Prav Solanki: If I wasn’t humanising that conversation and I just left that person to go away, it would be playing [00:00:05] a game of back and forth tennis radio silence. They wanted to ask me something, [00:00:10] but they thought, am I going to offend Prav by asking this question? Well, not really, because if I open [00:00:15] up and humanise it, that won’t be the case. And this is what you should be doing with your patients.

[VOICE]: This [00:00:20] is Dental Leaders, [00:00:25] the podcast where you get to go one on [00:00:30] one with emerging leaders in dentistry. Your [00:00:35] hosts Payman Langroudi and Prav Solanki. [00:00:40]

Prav Solanki: Hey guys, welcome to the Dental Leaders podcast. Um, [00:00:45] I’m afraid it’s a solo episode today. It’s just me and no guest. [00:00:50] And, um, I tend to record these when I’ve got something on my mind, or I’ve got a subject matter [00:00:55] or a topic that I want to speak about and surprise, surprise, [00:01:00] we’re going to be talking about, or I’m going to be speaking about the subject matter of sales, [00:01:05] but more specifically humanising that sales [00:01:10] process. And I think there’s a few things that I want to touch upon. [00:01:15] One of them is if you follow a sales process, if you follow a step [00:01:20] by step guide that I say this, then I say these words. Then I ask this, [00:01:25] then I turn this way and then I do an examination. Then I ask the patient this and ask them that. [00:01:30] And if you’re going through a rigid process, your sales process will always [00:01:35] be rigid and formulaic. And I honestly believe that a really good [00:01:40] sales process revolves around connecting with [00:01:45] other humans in the way that you would connect with your friends, or the way in [00:01:50] which you would connect with your family. In fact, if you haven’t listened to the Todd Williams [00:01:55] episode where he talks about almost bringing your human side to work, [00:02:00] just just rewind back a couple of episodes and listen to that. He really has [00:02:05] made me think about just humanising, or at least thinking about the human side [00:02:10] of what we do and what we bring to work.

Prav Solanki: Right. But I just [00:02:15] want to talk about how we bring this to the sales process [00:02:20] in dentistry, and I want to remove the word process. But even though I’m going to give you [00:02:25] some hints and tips that I think have helped some of my clients, or [00:02:30] at least the conversations I’ve had with clients about, well, how do we get this patient [00:02:35] over the line, right? And whether over the line means getting an answer to them and getting [00:02:40] from them and getting a no, or getting an answer from them and getting a yes. You [00:02:45] know, what does that revolve around? And I think the first point comes from yourself. It’s that inner [00:02:50] confidence, right? If you know that, you can fix that patient’s problem, [00:02:55] if you know that you can confidently deliver the results that they’re looking for [00:03:00] or beyond that with 100% certainty, [00:03:05] or, you know, you’re the best person for that job, or you’ve got the experience, you’ve got the training, you’ve got the [00:03:10] clinical aptitude and belief in yourself in terms of delivery of [00:03:15] clinical outcome service experience. Just [00:03:20] melt all that together and you know you can deliver that 100%. [00:03:25] Then selling becomes a lot easier. It’s when there’s an element of doubt. [00:03:30] If there is an element of doubt in you, whether you can deliver it, if there’s an element of doubt [00:03:35] in you, whether the price that you’re going to pitch that service, that [00:03:40] treatment plan for is going to make that patient second guess you or question [00:03:45] you, and you can’t stand proud against your value or [00:03:50] your price, and you hesitate.

Prav Solanki: And whether that hesitation is in your [00:03:55] voice, whether it’s a stutter, whether it’s just in the tone of your voice, that patient will smell it straight away. [00:04:00] Right? And that that self confidence and that inner belief that you can do [00:04:05] what you say you’re going to do and you truly believe what you’re delivering is exceptional [00:04:10] value, then the whole sales game becomes really, really, really [00:04:15] easy. If you’re confident that you can deliver the results and that you’re fully [00:04:20] aligned with the patient. But let’s just assume that that’s a given, because I can’t help you with [00:04:25] that. But we go back to the conversation [00:04:30] that we have with the patient. I’m not going to take you through the whole consultation process because this [00:04:35] is just a short. I think I’m going to be surprised if I speak for more than 15 minutes [00:04:40] today. Right. Um, but this revolves around a conversation that [00:04:45] I’ve been having with quite a few clients recently, which is what happens when we [00:04:50] get to that point where we present the investment to the patient [00:04:55] and there’s a dance. Okay. And what I mean by the dance is [00:05:00] this, that it’s almost like it’s almost like when, you know, when you’re walking down [00:05:05] the street and there’s someone coming towards you and there’s not enough room. So you move to the left, [00:05:10] but the other person moves to the right, and then you move to the right, and the other person moves to their [00:05:15] left, and you’re almost like dancing, but you want to get past each other, [00:05:20] right and move on.

