Episode : #1,220: Why You’re Not Getting the ‘Yes’ From Patients Right Away

Podcast Description

This episode is all about dentistry as a relationship-based field—finding your patients’ motivations and blending what they want with what their teeth and mouth needs. Tiff and Kristy provide tips on getting to know the human in the chair (even when you’re seeing 30 to 50 patients a day), so they truly feel like their needs are being met.

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Transcript:

Tiffanie (00:01)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back here with you on our consultant takeover, is what I like to call it. The consultants here at Dental A Team, myself, Tiff, Tiffanie, Tiff, Spiffy Tiffy, whatever you want to call me, and at least one other consultant every single month will come to you with some actionable, implementable words of wisdom and advice, things that we’ve seen in offices on the road. We do virtual consulting, we do in-person.

Boots on the ground consulting, and we also do masterminds in person. Right now they are located in Phoenix, where all of our Dental A Team doctors and their mass their office managers can come mastermind together. So a lot of the things that we come to you with are from our experience. We are all experienced in the office. We’ve had hygiene hygiene or dental assisting, and all of us have had front office and at some point or another have managed a practice, andor some of us.

Kiera have owned practices. So we’ve got a vast wealth of knowledge here within our company. And then again, also we are still experienced as in we are going into offices and we’re helping to innovate. So Dental A Team does it differently because we will smash all the knowledge that we’re getting, all of the experience that we’re getting, and create new exciting things without completely reinventing the wheel. But again, just putting it out there that we’re not stale and stagnant. We are.

constantly in offices and our teams constantly talking about the things that we’re doing. And today I bring with he with me to you, Miss Kristy. Kristy, you have been in dentistry for a while, same as me. We’ve both been in it for what feels like forever. And you did some really cool things in office. And one of my favorite things about your experience is not only like the boots on the ground experience that you have, you’ve been in

so many practices physically in practices as a dental consultant, but you really work on personal development and leadership as a skill set to layer on top of the dental. And I love that. I I you know I love the same kind of genre of learning. We share books

DAT- Kristy (02:11)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (02:11)

and podcasts all the time. but how do you I’m gonna like just ask you a little snippet how do you feel that that layering in your consulting

as you’re working with team members and doctors, how does that layering help you to get them to that space of change where they’re ready to implement something new?

DAT- Kristy (02:32)

Yeah, I love that you say that tip because I think truly if if I had to summarize it, it’s really investing in the per person, you know. while I think we love to vision our teammates or, you know, even as doctors and employers, we think they’re gonna stay forever, right? And that’s kind of our goal. But sometimes it’s not meant to be that way. And I I truly believe that investing in the person, whether they’re

staying there in that practice or moving on or heck, how many go back to school and then come back to you? So I think you know we talked about systems earlier today and there’s only so many systems within a dental practice, but when you can layer in and invest in the person on top of teaching systems, it just takes it to a new level. And I I liken it to how we treat our patients, you know?

Tiffanie (03:30)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (03:30)

We can

and it ties to our conversation today, I know, but so many times we can just jump in, diagnose, treatment, plan, tell, or we can really get in relationship and figure out what patients want and create a different experience. And I think to your question, Tiff, no different than how we deal with teammates or employees,

Tiffanie (03:50)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (03:50)

investing in them for sure.

Tiffanie (03:53)

Yeah, I completely agree. As you were speaking about that, I started thinking, my gosh, yeah, it is it’s just that relationship, right? Like you said to the patient experience as well. And being able, I think for our consulting team in general, I think we’re all a little bit more inclined towards that like personal development and leadership side. more so than many people I’ve met in the profession that are very like ready to go, let’s just

change this thing like do and i i get that because people get excited for dentistry too and we do as well i think i i love the people aspect of it like dentistry paved my way is what i say i think it’s cool i think it’s awesome but it’s not end all be all it’s more to me it’s more about the people and like you said investing back into them and i think that’s something that Kristy you do really well and i know the rest of our consultants do as well

Of really investing in the human that’s on the other side of the screen, or that’s standing in front of us when we’re in person and really letting them know and understand that we do care. Not even just I was gonna say making them think. That’s not even it. Like we’re not making people think anything, we’re truly investing in them and letting them know that this is the right place. This is where they should be, and they love their jobs, they can love their jobs and inspiring them.

