What is loss aversion and how does it apply to dental case acceptance?
Loss aversion is the simple fact that people work harder to avoid losing something than to gain something of equal value. Watch the people around you and you will see it everywhere. We guard our money, our health, our investments far more fiercely than we chase the next gain. Even the wealthiest patients, who could clearly afford the gain, are driven more by protecting what they have than by getting more. There are deep reasons for this wired into us, probably from a time when preventing loss meant living to see another day. For case acceptance it means the framing matters enormously. A patient hears help you avoid losing your remaining teeth and bone very differently than help you get a nicer smile, even when it is the same treatment. So learn to speak to what they stand to lose, because that is the lever that actually moves a decision.
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.