I was quite nervous today as I had a couple of Treatment Presentation appointments. We saw two very different patients last week and they were both coming to see me today. Their personalities were massively different- Patient A was very bubbly and friendly, quite loud and opened up to me immediately. Patient B was pleasant but a lot more reserved and not as warm.
When I create my Treatment Presentations and prepare for the appointment, I have to be very aware of the personality style of the patient. I find that in order to be successful in selling Dentistry and also building excellent patient relationships, it is crucial to adapt yourself to the personality of the patient. For example; my personality matches Patient A very well so I wouldn’t necessarily have to adapt myself in order to communicate well with her but with Patient B, I have to reign in the giggles and touchy-feely side of my personality and channel my serious, “down to business” side in order to communicate well with the patient.
I do my Treatment Presentations on Microsoft Powerpoint so that patients can take a CD home with them and view it whenever they like. With Patient A, I added lots of before and after photos, videos and colour to the presentation and she loved the visual aspect of it and thought it was informative in a fun way. With Patient B, I used less visuals and concentrated more on the facts. I added lots of text about the treatments we were proposing and also mentioned things like the 5 year material failure guarantee and lifespan of the treatment. Patient B was happy to know this and felt secure in this knowledge whereas Patient A wouldn’t give a stuff about this! Being told that the treatment would “make her look beautiful” is far more effective than “the veneers are protected for 5 years”.
The fact is that both of these statements are important and valid- it depends on your personality style and your mindset as to which matters the most.
The trick is to get to know your patient well- uncover layer after layer until you know for sure what their priorities, concerns and needs are and then adapt to them in order to complete the sale and make them happy at the same time.
Emma Lever-Pilling RDN.