To love what they’re doing and love the patients that are coming in. And then I think, Kristy, what you do is create a space of safety for them and then a space of learning. So they get to see, they get to be poured into. And the best part about pouring into someone is the idea that they’re going to take that and pour into someone else. So then you’re pouring into your teams and your doctors when you’re working with them.

And then hoping right that now they’re pouring into the patient. And to your point, what we’re talking about today is patient like treatment planning and really why we’re not getting the yes right away. The patients that are saying, I need to think about this. And I think Kristy, to your statement, to the point of your statement, we’ve got to make sure that we’ve poured enough into the relationship to be able to speak to.

treatment plans to issues and problems because like you know you go get your car oil done and then all of a sudden this man you’ve never seen before he’s not even the guy who checked you in comes in he’s like Kristy he’s like you need and he goes down the list and you’re like who are you like

DAT- Kristy (06:19)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (06:19)

why are you like I what are your credentials like how do you know this and and when we’re so automated or busy

I fear that we might get in that same space within a dental practice.

DAT- Kristy (06:34)

Yeah, I I agree one hundred percent, Tiff. And I think we do get in that space, right? We get busy and and they do come to us for our knowledge. And you know, don’t get me wrong, we have a due diligence to diagnose and and treat and tell them what we see. However, I I I literally like I joke about this, but when I teach like even phone coaching and I say to people, why are they coming in for a cleaning?

They’re like a cleaning. And I’m like, but what’s a cleaning? Like, why are they

Tiffanie (07:05)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (07:06)

literally coming in for a cleaning? What do they it they’re coming for what it gives them? N there’s nobody that calls on the phone and says, Hey Tiff, will you make sure my hygienist has really sharp instruments so she can scrape my teeth? You

Tiffanie (07:20)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (07:20)

know? Like nobody says that ever. They’re coming

Tiffanie (07:22)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (07:23)

for what it gives them. And if we want,

To really interact and change lives of patients and get them to say yes more often, we really have to figure out what their motivation is. And again, it ties with that diagnose treatment plan and tell them what they need. But in reality, and especially in dentistry, I think patients truly buy what they want, not always what they need, right? And the want

Tiffanie (07:50)

yes.

DAT- Kristy (07:51)

usually has an emotional side to it.

Tiffanie (07:54)

Yeah, that’s so funny. Yesterday I went to Target. I went Target’s dangerous.

DAT- Kristy (08:02)

Ha ha ha.

Tiffanie (08:03)

I went to Target. So my fiance Aaron and my son Brodie, they decided to it was

I said it looks nice outside. Apparently it was still very hot. But I told them maybe you guys should go, you know, to the driving range and hit some balls. I’ve been waiting months to be able to go golfing, right? So I’m like, why don’t you guys go hit some balls? I’ll run to the store. I had to get everything, groceries and stuff. I said I’ll do the pickup and I gotta run to Target for a couple of things. So I go to Target with the littles, right? So I’ve got a 13-year-old boy, 10-year-old girl, and I’m like Roman Target, you know, and I’m just taking my time. And I said, gosh, you know, sometimes Target just

Target needs to tell you what you need. You don’t always know what you need going into Target,

DAT- Kristy (08:43)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (08:43)

right? And I’m like, doo-doo doo. And then later that evening, one of the boys, one of the one of the older boys, said something about, I can’t remember, something about the my Target experience, right? I think Brodie, Brodie’s like unpacking Target, right? And he pulls out this like loaf pan and he’s like, What what what is you went to Target for this? And I was like, well.

