In a world where instant gratification and rapid results are highly sought after, ensuring your patients begin their orthodontic transformation as soon as possible is paramount. Not only is it advantageous to your patient to begin treatment from the day of their first visit, but it’s also of great benefit to your orthodontic practice.
If you’ve avoided navigating same-day starts with your patients or haven’t understood their relevance to practice growth, we’re here to help you change that.
What Is A Same-Day Start?
Same day start simply refers to beginning a patient’s orthodontic treatment on the same day they visit your practice for the first time. Rather than delay treatment to another time and inconvenience both your patient and yourself by having them make multiple initial visits, you get started as soon as possible.
How Same-Day Starts Can Help Grow Your Practice
One of the biggest benefits of a same-day start approach to treatment is that it disallows patients the ability to defer or avoid treatment indefinitely. As any orthodontist will tell you, many patients simply never come back. This could be due to fear, cost-related concerns, or even a lack of confidence in a provider’s skill.
Capturing patients at their first visit through an exceptional, professional, and genuine approach to their care is essential. When they feel confident and ready to start immediately they are likely to refer others to your practice and complete their entire course of treatment with you.
This effectively boosts your bottom line and grows your patient list while at the same time creating an efficient practice – one that has more time for more patients. In our experience at HIP, offering same-day starts has enhanced conversion for all our clients.
How To Ensure Same-Day Starts Work For You And Not Against
Executing a same-day start is not just as simple as getting a patient in the chair and suggesting you get started right away. There are some essential steps required to ensure your patient is prepared for and more likely to agree to start their treatment the same day.
Touch Base The Day Before
The day or evening before a patient’s initial consultation, set time aside to call them. This is beneficial for a few reasons:
- It allows you to reconfirm their appointment time.
- It provides an opportunity to introduce the idea that treatment will begin as part of their initial visit. If they are already prepared for this eventuality, they are less likely to decline or balk at the suggestion of a same-day start.
- It gives the patient a chance to raise any concerns or questions they may have such as timeframes, payment options, insurance, or similar.
- It helps to speed up the following day’s consultation and expedite the start of their treatment.
Discuss The Benefits
Even if you have already broached a same-day start the day prior, a patient may still have misgivings and need further assurance.
During the consultation be sure to discuss all positive benefits. Gently remind them that they’re there to see you as they want to address issues with their teeth and now is the best time to begin.
Be sure to mention:
Convenience – They’re already at your practice so it simply makes sense to start treatment the same day.
Cost – Many orthodontic practices will offer a discount for patients who begin treatment immediately. Patients will also be saving on an additional consult.
Time – With most of us living incredibly busy lives that are already heavily scheduled, starting treatment from your first visit means making the best use of your time.
Be Prepared For Pushback
Even if a patient seems ready over the phone, it may be a different story once they’re in the chair. Should you react to these hesitations in a way that is anything other than understanding and patient, their anxiety is likely to rise.
A patient may even have agreed to traditional braces but then wish to discuss Invisalign again. This is just all part of the process of reaffirming that a same-day start is the best path no matter which orthodontic treatment they choose. However long these discussions take and whichever treatment they choose, it is still positive for your practice.
Book Adequate Time
Ensure you have marked enough time for your patient to not feel rushed or overwhelmed. The last thing you want is for your patient to feel that they have been coerced or pressured. Allowing ample time to discuss any remaining concerns or reiterate the benefits means your patient will feel confident and is more likely to opt for a same-day start.
By investing this time into building a relationship with your patient you are also more likely to receive great reviews and referrals. Something that stands to benefit other growth strategies such as SEO.
What If Patients Decline A Same-Day Start?
Inevitably, it will happen that some patients just still are not ready to begin treatment from their initial consultation. Of course, there will also be instances where it is not possible due to oral surgeries that are required beforehand.
Whatever the reason, it is important to accept the patient’s decision gracefully and reassure them that you will be ready when they are. The main thing is to never be pushy or negative regarding their decision or they are less likely to return. Turning down a same-day treatment does not equal a lost patient to your practice.
Ready To Grow? Trust HIP To Make It Happen
At HIP we take a fresh, dynamic approach to marketing your orthodontic practice. We have years of experience in supporting practices to achieve sustainable growth that far exceeds their expectations.
Through collaborative consultation, we develop strategies aimed at helping your business not only grow but become more efficient and productive. If you’re tired of outdated sales tactics or pushy approaches that make everyone feel uncomfortable and undervalued, then HIP has the solution.
We’ve created a package that processes into our proprietary Patient Acquisition and Retention Framework (PARF®). Our framework combines everything we’ve learned about marketing, branding, content, and advertising into a single, self-sustaining system that’s automated and easy to manage.
It’s specialized marketing for orthodontist practices that have been proven to succeed. If you’re ready to learn more and experience the HIP difference for yourself, contact our team today on 833.974.2589.
