Latest / My Dental Playbook / 049 Why Patients Keep Saying No to Treatment

Transcript

049 Why Patients Keep Saying No to Treatment · My Dental Playbook

0:04
SPEAKER_02: Welcome back to another episode.
0:06
SPEAKER_02: Today is going to be a special one.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: Dr.
0:08
SPEAKER_02: Blake and Page, his lead TC at his office, are going to be sharing how they use cherry to get more patients to say yes to treatment and absolutely crush on your collections.
0:21
SPEAKER_02: Today, we are actually going to have a big group of dentists and their TCs here that are going to be asking questions.
0:26
SPEAKER_02: So this episode is a little bit different than our normal ones.
0:29
SPEAKER_02: So you're going to love this and you're going to get a ton of value out of it.
0:32
SPEAKER_02: I know you're going to have questions and they're going to get answered.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: Stay tuned.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: So what we're going to be doing today, this is going to be something unique.
0:38
SPEAKER_02: We've never done this before.
0:39
SPEAKER_02: And Dr.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: Blake, super generous to do this.
0:43
SPEAKER_02: He wanted to hop on today and with his lead TC page, who's amazing.
0:49
SPEAKER_02: And they wanted to share their process and how they present treatment and how they use cherry and just their whole thing end to end.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: And so what we're going to do is we're going to spend the first half of today just going through that.
1:02
SPEAKER_02: And they're going to share that with you.
1:04
SPEAKER_02: And then what I want you guys to do is drop your questions down below because I know you're going to have questions.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: And so you're going to say, How do you do this?
1:10
SPEAKER_02: How do you do that?
1:11
SPEAKER_02: Um, why do you do it this way?
1:12
SPEAKER_02: How do you deal with insurances?
1:14
SPEAKER_02: And so, as you have those questions, drop them in the chat.
1:18
SPEAKER_02: And then once they're done presenting their process, we're going to go through all the questions, and then we'll also open it up for follow-up questions and things like that.
1:26
SPEAKER_02: So I think that's it.
1:29
SPEAKER_02: Did I cover everything, Dr.
1:30
SPEAKER_02: Blake?
1:31
SPEAKER_01: I think you got it.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: Is everybody in?
1:34
SPEAKER_02: It looks like it.
1:35
SPEAKER_02: Beautiful.
1:36
SPEAKER_01: Well, cool.
1:37
SPEAKER_01: Well, we'll start with um the fact that we don't know everything.
1:40
SPEAKER_01: And so our process is is very much that.
1:43
SPEAKER_01: It's a process and it's constantly evolving and changing.
1:45
SPEAKER_01: So um, if you've got a better way or you've found success doing other things, I'd love to hear it so we can improve how we do it.
1:52
SPEAKER_01: Um, but the goal for today would be just to share the little bit of success that we've had uh over the past year and a half working with working with SMC, but also uh really trying to hone in on what how we present treatment to patients to get the most effective outcome that we can.
2:08
SPEAKER_01: And so um I'll lead it off and then I think Paige, it'd be great if if you can chime in from the TC side of problems that I'm probably not even aware of and and things like that.
2:18
SPEAKER_01: But um, our goal every time that we meet a patient is to treat them like their family.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: We want them to know that we're here for them, we're their patient advocate.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, and our really our job is not to sell them treatment, it's to make them and help them understand why the treatment that we're recommending is beneficial to them.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it helps them avoid problems.
2:39
SPEAKER_01: Um there's a lot of psychological things that that can go into this, and I think maybe in the QA we can dive into some of that stuff.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: But um when we get a patient in, we um my job as a doctor is is to help them understand why they need the treatment.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: It's not Paige's job to to get them to understand that.
2:59
SPEAKER_01: And there's times that I fail doing that, but I and I think I mentioned this on a previous podcast, is I I simply just don't leave the room unless that I unless I know that the patient is either saying yes or no to treatment.
3:13
SPEAKER_01: I don't leave that up to Paige.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: Page's job is to fit it into their budget.
3:16
SPEAKER_01: Paige's job is to make it make sense to them financially.
3:20
SPEAKER_01: My job is to make sure that they understand clinically why this is beneficial, to avoid problems, um, to solve the issue that they have, X, Y, and Z.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: And so um, we have done this wrong and we've done this right.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: And we've just found that leading with patient financing, you just get so much more benefit and outcome for for as a practice and the patient, right?
3:45
SPEAKER_01: And so we've done the whole like present the treatment, then they say no, and then you say, Well, wait, we can do financing, how's 200 bucks a month?
3:54
SPEAKER_01: And then they still say no, and then you leave defeated, right?
3:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, and we found that with a very succinct process, we can walk through this stuff and we can uh basically what happens is I go through the treatment, or Dr.
4:09
SPEAKER_01: Fiorell goes through the treatment, or Dr.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Clois goes through the treatment, and we make sure that these patients understand what they need or what we're recommending, right?
4:17
SPEAKER_01: They don't need anything.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: And I tell patients that I'll say, you don't have to do any of this stuff, right?
4:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, but we make sure that they understand what we're recommending and why we're recommending it.
4:27
SPEAKER_01: And then from there we feel good about it, we get up and leave, and Paige comes in, and her goal is to basically come in and say, All right, did you have any questions about the treatment itself?
4:39
SPEAKER_01: If she gets a lot of questions there, that's feedback to us to know like we've got to do a better job on our end as doctors to present the treatment in a way that the patient understands it.
4:49
SPEAKER_01: 95% of the time, probably the patient says, Nope, I totally understand the treatment.
4:55
SPEAKER_01: And so then Paige goes into her spiel and it it really should never change.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: It should be okay, well, this is what Dr.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: Farrell recommended.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: Uh, let's call it a single crown.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: So Dr.
5:06
SPEAKER_01: Farrell recommended a crown on number 30.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: Um do you have any questions about that?
5:12
SPEAKER_01: No.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: Okay, great.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: So it looks like the great news is your insurance is gonna cover, we're estimating your insurance is gonna cover about 50% of that.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: So your out of uh out-of-pocket expense is a thousand dollars or as little as a hundred dollars a month.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: Which of these options works best for you?
5:28
SPEAKER_01: And then you just be quiet and you just let the patient talk.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: The more you talk, the more you lose, right?
5:35
SPEAKER_01: And so then of course, different questions come up.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: And that's where I think Paige is really a master is that she's learned how to really navigate those waters really well.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's taken practice and it's taken training, but um, I think she's done really well.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: So, Paige, do you want to kind of jump in and pick up anything that I missed or um any nuances?
5:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I I completely agree with everything he's saying.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: He completely handles all of the clinical stuff um before I even enter the room.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: And they are pretty much either closed on it or not before I'm even in there.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: And once I go in there, I'm very intentional about verbiage and how I kind of drop the verbiage into the spiel, essentially.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: Um sorry, my lighting.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: Um so I say very specific things, um, always ending in what I want them to actually do.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: So using things like the sum, some, none, all, so some of it, none of it, or all of it, um, ending on that all of it.
6:39
SPEAKER_00: So that really sticks with them.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, always leading with the financing.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, even if it's somebody who can drop all of the money, I still mention financing, you know, why give away all of your money if there's zero interest options and things like that.
6:54
SPEAKER_00: So I always try to aim for that.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, and while I'm presenting the actual treatment, I always, of course, start with asking them if they have any questions or anything further that I can, you know, help them understand.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: And then I, as I'm presenting the actual financial menu, I say, okay, so I'm just gonna tell you um and go over exactly what Dr.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: Hamblin and whoever the hygienist was that just spoke with you.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: And I'm just gonna help break down the money aspect of it and how you can fit this into your budget and lifestyle.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: And then I say, so it looks like you're getting, you know, a crown and two fillings and a crown and two fillings, and the total for that is this with your benefits, so either their insurance or with their um uh we have an in-office membership, so whichever one they're using, this is the benefit for that.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: And then so your estimated patient portion out of pocket is going to be this amount.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: And I always say or as little as, and I give them then the it's it's an estimate on our financial menu.
8:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, so sometimes that number will be super low.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: And I just kind of, you know, I I've worked with the numbers enough to know that it's probably not going to be that.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: So I'll say, or as low as 50 to 100 bucks a month.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then they're kind of ask about that a little bit.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of where I go in more with Cherry and try to hone in on that and say, um, yeah, well, we could, you know, we can get you see what that would be for you exactly.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Um they do have zero interest options, they also have interest options.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that's something we could see what works for you.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: And um it's not a hard credit check.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: So most of the time they're like, oh, okay, or if they have rebuttals or you know, are like, is that gonna be a hard credit check?
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Or I don't know, I don't, I'm, I don't usually uh do financing.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: I really emphasize there's zero interest options and it's it's a soft credit check.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: So that if you choose not to use this, this is not going against you.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: And most of the time they're like, okay.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: And that's when I go and it takes about three to five minutes.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: I just fill in all of their information and I tell them and I walk them through it as I'm doing it.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, this is essentially I'll turn around and do it there in the room with them, and I tell them, what I'm gonna be doing is just entering all the information that you've already provided us.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: I'll ask you three questions at the end.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: This entire process takes about three to five minutes.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: And I find that if I walk them through it and tell them exactly what's happening, it just eliminates confusion, right?
9:33
SPEAKER_00: They're not like what's happening behind me or okay, it's because all of this is kind of scary to them.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, most of our patients are coming in on a new patient special and they haven't been to the dentist in years.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: And so I just really try to use empathy and understanding while I'm doing that.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: And then it pops up and it tells me, you know, what they if I always also lead with if if it doesn't go through immediately, happens all the time.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they just need a little bit more information.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you have to connect it to your bank account or take a picture of your driver's license.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: So I feel like some people are really afraid that it's going to come back and deny them.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I also try to get ahead of that to let them know, like, hey, this does happen too.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: And if that happens, we have other options for you as well.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I just feel like we're very, very intentional about the verbiage and kind of how we drop the verbiage into this field while we're talking to them.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, along those lines, I think uh, Paige, you nailed it, but for me, scripting has always been really important to me.
10:32
SPEAKER_01: And at the beginning of my ownership journey, uh a lot of the pushback I got that you guys have probably gotten before too is you know, are you trying to create robots?
10:40
SPEAKER_01: Are you trying to do X, Y, and Z?
10:42
SPEAKER_01: And it's actually the exact opposite.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: Like what I've found as I've grown as a communicator in in the dental field is the more that you know exactly where the the conversation is going, you become the guide in the conversation.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: And so like what Paige said is it is confusion, like you've heard the quote, if you can if you confuse, you lose, right?
11:05
SPEAKER_01: And so when you have scripting and you know exactly where you're going, you can actually listen to the patient and hear what they're saying versus thinking about what you're gonna say next.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: There's literally nothing that can pop up in our practice that we don't know how to answer because we solve the same 10 to 15 problems all day long, just like Gary answers the same marketing questions all day long, right?
11:28
SPEAKER_01: And so I would say if you're struggling with how to implement scripting and stuff like that, then really, really understand and believe that what you're doing is actually giving your team freedom to uh to be creative, right?
11:41
SPEAKER_01: And I think ultimately as practice owners, that's that's what we want.
11:45
SPEAKER_01: We want people to solve their own problems.
11:48
SPEAKER_01: Um but they need to know what the rules are to the game.
11:51
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of time that that is scripting, and and frankly, it's working with people.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: Like when Paige first came on for like six months every day we would meet and we would do like five, 10 minutes, and we do it in morning huddle, and we'd just pick somebody, and somebody would somebody would just nail it, and then somebody would just flop.
12:10
SPEAKER_01: And but we learned a lot from that, and we got to fail on each other, and so I think that was important.
12:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, Paige hit on some none all.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: I think that there's a few things that um that we've implemented in our practice that are huge, and what she mentioned of of some none all is super important.
12:28
SPEAKER_01: It gives people the opportunity to understand that they're in control of their treatment plan, not us.
12:33
SPEAKER_01: Um when they feel safe and they feel in control, they're more likely to say yes to treatment.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: And so that's really our goal, and that's what Paige is a master of.
12:43
SPEAKER_01: And so saying, hey, you can do some, none, or all of this treatment, at the end of the day, these are your teeth.
12:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm just here to help you know fit this in your budget.
12:52
SPEAKER_01: There's a there's no sales involved in that, right?
12:54
SPEAKER_01: Like patients just feel comfortable in that environment.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: So I think that that's something that's really helped us.
13:00
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm sure what a a future question is gonna be is like, what what do you do when a patient's asked how much it is?
13:06
SPEAKER_01: And I know Gary's hit on this a lot, and I believe it too.
13:09
SPEAKER_01: Those are buying questions, and you truly have to believe that.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: Like it can't just be, oh my gosh, they're asking.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: They don't want it.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: No, they want it, they just need to know how much it is, right?
13:18
SPEAKER_01: And so um the especially coming from the doctor, but I think it works really well when both your TC and the doctor can can use this.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: It's the four promises.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: And guys, none of the stuff that we implement is stuff that I came up with.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: It's all stuff that I've taken from other people.
