Recently I was talking with a client and his assistant dentist, and his OHT, and the conversation came up about what to say to a new patient who showed signs and symptoms of sleep apnoea.
I asked these three practitioners how they would each explain sleep apnoea to a patient in this situation.
Interestingly, I was surprised in what they answered. I was also surprised that each of them could improve their discussions with their patients….
Here’s what they said:
Each of the practitioners, when asked:
What would you say to a patient who was showing signs and symptoms of sleep apnoea?”
Each of them began talking to the patient about what sleep apnoea WAS, rather than what sleep apnoea WOULD DO to the patient.
Am I making any sense?
Each of the practitioners started describing to the patient the signs and symptoms of sleep apnoea…
Whereas, I would have begun talking to the patient in this way:
I’d have said to the patient:
“Has anyone ever mentioned sleep apnoea to you?”
“Do you know what it is?”
“DO you know it can kill you?”
“Do you know it’s a major cause of premature death?”
“Like dying in your fifties?”
What’s the difference here?
The difference is that the three practitioners each started describing FEATURES of sleep apnoea.
I started with questions that would lead the patient straight to a BENEFIT of treatment… that treating sleep apnoea can prevent premature death and help people live 20-25 years longer.
You see…
You see, nobody really wants to have to wear a CPAP machine or a Somnomed appliance to bed every night for the rest of their lives…
But nobody out there wants to die 25 years before they have to, either?
When you start…
When you start telling people they have an airway disorder and that you can fix that disorder by having them wear a CPAP machine or a Somnomed appliance for the rest of their lives… their eyes glaze over and their minds switch off and they just want to run away….
But when you tell them that they could die 25 years earlier than they should because they have a condition that you can fix for them… all they want to know is:
“When can you save my life, Doc?”
If you want to have more patients getting more treatment done….
If you want to have more patients getting more treatment done…. all you need to do is focus your conversations on the BENEFITS of what you will do, rather than the FEATURES of what you will be doing for them.
Patients are customers.
And customers buy on emotion 100% of the time.
And on they buy on features 0% of the time.
Patients want to live longer.
Patients want to keep their teeth, not lose their teeth.
Facts tell, but benefits sell.
All you need to do is to sell the benefits….
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