Have I Got A Deal For You!

My wife was shopping in Macy’s the other day and was intrigued when she overheard a senior management person asking two employees what their sales goals in dollar totals were for that day.

Setting realistic hourly and daily production goals is something that I advise my clients to do at the morning huddle. That just makes good economic sense, because there are only a limited number of hours in a day when you have the confluence of staff, high-speed suction, compressed air and patients .

But in my opinion, it is a mistake to think of these goals in terms of individual staff members reaching some kind of daily “sales” quota. That is too transparent and could easily be perceived by the patient as “selling”. Remember that people like to buy, but they don’t necessarily like to be sold. A better approach — a more laid-back approach — is to focus on having a plan that reinforces your agreed-upon criteria or standards of clinical excellence and great customer service. Then encourage each staff member to be an unabashed  spokesperson for those standards.

Thus everyone should look for opportunities to share information with patients about new and exciting clinical advances in your practice like invisible braces, non –surgical periodontal treatments, in-office whitening, and one visit crowns. Talk up your e-mail blast capabilities, blog posts, your website, and Facebook participation that enhances the way your practice connects with your patient base.

Be totally interested in your patients. Inquire about their family members and what is going on in their lives. The goal, whenever you engage them in conversation, is to make that patient feel that when they are in your office, they are the most important person in the universe. Making your patients feel special is a talent and will differentiate you from your competition.

Sales training 101 says  to concentrate on building a solid relationship with your prospect. Once they like you and trust you, the sale is easy. An understated  but  consistent  approach to selling dentistry works way better than high intensity used-car salesmanship. So while that Macy’s employee may only see dollar signs when asked about his or her goal,  let’s make sure that our staff sees beyond the dollar signs to excellent customer service which when done correctly translates into a more profitable office.