Episode 557: How To Attract Ideal Patients

We all want the best patients ever in our practice, right? Kiera dives into how to get those great patients through your doors in this episode.

Where does it all start? With you! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Create an avatar for your ideal patient(s)

2. Assure the culture of your practice is conducive to that ideal patient

3. Review your database to pinpoint ideal patients already coming to you

Episode resources:

Reach out to Kiera

Listen to episode 421, How to Get More New Patients

Listen to episode 102, Don’t Cater to the World; Cater to Your Ideal Patient

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Become Dental A-Team Platinum!

Give the podcast a 5-star review!

Transcript: 

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0:00:05.6 Kiera Dent: Hey everyone, welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent and I have this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants where we have traveled to over 165 different offices coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental, and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress and create A teams. Welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast.

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0:00:57.9 KD: Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera, and you guys, today is a great day and I hope you are having an epic awesome day, and if you're not, hey guess what? You have an opportunity to change it. I know some days are not awesome days, and I realised a lot of it is because of my mindset, "Ding ding, Kiera Dent, get your mindset right." And the way I do it is often through meditation, through journalling, through gratitude and really setting my day off in the best way. I set up what my goals are for the day and what my results that I will be receiving. I have recently started saying that I am not available for chaos, I am not available for stress, guys, and it's been wild. My standards have been risen and I can tell you it is working, I gotta get my mindset right. And you can do that, today is your day, you are magical, you have more power within you that you even know you have, so create the day that you want, guys, and create your ideal patient. Today, I wanted to dive into talking about ideal patients and how you can actually get your ideal patient to your practice, but it comes with you, starting with you. [chuckle]

0:02:06.1 KD: Before we dive into it guys, if this podcast has helped you in any way, shape or form, please do us a solid and help us reach our mission of positively impacting the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. There are ways that you can help out, post that you're listening today on social media, tag us we will re-post you and we will love what you guys have. Leave us a review. I just wanted to shout out, I don't know who this person is, it's BB Voles BBB, I'm not sure who you are, but your review was amazing, you said, "The information provided on this podcast is, A1. Love refreshing my podcast page and seeing a new episode from DAT pop up, no matter what phase you're in on your dental journey, there are episodes that apply. Thank you all... Thank you for all you do and share." We have DDS 2012, "I listen to this on my hour-long commute to or from my dental office. Kiera's so upbeat and helpful. I am always excited to pop it on, I know I'm going to be motivated to do more and find time in my schedule to improve our practice. So many helpful tools and tips, I always look forward to this podcast. Thank you, Kiera."

0:03:11.6 KD: Thank you DDS 2012. Thank you, BB Voles, BBB. Guys, these are real reviews and people that I am just thankful for, that have taken the time to share the word, because without you guys popping in there, leaving those five stars, we don't rank as high as a podcast, it is 100% dependent on you. So download, refresh your screen, share with other people, leave those reviews, that's how you can do it. And for those of you who've done that, thank you. I read all of your reviews and I am so appreciative of it, and I try, guys, my job is to show up and deliver, every single time I get on this podcast, your job is to share the word, your job is to leave a review. Just like when you go to a great place, your moral obligation is to share that word so other people can find out. And if guys, we can make this podcast better, email me [email protected], I would love to hear, I would love to help you out, I would love to make it better. So today, let's talk about how you can actually attract your ideal patient. Truth be told, it starts with you.

0:04:13.5 KD: So when I start thinking about Dental A Team guys, I want to attract people that are like-minded, I want clients who are open, who love their teams, who are GSDers, they get stuff done, they work hard, they implement, they execute. I've gotta be that person. If I want to attract that person, I need to be that person. This takes me back to my dating years guys, I truly... Okay, so I studied marriage and family therapy, and I read a random book on how to successfully date. I went to BYU, I feel like BYU might be the dating mecca of the world, and I was obsessed with dating. And I remember that I had a lot of professors because I studied a lot of dating, a lot of relationships, a lot of the way people tick, I still am obsessed with it, so if any of you have some good books, send them my way, [email protected]. But I really, really, really am obsessed to figure out how relationships work, how people work, why people do what they do. And I remember people say, "Kiera, if you want to attract a certain type of spouse, you need to first become that type of spouse that you're looking for. Don't sit on your throne and say, I hope my spouse is super clean" when your bedroom is in hot mess express.

0:05:32.7 KD: Don't worry, that was me, guys. I'm still shocked that I'm a minimalist today, when my husband met me, he was terrified. [laughter] But just like little things. If I wanna have a ton of fun, I need to be the person who's having a ton of fun, if I want somebody who's open, honest, genuine, I need to be practicing being open, honest, genuine with the people in my life. So when we talk about attracting our ideal patient, so often we don't even know who we want to attract, we want to attract everything, but everything actually equates to nothing, because we're not targeted, we're not niche and we don't know. You guys, you do not want every patient just like I do not want every client. Dental A Team does not want to be the one-stop shop for consulting, I don't. I wanna be the one-stop shop for the dentists who actually want to change, who are actually going to come, show up, be present for their calls, think outside the box and be there. I want consultants who want to think outside the box, who wanna change people's lives, who when the going gets tough, they don't quit. I want people with resilience and grit, I need to be that way first. So so often we sit here and we paint up our concoction of what we want our ideal patient to be, but guess what? We forget that the key ingredient, the number one key ingredient is us being that way.

