Parthiv Shah: And we are live. Good morning, everybody. My name is Parthred Shah. I am from elunches.com, and the founder of
Parthiv Shah: the dental growth machine.
Parthiv Shah: I am joined here with my friend Dr. Chris Phelps, in Charlotte and Dr. Anisa Patel, in Mumbai to talk about one thing that is very close to my heart
Parthiv Shah: growth.
Parthiv Shah: I want to help dentists grow their practice, and I want to help dentists sell more implants.
Parthiv Shah: I would, without
Parthiv Shah: further ado, I would like to hand over the microphone to Dr. Christopher felt. So he can introduce himself
Parthiv Shah: and talk about how you can sell more implants using
Parthiv Shah: learning from Dr. Phelps, Dr. Phelps over to you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Awesome. Thank you. Part thief Dr. Nissa. Always good to see you good morning, everyone. We appreciate you with us, whether it's the evening time. Maybe it's good evening. Good afternoon, or good morning. If it's my time zone
Dr. Chris Phelps: that's what I love about these things. Zoom can unite the world right? So wherever we are, whatever time zone we're in we can all be together and learn from each other as a result. So let me pull up my slide here.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And you guys part thief. Let me know if you can see that. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: alright. Can you guys see my screen? Am I? Good?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, yeah.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Excellent. So for those who don't know me, I'm a practicing dentist in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I've been practicing for 22 years now I built 4 fee for service dental practices here in town, and have subsequently built different dental companies, some dental support companies on top of that. But
Dr. Chris Phelps: probably one of my passions is communication right and really kind of diving into mindsets and human behavior, and really spent a lot of time studying under one of the masters of this Dr. Robert Cialdini. You'll notice I have some credentials there. Not only my Dmd. Doctor of medical dentistry, but I'm a Cmct. A. Chouddini method certified trainer. So I was fortunate that I got to spend over a year learning from the godfather of Influence himself
Dr. Chris Phelps: taking these behavioral science research, study after study that I dived into over that year.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and then was able to take them back to my practices and kind of use them as my laboratory to experiment, and it was an important time for me to do that, because right when I kind of needed Dr. Cialdini the most, and he appeared before me, so to speak.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I discovered him, if you will. This was just after 2,008, and if for those of you that have been practicing long enough here in the United States. You know that the housing crisis that we had then was not a fun time. Banks were literally going bankrupt right or blowing up and going under. People were getting arrested. Credit was drying up patients. You couldn't get credit right interest. Rates were rising, costs were rising. It was definitely a time of economic uncertainty.
Dr. Chris Phelps: much like we're kind of feeling now, and have been over the last 14 months with inflation and cost risings and everything else. And so I see a lot of parallels between where we are today and where the situation. My practices were in back then, and they needed to grow as part thief said, That's that's what we're here for. And that's what we're in the business to do.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And so I realized I needed to double down, if you will, on my efforts and get better at certain pain points in the dental practice. Parthiv, later is going to talk about what he does and how he helps offices attract an unlimited number and quantity of new patients
Dr. Chris Phelps: quality. New patients like implant patients. As an example. We can work on. We talk about how we can fix the telephone because we can get these leads to come in. But if we're not answering the phones. If we're not scheduling the appointments, and they don't show up right and have attendance. Well, that's gonna be a problem that's gonna be a lost opportunity. And it's gonna cost us more money in the attraction phase to prepare that inefficiency.
Dr. Chris Phelps: We've got acceptance. Okay? And that's what I'm going to talk about today? What are people really using at their core to make their decisions? Okay? Because back then, in late 2,008, 2,009,
Dr. Chris Phelps: I found myself making my strategies on the excuses my patients were giving me after they did not say, Yes, right? So why aren't you doing this treatment, Mr. Jones. It's too expensive, right? My insurance doesn't cover it. Maybe you've heard some of these kind of terms in your world as well. So my strategy around the excuse was, well, I guess it's too expensive. I got to discount it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: discounted, discounted, discounted. Well, you can only know you can. You can only discount so many things for so long. Right? That's a race to the bottom, as we like to say.