13:34
SPEAKER_01: And so the four promises is just when a patient says, Hey, how much is this?
13:38
SPEAKER_01: or or they make a financial uh statement like, Oh my gosh, that's gonna be really expensive.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: I always go straight to the four promises, and so does Paige.
13:47
SPEAKER_01: And we just say, Hey, Paige, our goal for you today is to know exactly what we can do, how long it's gonna take, what it'll cost, and how you can pay for it.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day, these are your teeth.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: You can do some, none, or all of these all of this treatment.
14:00
SPEAKER_01: My goal is just to help help you understand what we can do.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Right.
14:04
SPEAKER_01: And there's there's no sales there.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: And so that's a that's a really good flow to follow.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm a communication and psychology nerd.
14:13
SPEAKER_01: And so there's a book that I encourage all of you guys to go read.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: It's called Exactly What to Say.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: Uh, it's written by Phil Jones, and it you can read it in a day.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: But what I did was I read it and then wrote down five or ten things of how we can implement that that in our practice.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: But um it would be uh the the title of each chapter is is is the start of the senate.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: So how open would you be to?
14:40
SPEAKER_01: Right?
14:41
SPEAKER_01: Um everybody wants to think that they're open, open-minded.
14:46
SPEAKER_01: Um how would you feel if right?
14:49
SPEAKER_01: All of these things are super helpful, uh, just communication tactics to really uh hone in on how you guys and your own personalities can present treatment in your practice.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: Um our treatment acceptance rate, we are always looking to improve.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: Um, but there's specific ranges that we like to see.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: So we like to see our treatment acceptance rate around 30 to 35 percent.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: So that's that's patients accepting, I'm sorry, a case acceptance.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: We like to see at 30 to 35 percent.
15:21
SPEAKER_01: So those are patients saying yes to everything, whereas we like to see around 70 to 75 percent for treatment acceptance.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: So people say yes to something, right?
15:32
SPEAKER_01: And when we get out of whack with that, we it it's a it's a sign and a key to us so that we can um we can hone in on where a problem may be s happening.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: So if if we all of a sudden are getting a treatment acceptance of 85%, then it might mean that we're not our our fees aren't high enough, or um, it might mean that we're not diagnosing enough.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: So patients are just saying yes to everything, or or they're just saying yes to um the small stuff, right?
16:04
SPEAKER_01: And so we can we can like hone those things in, but it's a signal for how we can um adjust and and and move throughout our practice.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: Um and then Paige, something I think would be important to talk about is how do we handle patients when they're only approved for like a small amount?
16:21
SPEAKER_01: So a patient comes in and they need a you know a$1,500 crown, but they only get approved for 200 bucks.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: Like how do we handle that?
16:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I feel like you've made it very easy for us to just get them to say yes.
16:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, so within that, that's where you've kind of Dr.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: Hamlin's given me the freedom specifically to be like, okay, what can you pay today?
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and try to really find out what they can do and where is that range?
16:54
SPEAKER_00: And then it gives it in my head, it I have an understanding of what we can play with.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: And okay, cool, maybe they only got approved for$300 and this is a$1,500 um treatment that they're needing.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: But do they have insurance as well?
17:10
SPEAKER_00: So we as an office are going to maximize their insurance and find out exactly what they can pay today.
17:16
SPEAKER_00: And unless it's something completely ridiculous, like only$50, in most cases, we're able to get that treatment done for them as well.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: And it's still a win for the office, right?
17:28
SPEAKER_00: So we're still getting treatment, and that's where that sum none all kind of comes in, right?
17:32
SPEAKER_00: That was just some, right?
17:34
SPEAKER_00: So we are we just in the beginning, it it that was something that kind of took me a while specifically.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: I didn't understand that he was really trying to give me freedom there.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: And I was kind of anxious about making those decisions.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: So it was something that I had to learn.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, but now I feel really comfortable going into a room and not having to run out immediately and go be ask Dr.
17:57
SPEAKER_00: Hamblin if that's something that's okay.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: I feel like, okay, I know his range.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I know he would be willing to do this treatment here.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: Or even before going into a room, he he'll come to me and say, it seems like money's an issue.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, then I'm I try to do cherry, but I always ask him, okay, what is your bottom number on this?
18:17
SPEAKER_00: Like, what is your what do you want to do this at?
18:19
SPEAKER_00: But what is your bottom, what will you do this at?
18:21
SPEAKER_00: And he's really good at saying, Oh, I try to do this, but I'll do it for this.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: And then I know immediately going into that room, I don't have to leave that patient.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: I can stay in there, I can work with that patient, and I can get them financed and go through the steps with them comfortably and knowing what he's okay and comfortable with as well.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: And I I would say that that took a lot of like failing.
18:48
SPEAKER_01: Like we there were multiple times where I was like, wait, we're doing this for for what?
18:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, and so you have to just be uh be patient with yourself and be patient with your TC because um, you know, you got to remember everybody wants to do a good job and any any mistakes or errors, any errors or errors of misunderstanding.
19:10
SPEAKER_01: And so um in those early days, it was it was my inability to communicate effectively to Paige of this is what I would do it for uh versus um she just didn't care, like she cared a lot, right?
19:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, but she just didn't know the rules to the game, and so I had to do a better job communicating that.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: So um on that note, I think that probably wraps up kind of our process.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure there's a lot of questions.
19:39
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
19:40
SPEAKER_02: We got a lot of questions in the chat, and also I had a couple um questions for you as well.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: Um, one thing um that I would love to understand is uh what is your like when when someone comes in, and this is one of the things I love about cherry.
19:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, when someone comes in and they have$5,000 worth of treatment, and they're like, Yeah, I can pay$400 a month.
20:01
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: But they only get approved for like$500 or$400 or$300.
20:07
SPEAKER_02: How do you deal with that?
20:09
SPEAKER_02: And what does that turn into?
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Is that a me specific question?
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:15
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I think you do great.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I I really try to phase things.
20:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's you know, where I try to phase treatment and uh let them know this is your treatment.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: We can, you know, we obviously want to do all of it, um, but let's start small.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Let's where where is what is priority?
20:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, what's really bothering me right now in this moment?
20:35
SPEAKER_00: Let's do this, let's get some of that paid off so then we can ask for an increase on cherry and go from there and then, you know, and uh give it give it a month or two and then come back, we'll ask for an increase.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now what's the next step?
20:49
SPEAKER_00: Where what's bothering you at this point?
