The word ‘sales’ is often seen as something of a dirty word in dentistry. After all, dentistry is supposed to be a profession dedicated to patient care, so surely sales shouldn’t come in to it.
While most dental practices out there are just about managing to get by in the midst of the touch economic climate, very few are actually making the most of their business potential and capitalising on the higher profits available from ‘want’ dentistry such as cosmetic treatments and of course, teeth whitening.
Whether you like the term ‘sales’ or not, when it comes to providing services outside of prevention and necessary treatments, every dentist should seek to embrace their inner entrepreneur, and understand that dentistry is just as much a business as any other profession. While this should not for one moment mean you abandon your approach to treating and caring for those in dental need, there is every reason for practices to do their utmost to spread out and expand the range of treatment options they can offer their patients.
The general problem most dentists have with the term ‘sales’ is one of definition. Many will no doubt envisage the ‘hard selling’ tactics of a stereotypical highflying businessperson, but the truth is it doesn’t have to be anything like this at all. A much more realistic definition would be to say sales is about transferring enthusiasm for a product or service into a purchase, or, helping people to buy.
The first stage of successful selling is of course to have the right product that meets patients’ needs, and offers them something a little bit different, or that little bit better than what they might be used to. One example of this is whitening treatment, such as new whitening strips, that are cost effective and can be taken away by patients and used on the same day. Innovations such as these are a fantastic way of expanding the range of services you can offer patients, and can also be used as an effective means of selling to patients who wouldn’t normally be interested in more expensive teeth whitening procedures. With a good product such as this, the ‘selling’ part becomes easy as the benefits to the patient are there for all to see, and the practice will also benefit in turn.
In tough economic times it really does pay to think outside the box. Selling additional goods or services shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing in this context – more, it is a means of giving your patients more options, and a better standard of service.