Dr. Chris Phelps: when, in fact, what Dr. Cialdini helped me realize was that there was something else going on. Okay, there's something else. These other factors that patients were actually using to make their decisions, whether they even realized it or not things that hit them at a subconscious level that doesn't really get to rational thought.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So I was able to study those things and then apply those to my practices, and they were able to have monumental growth 3 years in a row, despite a horrible tight economy, right at a time when more dental practices went bankrupt in the United States over that next 3 year period than in the history of dentistry.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, my practice were able to grow a million dollars each 3 consecutive years in a row.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Basically, it highlights the point that when you figure out what people are really using to make their decisions, and you focus your messaging and your communication around that
Dr. Chris Phelps: the world doesn't matter what life around them doesn't matter. Okay, so we're gonna dial in today on that acceptance piece. Okay?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now to start, I'm gonna start you with the video. Okay? And I want you to try to listen if you can. To the instructor. And if the audio doesn't work, here's what the simple task is. Gonna be your job is that there's gonna be 2 separate teams, okay players wearing white shirts and players wearing black shirts. Each of them have a basketball, so you're gonna be asked to count the number of times. The players wearing white shirts pass the ball.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, that's it. So was it? 10 times 20 times, 50 times, right? So at the end, that's what we're going to be looking for. Okay, how many times did the players wearing white, pass the ball? Okay, let's see how good you are at counting
Dr. Chris Phelps: this illusion, count. How many times the players, wearing white, passed the ball.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, let's see if our chat feature works in the chat for me. Go ahead and put how many times. Do you think the players wearing white, pass the ball?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Give us your guess.
Dr. Chris Phelps: How many times did the players, wearing white, pass the ball.
Parthiv Shah: I'm saying 8. Some people are saying
Dr. Chris Phelps: All right. Let's see, the correct answer is, 16 passes.
Dr. Chris Phelps: 60 passes. Okay. Now I'll tell you. The 1st time I watched that video I did not get the answer right? I got 15 passes. Okay? So apparently I'm not very good accounting, but the next question is, if you saw the if you got the number correctly or not. How many of you noticed that there was a gorilla in the video? Okay? Or a guy dressed as a gorilla, though in the video.
Parthiv Shah: Yeah.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Or maybe you notice that the the curtains totally change color, or that one of the players on the black team completely left the game. Right? Let's see.
Dr. Chris Phelps: did you spot the gorilla
Dr. Chris Phelps: for people who haven't seen or heard about a video like this before about half missed the gorilla.
Dr. Chris Phelps: If you knew about the gorilla, you probably saw it. But did you notice the curtain changing color, or the player on the black team leaving the game.
Parthiv Shah: No, I didn't. I was so focused on the white ball, and everything else was nice.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Here comes the gorilla, and there goes a player, and the curtain is changing from red to gold.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Crazy? Right? So I've shown that video to all kinds of medical dental professionals around the world. And what we've noticed is that 90% of dentists do not see the gorilla. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: about 50% of team members do see the gorilla. Less than 1% of people see 2 or 3 or more of the changes, right? I don't think I've seen anybody that's gotten all of them correctly. So why do I show you that? What does that gorilla symbolize right? Well, in essence it symbolizes this.