0:06:50.5 KD: And you guys, every patient is not going to come to you, nor should you want it. So when we think about our ideal patient, I want you to look at... So make a list. That's okay, let's make a list. Who is our ideal patient? Maybe our ideal patient is actually someone who wants to do implants, well let's think of the age range that most patients are, who really are full mouth rehab implant cases. Generally speaking, we're probably in our 50s to our 70s, that instantly becomes our ideal patient. Now, you're not gonna be able to become 50-75 to become that, but you can put attributes of this person; This person says yes, this person is committed to treatment, this person has questions but loves education, this person likes to be educated, this person really enjoys a good time, they love to go hiking and camping. I don't know, guys, I'm just making all this up. But what are their core values? What are the things that they value? That's what I'm talking about, that you need to become that. Did you notice I said, "This person loves education." Guys, I freaking hate to research, hate it, I prefer people that love to go off of gut and emotion, I'm an emotional creature over here, I don't enjoy researching.

0:08:06.8 KD: Do I have a team of people that like to research? You better believe I do. Do most of my dentists come in with research and facts? Nope, not most, some do, absolutely, we're going to get some of those. But I am not that person, my core is, "I wanna know that it's right and I'm going to execute. I'm going to live my best dream life of a life and I'm gonna execute." And for some dentists, I drive you nuts, because I don't have scientific facts behind me, what I do in an office does not have any scientific proof behind it other than years and years of experience, so I know it works. I cannot tell you why scheduling an appointment first and then presenting a treatment plan works, I can think about it and I'm pretty confident it's a psychology in the emphasis that I put on, of if I schedule first, it helps the patient commit, lock in and it's childing these principles of persuasion. I've got them thinking in the mind that they're doing treatment before I present a treatment plan, but have I studied it? Have I tested it? Do I have scientific knowledge behind it? Have I read their research studies? The answer is a hard pass no, but I know that it works and that if you schedule an appointment first and then present the dollars, you will have a higher case acceptance rate every single time?

0:09:18.9 KD: The answer is yes. But I drive some doctors nuts 'cause I don't have the research Harvard behind me, I don't, but I've got life experience behind me and that's okay, 'cause I don't want to attract that Harvard dentist that care about all the research and the studies and the statistics, because to me, that's too hard, and I'm a firm believer of, "What if this could be easy?" It can be easy by changing up your sequence, that's it. That to me is easy and something I'll do, researching and reading all this information is something I won't do. So my core value is that, "It's gotta be easy. It can't be hard." Another core value is that we have a yes attitude, another core value is that people get results.

0:10:00.3 KD: Are guys sick of trying to figure it out on your own? I know I am. When I'm trying to run a business, sometimes I just think like, "There's got to be a better way to do this." And so for me my answer has been to find someone who's done it and does it really, really, really well, I'm talking the best of the best of the best. I want someone who's been in my shoes, somebody who understands what I'm going through. When I was looking for the consulting business, I found a coach who literally has run a consulting business, well, that seemed like the perfect fit. So you guys right now, we have a few spaces open in our platinum consulting, that is in the consulting where we actually come to your practice, we help you get systems implemented, we don't just tell you what systems to implement, we actually implement them with you and for you. You guys, it is one of the best investments I've ever made, is to hire a coach who understands the business I'm in, who's lived it, who's done it and that's what we in the Dental A Team do, we literally physically fly to you. So if you're sick of trying to figure it out on your own, if you just want somebody who understands you, join our platinum, I'd love to have you, I'd love to have our consulting team come out and see you, be in your office, be with your team and truly help you get on to the easy path of dentistry, it doesn't have to be hard. So join us in the Platinum, we'd love to have you.

0:11:20.3 KD: So those are the things that I am, that I've become and that's how I attract our ideal clients to Dental A Team. For you, you gotta figure out what are your core values of these patients? You can list off an avatar and you should, "We know we want a 55-75-year-old person, we want them to love hiking, fishing, they have the core values of loyalty, they love to research, they love to be educated, they say yes easily." Those core values are the things I would ask, "Are you that? Is your practice that way? Is your culture that way? Does your team say yes easily? Does your team find solutions?" 'Cause if not, you're not gonna attract these patients 'cause they're gonna feel out of sorts. If it's hard when they're trying to schedule, they are going to feel out of sorts and they're not going to come to you. So when we're looking at these ideal patients, I really want you to hone it in. Also, I did a podcast a while ago, this is probably a year, a year and a half, if you have not gone back into the archives of the podcast, guys, do it. You can also go to our website, thedentalateam.com, click on our podcast page and you can search any topic.