Prav Solanki: And I think that’s what happens at this part [00:05:25] of the sales process when you present the investment to the patient and [00:05:30] this silence, or you step back because you lack confidence, or [00:05:35] you’re not quite sure how you get that patient to say, yes, I [00:05:40] think I want to go ahead or no, it’s too expensive, or it’s totally misaligned [00:05:45] with what my expectations were and all of the lead gen stuff that happens before that, and what your [00:05:50] receptionist or your TCO, or the people who spoke to that patient beforehand before they came [00:05:55] in to see you, all of that’s obviously important. And in an ideal world, they’ve delivered [00:06:00] everything to you in terms of their price expectations, their result, expectations when they last saw [00:06:05] a dentist, what dental problems they had, whether they’re going to need finance or whether they can self invest [00:06:10] it. All of that razzmatazz. Let’s assume that’s all done, but you still get [00:06:15] to that point where you are having a dance with that patient because you say, [00:06:20] Mr. Smith. So to get your smile from A to B and for you to [00:06:25] wear your best smile on your daughter’s wedding day. Your [00:06:30] investments going to be 12,500 pounds. And [00:06:35] then this silence. And the patient just looks at you in the face and you [00:06:40] look at them, and there’s no progression of that conversation.

Prav Solanki: But if we stop, [00:06:45] if we freeze time in that moment. And let’s think about the clinician, [00:06:50] what do you want to know at this stage? You want to know what’s in that patient’s mind. [00:06:55] Of course you do. And you’re probably thinking to yourself, I want them to I want to [00:07:00] know, well, I want to be able to read their mind, and I want to know if the price [00:07:05] that I have presented is in line with what they expect. Do [00:07:10] they think it is reasonable? Do they think it’s too cheap? Is [00:07:15] it totally out of whack? Is it way too expensive? Or are [00:07:20] we just slightly off the mark and they can’t quite squeeze that extra 100 £200, [00:07:25] right. These are all unknowns that we don’t know. And depending [00:07:30] on what I say next or my next bit of communication will make the difference [00:07:35] between that patient saying, yes, let’s rock and roll or no, I need [00:07:40] to go away and think about it. And even if the patient says, I need to go away and [00:07:45] think about it, is there something else that we could say now, [00:07:50] whilst time is frozen and we flip around to the other side of the table [00:07:55] and implant ourselves in that patient’s mind, they’re thinking to themselves, [00:08:00] can I get this cheaper? Or wow, that’s a bargain. Or [00:08:05] I’m not sure if this dentist can do what he says he can do, because I [00:08:10] wasn’t quite confident in what he said.

Prav Solanki: And there’s some questions he hasn’t quite answered, [00:08:15] but I’m not sure how to ask now because I’ll sound stupid. Or perhaps [00:08:20] that patient is sat there sort of thinking, I need to speak to my other half about [00:08:25] it, whatever it is. And that patient might be thinking, well, I’d love to ask for a discount, [00:08:30] or I’d love to say, can you do it a little bit cheaper? Or I’d love to just sort of say, well, can [00:08:35] you explain that again? Or could I pay it over a period of time [00:08:40] or what happens next? But they but you both part company [00:08:45] because that patient says I need to go and speak to my other half about it. And [00:08:50] if the patient says to you, I need to go away [00:08:55] and think about it. And the consequence of that is you haven’t explored what [00:09:00] that means and that patient walks out. I think you’ve done yourself [00:09:05] an injustice, and you’ve done that patient an injustice because you haven’t had the frank [00:09:10] conversation that you should have had. So here’s my advice [00:09:15] of what you should be doing at the end of that consultation [00:09:20] when you present the offering. So you present it, and we’ll all have very different [00:09:25] ways in which we present price or present the solution, should we say. And my [00:09:30] belief is always try and keep it as simple as possible, maximum 2 or 3 options and tell them what [00:09:35] your preferred option is.

