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959: The Secret Behind Selling Dentistry Without Selling – Dr. Tom Hedge

How do you sell dentistry without selling? In this episode, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Tom Hedge, founder of The Houston Dentists Tanglewood, to review a recent presentation he gave at Smile Source Exchange and share his secret to selling dentistry without actually selling. To learn how to get patients to buy without feeling like they're sold to, listen to Episode 959 of The Best Practices Show!

 

Learn More About Dr. Hedge:

Learn More About ACT Dental:

More Helpful Links for a Better Practice & a Better Life:

Episode Resources:

Main Takeaways:

  • Always take photos of new patients. It is a critical step.
  • Use digital photography for patient education. Let them do the talking.
  • Never treat a stranger. Ask good questions and get to know your patients.
  • Consider hiring a remote employee. They can free up you and your team’s time.
  • Make it as easy and as convenient as possible for patients to schedule appointments.
  • There isn't one big thing to make your practice better; there are a thousand little things.

Quotes:

“Digital photography in my practice is critical. What we do is, every single new patient, we do a series of 13 photos . . .  I shoot them fast. I take about a minute to shoot the whole series. Part of the reason is my assistant, Danielle, is so good. We dance together well, if I can use that analogy. She knows exactly where to put the mirrors, how to hold it, and the angles we need. So, we get those, and we put them up on a nice big screen in front of the patient, and we use that for education. My title of the lecture was “Selling Without Selling”. So, you're selling dentistry. But, in the end, they're asking you, ‘Well, what are we going to do about that stuff?’ And I provide them an answer to that.” (4:03—4:55) -Dr. Hedge

“There are four main reasons to shoot photos on all your new patients. For one, how many times, doctors, have you done a beautiful cosmetic case and you didn't take a before picture? It's gone. The teeth are prepped. You're never going to see it again. So, you've always got [to take] your before pictures. Another reason is, someone calls and they say, ‘I broke something in my upper right.’ Well, the front desk person can go into their file and look at their upper right quadrant and say, ‘Oh, you had a big amalgam in that tooth right there. You probably need a crown.’ So, you're preceding them for what needs to be done. You're being prepared for what you might have to do. So, it totally makes sense to have that record on each patient. Another reason is insurance verification, which is evidence that they need to pay for that crown that you had to fight them about. Laboratory communication, getting the shade right, getting all that perfect. Then, I email every new patient the series of photos. We use Open Dental. It's very easy; I press a button. After I show them the photos, I'll tell them, ‘These photos are all in your email right now.’ So, when they go back to talk to a spouse or someone about, ‘Geez, that's a fortune. You're trying to make that guy's car payment,’ they could say, ‘Well, look. This is what's going on.’” (5:43—6:59) -Dr. Hedge

“The founding doctors, the pioneers in dentistry and medicine, [say] know your patient, never treat a stranger, that kind of thing. So, one of the things that I do in my practice is, a new patient will come in — and I see one patient at a time so I can sit in the reception room with them and talk to them. ‘Kirk, what do you do? Where do you live? How did you find us?’ That's an important question because it helps your marketing to know what brought them into the practice. ‘How do you feel about your smile? Do you like the color? Do you like the shape? Are your teeth okay? Did you have ortho? Do you have headaches? How are you sleeping?’ All those questions, I go through in the reception area. And I may spend 10, 15 minutes with them. So, know your patient. I do.” (7:25—8:04) -Dr. Hedge

“We go through the photos with them, and that's it. They're sold without selling.” (8:38—8:44) -Dr. Hedge

“Doctors say, ‘I don't have time for [taking new patient photos].’ Well, you don't have time not to do that. You really need to take the time to do that.” (10:38—10:45) -Dr. Hedge

“I'm a firm believer that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. So, [ask] guided questions. ‘What do you see there?’ And as I'm going through pictures, Dani will often say, ‘If he doesn't say anything, that's good. That means your teeth are fine and there's nothing going on.’ But I also tell them, ‘I'm going to point out everything that I see here, and you're welcome to ask me a question at any time.’ And they do. So, it's a very conversational look at their teeth.” (11:08—11:35) -Dr. Hedge

“I think every practice should have a remote employee. It doesn't cost that much, and it relieves so much, even if you have a busy, busy practice . . . There's a lot of busy work in dentistry that it's good to have an extra person to do that kind of stuff.” (14:45—15:14) -Dr. Hedge

“The other cool thing we do with Weave is — our patients have become accustomed to communicating with text. I mean, think about it. I don't want to call my doctor's office to make an appointment. If I could shoot him a text and say, ‘Do you have anything at 8:00 tomorrow?’ Patients in today's society really prefer to communicate by text, I think.” (16:03—16:22) -Dr. Hedge

“What's the one thing I can do to make my practice better tomorrow? The answer to that is there is no one thing. There are a thousand little things that you need to do. You need to pay attention to everything. You need to take as much CE as you can. You need to listen to people. There's a wealth of information on Facebook forums that are out there. And maybe there are Instagram forums. I don't know. I stick to it because that's my demographic. But learn as much as you can. Invest in yourself and spend time with patients. Be a human and respect your patient. I've never run behind — never. That's probably because I've scheduled too much time for procedures. But I'd rather have a little time at the end than to have to rush off to the next person or get behind and know somebody is in the reception area.” (23:26—24:19) -Dr. Hedge

“You need to learn as much as you can as a dentist. Be open-minded. Spend time with your patients and take photographs on every new patient. It's so simple and so fast.” (27:49—28:03) -Dr. Hedge

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

0:52 Dr. Hedge’s background.

4:56 What most dentists get wrong about photography.

7:01 Selling without selling, explained.

8:46 Does Dr. Hedge invest in marketing?

9:44 All you need is an iPad.

10:09 Self-limiting beliefs about taking photos.

11:03 Let patients do the talking.

11:36 Benefits of a remote employee.

16:03 Benefits of using Weave.

16:58 Dr. Hedge’s philosophy on hygiene.

19:05 The future of technology in dentistry.

22:43 Advice for dentists.

24:24 About Smile Source Exchange.

27:35 Final thoughts.

Dr. Tom Hedge Bio:

Dr. Tom Hedge is widely known as one of the top-notch cosmetic dentists in the United States. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he majored in biology and chemistry. While studying at the Ohio State University College of Dentistry, he conducted research resulting in the publication of seven abstracts and one paper, which received numerous awards at the state and national levels. After graduating from dental school, he completed a general practice residency at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. This advanced education included training in anesthesia, pediatrics, emergency medicine, geriatrics, TMJ treatment, endodontics, periodontics, orthodontics, oral surgery, prosthetics, and implantology.

Dr. Hedge is nationally recognized not only for excellence in clinical programs, but for sound business practices that make full use of the newest technologies in dentistry. He is an alumnus of the renowned Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies, as well as the Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education. Dr. Hedge is a frequent contributor to dental publications, as well as professional development magazines.
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