0:12:24.1 KD: There is so much goodness in the archives of Dental A Team and so I'm gonna reference his podcast that I did a while ago. I was talking and I had a guest on the show and we were talking about how so much of your information of your ideal patients is already in your database. Have you gone and actually pulled your patient base, looked to see the average age, the zip code, the demographics, male or female, race, any of that information? And then looked at the treatment plan sizes that are closing with this certain demographics, and then niche off of that, then put your core values attached to it, then put things that you want this person to become, make sure your office and your culture is that way so they feel comfortable there. But you can actually find all the information of your ideal patients within your database, you don't have to go hunting, you don't have to do crazy research, you don't have to do crazy hard marketing campaigns, it could be that simple, and it is that simple, have you done that?

0:13:24.9 KD: So when I talk about ideal patients today, I wanna check, number one, do you have an avatar for the type of patient you're trying to attract? If not, get that done. Number two, is your culture of your practice and of you and your team conducive that that patient, that ideal patient would actually want to come to your practice? And number three, have you gone through your database and actually looked to see the ideal patients that are already coming to you, do they match the avatar you just listed off? If not, change it. And then start marketing to them, that can be through social media, that can be through paid ads, that can be through internal referrals, that could be a patient of the day, that can be on radio ads, billboards, there's a thousand ways to market, but unless you know who you should be marketing to, it's not going to work. So guys, go try it, this could be one of the most fun team activities that you've ever done, or team meetings, bust it out, do an ideal avatar of a patient. You might have two or three avatar patients, which is totally fine, I have three different avatars in our company. We have our future... Get ready guys, I'm leaking a surprise in Dental A Team right now.

0:14:32.0 KD: We are about to release a mastermind, dun-dun-dun-dun, 'cause we wanna help more offices and that avatar of a patient, client is radically different than our platinum clients. So we have a mastermind group, we have our virtual consulting group and we have our in-person consulting group, those are three different avatars. We also have our online courses, you guys, we have quite a few of you that are buying those, kudos to you, they're CE, you get them for life, you've got life access, we've got online videos for you as well, we're getting ready to shift that all up, so snag it while you've got it, that is a different type of client. So we've got our DIYers, those who wanna do it on their own, that's the type of person that buys online courses, or the person who's wanting to advance their skill sets, that too buys that. Mastermind? Most likely starter practices, those who wanna collaborate, not always, but that's who that mastermind is geared for. Our virtual clients, those are those who probably have pretty strong systems or who are just starting out, they want one-on-one personalised coaching, two kind of different ones, but they're one and the same on what they value because they value cost-effective, they value one-on-one, they value team collaboration and they can get a lot of things done on their own.

0:15:49.9 KD: Our platinum clients, those are our next level clients, that's the dentist that wants to go next level, that's the one who wants in-person, they want hands-on and they want people to come and do it for them. Four radically different avatars in our company, and we have that and we mark it differently on all the different ways that we do it. That is what I'm talking about, of creating your ideal patient, how do you attract them? So guys, take this podcast, listen to it as a team, it's a very short podcast for you today, you can listen to this in a team meeting and then execute, I would hit pause all the way through. Alright, what is our ideal client? Let's just list it off, what are their ideal culture, and does this ideal client want to be in our culture? What needs to change in our culture? And then three, let's go hit the database, let's go pull all of our information for our patients, the whole database, let's look at them, let's look at the average age, the average zip code, what did these people like to do? 'Cause once you start to see the ones that are closing higher treatment plans, you will know those patients. What are their hobbies? What are their styles? What are their core values? What do they do?

0:16:52.6 KD: Look at it as data, pretend you have an insider knowledge to know them but also don't know them. Put on both hats because you need to really be consistent with your information on it. Try that out and then create marketing campaigns conducive to those people. I am not about to do Facebook ads for a 75-year-old patient, they're probably not hanging out on Facebook. Where would they be hanging out? They're gonna be hanging out at the newspaper, local coffee shops, they're going to be... If they like hiking and fishing, I need to be a sporting good places, they're probably looking at their mail boxes, so mailers. Totally radical different type of marketing than if I'm trying to target 20-24-year-olds, that I'm gonna be hanging out in social media, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, probably not Facebook, they're probably not even there anymore, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, that's where I need to be for that type of client patient. So guys, try it out, test it out with your whole team, have fun with it, and if this is something that you want help with... Because at the end of the day, I hear a ton of great ideas on podcasts, it's the execution piece that I struggle with, and that's what Dental A Team is there for.

0:18:00.8 KD: We help you execute on all these ideas but in a way that's easy, concise and specific for you. You might not be today in a spot where you need to be worrying about ideal patients and you might need to be getting your overhead down, that you heard this great podcast on ideal patients and I wanna market and I want more patients, 'cause that's what she said on the podcast, sequence and timing is everything, you gotta put your right sequence of items before you can actually execute on different things. Sequence matters, guys. So if we can help you get that sequence in order, you want help getting this done, email us [email protected], and as always thanks for listing, I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.

0:18:41.6 KD: And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.