Handling a Request for a Discount

“What can you do for me on your fees?”
“Do you offer a discount?”
“Will you match Dr. _____’s fee?”

Due to a number of recent changes in the orthodontic marketplace, including increased competition, a slow economy, and better-educated consumers, practices face increasing pressure to “match” or reduce fees, often involving inferior treatment providers for whom an uneducated consumer is the best prospective patient.

So….how should one handle a request to offer a discount?

The first rule of discounting is that you should NEVER, under any circumstances, simply give a discount upon request. To illustrate the pitfalls of doing so, one need look no further that the car business, which literally ruined its credibility with its customers by uniquely making the practice of haggling on price a standard operating procedure. The result? Nobody wants to go to a car dealership to buy an automobile, and for good reason.

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with offering a reduction in fees, as long as you have a specific, standardized reason for doing so, and you offer the discount to every family. This means that you have a discounting policy that is strictly adhered to with all new patients. One example that is common in your business is the sibling discount; I, too, offer a reduction in fee for purchasing all four of my books – but, here again, everyone gets the same benefit, and for the same reason.

As a final thought on the subject of discounting, it is important to address the issue of price vs. value, which is central to your success in gaining new patients as a higher-fee provider. My rule of thumb as a consultant in the corporate world was always this: show me a business that habitually drops price in order to close a sale, and I will show you one that needs to improve its ability to communicate value effectively. In other words, the rush to discount fees has, as its root cause, the failure to persuade. That point has significant value for the orthodontic profession, as most of you need improvement in the way that you manage your initial consultations, which, like it or not, are sales presentations. By doing a better job of communicating value in the initial visit, you will see a reduction in the number of times a buyer asks you to reduce your fees.