james, Author at The McAnally Selling System

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So far james has created 3065 blog entries.

Reciprocity and Liking in Dental Case Acceptance

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

Do reciprocity and likability really matter in dental case acceptance? They matter more than most dentists will admit. Reciprocity, liking, and even appearance run underneath every consultation whether you plan for them or not. Give the patient something real first, your time, your attention, a genuinely useful explanation, and they lean toward saying yes. Be someone they actually like and trust, and the clinical recommendation lands softer. This is not manipulation. It is being aware that people decide with the relationship as much as the X-rays. The mistake is pretending it doesn't apply to you because you are a clinician. It [...]

Reciprocity and Liking in Dental Case Acceptancejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

When Should a Spouse Attend a Dental Consult?

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

When should the spouse attend a dental treatment consult? On a major case, the spouse or financial partner has to be there early, not just at the presentation. I want that person at the complete dental physical too, because a fifty thousand dollar decision is not made by one person in a vacuum. The veto holder, the one who controls the money, needs to see the problem with their own eyes. The way I preface it is honest. I tell the patient that what stands out today are some serious problems, and because of that, their spouse should come along to [...]

When Should a Spouse Attend a Dental Consult?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

The Next Step After a Low-Cost Dental Consult

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

What should happen right after a patient finishes a low-cost consult? Never leave the next step to chance. The worst thing you can do in selling is let a patient drift out the door with nothing scheduled. After the free or low cost consult, the doctor wraps up and a real person, your treatment planner or financial coordinator, walks the patient to the front. There you reinforce that it was good they came in, book them for the complete dental physical, take the fee, and tell them plainly what happens next. Always say it out loud. Let me tell you what [...]

The Next Step After a Low-Cost Dental Consultjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Should You Waive the Treatment Plan Update Fee?

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

Should I charge a fee to update a treatment plan for a returning patient? Usually no, and here is why. By the time someone comes back for a reevaluation, they have already paid once to learn all of this, and the odds of this case going forward are high. They are close. So charging another fee does nothing to help the buying psychology, and waiving it lets you do a little more reciprocity that pushes them toward the next yes. The small goodwill is worth more than the update fee. Charging or not will not change how the selling works on [...]

Should You Waive the Treatment Plan Update Fee?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why Random Actions Hurt Your Dental Practice

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

Why are random actions a problem in a dental practice? Random actions are the quiet killer in a practice, and most dentists never see it. Every time a procedure depends on someone stopping to think "do we do this one this way or that way," you have introduced variation, and variation breaks results. Take the patient application. The moment it becomes optional, your team has to decide each time, and now half your patients get one experience and half get another. Same with your triage steps and your financial visits. The fix is to make the right thing the standard thing, [...]

Why Random Actions Hurt Your Dental Practicejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Should You Apply the Exam Fee to Treatment?

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

Should I apply the diagnostic exam fee to the patient's treatment plan? There is nothing wrong with it, and there is a real reason to do it. When you tell a patient the diagnostic fee will be credited toward their treatment, you have just removed risk from their mind. Patients hate loss far more than they like a deal. Spending a few hundred dollars and then wondering if it was wasted is exactly the kind of loss that makes people hesitate. Take that worry away and they decide easier. This also taps reciprocity. You gave them something, so they feel inclined [...]

Should You Apply the Exam Fee to Treatment?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Are Dental Procedure Models Worth Buying

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

Should I buy the procedure models that dental reps keep pushing? For the most part, no. Those expensive procedure models you keep getting sold do almost nothing to move a patient toward yes. The exception, and it is a real one, is when you are attaching an entire arch of teeth with implants. A model that shows how the prosthesis snaps onto the implants helps a patient understand something they cannot picture from a photo. Everything else is clutter. A good photo of the patient's own mouth, projected large enough that they can actually study it, beats a generic plastic model [...]

Are Dental Procedure Models Worth Buyingjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Does Dentist Appearance Affect Case Acceptance?

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

Does how a dentist looks affect whether patients accept big cases? It does, more than most dentists want to admit. If you are selling work that revolves around perfection, you cannot show up looking like a cartoon and expect the patient to believe in the result. The dentist who looks like a pro comes out ahead of the one who does not, every time, on big presentation visits. That includes your own teeth. You are asking someone to trust you with their smile, so the state of yours is part of the message whether you like it or not. You may [...]

Does Dentist Appearance Affect Case Acceptance?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

How First Purchase Amount Affects Patient Spending

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

Does the first fee a patient pays affect how much they will spend later? Yes, and the retail world has the data to prove it. The size of someone's first purchase sets the ceiling for what they will spend after. Make that first purchase tiny and the next ones stay small. Make the first purchase substantial and the additional spending climbs to match it. That is exactly why I do not want your diagnostic exam priced like an afterthought. A 150 dollar exam anchors the patient to small numbers, and then you are fighting that anchor the whole way through the [...]

How First Purchase Amount Affects Patient Spendingjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

The Cost of Skipping Case Presentation Steps With Patients

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

Why is it a mistake to jump straight to case presentation with existing patients? Because you are guessing at what they know, and you are usually wrong. With patients who have been around a while, the temptation is to skip the early steps and go straight to presenting the case. That is how good dentists bomb out. The patient has forgotten the specifics, their clinical picture may have shifted, and you walk in talking like they remember a conversation from two years ago. They do not. Skipping steps with a familiar patient makes no more sense than skipping the exam. Run [...]

The Cost of Skipping Case Presentation Steps With Patientsjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

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