For one of our clients, we made over 1,000 outbound calls in 3 weeks to patients asking about their Unscheduled Treatment plans. We’ve learned a lot about the most common objections we receive on why they didn’t book their treatment. In my last post (4 Tips For Treatment Coordinators To Increase Case Acceptance) I shared tips for increasing case acceptance. Here are some more tips for overcoming objections over the phone.
Objection 1: “I don’t have the time right now.”
If we hear this objection we start to get creative. We ask if they can come first in the morning before work, midday during their lunch break, or even right after work. We go through the amount of time they’ll be in the chair based on our custom scheduling guide and show them it won’t take too much of their time.
This objection is the least common.
Objection 2: “I don’t need to do it right now, maybe later.”
With this objection, the key is to gently express the importance of fixing the issue with the patient’s teeth. For example, we might share how a tooth that needs a crown, if left untreated, can further decay and lead to a root canal or implant, which often costs 3x as much, and requires triple the amount of time in the chair.
Patients often don’t book their treatments because they’re not in pain at that moment. If they were, they’d be calling your office immediately to book an appointment as soon as possible. However, having a tooth with a hole in it is a medical issue that needs to be addressed. It’s like having an open wound.
Another route is to emphasize how an insurance premium will reset at the end of the year and in December most dentists are very packed so it’s better to take care of that treatment now rather than later.
Objection 3: “I don’t remember the treatment.”
This comes up if the treatment plan is typically 9 or 12+ months old and they haven’t been in recently for a hygiene appointment. Often we find the patient moved to a new city or just got a new dentist. There’s not much you can do to this objection except try to find out if they still need the treatment and how our client can help them and take care of it soon. Most likely, their current practice did NOT follow up with them, so it shows that our client takes the extra effort to provide better customer support.
Objection 4: “I can’t afford that right now.”
By far, this is the most common objection: The COST of the treatment. There are two routes to go such as:
- Break up the treatment into smaller chunks. If a patient has 4 crowns that are $1,500 each, then maybe start with one or two to get the ball rolling. You can stagger the treatments over time if needed, which we have done before. We’ll focus on just the first phase of a multi-phase treatment and then follow up to book consecutive phases.
- Offer a financing solution. One of our clients uses Cherry, which offers a 12-month, zero-interest financing. The treatment can be booked, paid in full, and the practice typically receives 90% of the fee. (We only count the amount the practice gets, not the full amount in this situation).
If you’d like more help following up with your Unscheduled Treatment Plans from my team so your appointment book is full, Net Profit King can help out. We partner with dental practices as “remote treatment coordinators” so your patients get the treatments they need, your staff is more efficient and less stressed, and you’ll make more revenue (and net profit!) Plus our model involves us making money only AFTER the treatment is complete, in which we charge a percentage. And we have the best guarantee in town: a 90-day money-back guarantee. Book a 10-minute consultation meeting with our team to learn more.