Prav Solanki: Your recommendation is I think that’s along the lines of GDC guidelines, but [00:09:40] present that there’s that silence. You start dancing or you try and dance, but it doesn’t [00:09:45] quite work out. So my advice is, is you try and humanise [00:09:50] that conversation and almost narrate a story with that patient. [00:09:55] So I would say to the patient, Mr. Smith, [00:10:00] I know what I’ve presented to you is probably quite a wide range of different [00:10:05] subjects and topics. And some of it you do understand. Maybe some of it you didn’t. But let [00:10:10] me ask you one question. Do you know when you came in for your consultation and [00:10:15] you walked through our front door about 45 minutes ago, you [00:10:20] had a very clear idea in your mind what was going to happen in this room. [00:10:25] I just want to ask you one question. Has everything [00:10:30] that you thought was going to happen happen? Have I answered all of your questions, [00:10:35] or are you going to walk out of this room thinking, do you know what I wish I’d have asked Prav [00:10:40] this, or I wish I’d have asked that question. Or a don’t quite understand this, [00:10:45] and a lot of the time my patients go away and they kick themselves because they didn’t [00:10:50] ask the questions they wanted to. So I just want to know from your perspective, when you first [00:10:55] stepped in the door or on your journey to our practice, what was [00:11:00] it that you wanted out of this consultation for you to walk out and be totally [00:11:05] delighted with the outcome, or the result of everything that we’ve discussed here today, [00:11:10] and that will open up a conversation just after you’ve presented price. [00:11:15]

Prav Solanki: Okay. Now, based off the narrative of that, you can further [00:11:20] expand that conversation and say to that patient, Mr. [00:11:25] Smith, there’s another thing I want to ask you, and that revolves around the investment [00:11:30] involved in what I’ve just presented to you. Now, I am 100% sure [00:11:35] that maybe on your way here or when you first step through that door, [00:11:40] you had an idea in your mind what the cost or the investment [00:11:45] would be to get your smile to where you want it to be today, am [00:11:50] I correct? Let’s get a yes out of that patient. Yeah, absolutely. Bang on Prav [00:11:55] you are correct. I had a clear idea. Okay. And I’ve just presented you [00:12:00] with the options and the investment involved and what I [00:12:05] want to understand is are we aligned? So is what I’ve [00:12:10] presented to you just now in line with what you thought [00:12:15] the cost or the investment of changing or transforming [00:12:20] your smile would be when you step through the door? Or are we apart by [00:12:25] a certain amount? Where are we? What are we thinking? Prav now if you say to that [00:12:30] patient, what are we thinking? It’s a subtle difference in terms of what are you [00:12:35] thinking, but it makes that patient think that we are working this out [00:12:40] together and that patient will open up to you.

Prav Solanki: Okay? That patient will definitely [00:12:45] open up to you and maybe give you a clue. Now, if you’re off by a few quid, [00:12:50] perhaps you can make something happen. If you’re off by a country mile, maybe your [00:12:55] treatment plan could be staged accordingly. But if that patient opens up to [00:13:00] you in that way and gives you what was going on in their mind as they stepped [00:13:05] into your practice and walked through the door, that will be a lot better [00:13:10] than them walking away and saying, I need to think about. Then your TCO [00:13:15] starts playing tennis, calling the patient. They don’t pick up the phone and you don’t [00:13:20] actually know why they left. And it might be that you didn’t explain the process. [00:13:25] It might be they didn’t show you before and afters that were close [00:13:30] to theirs or whatever. And it might be a money thing, but you get to the bottom of [00:13:35] it. I’ve had clients come back to me after I’ve passed them that advice, [00:13:40] and they’ve told me it’s just really transformed the way that they speak about money. The [00:13:45] way I look at it is all we’re doing is we’re humanising the sales process. [00:13:50] It’s the way you would ask a friend. It’s the way you would speak to a family member. Right? [00:13:55] It’s just sort of almost like map a story out in your mind and just sort of ask [00:14:00] the patient without putting any barriers up.