20:51
SPEAKER_00: You know, the next phase of treatment.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: And that's really a conversation as well between Dr.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Hamblin and I or one of the other doctors.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Like, tell me what priority is so I know how to phase this, because they most of the time know if money is an issue coming out of that room.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm very aware where they're at at while I'm walking in.
21:08
SPEAKER_02: So the the cool thing about this, guys, is that like 99% of dentists aren't doing this.
21:14
SPEAKER_02: They're not like in your market.
21:16
SPEAKER_02: So if you get a patient and they walk in, and even if you do$300 of treatment, they're gonna love you.
21:21
unknown: Yep.
21:22
SPEAKER_02: And they're gonna you're their dentist and you save them because they haven't been able to figure out how to do all this dentistry.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: So I'll I'll chime in on that.
21:30
SPEAKER_01: And I think it was it was cool to watch how Paige naturally rolled into that.
21:34
SPEAKER_01: But we have a kind of a mantra of how we try to um guide people down the buying pathway.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: And we've we it's just FPD.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: So we we want to finance or or get payment through credit card or cash or however they want to pay, but finance, phase, and then discount.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: So if we if we can't phase the treatment, then that's when we go straight to what we were just talking about.
21:57
SPEAKER_01: We start asking okay, how can we discount those treatments?
22:00
SPEAKER_01: So that we can still capture the patient and get a yes out of this.
22:05
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
22:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, okay, so one of the things that I love about cherry as well is that or any patient financing.
22:10
SPEAKER_02: If you don't want to use cherry, that's fine.
22:12
SPEAKER_02: Use something.
22:13
SPEAKER_02: But I I I really like Cherry.
22:14
SPEAKER_02: I know Dr.
22:15
SPEAKER_02: Blake does as well.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: Um one of the big things about it is it avoids insurance.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: And this, when I really see Dr.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: Blake is the first office that I've worked with that went all in on patient financing.
22:28
SPEAKER_02: I've worked with a lot of people that dabbled in it, but he was the first one that I saw go all in, and I saw his collections double over 12 months because of it.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, okay, there's more going on here than just patient financing.
22:41
SPEAKER_02: And the big thing was is that you're sidestepping the insurance conversation.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: And so, Dr.
22:48
SPEAKER_02: Blake, could you just touch on that briefly?
22:51
SPEAKER_02: I think that is probably the most powerful thing in all of this.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: So I I think as an out-of-network practice, and I'm I'm fully committed to growing in that way.
23:01
SPEAKER_01: Like, I've I've tried going and network with a few, a few uh insurance companies, and it just it it wasn't worth it.
23:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I think we shared like the the amount of write-offs we had in one month was like 30 grand.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: I was like, why wouldn't I just spend marketing and get patients who don't have insurance?
23:18
SPEAKER_01: And they can come in and we'll get them on our membership plan and then we'll use cherry to get them through.
23:23
SPEAKER_01: Um and I I think it just removes a lot of the conversations that we all hate having.
23:28
SPEAKER_01: Like, how much is my insurance gonna cover?
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Well, well, do you want to solve the problem or not?
23:33
SPEAKER_01: You know?
23:34
SPEAKER_01: And so um that's what we're we're trying, like in a perfect world, we have a bunch of patients that don't have insurance in our office.
23:42
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
23:43
SPEAKER_01: Like, because they're not worried about the only the only other the only other obstacle is how do we fit this into their their budget, and that's what cherries helped us solve.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: Whereas with an insurance patient, you're you're you're trying to solve how much is their insurance going to pay, but also how do you fit in their budget?
24:00
SPEAKER_01: And so it's just one less thing to work through.
24:02
SPEAKER_01: And so we're uh we're radically focused on just trying to grow.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: I I love when when patients come in and they take advantage of our basically free special, like I'll give it away at this point, you know, because we're we're getting a patient that when they when they know they need treatment, they know we're on their team and we have ways to fit in their budget, and so they just say yes to way more than our insurance patients.
24:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
24:24
SPEAKER_02: Dr.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: Blake, are you okay if I share some of the ROI numbers that we've seen?
24:28
SPEAKER_02: Like, okay, so Dr.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: Blake has a lagging ROI.
24:31
SPEAKER_02: So some officers are get patients in, sell boatload of treatment.
24:35
SPEAKER_02: Maybe their their acceptance rate's really low, but they the couple that they do say yes, they accept a bunch of treatment and it spikes your ROI up.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: Dr.
24:43
SPEAKER_02: Blake's like the exact opposite of that.
24:45
SPEAKER_02: What he does is he has all these patients that are coming in, and then they're over time accepting more and more treatment.
24:52
SPEAKER_02: And so I track like last year and the year before his ROI.
24:56
SPEAKER_02: His ROI is closing in, like it was climbing up to like 600% for 2024, but it was not that way in the year.
25:02
SPEAKER_02: And I even came to him and said, Dr.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: Blake, you you're spending a boatload of money, man.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: And he's like, No, but I look at my reappointment rate, look at how many people are coming back.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: He's all, it'll keep climbing.
25:11
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Okay, you're right.
25:13
SPEAKER_02: And so this is a long-term strategy to build a hygiene motor in your practice of just a bunch of happy patients.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: And then the kicker is they all start referring to you.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: Because all their friends who have the same exact problem who feel the same way about the dentist are like, no, this is different.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you need to go there and check them out.
25:32
SPEAKER_02: They'll they'll help you out.
25:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
25:34
SPEAKER_01: So I was I was uh, and we're getting a little bit off topic, so reel me back in if needed.
25:39
SPEAKER_01: But my growth strategy was not how can I have the high highest ROI on my marketing.
25:45
SPEAKER_01: Um, I would love to be profitable in my marketing, and we are profitable in our marketing, but that was not the metric I was tracking.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: I was I was tracking what is our active new what is our active patient count.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: And we have gone from 1500 patients in a five-op practice in in just over a year to a 13-op practice with almost 3,500 patients.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: We've quite literally doubled our active patient count.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: And it was because I wasn't overly concerned about the ROI, because I knew as we had more patients to serve, I believed in our team, I believed in Paige, I believed in our assistants, I believed in every our hygienist, I believe everybody a part of our team that the service that we delivered was so radically different than what they could get at a DSO down the road that we would win.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: And now I'm starting to learn that we're right.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:36
SPEAKER_02: 100%.
26:37
SPEAKER_02: You were right.
26:38
SPEAKER_02: All right, a couple questions from the group.
26:40
SPEAKER_02: If you have questions, drop them down below.
26:41
SPEAKER_02: Um, so Dr.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: Garrett asks, how do you present Cherry for bigger multi-step treatment plans with several visits that span several months?
