If you have the right clinical training, proven dental implant marketing, and a well-trained team but still struggle to grow your dental implant practice, case presentation might be what’s holding you back.
To help you, we reached out to Dr. Paul Homoly, president of Homoly Communications Institute, a leading resource for helping dentists increase case acceptance.
Dental implant case presentation shouldn't be complicated.
Dr. Homoly shared several simple strategies for presenting dental implant cases. Before getting into the details, it’s important to note that the key to all of this is to keep things simple. Improving dental implant case acceptance isn’t about becoming a better salesperson. It isn’t about describing treatment plans better. It isn’t about warning patients about the problems they’ll face if they don’t get the treatment they need.
It’s much simpler than that. In fact, improving case acceptance has very little to do with sales, describing treatment plans, or scaring patients with the consequences of not moving forward. Here’s all you need to do to start closing more dental implant cases, according to Dr. Homoly.
Talk with patients about how the treatment plan will benefit them.
Do your patients hide their smile because of a gap in their teeth? Do they avoid social situations because they have a missing tooth? Find out. Ask questions like “How does this impact you on a day-to-day basis?” “Do you avoid eating on this side of your mouth at all?” or “How does your missing tooth impact you during meals? Do you make different food choices or avoid eating on that side of your mouth?”
Once you understand how the patient is impacted by the issue, frame your case presentation to show how your recommended treatment can serve as a solution. If they avoid eating certain foods or one side of their mouth, talk about how “we can get you eating anything you want again” or “you won’t have to worry about avoiding that side of your mouth anymore.”
Those conversations remind them of the value of the treatment recommendation. From a dental implant perspective, this shifts the conversation from “spending money on a dental implant” to “finally getting my life back.”
Build time into your patient experience to personally connect with them.
The more your patients get to know, like, and trust you, the more likely they are to accept your treatment plan. If you herd patients through your office like cattle, they’ll feel like a number to you. When they feel like a number, they’ll be more likely to see your treatment plan as a sales pitch designed for you to make money and not as a way to help them.
If you build time into your patient experiences to connect with each patient, they’re more likely to see that you don’t think of them as a number. They’ll feel personally connected with you. They’ll trust your treatment plans and give you the benefit of any doubt regarding whether your suggested treatment is in their best interests.
Follow up with patients between visits.
When patients leave your office, they go right back to their busy lives. Your treatment plan will be one of the last things on their mind. If the next time they hear from your office is to confirm their next six-month cleaning, you’ll lose much of the goodwill you built connecting with them and talking about their problems.
Make sure someone on your team follows up with them about the issues they mentioned during their visit. Maybe even schedule a time for them to come in so you can have another look at their mouth and answer any additional questions they may have about options for solving their problems.
Are your gaining your patients' trust?
Case acceptance isn’t about explaining your treatment plan. It’s about earning trust and communicating in a way that connects your treatment plan with a better life for your patients.
Let us know what you do in the comments or by sharing this post on social media! Be sure to tag us so we can thank you in public on Twitter, @DrivenDental, or on our Facebook page.
To get in touch with Dr. Paul Homoly directly, visit his website. There, you can find many resources and even begin his case acceptance coaching program, which includes dozens of excellent implant case presentation tips.