Prav Solanki: That’s my way of looking at it. [00:14:05] Right? Right? If somebody comes to me and says, hey, Prav, I’m interested in your marketing services and so [00:14:10] on and so forth, and we jump on a zoom discovery call and I’ll always ask this question, get to the end of it. [00:14:15] We’ll present some pricing options and whatnot. And I will ask that person, [00:14:20] so where’s your head at? Yeah. Is first of all, have I answered all your questions? [00:14:25] Is there anything that perhaps I’ve tried to explain to you from a marketing [00:14:30] or a sales or a concept or a practice journey point of view that just doesn’t [00:14:35] resonate? Is it too much, too soon? Is it the fact that you know what [00:14:40] I’ve presented for you from a pricing point of view, is not necessarily in line [00:14:45] with your business growth or your budgeting plan. Like, where’s your head at now? And [00:14:50] what are you thinking? I always get a clear answer back. And even if that person [00:14:55] comes back to me and says, do you know what, Prav, I’m not quite ready to spend that kind of money or I’m not quite [00:15:00] ready to move ahead, but thank you. And I will be one day. Or they’ll say, do you know what? With everything [00:15:05] you’ve presented me, is it okay if we just get started with this? Yeah, of course it is. But [00:15:10] if I wasn’t humanising that conversation and I just left that person to go away, we’d [00:15:15] be playing a game of back and forth tennis, radio silence.

Prav Solanki: They wanted to ask me [00:15:20] something, but they thought, am I going to offend Prav by asking this question? Well, not really, because if [00:15:25] I open up and humanise it, that won’t be the case. And this is what you should be doing with your patients. My [00:15:30] next tip, and my final tip for today is this if [00:15:35] you are writing fairly substantial treatment plans and you [00:15:40] think that actually this patient does need a lot of time to think about it. And [00:15:45] it’s fairly extensive restorative work or cosmetic work. I would like to [00:15:50] hope that the vast majority of you a treatment planning in some hygiene, [00:15:55] and if you have treatment plans from hygiene in and you have sold [00:16:00] the benefits of that hygiene for overall gorm mouth oral health [00:16:05] and itemise that out for the patient as part of the bigger plan, [00:16:10] then no patient should really be going away without scheduling [00:16:15] that hygiene appointment and that works really well. So what I would normally say [00:16:20] to the patient is this. So Prav, I know I’ve presented you with this [00:16:25] plan and you’ve mentioned, you know, maybe you’re going to need some time to think about it. And let’s say we’ve gone through [00:16:30] that whole piece and had the dance. I’d say Prav. But are we in agreement that no [00:16:35] matter what happens, whether you go ahead with all of this cosmetic work or this restorative work or whatever I’ve [00:16:40] presented, and it’s quite a substantial investment for you, and I understand that.

Prav Solanki: Are we in agreement [00:16:45] that no matter what happens, we definitely need to sort your oral health out the hygiene, [00:16:50] get your teeth super cleaned and get your gum get get your gum inflammation under control or whatever that [00:16:55] is, right? Yes, I am Prav. So let’s do this. Let’s [00:17:00] get your hygiene appointment booked in with Becky. She’ll do a super job on your teeth [00:17:05] and get them nice and healthy and nice and clean. If we get that appointment booked in today, that [00:17:10] gives you plenty of time to think about. And the next time you’re in with the hygienist, you can come and ask [00:17:15] more questions. And so if you get that patient committing to just a small hygiene [00:17:20] appointment, they make a financial commitment to that. They book that appointment, [00:17:25] they come in, they experience dentistry in your practice. [00:17:30] They experience your people, they experience the environment and [00:17:35] they experience what you’re all about. The likelihood of that patient [00:17:40] then going ahead with your larger treatment plan increases substantially [00:17:45] because they have made a micro commitment to you and [00:17:50] your dental professionals that you are surrounded by. And that’s about [00:17:55] all I’ve got to speak about today. So that’s all, folks. Um, if you do get anything [00:18:00] out of this, or you implement or execute any of this, shoot me a message on Instagram [00:18:05] and let me know what you’ve done, what impact it’s had. But other than that, I have a wonderful day over [00:18:10] and out.

[VOICE]: This is Dental Leaders, the [00:18:15] podcast where you get to go one on one with emerging leaders in dentistry. [00:18:20] Your hosts Payman Langroudi [00:18:25] and Prav Solanki.

Prav Solanki: Thanks for listening guys. If you [00:18:30] got this far, you must have listened to the whole thing. And just a huge thank you both from me and pay [00:18:35] for actually sticking through and listening to what we had to say and what our guest has had to say, because [00:18:40] I’m assuming you got some value out of it.

Payman Langroudi: If you did get some value out of it, think about subscribing. [00:18:45] And if you would share this with a friend who you think might get some value [00:18:50] out of it too. Thank you so so, so much for listening. Thanks.

Prav Solanki: And don’t forget our six star rating. [00:18:55]