26:50
SPEAKER_02: Many cases in my practice are comprehensive and cost$15,000 plus.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so um in in my mind, when we get to like the$20 to$25,000 cell treatment plans is where we start doing case fees.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: Um and we start, you know, if I itemize an FMR, it comes out to like$70,000.
27:15
SPEAKER_01: And I just don't need to charge people that much to do an FMR or something like that.
27:20
SPEAKER_01: Um so we'll just case fee it out and we'll say, Hey, you know, I'll always anchor them to a higher price, and I'll just say, Hey, you know, doing something like this is incredible incredibly time consuming and expensive.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: And I just want you to know that up front.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh usually to do something like this in our in our office, maybe you know,$60,000,$65,000.
27:40
SPEAKER_01: Um and then I just I just kind of look at them in the face and read their face and see how they react.
27:45
SPEAKER_01: And some people don't even blink, and some people are like, oh my gosh.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: And so then from there, frankly, that kind of is what sets the price.
27:53
SPEAKER_01: You know, I go to Paige and I'm like, hey, I think this could probably be a fee that a case fee that we could do for$55,000.
27:59
SPEAKER_01: And then she comes back and it's closed at$52.
28:02
SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Um but they've been anchored to this price that I know is never gonna be what we present.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: And so all of a sudden$55 sounds a lot less than$67, you know.
28:12
SPEAKER_01: Um around 15, we probably still wouldn't do a case fee.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: We would still, you know, itemize that that would probably be like an implant or two in our office with a crown or something like that.
28:25
SPEAKER_01: Um and so, Paige, you might be able to speak better to that of how we or any of the things that may pop up from patients in that regard.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so I a hundred percent like what he said.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: He always anchors them and gives them a number.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not always in the room in that moment.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: So that's where like our communication, I need to understand like what he's anchored them at.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: I think that's very important.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, I try not to fit like I try not to think$15,000 is a lot of money to some people.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: I try to just assume like I don't know their money, I don't know their life.
29:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I don't go in it thinking they're not gonna get approved or$15,000 is a lot of money.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: I just automatically assume they're here for a reason, they've walked in that door and they are willing to accept treatment.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of like where I start.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: And then if they are saying, wow, you know, that that's a lot of money, or this, that's kind of when I start using the different techniques and, you know, financing and phasing and discounting and all of those things.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, I just doing the case feeds and just understanding exactly where where Dr.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: Hamblin's at with that and and knowing his bottom.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Again, that kind of goes back to that and me having that conversation with him, like, okay, that's what you said, but what are you willing to do this at?
29:45
SPEAKER_00: Like, is this a straightforward case or is this something where he's having to also use implants and stuff like that?
29:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, so then I kind of know where my wiggle wiggle room is.
29:54
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
29:55
SPEAKER_02: I love that you have that mindset, Paige, because that's super important to um getting your team on board with treatment acceptance when you move into bigger treatment.
30:04
SPEAKER_02: I've seen it over and over and over again where people, because$15,000 is a boatload to me, right?
30:10
SPEAKER_02: Then it's on my face, like this is$15,000.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
30:14
SPEAKER_02: It's like I I had a new team member, we're very young, he was 18, join our team and he saw a proposal and it was$10,000 and he stopped it and he said, Hey, I just wanted to flag this and make sure you saw this before it goes out.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: This is$10,000 a month.
30:28
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Okay, that's a lot like this doctor, is he gonna?
30:32
SPEAKER_02: I was like, dude, he's he they can make like$50,000,$60,000 off of that$10,000.
30:39
SPEAKER_02: We have people who pay$30,000,$40,000,$50,000.
30:41
SPEAKER_02: And he didn't understand the ROI.
30:43
SPEAKER_02: He didn't understand how much doctors make, how much their their offices are worth, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
30:49
SPEAKER_02: So for him, it was a lot of money.
30:50
unknown: Of course.
30:51
SPEAKER_02: But for somebody else, it might not be.
30:53
SPEAKER_02: And so that's awesome, Paige, that you have that mindset.
30:55
SPEAKER_02: Very, very important that your team members understand that and approach it that way.
31:00
SPEAKER_02: Another question is how long do you let patients pay on charity?
31:04
SPEAKER_02: Up to 24 months.
31:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'd have to go into our um settings and and check.
31:12
SPEAKER_01: I think that we have up to 24 months.
31:14
SPEAKER_01: Is that right, Paige?
31:15
SPEAKER_00: We do.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, and honestly, when I'm in the room, I kind of just let them, if it offers it to them and it's gonna sell the treatment, we get paid immediately from that.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: So that's not really us fighting that battle as an office.
31:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's from Cherry.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: They've signed a loan agreement with Cherry.
31:33
SPEAKER_00: And I've done everything because Cherry doesn't have like an app or anything like that.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: So I always add it to their home screen before they leave the office.
31:40
SPEAKER_00: They know how to access that, they know where their loan agreement is, they know where the customer service phone number is.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, but so I just allow them if it offers them 24 months zero interest, I take it.
31:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: And I I would I would say if if doctors or even TCs or office managers, if you're here, um, if you're struggling to implement financing because of the fees, what I would say is just create that problem, right?
32:05
SPEAKER_01: Yes, like create the create the problem that so many people are saying yes to treatment that you're all of a sudden having to pay you know$3,000 to share every month in fees that you can just you can hone that in.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: And then from there you can be like, okay, we don't want people to qualify for financing at this rate or this this monthly deal or whatever.
32:26
SPEAKER_01: And you can adjust all that.
32:27
SPEAKER_01: But we are so anti-risk in dentistry, and the people that I know succeed the most, they're willing just to take the small tiny little risk of, oh my gosh, this month we're gonna spend a little bit more on the financing fees, but just create the problem.
32:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, stepping over dollars to pick up pennies is what we call that.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: Don't don't do that.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh create the problem, pay a bunch of money to cherry.
32:51
SPEAKER_02: If you're paying a bunch of money to cherry, you are in a really good place.
32:54
SPEAKER_02: And now adjust that.
32:56
SPEAKER_02: It's harder, it's harder to grow top line than it is to dial in profitability, always.
33:02
SPEAKER_02: So grow top line and then dial in profitability.
33:05
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
33:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, all right.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh we started using cherry and love it.
33:11
SPEAKER_02: Our obstacle is that patients just hesitate to even submit their cherry application.
33:16
SPEAKER_02: And I understand after one and a half hours appointment, they just want to go.
33:20
SPEAKER_02: Any insight on that?
33:22
SPEAKER_01: Why are they there for an hour and a half?
