What is the practical difference between reporter mode and ethical selling mode in a dental consultation?
Reporter mode delivers findings in technical sequence and expects the patient to draw conclusions. Ethical selling mode starts from where the patient is, references the motivator that brought them in, and walks them through the recommendation in language and order that meets their decision-making process. In reporter mode the doctor talks at the patient. In ethical selling mode the doctor talks with them. Reporter mode is built around the doctor’s mental model of the case. Ethical selling mode is built around the patient’s mental model of their problem and their life. The clinical recommendation does not change between the two modes. The framing, sequence, language, and pacing all change. Ethical selling does not mean dropping the science. It means delivering the science in a form the patient can actually use to commit. The classic hard-sell tactics from other industries have no place here. The lead-by-the-hand approach does.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.