I didn’t, but I know that I needed another loaf pan and it happened to be $2 off. So it made it into the cart. And something Brodie goes, I said, I I told the littles when we were there it was very dangerous that Daddy let me go to Target without a keeper because when Brodie was little, and honestly to this day he’s 18, but ever since he was about four, he would be in the cart and we’re at wherever Target

DAT- Kristy (09:36)

Mm.

Tiffanie (09:37)

or whatever store it is.

And I’m just going, I’m like, ooh, ooh. And he’d be like, mom, mom, is it a want or is it a need?

And that’s so true though of everything, right? Target, I will drop two, three hundred dollars because my house needs these things, right? Well, the holidays. I might need this. I want everybody, everything to be the same. And Aaron’s like, who’s coming for the holidays? Like the kids, right? Like I’m like, I don’t know, but what if? Like, what if I and I want it to be aesthetically pleasing, but then when I go into, you know, a practice, I know these patients are the same.

We’re gonna go drop two, three hundred dollars on something that makes us feel good in our home. We want it to feel great, but how is it making us feel to have that treatment done? So if we are looking for aesthetically pleasing something, and I come in and I ask for whitening, I ask for you to tell me how to make my teeth look better. And you say, Well, guess what? You’ve got this gaping issue back here. We can’t even touch this. I’m like,

Yeah, well, that’s been there for a long time. Like I the holidays are coming and I really want wider teeth. And I’m negated and I’m not paid attention to. And so there’s a bunch of different sides, right? But to your point, Kristy, just like Target, I’m gonna be like 24 bucks. That’s that’s a loaf pan. I need it for the holidays, right? I want it right now, and I’m probably not gonna use it at the holidays. Who knows? I have no clue, but I have it in case I do.

And treatment wise, if we’re not feeling tied to the emotional aspect of it, we’re gonna think about it. Like, mm, I put something back at target. Cause I was like, honestly, like that’s not actually the color I want. I’m not tied emotionally to that color. So like you can keep that target. I’ll get this one instead. Not that I didn’t buy something, I I replaced it with something, but the emotional aspect to it, I was able to get rid of something because I wasn’t emotionally tied to it. I said, that’s okay.

But the things that I felt emotionally tied to, I kept in the cart and I paid.

DAT- Kristy (11:46)

Yeah.

Yeah. Agree with you, Tiff, so much. Again, I think we can mesh the two together, but I I’ll I always share a little story. I had a friend that was looking for an SUV and

Tiffanie (12:00)

Mm-hmm.

DAT- Kristy (12:01)

she went to the car lot and they were like, my gosh, you’re gonna love this car. It has three rows of seats and you can put your kids’ friends in here and blah blah blah. And you know, they were really telling all the great features of this SUV, but unfortunately she didn’t have kids.

Tiffanie (12:17)

no.

DAT- Kristy (12:16)

So while

it was all true, it wasn’t speaking to her why. So she didn’t end up buying the SUV. She went down the road and bought a different SUV from somebody else

Tiffanie (12:25)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (12:26)

because they figured out her why was to put her surfboard in, not to put kids in. So again,

Tiffanie (12:30)

They asked her the questions.

DAT- Kristy (12:32)

you can you can mesh the two together, but really taking that step back to figure out what are our patients, what do they want? And

Tiffanie (12:40)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (12:40)

speak to that thing that we’re telling them they need, but speak to it in a way

that

goes ties to their want. Yeah. Yeah.

Tiffanie (12:49)

Yeah, that’s a beautiful story because that is

a lack of empathy and a lack of wanting that that that’s the connection. So when you have the patients come in that and and Kristy, you’re coaching, you ask the questions, you get to know the people so that you’re coaching to the people. That’s we say we customize our consulting and we do. Dental A Team.

customizes our consulting to your practice. That is an aspect of the customization. It does not mean that we’re revamping everything and we’ll trial and error everything. Like we have systems that are tried and true that we know work. We’ve got the systems. We’re going to make sure that every practice is working off of these systems and that we if you’re already using a version of it, like we manipulate it to make sure that it fits for you. But our customization is I’m going to speak to you in a way that speaks to you. Like I’m not going to

