Emotional momentum consists of seven positive emotional outcomes patient’s experience that escalates over the new patient appointment that influences patients to accept complex care. Emotional momentum is the essential differentiator between your practice from many others offering complex care.
Emotional momentum consists of seven positive emotional outcomes patient’s experience that escalates over the new patient appointment that influences patients to accept complex care. Emotional momentum is the essential differentiator between your practice from many others offering complex care.
Here’s a conceptual diagram of Emotional Momentum.
The horizontal axis depicts the clinical procedures in a new patient process. The vertical axis represents the positivity of the new patient experience. The diagonal ascending line represents the escalation of emotional appeal throughout the new patient experience. The diagonal line labels represent patients’ seven emotional outcomes related to each clinical procedure.
Let’s discuss each emotional outcome that constitutes emotional momentum.
The first step in creating emotional momentum is likeability. Patients prefer to experience a likable dental office environment. Now, this may seem like common sense but think about this. Likeability; what’s likable about a typical new patient appointment? Is a full-mouth series of x-rays likable? How about study models or intraoral scans? How likable are they? Or how about periodontal probing? Is that likable? Starting your new patient appointment with diagnostics can create an unlikeable and ordinary dental experience. Dentists do it because it’s efficient.
However, to initiate emotional momentum, rule #1 is to be surprisingly likable.
Here are three ways to do it.
- First, record a video of the dentist welcoming the new patient to the practice. I call this the Meet & Greet experience. Make this a high-production quality video. Use a video production company if needed. Keep it under two minutes. Have fun with it. In it, talk about what they can expect during their initial visit. Let them know about your COVID-19 precautions, and assure them their safety and comfort are your prime concern. Here’s an example of the Meet and Greet video from my online program, Making It Easy for Patients to Say Yes ( show video)
- The second way to be surprisingly likable is to be on time for their initial appointment. Being late to see your new patients is disrespectful. Far too many dentists, running behind has become a bad habit. An easy way to always be on time is to schedule new patient’s first appointments in the morning and afternoon. See them first before any clinical appointments. Being on time will surprise and delight patients who’ve been accustomed to always being seen late in the medical environment. Plus, by seeing patients first thing in the a.m. and p.m., you’ll be fresh.
- The process with the highest potential for spawning a surprisingly likable event during the new patient appointment is a one-on-one conversation with the dentist. Have this conversation before any diagnostic procedures.
The gold standard for initiating emotional momentum is the unexpected, delightful relationships dentists can start with patients.
Starting your new patient appointment with a personal conversation is an old-school approach patients love. Complex care for patients is personal. They want it to be personal to you too.
Approach the one-on-one conversation as a way of introducing yourself. Take the time for you and your patient to get to know and like each other. Give your patients a glimpse of who you are aside from your role as a dentist; your roles as a spouse, a parent, or something you have personally in common with them.
When dentists tell me, “I don’t have time to start my new patient process by talking to patients. I have my team do this” I know they’re missing the best opportunity to initiate emotional momentum and become surprisingly likable.
The combination of the Meet & Greet video, being on time, and having a one-on-one conversation to initiate the new patient appointment makes it immediately obvious to patients they’re in the right dental office.
In my online program, Making it Easy for Patients to Say “Yes!”, we go in-depth on the new patient conversation as patients provide clues to their readiness for care. Engaging in conversation also allows dentists to correlate care to lifestyle benefits. How can you help a patient visualize treatment benefits if you have not learned about the patient’s personal lifestyle?
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