Mastering the Sales-is-a-Service Mindset in Dentistry

Consider this: sales is not something you do to someone, it’s something you do for someone.

Sales is a service!

Let me share a story with you to paint a clearer picture of this phenomenon…

Shortly after finishing a reconstruction consultation with a patient, our lovely twenty-eight-year-tenured front desk lady, Sherri, pulled me aside. Normally fun-loving and bubbly, Sherri looked very serious. She pulled me by the arm out of the operatory, led me back to a small office and closed the door behind us. It seemed I was in trouble.

She looked me in the eye and asked me passionately, “What are you saying to these people?”

I was confused and asked, “What am I saying to who?”

“The patients,” she clarified.

“What do you mean?” I replied.

She crossed her arms and looked at me intently. “I want to know what you say to these people because after you get done talking to them, they come up front and start throwing money at me.” She cracked a smile and gave up the act of seeming angry. “I just don’t understand,” she added. “Mr. Stevens has never done so much as a filling, and he just gave me a ten thousand dollar deposit to rebuild his smile.”

When I purchased the practice, it was producing just under $600,000. Within six years, we were over $2 million in production. I am telling you this to drive home this point:

It is a misconception that sales is something you do TO someone. As if it is something that a person does to another to somehow manipulate them.

The truth is sales is something that you do FOR someone. It is a service that you provide to solve a problem they have and want resolved.

To grow your practice, first fall in love with sales by substituting the word “sales” with “teach.” As dentists, we are all comfortable with the process of teaching our patients, and sales is no different. When you teach someone, you elevate them and you create value.

In my Art of Sales in Dentistry module, I share more about this educational process: about what to teach and what not to teach. I also do a deep dive with course participants on Your Ideal Dental Mindset, or beliefs, about sales versus teaching. Here is a preview of those types of beliefs:

• Every patient wants what I have to offer because what I do is of very high value.
• Every patient wants to achieve optimal dental health because everyone wants to be healthy.
• Every patient has the money to pay for optimal treatment because there is unlimited abundance for all.
• I am the right person to perform their treatment because I want only what is best for them.

In short, there are two key components to a successful sales process:

• Your Mindset (what and how you are thinking)
• The Application (what you do with that mindset)

I cover both in depth in this module as well as a clear five-step process for The Application, which I like to call the V.A.L.U.E. Process, which stands for:

• Verification
• Awareness
• Liberation
• Understanding
• Engagement

The V.A.L.U.E. Process covers the complete conversational flow between dentist and patient from the time a new patient first arrives at the practice all the way to the point that they accept treatment. If you are curious about it, feel free to reach out to me.

The fastest way to achieve something you have never done before is to find a mentor. I am a coach and mentor exclusively for dentists. I transform my clients’ practices by evolving their skills, income, fulfillment, and freedom, so they can live a 3XLIFE. You were meant to have an impact, make a difference, and live the life you imagine. Let’s find your 3XLIFEtogether.