The way I talk to Kristy, even is probably not the way I the same way I talk to Dana, even just in the fact that Kristy’s your kids are older. So the conversations

DAT- Kristy (13:53)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (13:54)

I’m gonna have with you about our kids, I’m not gonna talk to you like I can, and I know that you would love nothing

DAT- Kristy (14:00)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (14:00)

more than to hear about the littles, right? But it’s like I relate to you on my big because you have bigs. Dana, I can relate to the littles that she’s got because

DAT- Kristy (14:11)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (14:11)

there’s littles in my life. So

Getting to know the human on the other side is is the key. And coming up with a few questions that can be repeatable. That’s not, what did you do last weekend? Or it’s Wednesday. So it’s either, what did you do last weekend? What are you doing this weekend? Do you have to go back to work? It’s like, hey, tell me about work. What do you what do you do? I see like your insurance on here, but like, what do you do for Wells Fargo?

DAT- Kristy (14:39)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (14:40)

Ask a real question. So like.

What are some questions that gets them actually talking? I hate the yes or no. And and fine, like, what did you do last weekend? Like, my gosh, tell me more about that. And I am truly interested in that, but we all ask that question. So maybe our treatment coordinators, our doctors, our dental assistants, hygienists, like come up with one question that you can ask. And maybe you’ve got three that rotate that like sidelines someone, you know, that.

is out of the ordinary that makes someone be like, Wow, you actually want to know about me. That’s cool. Like it’s

DAT- Kristy (15:17)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (15:18)

awesome that we remember their kids and the sports and those. And people do feel seen. They feel great because they’re coming in for their recalls for it with that. But I think it’s that really truly caring and that intentionality that helps a patient say, Yeah, I do, I do want to get this done. Cause to your point, Kristy, it’s like

a mom, like do you want you do you want your kids to have healthy teeth? Like let’s show them what healthy teeth look like. Like I would hate for you to be on vacation with your kids or at a sporting event and you eat a a nut or a popcorn kernel and this tooth breaks on you in front of the kids. You got this emergency, like I don’t know what it needs to look like, but something to that effect where we’re really getting to know the human on the other side.

DAT- Kristy (16:02)

Yeah, I agree 100%, Tiff. dentistry is a relationship-based field, period. It just really is. And and even to your point, even with coaching, like we can come in and say, NDTR, you need to do NDTR. But I think we are no different than our patients. And we need to understand the why behind it. And and again, if we’re looking to do something that maybe is a little bit foreign to us or a little bit uncomfortable.

knowing the why behind it and and speaking to what we want. I mean, we talked about that earlier. What’s working, what’s not working, what do we want more of? If we can speak to what we really want or what that patient wants and they feel heard, wow, it just is we’re stepping in a forward direction that, you know, people want to feel validated and heard, seen. Yeah.

Tiffanie (16:57)

Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree.

Yeah. Yeah. And those simple intentional questions make all

DAT- Kristy (17:05)

Yes.

Tiffanie (17:05)

the difference. And it doesn’t add time. I know we get busy like dentist dentistry is hard because we are a relationship-based field. Hands down.

DAT- Kristy (17:15)

Mm-hmm.

Tiffanie (17:15)

You said it perfectly. We are a relationship-based field and we’re really breaking busy.

So we’re trying to build relationships with sometimes 30 to 50 patients a day and individualize that care and that attention. And it’s hard. So something that helps that and helps patients say, yes, let’s do this, rather than, no, I need to think about it, is making sure that we are also communicating with one another, like celebrate.

the knowledge that you have about this patient. So if Kristy’s my treatment coordinator and I’m a hygienist or dental assistant and I found out something really cool about this patient, I’m transferring that information to Kristy. I’m like, my gosh, did you know she’s a Pilates instructor down the street? Like we’ve been asking for Pilates or did you know she owns the coffee shop that we go to all the time? Kristy’s like,

DAT- Kristy (18:08)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (18:09)

what? Tell me more. How did you even get into that? Because we’re genuinely interested. So I don’t it we I

We said this on the last podcast we just recorded. You said this, Kristy. You said sometimes we make it more difficult than it needs to be. And this is that space. You can be busy and intentional. Being intentional

DAT- Kristy (18:26)

Mm-hmm.

