james, Author at The McAnally Selling System

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So far james has created 3065 blog entries.

Handling Consultation No Shows and Free Visit Abuse

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

How do I handle patients who abuse free consultation offers? You build a system for them before they ever walk in. Some people cancel, no show, and never fill out their materials, and you have to protect your time from that behavior. The answer is not to argue or chase. It is to move them on to a next step that is no longer free. When someone shows they will not respect the free offer, you stop offering free. That is fair, and it filters out the people who were never serious. In some cases it is actually good news when [...]

Handling Consultation No Shows and Free Visit Abusejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Separate Business Entity for Big Implant Cases

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Can I set up a separate business entity for my big implant cases? Yes, and it's one of the cleanest ways to handle large cases when you don't want to leave a plan that dominates your market. You create a separate business with its own tax ID, and the dentist treating under that entity is a non-participating provider. The big cases get done outside the contract while your main practice keeps the everyday insured flow. I'll be blunt about the threshold though. This only makes sense if you're already doing real volume, something like 20 cases a year at 20,000 to [...]

Separate Business Entity for Big Implant Casesjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Should You Drop Delta Dental From Your Practice?

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Should I drop out of Delta Dental? Only if you're going to become a genuine student of marketing, otherwise stay put. I withdrew from every Delta plan in my own practice years ago and got a three page hate letter from their president for it. I'd do it again. But I won't pretend it's right for everyone. In some markets Delta owns 80 or 90 percent of the contracted dentists, and that patient flow is real. If you're not prepared to replace those new patients yourself through your own marketing, dropping the plan will hurt you more than the plan does. [...]

Should You Drop Delta Dental From Your Practice?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

The Insurance Promise: Put Your Guarantee in Writing

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

What is the insurance promise and why put it in writing? It's a guarantee that kills the patient's biggest insurance fear, and writing it down is what gives it power. The promise is plain. Do a large case with me and you'll get your insurance benefit, and if you somehow don't, I apply what the insurance would have paid straight to your treatment plan. Spoken, that's a nice sentiment. In writing, it becomes a real differentiator the dentists around you won't even understand, let alone copy well. You can put it in your consultation materials and your patient information. One caution. [...]

The Insurance Promise: Put Your Guarantee in Writingjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Blocking Consultation Time to Protect Your Schedule

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why should I block out my consultation time instead of fitting them in anywhere? Because random consults wreck your day. If you stick a consult wherever it lands, you interrupt your flow of procedures, and that is an inefficient way to work. Think about the means of production in your practice. You are most efficient at procedures when you are already doing procedures. I will say that again, you are most efficient at procedures when you are already doing them. The more you stack up until that early afternoon point where you start to tire, the better you get at staying [...]

Blocking Consultation Time to Protect Your Schedulejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Can You Bill Full Fee After the Insurance Maximum?

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Can I bill full fees after a patient hits their insurance maximum? In a lot of states, yes, and you may not know it. Roughly 32 states have passed laws saying that once a patient blows through their annual maximum, every service after that can be billed at your routine full fee instead of the contracted rate. Insurance companies fight this hard with workaround language, and for very large self funded employers the federal ERISA picture muddies things, but for smaller plans the state rulings often hold. The catch is nobody hands you this answer. I've seen dentists ask their own [...]

Can You Bill Full Fee After the Insurance Maximum?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Stuck With PPO Contracted Fees After the Maximum?

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why am I stuck with contracted fees on a PPO patient after their maximum? Because that's the trap most PPO contracts are written to spring. You hit the patient's 1,500 or 2,000 dollar annual maximum, and the contract still forces you to bill every dollar past that at the discounted rate. On a routine filling that's annoying. On a full mouth rebuild it's fatal, because you're carrying enormous risk and the margin simply isn't there to make the case pay. A lot of dentists just quietly eat it or turn the case away. You don't have to. There are real solutions, [...]

Stuck With PPO Contracted Fees After the Maximum?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Out-of-Pocket Treatment for a DMO Patient Explained

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Can I offer out-of-pocket treatment to a DMO patient? Yes, and most dentists never read far enough into their own contract to realize it. Check your provisions. Almost all of them say that once you have told the DMO patient which option the plan covers at no cost to them, you are free to present every other option at your regular out of pocket fees. If you can't find that language, write the plan administrator or president directly and get it in writing. They almost always say go ahead, because if the patient elects something better, the plan pays nothing and [...]

Out-of-Pocket Treatment for a DMO Patient Explainedjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Dental Time Management: Run On Time to Win Cases

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Is running my practice on time really part of selling big cases? It is, more than most dentists realize. Strong scheduling systems and good time behaviors, meaning you actually operate on time, are part of handling free and low cost visits well. There are plenty of reasons to run on time regardless of any sales process, but it matters double when you market heavily. A patient walks in already unsure whether to trust you. If you keep them waiting, you confirm their worst suspicion before you say a word. On time tells them you respect them and you have your house [...]

Dental Time Management: Run On Time to Win Casesjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Presenting DMO Treatment Options the Ethical Way

james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

How do I present treatment options to a DMO patient ethically? Treat the DMO patient exactly like any other patient, with one honest twist. Start at the initial exam or at hygiene and give them a real choice. Frame your out of pocket fees before you ever get into a major presentation, so the number isn't a shock at the end. Show before and after digital preview images. If you're presenting two or three crowns, the patient has to see what the finished result looks like, or you're shooting yourself in the foot. Then lay out the best option, the very [...]

Presenting DMO Treatment Options the Ethical Wayjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

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