REJECTION – COUNT TO FIVE, FORGET IT AND MOVE ON

If a patient does not say yes to a treatment plan do you take it personally? Could it sometimes affect the dialogue you have with the next patient? The truth is there are many reasons why a patient may not wish to go ahead. It could be for example that you have not asked enough questions..or it could just be that their dental health or a great smile is not important enough to that patient in which case there is absolutely nothing you can do and you need to forget about it, move on and be sure it does not affect your next appointment.

In my early days as a Dale Carnegie careerist, part of my role was promoting and recruiting delegates to take one of our courses. The name of the game was to make appointments, visit existing and new clients and encourage companies to use our training courses. Although extremely popular, Dale Carnegie had a superb reputation, there was not a day that did not go by, in ten years when someone didn’t say no to an appointment, or when I visited clients, they were not interested in our courses. I got used to being turned down and rejected, it was part of the job description. During my ten years, I saw many people join our organisation, only to last a few months at the most, because they could not handle rejection, in fact they would often involve themselves in activities where rejection could not take place, i.e. pushing paper round a table, or having long lunch and coffee breaks. The telephone to make appointments would often weigh 20lb instead of 20oz.

So why am I writing about rejection? I am going to generalise here, because it does not affect everyone, but I do find that some dentists take rejection very personally and then let it affect the rest of their day, if a patient does not take up what they have to offer.
Let me give you an example. I have often heard that if a patient does not take an option that the dentist presents, for example a private option, as opposed to NHS, then they often admit to taking this personally, they become quite negative, and most damaging, they let it affect the conversation they might have with the next patient.

Can you relate to this?

There could be many reasons why a patient does not take up your treatment plans, for example maybe you have not spent enough time building rapport, maybe you have not asked enough questions, or maybe you presented your solutions with too much technical jargon?  However, the one thing you need to be sure about is that if you have not got the right patient in the chair, whatever you say, whatever you do it will make no difference, they will never buy from you and it’s not personal.  They just don’t see dentistry as high enough on their priority list, they don’t see having nice, healthy white teeth as a necessity and you need to forget about it and move on.

Virtually every dentist I speak to has an incredible passion for what they do, they love what they do. They go to parties, or go to network events staring at peoples teeth, thinking to themselves what could be possible for the person they are speaking with. However, you need to accept that some people would rather spend £2500 on a tattoo than spend it on their teeth. Please get over it quickly, count to five and move on and do not let it affect the conversation that you have with the next patient who may want to have a sincere, detailed conversation about what you can do for their smile.  You must be ready, have a positive attitude and remember, it is show time.

Ethical Sales is doing four things extremely well

  1. Building rapport with the right type of patient
  2. Asking questions to understand their problems
  3. Solving the problem in a language that excites them and that they understand
  4. The commitment step

Number one is the most important step of them all and it is about building rapport with the right type of patient. If you have not got the right type of patient in your chair then the next three steps will not happen and you are wasting your time.

You can get lots of tips on how to communicate effectively with your patients in my book, “Don’t Wait for the Tooth Fairy” Its a fun read with lots of true life anecdotes. 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 you will love this book.

• How to turn patient enquiries to your practice into an appointment. How to create a brilliant first impression and stand out from the competition.
• How to create the perfect consultation and patient journey. Build stronger lasting relationships with your patients
• The secrets to becoming a true master of the art of persuasion. Discover what to say, that will influence your patients to take action. Help more of your patients to say YES.
• Learn what not to say and discover the biggest mistakes dentists and their teams make in their communication with their patients.
• Feel more comfortable about talking money and achieve the prices your services deserve.
• Develop a six step approach to overcome your patients objections and reservations.
• How to handle patient complaints and create raving fans.
• Understand your patient’s personality style and adapt your communication to their style
• How to work together as a team, so that you never drop the baton again

Get your copy here for only £15

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