Dr. Chris Phelps: When I, we ask you to focus your attention on counting that ball. Okay, your brain dials into that, at whatever level of detail you're going to provide. Well, the reason 90% of dentists don't see the gorilla is that we live in the world of millimeters. Right? So we are hyper focused on minutia and tiny detail like that. So focusing you in on that ball, you focus really in on that ball. But that means wherever your focus and attention is, it's important to your brain.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But wherever your focus and attention is not meaning the surrounding areas around it, you don't even see. So that's why somebody, literally in a gorilla suit could walk right past. You, beat their chest and walk off the screen, and you completely missed it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So, in short, the gorilla in the room symbolizes that when you're too close to a situation or problem or barrier, oftentimes you can't see the root cause, and if we don't have the root cause of it, then we can't really do anything to fix it. So the gorilla and today's talk is what you thought. The reasons were. People were saying, no to you, and your treatment recommendations
Dr. Chris Phelps: is not actually that right? There's these other things going on that we have to satisfy these objections to, so it doesn't have to be about the money, or whether their insurance covers it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I mean, sure, if you don't tap into these things if you don't leverage the stuff we're going to talk about today. Well, people still need something to use to make a decision. So they're naturally going to fall back on the only thing they do. Know, then, what it costs, and whether my insurance pays for it. But if we can change that, if we can make our strategies elsewhere weigh the scales down to the other side. So it's not about the money and the insurance. Then oftentimes we get a better, more successful result. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: how about this one? We all know. It takes probably more energy and effort to walk upstairs than it does to walk downstairs. But if you ever thought about. What would people prefer to do? On the whole, if they had a choice? Do people enjoy, or really like, or prefer to go upstairs? Or if they had a choice, would they prefer to go down right? Well? Nature is a fundamental law that Alexa takes the path of least resistance, so most people would prefer to go downstairs because down requires less energy.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That's going to be an important analogy. This upstairs versus downstairs for this next example. So back in 2,003. Invisalign was really new to the scene in dentistry at the time. For the most part it was only orthodontists that were utilizing this product. It really hadn't expanded to the general dentist space like it has today.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And that was right. When I actually, I graduated, dental school was 2,003. So there was a group of orthodontists that had a popular study club.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and these were some of the most successful orthodontists in the country. Almost every one of them had their own private plane, and at least one of them had their own private island down in Turks and Caicos. Okay. So you know, you're doing pretty good selling brackets and wires. Speaking of growth bar thief, right if you got your own island. But these guys were all having a problem, promoting and selling invisalign to their patients, which in their practice happened to be their most expensive item.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, doctor, they contracted the Cialdini group, and Dr. Caldini's consulting group came out to to evaluate them in all their offices, and they noticed a pattern in the way they were presenting.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and the pattern went something like this. They were all presenting this way, all right, Mrs. Jones. You could do short term bracket wire therapy. So the silver wire silver brackets. We could do short term less than 6 months. We could fix the smile on the front, but not worried about the bite in the back for $2,000.
Dr. Chris Phelps: We could fix the front and the back with silver brackets and wires for 4,000.
Dr. Chris Phelps: We could fix the front and the back with cosmetic bracket and wires. So 2 colored wire, 2 colored bracket for 6,000, or we could use this thing called invisalign, which most people can't even tell. You're wearing for 8,000. Which would you prefer?
Dr. Chris Phelps: So that was their standard presentation. Okay? Well, based on that last example I just gave you? Are they taking people down the stairs in this example? Are they taking people up the stairs?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, obviously, they're going up 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So our trainer made one recommendation. Okay, he said. You know what. Let's do something different. Let's do an experiment. So.
Dr. Chris Phelps: moving forward, if a new patient comes in. We want you to flip a coin, and if the coin lands on heads you present the way, you've always been presenting it, take them up the stairs.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But if it's tails, because 50 50% of the time it should be one or the other.
Dr. Chris Phelps: humor me, flip it, start high and go down in options from there. Take them down the stairs
Dr. Chris Phelps: and let's see what happens. Right? So that's what they did. Half the time they took people up the stairs. When they presented the other time they flipped the sequence, and they took them down the stairs.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now I think most of us would agree that if the cost of invisalign being expensive at $8,000 was the sole or most important reason why people said yes to it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Then it doesn't matter what order you present it right. They either have the money or they don't.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so, taking them up the stairs or downstairs shouldn't make a difference on the number of sales or yeses with invisalign.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, what we found was when they started at high at 8,000, and took them down the price stairs. From there that single move led to a 540% increase in sales of their $8,000 invisalign.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So another way to say that is is that they sold 5.4 times more quantity.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Going from 10 orthodontic starts a month to 54 orthodontic starts a month.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now, what's interesting is to get these doctors excited. They were only hoping for a 20% increase in sales of invisalign. They didn't realize it was going to be amplified to that level. Right? So what this and other studies like it tell us is that not only what we say to people is important.
Dr. Chris Phelps: oftentimes the order in which we say it is important, and, in fact, from that last example, if you are presenting and taking people up the stairs in your options and price which dental school taught us to do. By the way.
