Why did my hairdresser visit six Dental Practices?

A couple of months ago, I was having my haircut and I noticed my hairdresser was wearing some invisible braces. She was having her teeth straightened. Obviously, as I work very closely with many dental professionals, I was interested to learn why she was having this treatment and we had a long detailed conversation about this.

A little bit of background, my hairdresser is 28, had never been happy with her top teeth which are a little crooked and she is a mobile hairdresser at the top end of the market. She has also been thinking about having this treatment done for a while, but she did not want metal braces. It was only because she noticed that a few of her own clients were having the treatment, with invisible braces, that she realised it was becoming more fashionable and it pushed her into having the treatment. This is also confirmation that patients tend to make their decisions emotionally.

However, what surprised me, although after many years of coaching dentists and training thousands of dentists in communication skills, it really should not have, was that she went to six different dentists before she chose the final dentist to have the treatment. When I asked why, she went into all the reasons why she did not take up treatment in the practices that she visited.

Three of them tried to sell her veneers. She definitely did not want this solution.
Two of them built very little rapport with her, she felt like a number.
They talked too technical. She did not understand some of the terminology that was being used. She told me that she felt stupid.
On most occasions she was told to go away and think about their solutions, which as I have already stated, were not what she wanted in the first place.

Only the last dentist took his time, listened to what she was looking for, and gave her exactly what she wanted. He also told her that he could fit her in more or less straight away and he was also very enthusiastic and excited about the results he could achieve for her. She got equally excited and an appointment was made there and then in the surgery and a deposit was paid.

What came out of this conversation is that you can have brilliant technical skills, i.e. you can be excellent at delivering the dentistry, but it does not automatically mean that patients will take up treatment with you. You see, can patients judge your work? No, not really, they take it for granted that you can deliver the dentistry. Patients can’t really judge this. It is the communication skills and how she was treated in the consultation that she can judge. She can judge the patient journey; she can judge the decor of the practice, the feel, the warmth and of course the rapport with the dentist.

Communication skills account for over 85% of a Dentists success in a consultation. You can have brilliant technical skills, have all the kit, but if you keep making these communication mistakes, then you will never deliver the dentistry that your patients WANT and that you love to do and the kit and toys you purchased will never get used.

Now that is a real shame.

A last word on this story. I relayed this conversation on one of my classes, and one dentist mentioned that she sounded high maintenance and that he probably would not want her as a client. My response was that yes she probably would be high maintenance, however, she is cutting around 50-60 people’s hair per week, at the top end of the market. Think about all the introductions that she could make for you, surely a client that you would want in your database?

In my book “Don’t wait for the Tooth Fairy” we discuss in depth how to present solutions to patients so they want to buy from you. It makes no difference whether you are a National Health Dental Practice, or a top end Cosmetic Dental Practice, if you have a passion for providing excellent communication to your patients, them you will love this book. Get your copy here for only £15