The Smart Way to Deal with Smart Phones
One of my client TCs had an experience that all Treatment Coordinators experience from time to time, and when it occurs, it can be a significant obstacle to starting treatment. In this case, a mother and daughter were in the middle of reviewing payment options with my TC when the mother received a text on […]
Managing Incoming Inquiries Efficiently
An area of your business in which I am getting increasingly involved, by request, is the manner in which incoming inquiries are handled by your front-desk staff. My book Yes to Treatment includes a chapter showing your front desk how to handle these calls in a way that maximizes new-patient starts. What I do not […]
What Matters to Your Visitor
When it comes to the issue of what to charge for orthodontic services, many doctors that I interact with are reluctant to raise their fees for fear of alienating potential patients. What many don’t realize is that the difference in cost for services is rarely the reason for a prospective patient choosing one practice over […]
Presenting Fees on Paper vs on the Computer
The process that practices follow for getting to ‘yes’ with new patients tends to be an office-culture product that develops largely on its own over time within each practice. For this reason I see a considerable amount of variation in the way in which TCs manage these steps from one practice to another. Today’s article […]
How to Present What Is Included in Your Fee
Because I travel two days per week in my line of work, I stay in many hotels, ranging from budget rooms in the middle of nowhere to five-star properties at world-class locations. At the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, one thing that has always mildly annoyed me about the “luxury” properties is the inverse […]
Finalizing Payment Arrangements with New Patients
In most practices, converting the financing terms selected during the consultation to a contractual agreement involves a hand-off between the Treatment Coordinator and the Finance Manager.
Competing against In-Network Providers When You’re Out-of-Network
One of my current coaching-program TCs called me this week with a challenge that most of my domestic client practices will run into from time to time; that being in the position of competing with a practice having the advantage of being in-network for insurance purposes. In this case, the TC’s prospective patient will receive […]