IMPLEMENT THIS ONE IDEA TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF ENQUIRIES TO YOUR PRACTICE

Asking your patients if they will do a video can be uncomfortable, but the more you do ask, the easier it will become, I promise it will become more comfortable the more you ask. However, just consider the benefits of having these videos.

Make it a mission in your practice to ask for video testimonials at the end of treatment, I think you will be surprised how many will do them for you. Put them on your website and have them ready to show patients on an iPad or computer.

Implementing this one idea into your everyday practice life will increase the number of enquiries to your practice and increase your acceptance of treatment plans.

I’m currently in Sicily. When we flew out from Manchester, I noticed that one of the air hostesses had beautiful straight, white teeth, and when I say white, they were very white. As I gave her my order, I commented to her that she had a lovely smile and here is a short account of a brief conversation that we had.

Me: I really like your smile.

AH: Thanks so much, I recently had some veneers fitted at a practice in Manchester and I am over the moon with the results.

Me: Can I just ask why did you have the treatment done and by the way they do look fantastic.

AH: Well I never liked my teeth and as I deal with the public all day, I was becoming increasingly conscience of my smile. I would often shy away, or put my hand over my mouth when I talked to people one to one, so I thought I would invest in myself.

Me: I know I am being cheeky here, but do you mind telling me how much did you spend on your teeth?

AH: It was £6000, it may sound like a lot of money, but for me it has been worth every penny.

Me: Tell me more.

AH: I am so much more confident, I cannot stop smiling and I don’t shy away now when I am speaking to people.

Me: You are probably think I am being nosy, but I am only asking because I work with dentists and their teams, helping them improve their communication skills and creating a world class patient journey, so as you can imagine, I am aware of teeth. Did the practice ask you to do a video testimonial at the end of treatment?

AH: No, they did not, but the whole experience was so good, I would have done one for them there and then.

She then served me my coffee and croissant and carried on serving everyone else, smiling confidently as she went. (She would make an excellent Director of First Impressions in any practice, anywhere in the world.)

The whole conversation took only a couple of minutes.

What can you take away from this conversation?

Do you think if your practice had a dozen testimonial videos, with conversations that went like the one above, it will help you increase case acceptance in your practice?

What if they were displayed on the front page of your website, do you think it might encourage more enquires to your practice?

The answer must be a resounding yes.

So why don’t more practices have these displayed on their websites, or use them when presenting treatment plans to their patients?

In my opinion, there are several reasons, but here are my top three.

1. They are scared to ask, in case the patients say no.

2. They would not do one themselves, so they are letting their own prejudices get in the way. In other words, I would not do one, so why would my clients do one.

3. It is outside my comfort zone, it makes me feel uncomfortable asking

With reference to some of the points above:

In Robert Cialdini’s excellent book ‘Influence’, he stated that if you do something for somebody that is so far better than they expected, then the other person whoever they may be, will want to do something back for you. So, if you ask for a video at the end of treatment, I think you will be surprised at how many people will want to help you. Yes, you need to accept that not everyone will say yes, some patients will say no. Granted the air hostess was an extrovert personality type, she was bubbly, enthusiastic and of course ever so helpful, that was her nature. I normally find that these are the type of patients that will help you and do a video for you. For some people, the thought of going in front of a camera can be very uncomfortable, they just won’t do it. So, if you get a no, that’s fine, accept it and move on. However, there is no harm in asking for a testimonial letter then, I am certain you will find many patients will happily write one for you. Although not as effective as a video, they can still help you in your marketing and in your consultations.

I do understand although at first asking your patients if they will do a video can be uncomfortable, the more you do ask, the easier it will become, I promise it will become more comfortable the more you ask. However, just consider the benefits of having these videos.

In summary, make it a mission in your practice to ask for video testimonials at the end of treatment, I think you will be surprised how many will do them for you. Put them on your website and have them ready to show patients on an iPad or computer.

In the next article I will share you with how to ask and how to film them.