Selling with integrity — the CliffsNotes®1

Dr. Jamie Reynolds explains how marketing skills and Ormco products can lead to long-term success

I think it’s fair to say that the competition to acquire new orthodontic patients is plentiful. There are many professionals in the dental space, and most are attempting to incorporate orthodontic treatment into their revenue stream. Straightening teeth is no longer the exclusive domain of the orthodontist, who graduates from dental school with increasingly suffocating debt obligations and faces increased competition for patients/customers. And, because most orthodontic consumers don’t even know how many teeth they should have in their mouth, we as specialists, need to understand how to communicate the value of our services to our potential patients — as it is in their best interest to be treated by an orthodontist who specializes in teeth and jaw alignment versus a provider with less training.

Communicating the value of your services to a potential customer such that they become an actual customer is formally known as a sales process. Sales can be a dirty word in healthcare as some think it implies selling things people don’t need, and unfortunately, the reputation has been well-earned on occasion. But sales don’t need to be unscrupulous. In a local, referral-based family business such as orthodontics, the sales process must be based on integrity. Otherwise, the community will smell foul play, and the business will suffer. Although a great sales process has many steps, here are three key factors that may not be obvious but will contribute to successful sales efforts:

1. Set expectations: The number one factor correlated to Treatment Recommended Conversion (TRC) is the frequency with which you do same-day starts, which should not surprise you. I have found the key ingredient to same-day starts is to set expectations for the consumer leading up to the exam, which can be easily achieved via a confirmation call. If your patient or their parents are surprised when you offer same-day treatment during the exam, it is tough for you, the doctor, or your treatment coordinator not to seem “pushy” — which is the archenemy of a great sales process.
2. Marketing matches reality: We have always used the PSL Damon™ System and a premium aligner brand (Invisalign^®2 for many years before switching to Spark™ Clear Aligners a few years ago). We have marketed our practice brand around being a premium provider as such. Should we switch to a lower-cost bracket or aligner to help the bottom line? Our team, especially our TCs, would likely view the cost-cutting measure as a departure from our quality-driven marketing. Believe it or not, your team is involved in selling the practice just as much as you are. If you are marketing premium products and services, you had better provide premium products and services like Ormco’s comprehensive range of products and solutions for your practice; otherwise, your team will not be on board, and your sales will suffer.
3. Play the long game: OrthoFi™³ data shows the average Treatment Recommended Percentage (the percentage of treatment recommended for new patient exams) around 71%.⁴ I am part of the Orthodontic Partners™⁵ OSO, which is comprised predominantly of large practices ($4M to $15M annual production), and our Treatment Recommended Percentage collectively is 51%. I share this information because I have heard countless times, “The only reason practices grow large is they recommend treatment for people who do not need it.” The data shows that recommending treatment less frequently may actually be a prerequisite for growing larger, likely because it builds trust over time. And, in a local, community-driven business, developing trust takes time, but it is the currency that allows for both production growth and maintenance of that growth — the long game. Recommending treatment initially to a higher percentage of patients may lead to a temporary boost in sales. However, it contradicts the practice’s sustained growth and long-term success.