Dr. Chris Phelps: then you're automatically setting the stage for more people to say no to every one of your options. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: but if you start high and take them down the stairs, you're automatically setting the stage to not only selling more of your biggest and best option right, but those that couldn't afford 8,000 in the second group more bought at the $6,000 level, taking them down the stairs than in the up the stairs group.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Those that couldn't afford 6,000 more bought at the $4,000 level than any other group.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and even more bought at the $2,000 level at the down the stairs group than when they took them up the stairs, so not only did they sell more of their biggest and best item, they sold more of every other option. So
Dr. Chris Phelps: my goal with influence and persuasion is that ultimately we're just trying to influence the patient to do something
Dr. Chris Phelps: as long as they do something
Dr. Chris Phelps: they're leaving in better oral health than when they came in.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The worst thing that can happen is they choose to do nothing. If they choose to do nothing, we both lose in that scenario.
Dr. Chris Phelps: They do something we both win right? That's really our ultimate goal. With the way we're communicating. Okay? So not only what we say to people is important, but the order in which we say it with no merit to what we're even talking about taking them up the stairs. You're influencing more to say No, automatically. Take them down, you automatically influence more to say yes.
Dr. Chris Phelps: simple as that. And you can start using that as soon as this webinar is done.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now from a behavioral science research, if it's not about the money and the insurance as the main reasons why people say no to us. What are the main reasons why people say no to us? Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: well, being in the right mindset is an important one. Okay, being in the right mindset is key, as you're going to see, because whether you realize or not, patients are all coming into a situation with you with a mindset already established right. And if you don't do anything to change that mindset and refocus it back on what they value more about their oral health versus the wants they're spending in their life.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, guess what the mindset they're coming in with is going to compete with, what you want to talk about, or it's distracting them from what you want to talk about
Dr. Chris Phelps: either way. The door to yes, mentally to them is closed
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? And so you're speaking to a dead audience. It's like they're not even there. Okay. And your efforts are wasted. So we're gonna talk a little bit today about. How do we get people in the right mindset to overcome this objection? Whatever mindset they're coming in with, we have to change and make a new one
Dr. Chris Phelps: next up. There's 3 reasons that were researched by one of our Chouddini alums, Dr. Greg Nider, which is called his core motives model. And in this research. He realized that one of the main reasons people say no to us outside of the mindset, of course, is there's no relationship there.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? I mean, think about that. It makes sense, doesn't it? I don't know you. I don't like you. Therefore I'm probably not gonna do business with you right? So we tend to do business with people we have relationships with.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And we don't tend to say yes to people that we don't have relationships with right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: If you haven't thought about this. This lack of a relationship is the main reason why, like one of the root causes behind why existing patients, no show on you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I mean, think about that right? How many of you have somebody in your life that I won't say you like love them, but you know, don't necessarily hate them either, you know you don't. You just kind of tolerate them. You put up with them right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Maybe it's a relative or a friend of a friend, you know you're never the most excited when they're around. But you you tolerate it. Well, all of us have somebody like that in our life right. Well, how many of you would make an appointment to meet that person somewhere?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: meet them somewhere, and then no show on them. Just leave them hanging, not even call them or tell them you're not coming.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Who would do that?
Dr. Chris Phelps: No reasonable person would do that right. So why do patients do it to us, especially existing patients. Well, because if we wouldn't do that to someone we barely like, where do we fall on that priority scale? We're below them on the relationship scale. That's how bad it is. So if I have that person and I want to change their behavior, if I can get them back in the chair.
Dr. Chris Phelps: What's my priority? I gotta focus on that relationship. Okay, so we'll give you some points today about what we can do to build better relationships with people.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Another reason, Dr. Nyder found that people say no to us is there's uncertainty present.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I mean, we talked about back in 2,008. I felt this with the economic uncertainty that was going on. And kind of what we're feeling today, that uncertainty, this environmental uncertainty, if you will
Dr. Chris Phelps: definitely makes people pause. So if there's any kind of questions or doubt in their mind at a local level, meaning literally in your chair or in a global level meaning in their environment. People don't move. Okay, they actually feel like it's safer to choose to do nothing than to choose anything right? So uncertainty is a big problem, right? People with questions or doubts. Now, this uncertainty in the dental chair is usually bred in 2 aspects. Number one, we're the source of the uncertainty.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So what I mean by that is, you're not confident in what you're presenting to the patient.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and that could come from the doctor level. Well, Mrs. Jones. I don't know. I guess you could do this, or I guess you could do this, or I guess you could do that. What do you want to do.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And the patient's thinking, jeez, Doc, you're supposed to be the authority here. You're the expert, and you don't even know what I should do. How am I supposed to choose?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So we're not confident in what we're presenting.
