Why does discounting fees become a death spiral for dental practices? Because nobody is forcing the discounts. The dentist hears no enough times in a row, concludes that fees are the problem, and lowers them. Some patients say yes. The dentist concludes the lower fee was the answer and lowers them again. The margins compress. The team works harder for less. The next round of no's drives another discount. Sears, Kmart, and Best Buy lived this exact pattern in real time. The way out is upstream: build qualifying systems that filter patients before they reach a fee discussion, and stop trying [...]

Why does discounting fees become a death spiral for dental practices? Because nobody is forcing the discounts. The dentist hears no enough times in a row, concludes that fees are the problem, and lowers them. Some patients say yes. The dentist concludes the lower fee was the answer and lowers them again. The margins compress. The team works harder for less. The next round of no's drives another discount. Sears, Kmart, and Best Buy lived this exact pattern in real time. The way out is upstream: build qualifying systems that filter patients before they reach a fee discussion, and stop trying [...]

Why does discounting fees become a death spiral for dental practices? Because nobody is forcing the discounts. The dentist hears no enough times in a row, concludes that fees are the problem, and lowers them. Some patients say yes. The dentist concludes the lower fee was the answer and lowers them again. The margins compress. The team works harder for less. The next round of no's drives another discount. Sears, Kmart, and Best Buy lived this exact pattern in real time. The way out is upstream: build qualifying systems that filter patients before they reach a fee discussion, and stop trying [...]