THREE QUESTIONS TO ASK IN A COSMETIC CONSULTATION

Which three questions can you ask in a cosmetic consultation to help you build incredible trust with your patients and have more patients saying YES to your treatment plans?

When you are presenting a cosmetic treatment plan to a patient, they are buying your treatment plan based on emotion and they back up their decision based on logic. If you want them to proceed with your treatment plan, then you must deliver it to them in an emotional way. Many dentists find this challenging as they are technical people by nature and often like to talk about features of their services. It’s not what the patients are interested in.

Firstly, it might be a good idea to put yourself in their shoes and in your head you become the patient. By doing this you can feel what they feel, think how they think, talk the way they talk and by really getting to know them and feel for them, you will automatically increase your acceptance of treatment plans.

To really feel and understand on a deep level what your most perfect patient’s wants and needs are, then you have to really experience what they are feeling. You of course have a great advantage if you have experienced a problem similar to your patient’s.  So for the purpose of this message, let’s say you have crooked teeth, you know how it feels not to be able to smile confidently, or talk to someone, without covering up your mouth. You can imagine the frustrations and the impact that it would have on a day-to-day basis. Bearing this in mind you of course will have a huge advantage, as you can show genuine empathy with the patient.

The best way to really learn and understand what their challenges are is to be outstanding at asking questions and really listening to the patient’s answers. Many dentists listen to respond, which means as they are listening to their patient they are thinking what they are going to say next. If this is you, then you will naturally stop listening, as it is impossible to do both. You need to have the attitude that you are genuinely interested, and are going to understand the client’s problems and ask questions and listen to the answers until you do.

There are three key questions to ask in your consultations so that you can understand how they are feeling.

• How long have you been thinking about having this treatment?

• Why have you decided to enquire about this treatment now, is it because you have an event, or a social situation coming up where this is important to you?

• Can you please share with me how in the past this issue has affected you?

These three questions will open up a long conversation where the patient will tell you how long they have been thinking about it, why they have decided to have the treatment now and lastly the question when you ask the patient to share an example of how their problems impacts them the most, they will open up their problem to you in more detail. You will then discover what emotions are driving their decision to have the treatment.

My advice would be to really practice your questioning and listening skills, these are the most important communication skills you can develop. The best place to start is at home, with your family, who you feel comfortable talking to.  The more you practice this skill, the easier it becomes and then a new habit will be formed.

By asking these questions and listening attentively to the answers, you will have empathy with your patient and you will know how they feel. The patient will know that you truly understand them and of course this will build great trust at a very deep level. And with this understanding you will see an increase in acceptance of your treatment plans.