Blog - Page 90 of 310 - The McAnally Selling System

How Industry Funding Bias Shapes Dental Education

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

Does industry funding bias dental education and lectures? Yes, and you should assume it every time. This isn't about bad people. It's about how money works on the brain. When those calcium channel blockers like Cardizem and Procardia came up for approval in the 80s, the scientists on record supporting them had taken industry money, and the ones opposed had taken far less. The drugs turned out to be good. That's not the point. The point is that influence followed the funding regardless of how professional or educated those people were, because an exchange of money creates a debt that gets [...]

How Industry Funding Bias Shapes Dental Educationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why Obligation Fades Over Time in Reciprocity

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

Does obligation from a gift fade over time? It does, and the speed depends entirely on the value of what was given. A cheap, low-value exchange like a social media like loses its pull in seconds. There's barely any sense of debt to begin with. But a real obligation can last a lifetime. Look at Ethiopia and Mexico. In 1935 Italy invaded Ethiopia, and Mexico, a country half a world away that knew what invasion felt like, sent aid. Fifty years later Mexico City was leveled by an earthquake, and Ethiopia, a poor nation that had peaked financially in the 1930s, [...]

Why Obligation Fades Over Time in Reciprocityjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why Facebook Likes Don’t Bring Dentists Patients

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

Why don't Facebook likes translate into dental patients? Because a like is the weakest exchange there is. Yes, it's reciprocity of a sort. You like mine, I like yours, and around it goes. But the data is brutal. You can pile up hundreds of thousands of likes and walk away with nothing tangible offline, a little goodwill and that's it. The reason is value. The lower the value of the exchange, the faster the sense of obligation fades, and on Facebook that obligation evaporates in seconds. There's no real debt created, so there's no real action that follows. Retailers figured this [...]

Why Facebook Likes Don’t Bring Dentists Patientsjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

How Reciprocity in Dentistry Actually Works

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

Does reciprocity actually work in a dental practice? It works, and it is one of the strongest levers in human behavior, but only if you understand it. Reciprocity is simple. I give you something, you feel a pull to give back. There's a famous Hindu legend where a flower changes hands and a donation comes back, and an entire movement grew on that one exchange. You see it in any grocery store at peak hours, the free sample table, because a tasted bite turns into a basket of purchases. The catch is that not every gift carries equal weight. A real, [...]

How Reciprocity in Dentistry Actually Worksjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

The Patient Application Form That Drives Case Acceptance

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

Why is the patient application form so important in case acceptance? Because it does the work no person in your office has time to do, and it does it without pressure. The application is an automated tool. While the patient sits there relaxed, it walks them through their own problems and hands you a map of what hurts and how you can help. Your assistant or salesperson reviews it before the doctor ever walks in, looking specifically for the problems it surfaces. I cannot stress the power of this enough. A patient filling out a well-built application is helping themselves and [...]

The Patient Application Form That Drives Case Acceptancejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Handling Incomplete Consultation Forms at Intake

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

What do I do if a patient hasn't filled out the forms before a free consult? You make a judgment call based on your time, and you make it out loud. If it's a low-cost or free visit and your schedule still has room, go ahead and see them, but say it plainly. Normally we'd have to reschedule you for this, we're just fortunate we have the time today. I need you to complete these items first, then we'll get you back to the doctor. That sentence does real work. It tells them the standard, it shows them grace, and it [...]

Handling Incomplete Consultation Forms at Intakejames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Front Desk Tasks for the Dental Consultation

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

What should my front desk do when a patient arrives for a consult? Three things, and the same three every time. First, verify the patient actually looked at the materials you sent and knows what today's visit is for. Second, review it with them no matter what they say, because the answer is identical either way. If they read it, great, I'll still recap it so we're on the same page. If they didn't, great, let's go over it now. Third, make sure the practice application and health history are filled out completely, including the back pages people always skip, and [...]

Front Desk Tasks for the Dental Consultationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Set Patient Expectations Before the Consultation

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

Should I set patient expectations before the implant consultation starts? Yes, and it is not optional. If you don't set the expectation for the visit, the patient sets it for you, and I promise you their version will not match what you are about to deliver. They show up imagining they leave with teeth today, or that everything is free, or that you will solve a problem you never agreed to solve. Then they feel let down, and a let-down patient does not say yes. So the first thing my front desk does is verify the patient reviewed the materials we [...]

Set Patient Expectations Before the Consultationjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Connect the Phone to Consultation in Dental Sales

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

How do I connect what I learn on the phone to the consultation? You write it down and you hand it forward. The phone call is where the patient first tells you what hurts, and if you ask the right questions early they will tell you the real pain motivator almost before they mean to. That information is gold, and most offices throw it away because nothing carries it from the front phone to the back consult room. I use a phone slip that feeds the physical checklist that follows the chart. Pain motivator goes on it. Where the patient came [...]

Connect the Phone to Consultation in Dental Salesjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

Why You Need a Dental Consultation Checklist

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

Why do I need a physical checklist for the consultation process? Because concepts don't produce results, actions do. You can read every book on marketing, referrals, phone calls and presentations and still walk away with nothing but ideas floating in your head. A checklist is the bridge from the idea to the thing that actually happens at the front desk, in the consult room, on the phone. It follows the patient's chart and tells your team exactly what to do and say, in what order. Think of it the way a pilot thinks about his pre-flight list. He knows how to [...]

Why You Need a Dental Consultation Checklistjames2026-06-16T00:00:00-04:00

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