Business Continued » Your patients don’t go on the


same courses as you and they don’t live and breathe dentistry like you do. If you talk this language to them, they are most likely going to switch off and be put off having treatment. On most occasions patients do not actually care. In ı937, Dale Carnegie wrote a


book called How to Win Friends and Influence People and one of the principles in the book is ‘Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view.’ In other words, take your shoes off and put your patient’s shoes on and talk to them in their language, a language that they understand. Once you do this, then more patients will say yes to what you are suggesting.


Mistake number three Imagine you were going to a restau- rant and there are two choices on where you can eat. You could eat in the bar and have a snack, or in the à la carte restaurant where you can have a five-course meal. The maître d’ starts to look you up and down and, judging by the way you are dressed, offers you the bar snack menu. How would you feel? You might


feel annoyed, insulted and you might have felt as if you had been pre-judged and were not given the opportunity to decide for yourself where you wanted to eat. This is very similar to what


some dentists do, although not as bad. One of the biggest mistakes dentists make is that they try and offer a solution to their patients, without first fully understanding their wants and needs. In other words, they assume what they think the client requires. I have had literally hundreds of dentists openly admit in my work- shops that they have pre-judged a client when they were presenting treatment options, often by what the patient is wearing, what job they have, or even by their post- code. When you do this, then it is nearly as bad as the maître d’ pre-judging and deciding where you should eat. You will miss out on opportuni-


ties. Only last week I was watching a dentist in their surgery. A patient stated that they would like their


Ashley Latter specialises in coaching dentists, orthodontists and their teams to develop their ethical sales and communica- tion skills, customer care and developing high-performance teams. He is the author of Don’t Wait for the Tooth Fairy – How to Communicate Effectively & Create the Perfect Patient Journey in your Dental Practice.


To learn more about his programmes and also to sign up for his FREE email newsletter, please visit www.ashleylatter.com


teeth straightened, depending on the cost. Within a split second the dentist launched into payment plans and monthly payments. No questions were asked about what the patients concerns were. She became a financial advisor. Never make assumptions or pre-


judge your patients, treat everyone the same. If you do that, not only will you build stronger relation- ships with your patients, but you will create more opportunities.


Mistake number four The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth, but do we ever use them in this proportion? And that is another mistake I find dentists make: they listen to respond, rather than to understand. Listening to respond is when


you are listening to the patient, but you are actually thinking of what you are going to reply to them. What you are doing is waiting for a gap in the conversation to say your piece. If you are thinking what you are going to say back, it is impossible to really listen to your patients. You cannot do both at the same


time. Listening to understand is when


you are listening attentively to your patient, you are genuinely interested and you have no pre- conceived ideas. In other words ı00 per cent of your focus is on the patient.


Mistake number five There are several elements to the sales process. These include: building rapport, asking ques- tions to find out what your patient requires, providing a solution and then talking money.


“The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth, but do we ever use them in this pro- portion? ”


So far you have invested a lot of


time and effort into the relation- ship. If you then hand a treatment plan to your patients and then tell your patient to go away and think about it, that is probably what they will do – think about it. All that time invested into the rela- tionship may have been wasted. Mistake number five is not asking the patient if they want to proceed with the treatment, in other words, not gaining commitment. There are many reasons why dentists do not close. These include: ı. You don’t like rejection. 2. You don’t want to sound pushy. 3. It is uncomfortable. 4. You were not taught these skills at dental school.


5. You don’t know how to ask. However, if you don’t get the


patient to commit, it doesn’t matter how good your clinical skills are, you will never get a chance to use them. Even more upsetting is that your patients will never experience the major benefits you provide in their lives. Patients don’t know what they don’t know. There you have it, five common


communication mistakes that I find dentists make in their commu- nication with their patients. I strongly suggest that you go


through the list and ask your nurse, or another member of your team if you make these mistakes. Listen carefully to their feedback and ask for examples. It is only then that you will start to make some changes. If you want to achieve better


results, then you need to change behaviour. Good luck.


Ireland’s Dental magazine 39 ABOUT THE AUTHOR


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