The Case for Reducing OBS Cases
In previous posts I have noted that, from a case-acceptance-rate perspective, cases going into observation fall into the ‘non-qualified’ category, meaning that these are visitors that could not start treatment if they wanted to. Of course, most practices welcome observation cases for the opportunity to establish a relationship early on with a future patient, and […]
Reasons for Fluctuations in Your Case Acceptance Rate
A common trend I see when reviewing practice case acceptance rates is a wide fluctuation in these numbers from one month to another, with no logical pattern or trend. In fact, it is not unusual when looking over a year’s worth of month-to-month data to see a difference in excess of 50% between the high […]
How to Start More Adult Cases
For most practices that I work with, adult cases represent between twenty and thirty percent of their total patients. Most practices that I work with also feel that adult cases are a more difficult “sell” than child cases. Yes, they are, and there is a good reason for it. If you want to improve your […]
Doctor Interpersonal Skills for Initial Consultations
One of my client doctors sent this quote to me via email this past week. From a corporate sales executive, it is good advice for all of us: “Business is personal. Stand out by making a real emotional connection that touches your prospects and makes them feel understood and cared about. Focus on making a […]
Appliance Choices and the Fee Presentation
In previous posts I have emphasized the importance of helping patients select a single treatment plan during the consultation. For the doctor, this means taking an “if it were me” approach to selecting the best treatment plan when there are multiple options; as I have noted previously, leaving the decision on how best to proceed […]
The Importance of a First Impression
In his fascinating book, The Tipping Point, author Malcolm Gladwell examines how new products, behaviors and ideas achieve critical mass in society, and identifies the three different types of people who are responsible for doing it: Mavens, Connectors, and Salespeople. Connectors are natural “hubs”; they love to network, are exceptionally well-connected, and seem to know […]
Presenting Fees to Multiple-Sibling Cases
The multiple-patient consultation, while a nice business opportunity for your practice, presents some unique challenges in the case acceptance process. The fact that you are evaluating and presenting treatment recommendations for multiple patients creates opportunities to make things complicated – quickly – for the visiting family. It’s worth mentioning that the more complicated a decision […]
Why Branding Matters
There is a retail shopping center near my home that, due to its proximity, gets a lot of my business for a variety of my needs. There are fourteen retail shops; it is in an affluent, high-traffic area and business appears to be good for the tenants. In fact, during the three years that I […]
The Problem with Anthony’s Pizza
I pulled into the parking lot of a new practice client one recent morning and immediately noticed the storefront of one of their retail neighbors. It was an attractive, well-maintained building, and unbeknownst to me at the time, it turned out to be but one location of a small, successful chain with stores up and […]
How to Use Bound Materials in Your Marketing
A recent advance in printing that is finding its way into orthodontics is the ability to inexpensively produce bound materials in a book format. In the orthodontic practices that I work with, I occasionally see examples of these printed booklets, usually in soft-cover, and many of these are very well done. The idea of a […]