.

After a personalized case presentation and incentivization with added value, the only thing left is to close the deal. Do not let the patient leave without asking them for some form of commitment. The best is to ask them to sign a treatment acceptance. At least ask for a verbal commitment.

In Dr. Priest’s case, his lead was looking to secure outside financing that would allow her to complete home improvement projects and her treatment plan. Thus, while she wasn’t ready to move forward, she committed to touching base about her financing so she could move forward.

5. Follow-up with the patient if they leave without committing to the treatment.

Because Dr. Priest’s lead left without committing to the treatment, we encouraged him to follow up with her. We suggested he speak with her to secure commitment right away, perhaps using their financing as a backup that could be replaced with her outside financing if it came through. 

We told him to explain that committing now would help them be ready with supplies and materials and lock in her pricing. It would also set a date for when she can finally achieve the beautiful, healthy smile she deserves. And we told him to offer the cosmetic procedure as an incentive if necessary and create urgency for them to commit. 

As with many dentists, this step is sometimes uncomfortable. But to land the highest-value implant cases and help achieve the greatest life and health transformations for patients, we need to get a little comfortable being uncomfortable.

These follow-up calls should not be pushy. They just need to happen. Show your patient you care about them. Express your appreciation for them considering you. Let them know you want to help them get the care they need. This will go a long way. 

It is at this step when many patients say yes. But if you don’t take the step, weeks or even months will go by without commitment. With many leads, you will never hear from them again.

The Moment Dr. Priest Closed his $27,000 Case

 A few days later, we got an email from Dr. Priest’s office that they made the call and received a commitment from the patient.

“Let’s set a date,” she said, and committed to paying $18,000 down and $9,000 to be paid within four months, when the final prosthetic is started.

Had Dr. Priest not followed best practices with marketing, he might have never secured the lead. And had he not followed best practices in case presentation and follow-up, he might have never closed it.

But he did. And he did. 

And you can, too. Partnering with a marketing company that understands the ins and outs of the dental implant buyer’s journey can set you up for success. They can help craft your implant marketing campaign to match these six steps of the patient journey so you can see better and more consistent results. If you’d like to talk with us about how we help practices do exactly that, schedule a free strategy call with us today.