"The best time to handle an objection is before it becomes one." - Robert Cialdini I lost a $38,000 case last Tuesday. Well, actually, I lost it three weeks ago during the initial exam. I just didn't know it yet. The patient - let's call him David - sat through my entire comprehensive treatment presentation. Nodded at all the right moments. Asked intelligent questions. Then hit me with: "This makes sense, but I need to talk to my wife." The thing is, I saw it coming. I knew he was going to...
9 days ago • 13 min read
"Silence is a source of great strength." - Lao Tzu I'll never forget the first time I truly understood the power of silence. I'd just presented a $45,000 comprehensive treatment plan. Everything in my body screamed at me to fill the void. To explain more. To justify the investment. To list more benefits. My mouth was actually opening to speak when something stopped me. I just... waited. The patient looked at the treatment plan. Looked at me. Looked back at the plan. The silence stretched on....
16 days ago • 9 min read
"Clarity is the prelude to confidence." - Robin Sharma You're 15 minutes into a comprehensive case consultation. Your patient asked a question about cost. You started explaining the investment. That reminded you to mention the warranty. Which led you to discuss materials. Then you remembered you forgot to explain the diagnostic findings. Now you're backtracking, and your patient's eyes are glazing over. You've lost control. And you can see the case slipping away. Here's the brutal truth: Most...
23 days ago • 8 min read
“The first impression is the last impression.” - Proverb You walk into the consultation room and immediately start explaining treatment or taking x-rays. Your patient is nodding along, but their brain is simultaneously making thousands of subconscious judgments about you, your credibility, your intentions, and whether they should trust your recommendations. You’re operating without a frame. And in the absence of your frame, patients create their own—usually one that positions you as...
about 1 month ago • 11 min read
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou You’re clinically brilliant. Your treatment plans are flawless. Your explanations are thorough. But your patient is sitting across from you, anxiety radiating from every pore, while you’re speaking at them with high-energy enthusiasm about comprehensive treatment options. The energy mismatch is palpable. And without realising it, you’ve just destroyed any...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
“Commitment and consistency is the key to getting people to say yes. Once people commit to something, they are more likely to follow through.” - Robert Cialdini You’re about to present comprehensive treatment worth $45,000. Your palms are sweating. Your heart is racing. You’re rehearsing your pitch in your head, trying to find the perfect words that will convince this patient to say yes to the biggest case you’ve ever presented. So you take a deep breath and ask: “Would you be interested in...
about 1 month ago • 11 min read
“Trust is built with consistency.” - Lincoln Chafee You’re presenting comprehensive treatment worth $40,000. You list your credentials. You mention your years of experience. You explain your advanced training. You’re desperately trying to prove you’re qualified to recommend this level of care. And with every credential you cite, you watch your patient’s scepticism grow rather than diminish. Here’s the brutal truth: Explicit credibility claims trigger scepticism. Implicit credibility signals...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” - Peter Drucker You’re presenting a comprehensive treatment plan. Your patient is nodding. Smiling. Saying “that makes sense.” But something feels off. You can’t quite identify what’s wrong, but your instinct tells you this case isn’t closing. So you push forward with your presentation, add more information, explain benefits again. And you watch your patient’s body language subtly shift from engagement to withdrawal while...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read
“People are generally better persuaded by the reasons which they have themselves discovered than by those which have come into the mind of others.” - Blaise Pascal You’re explaining treatment benefits like a Wikipedia article. Listing features, reciting advantages, presenting evidence. You’re doing all the talking while your patient sits passively, nodding politely but mentally calculating how to escape without seeming rude. Meanwhile, elite practitioners are having completely different...
3 months ago • 19 min read