There are several stages to building rapport. Every appointment you have should run in a structured manner.
Gratitude
- Thank you for coming in.
- If a patient travelled from far:
- “Always very humbled by patients travelling the distance to see us.”
- If a patient waited a long time in the waiting room:
- “Sorry Lisa for keeping you waiting and thank you for being so patient with me. I was running late with my (all on 4, veneer – depending on what the current patient is in for) and we had to ensure they were perfect before the patient headed home as they travelled 4 hours to get here. But I am all yours now and let’s get down to it.
- Make sure there is a reason for you to run late
Discovery
Body language: Sit next to patient and get patient to rest back against chair and legs on chair facing you and ensure that the patient has their back to the door. This ensures minimal distraction and having the body closer and facing you keeps them more engaged to your conversation
- How can I help you today and what is your outcome for today’s session?
- Patients will start to talk about their concerns: click down on the questions to find out and narrow down.
- When was the last time you saw a dentist, what was done, were there any discussion regarding your concerns, what options were given
- Any research done on tx options?
Position Statement
This is where we insert our humbrag and provide social proof to the patient. Which statements you use is customized to the treatment that you are about to discuss with the patient. Knowing the POD list is a very good way to have many tools in your hands that you can switch and change to use when you need.
MEMORISE THIS STATEMENT:
Thank you for sharing all these with me and I am certain I can help you. You are not alone. As a group we’ve done approximately 27000 veneers in the last 2 years alone (or 2000 invisalign cases over the last few years, or hundred of all on 4 patients) – social proof ie humbrag (AUG 22 check POD’s for stats)
By the time you leave here today, I will go through with you all the pros and cons of your options together with the costs. That way, when you get together with your family or discuss tonight with xxx regarding options, you will understand everything and be able to make an informed decision as a team, with me.
Future Pace
For Paid consults:
The next stage is to take scans of your teeth, photos of your mouth and lean you back to have a look. The photos are really important so that we can relate your lip to your teeth, and your smile to your face. The x-rays are really critical for our exam because it allows us to have a look into the roots of your teeth, what’s happening under your gums, and in between your teeth, areas we can’t really see. Once you have decided we are the right place for you and would like us to help you with your smile, we will need to take them. Is that ok? (patient will either say no problem or just take it now).
Just to let you know the costs for the x-rays are $125 and $98.
If the patient says “no”.
That’s entirely ok. We’ll do the best in making an accurate diagnosis for you; however, do bear in mind that as we cannot see anything in between your teeth without the small x-rays, it may change our treatment options and plan later on, therefore we may need to re-discuss options again. Once you have decided we are the right place for you and would like us to help you with your smile, we will need to take them. Is that ok? (patient will either say no problem or just take it now).
Referral Source
While taking records, make conversation.
“how did you find out about our clinic”?
- If it’s a referral, acknowledge the referral and say “I will be sure to thank her and I am very happy to know she’s delighted with our work here. (Dentist to write in referral Patients file? We should thank them since patients who refer once are more likely to refer again)
- If it’s not word of mouth, say “that’s amazing”. The reason why I was asking is because 60-70% of our patients here are from word of mouth and I am wondering if I should be thanking someone for sending you to us.
