Handling the Haggler

One of the suggestions that I make to client TCs that I am coaching is to send me their more difficult patient consults when selecting videotaped cases for review; the reason for this is that I can often provide additional value if a visitor, usually a parent, does or says something outside of the norm.

This past week I had one of these….the dreaded “haggler”. This was a father who had obviously had business and negotiating experience; when the Treatment Coordinator had completed her fee presentation, this individual responded flatly with “if you don’t reduce your fee, we are going somewhere else”.

Variations of this tactic that you may have encountered include:

“What can you do for me on your fees?”

“If I agree to start my child today, can you give me a break on the costs?”

“Will you match the fee I was quoted at Dr. ______ if we agree to have treatment at your practice?”

First, the thing to remember about these requests to lower your fees is that while you may look at this as a negative event in the closing process, a request to lower your fees is exactly the opposite – in fact, it is a very strong buying signal.  Specifically, you should remember that the only reason a person would request a discount is because they have made a decision that they want treatment at your practice; otherwise, the topic would be irrelevant. So look at “can you lower your fee?” as “I hereby announce that I have selected you for treatment.”

Second, most requests of this nature are nothing more than a fishing expedition; the Haggler wants to see if there is any money on the table available for recovery. Obviously there isn’t, and there doesn’t need to be. So when you are asked by a visitor to reduce your fee, here are some effective ways to deal with the request:

• Pre-empt the issue. If you know that you are dealing with a shopper patient, tell them this at the beginning of the fee presentation: “We are not going to be the least expensive option.” (They are going to find that out anyway; why wait?) Then add, “my job is to show you why we are worth the additional investment.”
• If you want to stop the discussion in its tracks, say, “for ethical reasons we cannot charge two different patients two different fees for the same amount of value, so for that reason, we are unable to discount.
• Finally recognize that a request to lower fees may be related more to affording payments than the total cost of treatment. So, to the above item you might add, “however, we can be flexible in payment terms in most cases. What would work best for you?”