Dr. Chris Phelps: or it could come from the team level.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So if you have team members presenting financials. If your team member thinks what they're presenting to that patient is expensive.
Dr. Chris Phelps: they're going to project that to the patient. That uncertainty within them is going to come through in some way, shape or form, and it's going to cause the patient to be uncertain about moving forward as well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So sometimes we are the source of uncertainty.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Another main reason why there's uncertainty created in the dental chair is that we present too many options to the patients, and we don't get them committed to any of them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: There's this crazy thing called the Paradox of Choice right? And if you haven't read the research on this, I highly recommend it. It's a great book as well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But the paradox basically states that while we at least need a choice, 2 options to really commit to something.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The paradox is, the more choice we have, the more options in front of us, the less likely we are to pick any of them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay? Why? Because people literally lose the ability to tell the differences between the options. They can't tell them apart.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That's where the uncertainty comes from, and if they're not sure they can't tell them apart. They do nothing.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So think about this. If you left the patient and you said, Okay, Mrs. Jones, you could do nothing you could do a partial. You could do a bridge, or you could do an implant.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, the financial team's gonna come in and go over that with you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, the financial team is going to come in because you haven't closed them. You haven't got them committed to one of those 3 main things, the partial, the bridge, or the implant. So the financial team has to come in and present financials for all 3 of those options. So they're probably going to give 3 financial options for all 3 of your treatment options. And now there's 9 things the patient's trying to decide from.
Dr. Chris Phelps: It's not gonna happen. Okay. So we're gonna talk about a little bit about how do we decrease people's uncertainty to to motivate them and get them committed to a single answer to a single plan. Okay?
Dr. Chris Phelps: And last, but not least, we've got. There's no urgency. Okay, I call this the I got time phenomenon. So maybe they're in the right mindset. Okay, maybe they like you. Maybe they're certain. Yeah, Doc, I see the Intro camera photo. I see the X-ray. I get it. I need a crown.
Dr. Chris Phelps: but you know what it doesn't hurt, so I don't have to do it right now. Right? I'm getting control of me. I'm in control of my destiny. I'll decide when I do this.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So they think I've got time, and they put it off, and while they leave your office and they may intend to. It's top of mind today. Well, when life gets in their way, and a thousand other things get in front of that patient on their to do list and distracts them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You and your crown go to the bottom of the barrel, never to be seen or heard from again.
Dr. Chris Phelps: -Oh! Until it finally hurts. And now they're back. Okay? So there's some strategies we're going to talk about, how do we get people in the right mindset? How do we build relationships with people? How do we decrease their uncertainty? And what principles of persuasion can we use to motivate action today? So if you haven't heard of Dr. Cialdini. All these principles. The 1st one is as old as time. Okay, it's it's biblical. It's called reciprocity. And basically reciprocity states that if you give someone a gift of value, of significance.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, there's a lot of an obligation created inside of you where you feel the need to get back.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Somebody gives you a gift on your birthday. You feel like you gotta give them a gift on their birthday.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Somebody does you a favor. You feel like you gotta do them a favor. Right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: So if given, people want to reciprocate and give back
Dr. Chris Phelps: liking. Okay, we like to do business with people we like, right? But the liking principle is not about you trying to get the patient to like you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: It's about showing the patient. Okay, that you like them. First, st
Dr. Chris Phelps: see when you show them and do things that show them that you like them. First, st guess what they tend to reciprocate, and they like you back.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So liking is we like to do business with people we like. If they don't like you, they're not going to do business with you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Unity is one of our newest principles. Dr. Cialdini wrote about it, and did research on it about 6, 7 years ago.