Tiffanie (18:27)

doesn’t add to your busy. You need to be intentional about getting to know the person and intentional about helping the next person save time in their job too and transfer that relationship.

DAT- Kristy (18:43)

Yeah.

What is this saying? We you made me think of it be interested, not interesting, right? Right. So

Tiffanie (18:49)

Yeah, yes, yes.

DAT- Kristy (18:52)

again our ease, but to your point too, Tiff, a lot of times I know we were talking about patients saying they need to think about it. Usually it comes back to two things. In in my opinion, it comes back to one of two things, perceived value, or we didn’t find a financial solution.

And so both of those take getting into communication with the patient and figuring out like what is their lifestyle, what is their budget, what are they wanting? And if if a patient walks out and says that, I just challenge you to take a step back and could you answer some of those questions? And if not, let’s go back to the root of why are they here? What were their motivators for walking in the door? I mean

I joke about this too. Everybody says they hate. Well, not everybody. I think I’m the opposite, but most patients say

Tiffanie (19:44)

There’s a few of you outliers out there.

DAT- Kristy (19:46)

they hate going to the dentist, right?

Tiffanie (19:48)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (19:49)

And if that’s true, no one’s forcing them to walk in the door. So why are they there? They’re there for something. And and they’re

Tiffanie (19:53)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (19:57)

choosing you. So, number one, be grateful they’re choosing you and acknowledge that, but also like figure out.

Why are they looking at this SUV? Why are they coming to our dental practice? Right? What

Tiffanie (20:08)

Mm.

DAT- Kristy (20:10)

is their why? What is their want? And find a way to tie it back to that.

Tiffanie (20:16)

Yeah, you made me think of the car ride this morning with the littles and sis is in like the best mood ever today. It’s Monday when we’re recording this, you guys. She’s in the best mood and she’s like and I’m gonna do this and my friends, but then they’re both sitting back there saying that they hate school, right? Like they hate school. And I’m like

I think I said that when I was a kid too. And looking back, like school was such a massive part of my life. That’s where all my friendships were formed. That’s where we had fun, we played, we learned. Like looking back, I’m like, I didn’t hate school, but I think we’re supposed to hate school. I think

DAT- Kristy (20:54)

Mm-hmm.

Tiffanie (20:54)

we’re supposed to be like, I don’t want to do this.

But I don’t think we actually hate it. Like that’s such a strong word. And dentistry, you’re supposed to hate dentistry. Nobody likes going to the dentist. We say it all the time. We make it true, right? We do, they do, everyone says. And it is an incredibly invasive space. It’s a very intimate situation. You sit your patient in a chair that

you they can’t get out of because there’s

DAT- Kristy (21:22)

Mm.

Tiffanie (21:22)

so many things in the way. I can barely clean around it, right? And then we lay them back and make them open their mouths and we’re hovering over them. They literally are stuck. It’s so intimate. And then we’re standing there telling them everything that’s wrong. No, they they don’t like going to the dentist. But if we can make it different, if we can look back at our schooling and see the relationship and the fun and the you know the

playground and the recess and the PE, like all the things that actually made school fun, if we can look back and see that, can’t we help them in some way with our relationship see the dentist in a different way too? Because

DAT- Kristy (22:02)

Mm-hmm.

Tiffanie (22:03)

school was about the relationships, even the teachers, like the teachers I loved was because I was in relationship with them, not because of what they taught me. Right. So if we can make sure

that we think of it in that way, like how can we, how can I make you love being here today because you feel seen, you feel valued, you feel heard. And I am, like you said, more interested in you than being interesting. That changes the game. And that could

DAT- Kristy (22:28)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (22:29)

spin how people think about the dentist.

