Does the size of a dental patient's first payment affect what they'll spend later? Yes, significantly. Behavioral research on service relationships shows that the first transaction sets the psychological baseline for subsequent transactions. A patient who pays $300 for a diagnostic exam is more psychologically prepared to pay $20,000 for treatment than a patient who paid $75. The smaller first payment makes the bigger second payment feel disproportionate. The larger first payment makes the bigger second payment feel proportional. This is why discount diagnostic exams hurt rather than help acceptance: they prime the patient to expect every subsequent transaction to be [...]

Does the size of a dental patient's first payment affect what they'll spend later? Yes, significantly. Behavioral research on service relationships shows that the first transaction sets the psychological baseline for subsequent transactions. A patient who pays $300 for a diagnostic exam is more psychologically prepared to pay $20,000 for treatment than a patient who paid $75. The smaller first payment makes the bigger second payment feel disproportionate. The larger first payment makes the bigger second payment feel proportional. This is why discount diagnostic exams hurt rather than help acceptance: they prime the patient to expect every subsequent transaction to be [...]

Does the size of a dental patient's first payment affect what they'll spend later? Yes, significantly. Behavioral research on service relationships shows that the first transaction sets the psychological baseline for subsequent transactions. A patient who pays $300 for a diagnostic exam is more psychologically prepared to pay $20,000 for treatment than a patient who paid $75. The smaller first payment makes the bigger second payment feel disproportionate. The larger first payment makes the bigger second payment feel proportional. This is why discount diagnostic exams hurt rather than help acceptance: they prime the patient to expect every subsequent transaction to be [...]