28-Jun-06 1:00 PM CST

The Missing Piece

The Missing Piece
Transforming "Need" Dentistry to "Want" Dentistry

1.	"Want" dentistry is purchased with emotions.
2.	Don't minimize the patient's condition.
3.	Don't overemphasize the treatment. Emphasize the disease. Spend 80% of your time discussing the patient's condition/disease and 20% of your time discussing treatment, e.g., "Has this cracked tooth started hurting you yet?"
4.	Stop owning the patient's disease. Stop apologizing to the patient for their disease. Don't hesitate to emphasize the disease — this encourages the patient to take more ownership in their health so they will want to do whatever is possible to get well.

Beliefs you must have:

•	People love to buy
•	Everyone wants to be healthy
•	Insurance will not buy total health
•	Everyone wants to look good/have a great smile
•	Insurance will not buy a more attractive smile
•	We, as a profession, are not repairmen; we are artists, scientists, designers and architects
•	We can consistently design a health and wellness plan for our patients

Hint: Ask more questions and be willing to listen. Questions are the answer.

Sandy and Alan Richardson of Fortune Management have extensive business management backgrounds and have been coaching dental teams for ten years. They provide practice management services to P.A.C.~live at the University of the Pacific in San Francisco, California. P.A.C.~live is the leading aesthetic, hands-on advanced program in the United States. Sandy and Alan can be reached at 888.495.3623 or Salan2@aol.com.