Dr. Chris Phelps: In essence, many times we often unite ourselves under a certain category or a banner of things like family. For instance, right? There's the family unit.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So liking is about similarity. Right? In essence. Hey? You're a circle. I'm a circle, if you will. Unity is, we are the same.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So it's not like we are like each other. We are each other. We unite under this category banner. We are family, if you will.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Culture, religion can unite people like this. Geography where you live. Your hometown, the region you're from your favorite sports teams. Right? Your favorite hobbies and interests can unite people under a certain banner if they're excited enough about it. But if we unite with others, we tend to say yes to those if they ask request of us. Okay, isn't it hard to say no to a family member, for instance, okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: social proof means we look to the evidence of what others are doing to show us what we should be doing. Right? We're heavily drawn by the evidence. What the crowd or the majority have done or said is going to show us or tell us what we need to do as well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The authority principle basically states that we need credible, trustworthy authorities to tell us what we should do.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Our challenge is we need patients to trust us to say yes, to our treatment recommendations. The problem is trust is not something that's built quickly. It's built over time, multiple interactions. Right? So
Dr. Chris Phelps: I don't want the patient to say yes to me 6 times from now we need the patient to say yes to us today. So how do we build trust quickly? So I'm gonna give you today an authority shortcut to build trust and credibility with them instantly. If you're meeting them for the 1st time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Consistency is a powerful principle. Consistency basically states that if you make a commitment, so think of this as the commitment principle.
Dr. Chris Phelps: if you get a person to really commit to something, there's a lot of external and internal influence on them to follow through and be consistent and do with what they said they were, gonna do. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Here's where the power comes from? Well, what do we call people who are inconsistent
Dr. Chris Phelps: in what they do? And their thoughts, actions, beliefs? What do we call people who don't do what they say. They're gonna do routinely.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, there's no positive word in the English language to describe this person. Wishy washy flip floppers. Okay, liars, right? No good word. So we don't want others to perceive us as being lying or inconsistent in our thoughts, actions, and beliefs. So there's kind of this external influence on you. But at the same time there's an internal influence, because you want to view yourself in that way, either.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? You don't want to view yourself in that way, either. So the key here is, if people commit they do
Dr. Chris Phelps: so. If they're not doing, what are you missing?
Dr. Chris Phelps: I'm not getting a commitment.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So we're going to talk about what kind of commitments do you need to get out of patients so that they do move forward with your treatment recommendations. Okay? And last, but not least, of course, is scarcity. Scarcity is about resources. If resources are dwindling or about to run out. Okay, there's a lot of influence on you to motivate you, to want that thing more and do more to get it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: pay more to get it, whatever that is okay. Resources. Think of it this way. Like, if I told you that the oxygen was running out of the room you're sitting in right now.
Dr. Chris Phelps: wherever you're at in the world, most of you would probably want to know before it runs out, not when it runs out right, because if you know, before it runs out
Dr. Chris Phelps: that oxygen is about to become scarce. That's going to motivate you to do something about it right? You're going to get the heck out of there and go find some air somewhere else. Okay? So with true scarcity. And this is what's interesting about scarcity is, there is fear built into it because that it's this fear that life or death resources are disappearing. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: the problem today is our brain has not evolved to the point where, because these things trigger us subconsciously, and they don't actually get to the rational thought.
Dr. Chris Phelps: True resources, like oxygen running out that fear pulls us.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But the same effect happens if we feel like toilet paper is about to run out of the store, or they're about to run out of banana bread at Starbucks. So now I want that thing more. Okay? So that pull of scarcity, the fear is the same.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now with all of these principles. Okay, they're universal. Okay, they're cross-cultural. Which means it doesn't matter where you are sitting. Right here in the world. Every culture, every person on this planet.
Dr. Chris Phelps: uses these things to make the majority of their decisions. Okay? And we have so many behavioral science research studies from across the globe to reinforce that fact. Right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: The other cool thing is is that we can use these things in an ethical way, right? And that's really what's important, just because we know how to persuade people right? The the question should always be asked, should we?
