Blog - Page 87 of 310 - The McAnally Selling System

How to Set Patient Expectations After a Consult

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

How do I set patient expectations after a free consult? Tell them exactly what happens next, in order, before they walk out. Vague patients get disappointed, and disappointment loses cases. So I spell out the path. The next step is a complete dental physical where I look at everything. After that I spend about a week building options. Then we sit down together to review them. Three beats, stated plainly. I also tell them up front who needs to be in the room for those visits, so nobody is surprised when I ask for a spouse to attend. Think of it [...]

How to Set Patient Expectations After a Consultjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

What Is a Complete Dental Physical Visit?

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

What is a complete dental physical and why use that term? It is the visit where you sit down and look at everything going on in the patient's mouth and use that information to build a solution. I call it a complete dental physical on purpose. The phrase tells the patient this is thorough and serious, the dental equivalent of a full physical at the doctor, not a quick peek and a quote. When I set it up I tell them exactly what happens. They come back, I gather everything, I spend about a week with that information working up options, [...]

What Is a Complete Dental Physical Visit?james2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Loss Aversion in Dentistry: Ethical Patient Motivation

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

How do I use loss aversion ethically in a dental consult? People are wired to fear losing something more than they want to gain it, and you can use that honestly. When you tell a patient "I am happy to accept you," you are doing two things at once. You pay a true compliment, and you signal that acceptance is a thing they now have and could lose. That quiet pressure of not wanting to give up a spot moves them toward the next step. I do the same with scheduling. I tell them I only hold a few appointment times [...]

Loss Aversion in Dentistry: Ethical Patient Motivationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Should I Compliment a Dental Patient in a Consult

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

Should I compliment a patient during a dental consultation? Yes, and not as flattery. Tell the patient they made a smart decision coming in to see you, and mean it. They did do something smart. The research on this is not soft opinion. Studies going back forty years and right up to the last decade show that a genuine compliment boosts compliance, meaning people are more likely to take the next step you suggest. The trick is it has to be true. "You made a smart decision to see us today" is honest, because they did. Pause after you say it [...]

Should I Compliment a Dental Patient in a Consultjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

What You Owe a Patient You Cannot Help

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

What do I owe a patient I cannot help after the consultation? You owe them a next step. It is rare, but sometimes you finish the interview and honestly conclude this is not a patient you can help. When that happens you do not just send them out the door. As a professional you are obligated to figure out where they should go and point them there. That is not a sales rule, it is a duty of care. The same ethics that let you confidently accept the patients you can help require you to redirect the ones you cannot. Think [...]

What You Owe a Patient You Cannot Helpjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Telling a Patient You Accept Them After Consultation

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

How should I tell a patient I can help them after the consultation? Use two sentences, and use them on purpose. First, tell them they did something smart by coming in to see you. Then say it plainly, I am happy to accept you so we can find some solutions for you. Pause after the smart decision part so it lands and they think, I did something good for myself. Those two lines do real work. The compliment is genuine, they truly did make a smart move, and compliments boost compliance, the data backs that up. The word accept does the [...]

Telling a Patient You Accept Them After Consultationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Dental IQ Questions to Ask Big Case Patients

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

What dental IQ questions should I ask a big case patient? Skip the brushing and flossing quiz. With a big case patient you do not care how well they clean their teeth, you care how much they grasp the bigger picture, because that tells you how deep to go in your treatment discussion. Ask them true or false on a few things that matter. Your teeth can make you feel better or worse. Problems with your teeth and gums can affect your whole body. How your smile looks changes how other people treat you. The severity of dental disease is often [...]

Dental IQ Questions to Ask Big Case Patientsjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

The Upcoming Surgeries Question Every Dentist Must Ask

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

Why should I ask about upcoming surgeries even if the health history is complete? Because a health history looks backward and your patient lives forward. When someone fills out that form they list what has already happened to them. They are not thinking about the knee replacement scheduled in three weeks or the procedure coming next month. So you can have the world's most thorough history and still get blindsided. Ask it straight, is there anything else going on medically that we have not discussed, or any upcoming surgeries? Skip that one simple question and over a year you will have [...]

The Upcoming Surgeries Question Every Dentist Must Askjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Asking a Patient About Treatment Timeframe and Deadline

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

Should I ask patients about their timeframe for starting implant treatment? Yes, and ask it two ways, because people think about time very differently. First question, do you have a timeframe for when you want to start this treatment? Then the flip side, do you have a deadline you have to be finished by? Those sound similar but they pull different answers out of different people. Some folks plan from the start date forward. Others, like me, lock onto a deadline and work backwards from it. You have no way of knowing which kind of person is in your chair, so [...]

Asking a Patient About Treatment Timeframe and Deadlinejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

How to Find a Dental Patient Pain Motivation

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

What is a patient's pain motivation and how do I find it? The pain motivation is the real reason this person showed up, and it is the single most useful thing you can learn at the consult. Ask plainly, what motivated you to come see us today? They may repeat what they told you on the phone, they may say the same thing differently, or they may come out of far right field with a brand new reason. Whatever it is, write it down, because it points the whole treatment discussion. You get a few chances to surface this across the [...]

How to Find a Dental Patient Pain Motivationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

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