Several practices I work with have learned an approach to presenting fees that has the TC verbally ‘pitching’ a payment option, waiting for the patient’s reaction to it and, if the patient doesn’t like it, throwing out another number.
If I understand correctly, the patient is being asked to
(a) remember what you just said,
(b) mull it over at the same time, and
I make a decision on the verbal offer – one involving thousands of dollars – without looking at it.
Really.
Really?
If your goal is to start a new case, this technique is not only ineffective; it is counter-productive. So my opinion, to put it mildly, is: don’t do that.
It’s difficult for anyone to make a yes/no decision; particularly one as significant as the investment in treatment, without seeing numbers.
In the business world, decision-makers don’t make major purchases based on banter. I see no reason why they would do so in your profession, either.
The goal of effective case-acceptance skills is to make it easy for the patient to say ‘yes’ to treatment. Two keys to an easy decision are simplicity and clarity – here, clarity of payment options. To that end, here are some fundamentals that will improve your ability to have the decision made while the patient is visiting your office:
- Have a well-designed fee presentation form.
The format that I recommend in my book is:
- Total investment
- What is included in the investment
- The insurance benefit
- The out-of-pocket investment
- Payment options (across the page, left to right: PIF, In-house/high down payment, In-house/low down payment ($500)
All easy to follow. All crystal-clear.
- Present your payment options in writing. While a number of TCs present fees on the computer screen, I recommend that instead, you print your fee sheet, place it directly in front of the visitors, and walk them through it with a pen. Having a hard copy of your payment terms creates a perception of substance and finality. It also allows the TC to be in better control of the fee presentation.
- Ask for a decision. “Which of these three options would work best for you?” (If the patient picks an option, ‘game over’. Time to go to the schedule. So much for the complexity of closing effectively).
If, instead, the patient voices a concern about the cost of treatment, negotiate effectively. As follows:
Empathize: “I realize that this is a big investment.”
Probe: “What is it specifically that concerns you; is it the down payment, monthly payment, or both?”
- Patient will clarify concern. “It’s the monthly payments.”
Handle Concern: “What would you be comfortable with for monthly payments?”
- Patient will state desired payment amount. “I would like to have payments under $225 a month.”
- TC does some calculating, writes down a second offer option, and presents it:
“We could extend payments out ___ months; this would bring your monthly payments down to _____.”
- TC closes for agreement: “Would that work for you?”
Note that the TC, by asking good questions, now offers a “Plan B” that is tailored to the specific needs of the patient, which makes getting a “yes” to the new offer much more likely.
This is a much more patient-centric and professional approach to getting to “yes”. Verbal price-pitching works well at auctions; at orthodontic practices, not so much.