33:26
SPEAKER_01: No, I I would say um part of that could be that, and I I agree, if I was there for an hour and a half, I'd want to leave too.
33:34
SPEAKER_01: And so we our our workflow, and like we we have to constantly remind our doctors and our hygienists about this.
33:42
SPEAKER_01: But if if the doctors are not in there by the 30-minute mark of their appointment, our total flow is going to be off.
33:49
SPEAKER_01: And so we we quite literally are every day, every appointment, interrupting our hygienists to get in and do the exam before they're even done.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: And we do that for a few reasons.
34:01
SPEAKER_01: But the main reasons are number one, it gives our our uh front office time to put it put together treatment plans.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: So it gives Paige time to go back, put everything into the the spreadsheet, get everything prepared so that when you know when Megan's done with her cleaning, she can go in and have everything ready.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: And it's literally just like we're rocking and rolling.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: Whereas if you wait till the end, then the doctor spends too much time talking to the patient and the hygienist out there tapping her foot, like, get out of my room so I can flip it and get the next patient in.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: And then the treatment coordinator still has to come in and do her thing and have some sort of like high-level conversation about finances with two minutes left on the clock, and it's just not effective or efficient.
34:44
SPEAKER_01: And so our, I mean, a lot of times Paige is in the room at the 40, 50 minute mark, and she's got 10, 15 minutes to have this conversation, and we still have plenty of time to flip the room.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: And so I would say maybe just kind of look at how you're structuring your appointments to where maybe doctors get in a little earlier so that the treatment coordinator can have the time to actually do their job.
35:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
35:05
SPEAKER_02: I think a lot of doctors, what I've learned is a lot of skilled clinicians, and this is outside perspective, so I'll take it with a grain of salt, but very skilled clinicians value longer appointments and they assume that patients value them too, but the patient has no idea what's going on.
35:22
SPEAKER_02: Like they they don't know.
35:23
SPEAKER_02: It could be me doing the exam in there, right?
35:25
SPEAKER_02: They would have no idea because they just are there sitting for so long.
35:29
SPEAKER_02: And so I love that point.
35:31
SPEAKER_02: That's a great one.
35:32
SPEAKER_02: Here's a here's oh, go ahead.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, can you just piggyback off of what he said?
35:35
SPEAKER_00: So I kind of on the flip side, so like the treatment coordinator side, I that's why whenever I'm in there and I'm talking about cherry with them, I'm inputting all of their information.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: I'm not because there's a few different options.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: There's an option where you can just send them the link and allow them to do it, but then they're in control.
35:53
SPEAKER_00: And I want to stay in control of that appointment at all times.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: So I do not want, obviously, I want them to be in control and say yes like for themselves, right?
36:03
SPEAKER_00: But I want to have control over the amount of time it takes for us to get that acceptance.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: So I that's why I personally turn around and say, what I'm doing here is inputting your information.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: You've already provided all this up to all of us.
36:15
SPEAKER_00: And okay, and I spell their name out as I go.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: It literally takes about three minutes.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: And then I say, Do you have your cell phone on you?
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's put that on Wi-Fi.
36:24
SPEAKER_00: And then that way we can make sure that everything comes quick.
36:26
SPEAKER_00: And then you'll be getting a text message.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: What I need from you is to just open that link and I kind of roll over to them at that point and I say, just open that link, it'll come through something called cherry.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, click on that.
36:37
SPEAKER_00: I want you to confirm that I've spelled everything properly and that everything looks correct.
36:41
SPEAKER_00: And you just need to confirm and continue.
36:43
SPEAKER_00: At that point, I'm there with them.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: And if they're struggling at any point, sometimes our older patients do, I kind of help them through it.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: Yep, you just have to scroll with your finger and then they'll confirm and it shoots it back over to me.
36:54
SPEAKER_00: And at that point, I'm in complete control over that and I already have their acceptance or so just keep that in mind and maybe you taking over that and not allowing them to leave without completing that.
37:07
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: Um so follow-up to that for the reason that they're there for 90 minutes is for the new patient exam and cleaning.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: Would you do that after they say yes to cherry or even before?
37:19
SPEAKER_02: So, what you just said, Paige.
37:21
SPEAKER_02: Sorry, it was two two-part question there.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so uh I would wait for, I mean, I'm in there at the very end.
37:27
SPEAKER_00: So that's when I'm in there presenting treatment.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: So they've already agreed to it.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: There is a pre-approval.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: You can do that if you have all the correct information.
37:35
SPEAKER_00: You can do that by your you're putting together the treatment plan before you even enter the room.
37:39
SPEAKER_00: And then you have an idea.
37:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, you do need their social security number for that.
37:43
SPEAKER_00: So just make sure you're getting certain things.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: If not, then when I go in there, I think I just kind of have my spiel down that I know about how long it's going to take for me and if I need to go directly there.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: Because at that point, I've already been told by the doctor, is money an issue?
38:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, so that's kind of where I'm leading immediately.
38:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I kind of hone in on, you know, or as little as$50 to$100 a month.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: And then they're like, wait a minute, what is that?
38:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay, so that's our payment plan.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: So there's also zero interest options.
38:15
SPEAKER_00: So I just like to tell people about it because even if they do, you know, you can pay up front, it it gives you the option to not.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of that's it.
38:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, is that something you're interested in?
38:25
SPEAKER_00: And if they say yes, I'm like, okay, perfect.
38:27
SPEAKER_00: I can just do that right here.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: And I turn around and we have our computer there in the room.
38:30
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I'm like, what I'm gonna do now is just input your information.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: You've already provided us all of this information, and then you're gonna get a link.
38:37
SPEAKER_00: Is your and I always check because our Wi-Fi in that building, because it's a tin building.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: I'm always like, if you need and I'll I'll help them through Wi-Fi.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: I just kind of lead the whole process.
38:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't allow them to lead, I lead it.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: So but I do it in a way that they it doesn't feel aggressive or anything just because I'm so used to it.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: I know, like, if if I haven't gotten the like they haven't completed it or accepted it yet, I'm aware I'm like, this is taking too long, this takes about three minutes.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: So then I'll roll over and be like, is everything okay?
39:08
SPEAKER_00: Like, how is it right?
39:09
SPEAKER_00: And I just kind of I lead it.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: I don't allow them to lead it.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: So just I feel like that's really good.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: Finding a place where you feel comfortable leading that.
39:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, so what's your process if it's like a cleaning?
39:20
SPEAKER_02: So how much time is the new patients coming in for a cleaning?
39:23
SPEAKER_02: Is the flow roughly about the same?
