QUICKcast: 8 Hacks to Present Financing Like a Pro

Video Description:

Today, 67% of Americans cannot cover a surprise $400 expense, including dental care1. This means many of your patients are making tough choices about whether they need treatment now or if it can wait.

Thankfully, financing solutions are available to help patients access the care they need and pay over time. However, many office teams find it uncomfortable to bring up financing, struggling to know what to say and when, and to whom.

This Quickcast is designed to give you eight practical financial presentation tips you can implement in your office immediately to build your confidence and help more patients complete treatment.

Course Learning Objectives:

  • Tips for how and when to bring up patient financing
  • Step-by-step guidance and talk tracks for the most common situations
  • How to handle patient concerns about financing

QUICKcast sponsored by: Sunbit

5 Tips to Present Patient Financing Like a Pro

When it comes to helping patients access dental care, providing financing options can be a powerful tool to help patients plan and budget for the treatment they need. However, a lot of offices report that they struggle with how to talk about financing, when to bring it up, and what best practices they can deploy to help generate awareness with their patients.

It’s important for the front office team members to build their comfort and confidence in how to leverage patient financing to give patients options that allow them to prioritize their care.

Here are 5 tips for becoming a pro at offering patient financing:

#1: Present it early and to everyone

Some office teams are taught to present the cost, then wait for the patient to respond before offering payment plans. This isn’t the best approach. Don’t let patients sit there and stress in silence. Bring up your financing options early, before they’ve received treatment, giving patients a chance to plan and budget for your recommendations. This goes for all patients, not just those you think need the help. By not pigeonholing yourself to those you think to need it, you’ll see treatment acceptance, average transaction size, and patient satisfaction go up. Plus, you’ll avoid awkward conversations about price later in the appointment.

#2: Create workflows for generating awareness

There are many touchpoints in your office workflows that you can leverage to help generate awareness about your financing options. Use your marketing tools and reach out to your vendors to support you in getting your communications set up. Consider adding a message at each of these touchpoints in the patient experience:

Financing Touchpoint Timeline

#3: At check-in, plant the seeds

Ideally, if you’ve followed tip #2 above, you’ve communicated your patient financing options to the patient before their visit. When they come in for the appointment and check-in, reinforce the fact that you have these options so patients understand the full extent of their purchasing power before they’re hit with a bill. Plant the seeds with this talk track:

  • We have different payment options to help finance your out-of-pocket expenses today.
  • You choose which option works best for you and we can answer any questions you have.
  • Let me show you how it works.

#4: Keep it simple during case presentation

After the meeting with the dentist, there’s always the treatment recommendation. This is challenging because you have to tell the patient what they need and what it costs. Here’s a simple talk track you can use after you present the treatment recommendation to introduce payment plan options:

  • You don’t have to pay for everything today, as you can finance the bill for simple monthly payments.
  • Here, let me show you.

#5 With discount requests, keep it positive

Many times patients ask if they can have a discount. This can be a tough one to handle. Keep it positive by avoiding any negative language. For instance, don’t use the words “I’m sorry” or “We can’t” or “We won’t.” Focus on the positive and say:

  • The good news is that you don’t have to pay for everything all at once.
  • You can apply to finance your bill into monthly payments and choose the option that works best for you.
  • Let me show you how it works.

At the end of the day, the key is to focus on providing options. Educate your patient early and often on the financing options available to alleviate the financial burden and stress and provide a better patient experience.

To learn more about Sunbit’s pay-over-time technology available at thousands of dental practices across the country, visit sunbit.com/dental.

Subject to approval based on creditworthiness. 0-35.99% APR. Payment due at checkout. Not available in VT, WV, or WY. Loans are made by Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc., dba TAB Bank, which determines qualifications for and terms of credit.

 

Learn about the presenter:

Adrian Valente Sunbit

Adrian Valente is the Director of Training at Sunbit, the fast-growing patient financing technology company, and supports training, enablement, and community engagement. He has trained over 110,000 dental, auto, and optical professionals on how and when to offer financing to customers. As the resident subject matter expert for all things Sunbit, you’ll find him hosting podcasts, events, interviews, and coaching sessions across the verticals they serve.

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