Are You Too Strong or Too Weak?

Start influencing your patient’s expectation of need.

Let’s look at this problem from both sides, if you imagine what I call a referralized case presentation continual, with ideal case presentation falling right in the middle of the line, on the right side of the line you are too strong, leaving the patient feeling pushed and pursued.  On the left side of the line you have the patient confused and overwhelmed.

So let’s start on the right where the Dr. is losing referrals because the case presentation is too strong.  This problem is one of the most difficult to spot. 

The challenge with breaking the referral code in your practice is that there are too many variables to solve.  You will need to look for small clues that will give you just enough information to reduce the number of variables.  Applying this to your practice and following this training, you will forever hold the secret to attracting patients to your practice. 

Tell patients exactly what they need … and then cheerfully give them exactly what they want. 

I need you to imagine that you have one of these two problems, that you are either too strong or too weak in case presentation.  Both of these problems represent a major impediment to the referral process. On the too strong side the Dr. has any number of ways to sabotage the treatment plan presentation effort.  Remember patients come into the office hoping to be able to refer.  It’s when they encounter something negative that changes all of that. 

There are two specific areas when the over-zellas will predictably harm their chances of getting people to refer.  The first is making overwhelming recommendations, the other is what I call pushing past reasonable.  You still need to tell them exactly what they need, it’s not what you say it’s how you say it that is going to leave them impressed or overwhelmed.  The real problem that leads to overwhelm is patient expectation, that is treatment expectation.  When you tell them they need treatment that is 1000’s more than what they expected, that is when serious overwhelm occurs.

In order to take the overwhelm out of the presentation, you are going to have to take a few steps back and get a head of the patient.  Since you can’t ethically reduce your recommendations, you are going to have to work to influence your patient’s expectation of need.  This is the essence of the value principle introduced at the beginning of this program.  If you recall the definition of value, it’s that the patients are left with the perception that failing to purchase your service will actually cost more than it will to receive your care.