DAT- Kristy (22:32)

I love that Tiff so much because again, we all know the things we have to do or should do.

Tiffanie (22:38)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (22:39)

Then how again, how can we sprinkle in something that’s just a little bit different and you know gets patients thinking, actually, here’s a good one. I heard somebody the other day talk about why do we even call our patients patients? And I was like, I love that. We should be calling them our guests or our clients

Tiffanie (22:59)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (22:59)

or our this, right? Patients.

Patience in the word patience means they’re sick. And so just by changing

Tiffanie (23:05)

Exactly.

DAT- Kristy (23:06)

and reframing that, it gives you a different outlook and different, you know, you you just show up differently. So I

Tiffanie (23:13)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (23:14)

I think little tweaks like that, but but really being in relationship and figuring out their why is huge.

Tiffanie (23:21)

I agree. I love that you said that because Kiera actually, she spoke at an event this past weekend and the keynote speaker on Friday was talking about all of this stuff, very similar to what we’re talking about today. And that’s something he said. He said, I don’t call my patient, and this is just like a tidbit, you guys take it, whatever. We’re this is not a Dental

DAT- Kristy (23:40)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (23:40)

A Team, we’re changing everything, but this is us talking today. He said, I don’t call my patients patients, because when you think of patient, you think of an ill.

Or an elderly, someone who’s going to the doctor because there’s something wrong. He calls them his clients because they are a client of his dental practice. And sometimes he finds something that they need to invest in. So if you go to the financial advisor, to your bank, to you anywhere, you’re investing in something. You’re a client of that person’s. You’re not a patient of theirs.

DAT- Kristy (24:12)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (24:13)

So I I

I found that very interesting in in mimicking what you just said, Kristy. I do think it changed everything is mindset. Everything is mindset. And if you can help the other person’s mindset be different, then no, then I need to think about that. That’s then you’ve done your job because now you’ve allowed the patient to see the path to health. Otherwise, they’re stuck and not able to get out of their own way.

DAT- Kristy (24:39)

Yeah,

I love that tip. It’s funny because we didn’t we didn’t know I didn’t know you heard that, but it tied right in. And and I

Tiffanie (24:47)

Yeah.

DAT- Kristy (24:47)

truly think even just saying it, like when we say it, we present different when we say the words. So

Tiffanie (24:53)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

DAT- Kristy (24:55)

yeah. this is a good one. This is fun. Yeah. Yeah.

Tiffanie (24:58)

I agree. I agree. Thanks, Kristy.

I would say action item would be to think about how you are intentional with your patients. And is there a handful of questions that you can keep on the tip of your tongue that really allow you to open up space of communication with your patients? Think you chat GPT it, I don’t care, but what can you ask your patients to really get that communication? And remember, communication flows, it doesn’t stop.

You’re either talking to someone or communicating with them. Kristy, thank you so much. This was so cool.

DAT- Kristy (25:34)

Yeah.

Tiffanie (25:35)

I love it. do you have anything last minute, any action items you feel they need to go run away and paint the town red with?

DAT- Kristy (25:45)

No, just I challenge everybody to figure out on a day-to-day basis what is why are they choosing here and what are they looking for today? If you can answer those questions, you probably already have started a good relationship with them. So that’s it.

Tiffanie (26:00)

Mm.

I love it. Okay. Go do

the things, you guys. Go take a look. Go dig in deep and know that you’re doing wonderful things. You’re out there helping people become their healthiest, most beautiful selves in whatever way that can possibly be. And it is your job to make sure that you pave that path for them to get healthier. So do everything you can. drop us a five-star review below. Please leave a comment if you have any tips, tricks, anything that you’re doing that you know is working, or any feedback you have for us, we do love to see those come up. Make sure you share this with a friend.

Anyone outside of dentistry too, I know we work with a lot of businesses. I know there’s a lot of other healthcare at least companies and practices that listen to us. So let us know how those work as well. And as always, [email protected]. We are here to help serve you in the best ways possible. Thanks, and we’ll catch you next time.