If you are a Treatment Coordinator, you have had this happen: at the end of a new-patient consult, the visitor/decision-maker gives every indication that they want to move forward, but they need to “discuss it with their spouse.” You agree on a follow-up date, and they leave the practice. Everything indicates that this is a “sure thing”.
You follow up, repeatedly, and you get their voice mail. Repeatedly.
And you never see or hear from them again.
A CEO I work with who has a sales background recently described this phenomenon as an ‘alien abduction’ – the person seems to have literally vanished from the planet. To my thinking, that’s a perfect description of what you are dealing with.
So if it wasn’t aliens, what happened, and why did they disappear?
The “what happened” is one of two things: the person either changed their mind about moving forward, or more likely, they decided to get treatment at one of your competitors. It is one of the two.
The “why did they disappear” answer is singular: They don’t want to have to tell you what they decided to do, and they don’t have to explain why they did it. That’s not personal, that’s just normal human behavior. So, since they won’t return your calls, the issue becomes getting closure, and learning from these lost cases so that we can improve going forward.
On the subject of closure, here are some ways to turn a loss into a gain:
- Following my training, always attempt at the end of each consult to tentatively schedule the next appointment pending the patient’s final approval. This makes your follow up contact not “are you still interested in treatment” but rather “I’m following up to confirm your son’s appointment for spacers/impressions/records/braces/etc.”.
- Use email for following up if the phone call is unsuccessful. Most people will answer an email inquiry when they won’t take a phone call, because they can communicate with you without talking to you. So, even if you don’t get the case, at least you get an answer – and closure. If you have their cell phone number, a text message is a back-up strategy if email is unsuccessful.
- If they reply with “we decided we could not afford it at this time”, tell them that, with your doctor’s approval, you can work with them to find an affordable payment plan, and invite them to schedule another visit – but recognize that the real problem here is usually not “I can’t afford it” but rather “I don’t feel it’s worth the financial pain”. That’s an issue of perceived value, not fees.
- If they reply with “we decided to go elsewhere”, your reply should be:
“I understand. To help me to improve with future practice visitors, do you mind if I ask what the reasons were for your decision?” If they respond with “your fees were higher”, continue the email dialogue. “What were you offered for financing arrangements from the other practice?” If they share this, you might be able to save the case. “If we were able to offer you similar terms, would you reconsider your decision?”
If – and this is required here – the patient would have preferred to get treatment at your practice, they may come back for a second look if invited to. If they do, keep in mind here that we are not talking about matching a lower fee, but rather, offering payment terms that will be in line with those offered by the competitor. For most people, the payment terms, not the fee, is the main obstacle.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that after the patient has visited your practice and been presented with your fees, they know whether they want to move forward or not. That decision has already been made. By improving your ability to communicate the value of treatment at your practice on the front end, you can reduce the number of times that a new-patient opportunity turns into a post-visit salvage operation. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.