39:26
SPEAKER_00: All of our flows, like, are you talking about from when the doctors and everything goes in?
39:29
SPEAKER_02: No, just from end to end.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: About an hour.
39:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: So we we I mean, different people have different philosophies.
39:37
SPEAKER_01: We have empowered our hygienists to know how to have these conversations when a patient comes in and they can't do their cleaning that day, they they know how to have that conversation.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: So because they are on a base plus commission type of structure, we've had the conversation.
39:53
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, look, if you guys want two hours, sounds great, but you also are gonna burn two hours if that no patient uh if that patient no shows or any of those things.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: And so we've all agreed that a one-hour appointment is is the best in our office.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, I mean, we treat consult like free consults the same way we would a new patient.
40:12
SPEAKER_01: We take full full face photos, we take um cone beams, we take bite wings, we take PA, we take whatever we need to do because we've got the opportunity in the chair.
40:22
SPEAKER_01: Um, and so that that flows all the same.
40:24
SPEAKER_01: But what Paige was talking about earlier, I think, is just remembering I think it's really easy to get lost in the nuances of the financial menu, and just remembering what the whole point of the financial menu is.
40:35
SPEAKER_01: It's simply to get get them or get an idea of how do they want to pay.
40:40
SPEAKER_01: Do they want to pay with cash, credit card, check, whatever else, Bitcoin, or do they want to pay with financing?
40:48
SPEAKER_01: And and then you can you just I think you just get to the conversation faster when you utilize this financial menu because then you're not dancing around, you know, credit card or check, or the it's just like, do you want to pay in monthly installments or do you want to pay this big number?
41:04
SPEAKER_01: Which one?
41:05
SPEAKER_01: Right?
41:06
SPEAKER_02: Love that.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: All right.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: Uh the next question what do you do for larger treatment plans?
41:12
SPEAKER_02: The patient needs an SRP, five crowns, and a root canal.
41:16
SPEAKER_02: Currently, we present just their first two visits.
41:20
SPEAKER_02: I worry they'll be intimidated by the total treatment cost, but if they're financing treatment, it's often easier to do the full plan.
41:29
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we we present it all.
41:31
SPEAKER_01: Um, and a lot of times I specifically I will lead with hey, you know, here in our office, we want to give you the chance to say yes to the best.
41:41
SPEAKER_01: And what that means in our office is we're gonna tell you everything that we see.
41:45
SPEAKER_01: And then again, these are all the same words that we use.
41:47
SPEAKER_01: These are your teeth.
41:48
SPEAKER_01: You can do some, none or all of this treatment, but it's my job and my duty to let you know everything I see.
41:53
SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna go through everything.
41:55
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions, Paige is gonna come in and go through everything with you.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: And her job is to fit this in your budget and your lifestyle.
42:01
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions, just ask her.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: Use her as a resource, she's here to help you.
42:06
SPEAKER_01: And again, like when that comes from the doctor, there's no sales, there's no pressure.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: They're like, Yeah, I'm in control of this.
42:12
SPEAKER_01: And so, yeah, you might present a$20,000 case, but they also know that they can say no.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: Like giving the patient the comfortability to know that they can say no is really empowering.
42:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: And then they're they tend to say yes more.
42:27
SPEAKER_02: Great.
42:27
SPEAKER_02: All right, here's another one.
42:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh, can I ask why cherry is your first choice?
42:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh well, we get the lowest fees, so that helps.
42:37
SPEAKER_01: Um and I I just feel like they have a lot of approvals.
42:40
SPEAKER_01: Like I know with some other uh third-party financing, you just can't even go the fees can't even go as low as as what uh cherry does.
42:48
SPEAKER_01: And so um, we just found that it's quicker, it's more effective, it costs less to us as a practice, and so we've done that.
42:56
SPEAKER_01: Um we still do use other third-party financing companies.
43:00
SPEAKER_01: They like I know specifically there was a patient not too long ago that we we tried to use cherry, they didn't qualify, then we tried another one, they didn't qualify, then we tried another one and they qualified.
43:10
SPEAKER_01: And so we're like, cool, like there's a way to get patients to say yes.
43:14
SPEAKER_01: And so um, cherry is just what is most effective and efficient in our practice on a day-to-day basis.
43:20
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
43:21
SPEAKER_02: One of the biggest things I've realized about the uh dental industry is that everybody has patient financing, but very few people are using it.
43:30
SPEAKER_02: I've seen the back end of these things and I've watched it in offices, and it's just like so minimal.
43:35
SPEAKER_02: And this, what we're talking about here, is a total game changer and it's a competitive advantage.
43:41
SPEAKER_02: And right now it's very there's a very big moat around it because dentists don't want to pay the fees.
43:47
SPEAKER_02: So they're only going to use it to save the patient.
43:49
SPEAKER_02: They're not gonna use it to set up the lifelong uh relationship with the patient.
43:54
SPEAKER_02: And so that that is huge.
43:56
SPEAKER_02: Um, what are the merchant fees?
43:58
SPEAKER_02: It depends how much you use it.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: So they have a progressive scale.
44:02
SPEAKER_02: Um, we actually have a discount code that we get.
44:04
SPEAKER_02: They are our sponsor of our podcast.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: We were used Dr.
44:07
SPEAKER_02: Blake was using them long before that.
44:09
SPEAKER_02: I was using them for a ton of our clients long before that.
44:12
SPEAKER_02: But once they saw how much we were talking about them, they're all, we want to sponsor this stuff.
44:15
SPEAKER_02: So we were like, okay, cool.
44:17
SPEAKER_02: Um, but um, we'll drop that link down below.
44:20
SPEAKER_02: Eve, I don't, I think you have the the link.
44:22
SPEAKER_02: I highly recommend.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Eve.
44:24
SPEAKER_02: Uh on top of it.
44:25
SPEAKER_02: Um uh you get special pricing right away by using this link.
44:30
SPEAKER_02: Um, it it get it goes up a tier.
44:32
SPEAKER_02: But basically how it works is the more treatment you do every single month, the lower your fees become.
44:37
SPEAKER_02: And so you want to do as much treatment as possible through charity because your fees are going to be lower.
44:42
SPEAKER_02: And again, take Dr.
44:44
SPEAKER_02: Blake's challenge, do it for one month.
44:46
SPEAKER_02: If your collections don't skyrocket to make the fee make sense, then don't do it anymore.
44:51
SPEAKER_02: You don't have to use it the next month, but your collections will go up through the roof.
44:55
SPEAKER_02: Everybody that I've seen do this absolutely crushes.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: And when I say crush, we're talking about doubling collections in a very short window because you get more people saying yes.
