Yes, No, and Payment Terms
Those of you familiar with my case-acceptance protocol know that I recommend presenting multiple options – usually, three – when presenting fees to practice visitors. You also know that if the patient does not choose one of the options on the spot, the most common response to your fee presentation will be “I need to talk to my spouse.”
In many cases, even when the visitor states that the other spouse must be consulted, they have already made up their mind on “yes” or “no” regarding whether they want treatment at your practice. In other words, the issue may well be not one of whether or not to start, but simply how to best pay for it. So there are two separate decisions, not one, in play here.
If you are a TC, from both a follow-up and forecasting standpoint it is useful to know where you stand with regard to each of these points. Since, at this point in the consultation, the visitor knows whether or not they want to move forward, how to pay for treatment is therefore either a secondary issue if they do, or an irrelevant one if they do not.
When you get the statement “I need to talk to my spouse”, if you inquire properly, you can usually learn where the patient’s mind is with regard to moving forward.
Simply ask your visitor, “I understand your need to talk to your husband. Is choosing a payment option the only concern that you have?
If the answer to the question is “yes” – and it should be – then offer to schedule the next appointment – impressions, records, or braces, depending on your practice’s process – pending that secondary decision. In other words, assume the start, and schedule the next step. If the answer is anything other than ‘yes’ – as in, “well, I just need to talk to my spouse” , you should assume that there is something other than payment options – a hidden objection – that concerns your visitor. The best way to bring whatever that issue is to the surface is to say, “besides payment arrangements, what other concerns do you have at this point?” Often, the visitor will share these, so that you have an opportunity to address them.