45:06
SPEAKER_02: And you're happy, your associates are happy, everybody's happy in the whole practice.
45:11
SPEAKER_02: The patients are ecstatic because no one's ever done this for them before to like figure it out, like what Paige is saying, where she's walking them through and helping them figure it out.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: Just dentistry doesn't do that yet, but it is done everywhere else.
45:23
SPEAKER_02: If you go to a furniture store, if you go to a mattress store, if you go to any kind of anything that costs money, even uh a home repair does it now.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: They're just like, hey, let me help you with this process.
45:36
SPEAKER_02: Uh I bought a pool and they did that exactly.
45:39
SPEAKER_02: They were like, All right, let's figure this out.
45:41
SPEAKER_02: What's your monthly payment's gonna be?
45:42
SPEAKER_02: Here's the link.
45:43
SPEAKER_02: Da-da-da-da-da.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: So everybody is doing this now, so you it's a huge competitive advantage.
45:49
SPEAKER_02: So any other questions or any other comments, Dr.
45:52
SPEAKER_02: Uh Blake?
45:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so there were two things that popped up for me.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: And I think a goal we were talking about earlier of like create the problem.
46:00
SPEAKER_01: I I every month I look to see how much of our top line revenue did we finance.
46:05
SPEAKER_01: And my goal is 25%.
46:08
SPEAKER_01: And so if we get higher than that, that's probably where signals may go off, and maybe they wouldn't.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: But um, that's that's a good number to shoot for, especially if if you're afraid of doing this.
46:20
SPEAKER_01: Like, go go and be like, how how do I get 25,000?
46:23
SPEAKER_01: If you do 100 grand a month, how do I get$25,000 financed every month?
46:29
SPEAKER_01: Like create that problem.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: And then if you don't like it, then you can always go back.
46:34
SPEAKER_01: But I bet you'll like it because you'll end up doing way more.
46:37
SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I would challenge people to audit their their patient experience.
46:43
SPEAKER_01: So um in our office, nothing happens at the front desk and nothing happens at checkout, nothing happens at check-in other than those things.
46:53
SPEAKER_01: And so it's really ha hard to have these like nuanced uh uh personal conversations with people when there's three other people standing behind them, and the person that's trying to have the conversation is like looking around him saying, I'll be right with you, you know, uh trying to check them out.
47:08
SPEAKER_01: And so everything that we do, we I'm not a believer in a consult room, but I know a lot of people are.
47:13
SPEAKER_01: I believe in the power of the chair.
47:15
SPEAKER_01: I think there's a lot of authority, uh, and there's a a a little bit of uh intimidation when you're gonna say what's in a dental chair.
47:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm scared in a dental chair.
47:24
SPEAKER_02: Okay, I'm glad you said that.
47:25
SPEAKER_01: So so like when when people are in a dental chair, they they feel a little out of control.
47:30
SPEAKER_01: But so that's why like the verbiage that we use gives them that control back, but it's still not in this like comfortable consult room environment.
47:39
SPEAKER_01: And so just just auditing where this conversation is happening because it if it's happening at the front desk or at the checkout counter, um, I don't think you're gonna have the type of success that you'd like to see.
47:51
SPEAKER_01: And so what's worked for us is checking out in the operatory, but maybe you do have a consult room, maybe and maybe that's where these conversations happen.
47:57
SPEAKER_01: But um, I I think if if you're doing it at the checkout counter, you might you might want to audit that.
48:05
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
48:06
SPEAKER_02: Any other questions while we have Dr.
48:08
SPEAKER_02: Blake and Paige here?
48:09
SPEAKER_02: They did a great job.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: You guys really thoroughly broke it down.
48:12
SPEAKER_02: I know this is a paradigm shift, that's why we're doing this, is like your thinking has to totally change in business and a lot of other things.
48:21
SPEAKER_02: So uh any other questions?
48:23
SPEAKER_02: You won't hurt anybody's feeling.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: Um we I just want to touch on two things that Dr.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: Hamblin said.
48:29
SPEAKER_00: That's okay.
48:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, so the checkout in the room, um, we also get a lot of same-day treatment out of that.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: And they're already in the room at that point, right?
48:38
SPEAKER_00: We haven't taken them out of the room and moved them to a consult room or moved them to the lobby or moved, waited to check out.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: Like, not every office is gonna do a lot of same-day treatment or the same way that we do, but we try to make it a point.
48:51
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's two fillings, let's knock those out.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: They're going back to college, let's knock that out.
48:55
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
48:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I forgot what my other name was.
49:01
SPEAKER_00: It was sorry.
49:02
SPEAKER_02: That first one was so good though.
49:05
SPEAKER_00: I remember um it's with cherry.
49:08
SPEAKER_00: I've heard a lot of patients specifically, sorry, I've heard a lot of patients specifically tell me um, like that no other office has given me this option.
49:17
SPEAKER_00: I've never, I've never been given away, right?
49:19
SPEAKER_00: I'm presented all of this, and yes, we do present everything, but that's where phasing and all of that stuff comes in.
49:25
SPEAKER_00: But giving them the option to finance and do start with one tooth at a time, like where they're in pain, a lot of people aren't offering that.
49:34
SPEAKER_00: And so people feel helpless.
49:35
SPEAKER_00: So then people want to do nothing.
49:37
SPEAKER_00: So then they leave the office, they it'll take them 10 more years to get back in, right?
49:41
SPEAKER_00: And so I think like the financing, using that, especially for those people that haven't been there in 10 years, like you're giving them away.
49:49
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
49:52
SPEAKER_02: Love that.
49:54
SPEAKER_02: All right, last chance before we shut everything down.
49:57
SPEAKER_02: I appreciate everybody joining today.
49:59
SPEAKER_02: Any other questions?
50:04
SPEAKER_02: All right, if not, we will shut things down.
50:06
SPEAKER_02: Feel free to reach out to us.
50:07
SPEAKER_02: You can reach out to me on social media, Dr.
50:09
SPEAKER_02: Blake as well.
50:10
SPEAKER_02: Um, feel free to ask.
50:11
SPEAKER_02: You can ask any questions, and we're happy to answer.
50:14
SPEAKER_02: And this is literally we didn't we're not selling anything.
50:18
SPEAKER_02: If you sign up for cherry, great.
50:19
SPEAKER_02: If you use another financing company, great.
50:22
SPEAKER_02: This is to help people because I really believe that this is the best way to do dentistry to help as many patients as possible.
50:28
SPEAKER_02: And I know Dr.
50:29
SPEAKER_02: Blake and Paige feel the same way.