Dr. Chris Phelps: And we should always take these things from an ethical approach. And everything we're talking about today passes all of our objective ethical criteria. So where does the source of this information? Well, as I said, it's Dr. Robert Cialdini. If you have not read his pioneer book influence the psychology of persuasion.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I highly recommend you do that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: They surveyed the top 100 Ceos in the United States, and entrepreneurs over a 3 year period, and just kind of saw, like we're measuring organically if they recommended a business book, what was the top business book that was recommended amongst them all? And for 3 straight years from 2021, 2022, and 2023. Cialdini's book influence was number one.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so I highly recommend it if you haven't read it, because in that book what he talks about is that how, when these principles are present, we have learned through time and evolution and other things, that they trigger us at a subconscious level.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay? So if they're in our environment, we automatically are drawn to them and it bypasses rational thought and emotion. And we tend to say yes in that situation. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: now, is it a guarantee of a yes, no, right. Sometimes experience does play a part. So if I have put my finger on a red hot stovetop and burned it right. I have that experience. So if I'm in the future, and I see another red hot stovetop.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I don't care what influence principle you put in front of me. I'm not touching it. I know that thing's bad, right
Dr. Chris Phelps: sometimes emotion and other factors do play a part that can work against you, but for the most part right. This is what I call this setting the stage for. Yes, when you leverage these principles in a situation. Okay, when you get people in the right mindset, when you build a relationship, decrease their uncertainty and motivate action
Dr. Chris Phelps: right now, it's not about the money, or whether their insurance covers it. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: okay, let's look at mindset. Okay, mindset is who you are. In the moment you're about to make a decision. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: who you are in that moment is about where you are in that moment that you're about to make a decision. So let's look at example. So in a random grocery store on a Tuesday, they surveyed customers in a in the store, and in essence what they were asking them was, Hi, we're with the soft drink company. We've got this brand new soda we'd love for you to try.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Please share all of your personal information with us. Your email home address, phone number whatever. Okay? And we'll be happy to send you a free case of the soda and all we ask for you to do is give us your feedback.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and we'll be happy to move on from there. So in this day of cyber security. You know, it's not people's tendency to share their personal information. Right? So not shockingly, only 17% of people said, Sure, I'll try your new solo.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The vast majority said, No, thanks.
Dr. Chris Phelps: but they stopped and asked themselves, Well, what kind of mindset would somebody need to be in
Dr. Chris Phelps: who would like to say yes to this new thing to try this new soda out?
Dr. Chris Phelps: And they asked themselves, and they said, Well, what's a word? We could crystallize that to this mindset who likes to try new things. Oh.
Dr. Chris Phelps: adventurous people like to try new things right? Okay? Well, let's try that. So in the next part of the experiment. They survey people coming into the store.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and they asked that single question, hey? Sorry to bother you. We're just doing a survey of our customers. Do you consider yourself to be an adventurous person?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, shockingly, almost 100% of the people said that they felt like they were adventurous.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now, about 15 min later. Okay, a different group of researchers went up to those people who said they were adventurous, and they asked them the same question as the 1st group. Okay, they said. Hey, we're the soft drink company. We need all your personal information, and we'll send you the a free case of the soda to try out
Dr. Chris Phelps: well how many people who had a mindset now adventurous.
Dr. Chris Phelps: now said yes to trying the new soda, because we know in the 1st study. Nobody wanted to say yes to it. Okay, only 17%.
Dr. Chris Phelps: How many said yes, with an adventurous mindset.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Almost everybody. Okay? So it was the mindset. They were in completely shaped the decision that they were about to make. Okay, and the decision that they made.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So how do we relay this back to what we do in dentistry. So I spent a lot of time trying to crystallize this idea of what mindset do we want our patients to be in when we're going to start talking about their dental needs, right? And their dental treatment recommendations. And the word we finally crystallized and came up with was proactive.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay. And I love words that have a equal and opposite word that goes with it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: When one word is kind of used, perceived as a positive by society, and the other one is kind of perceived as a negative by society.
Dr. Chris Phelps: just just like adventurous right? Because if you're not adventurous, what are you?
Dr. Chris Phelps: You're boring.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, nobody wants to be boring or perceived as boring right? So proactive, reactive kind of hits the same aspect. So what better mindset to have the patient in who doesn't want things to get worse right? Who's ready to move forward treatment today than somebody with a who has a proactive mindset. So I ask that in a new, patient questionnaire before they get to me to create that mindset.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Which are you? Do you prefer to be reactive? Someone is okay. Letting things go, even though it's gonna cost you more time, money, and pain?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Or would you prefer to be more proactive when it comes to your oral health, someone who wants to avoid complications and things, costing you more time, money, and pain.
Dr. Chris Phelps: just by presenting that question to your patients automatically and using that word prefer right? Which would you prefer?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Usually what we find is, the vast majority say, prefer and automatically, your case acceptance rates are going to go up as a result, because now they're in the right mindset. Whatever mindset they came in with, who they are in your chair is. Guess what they're proactive.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and they're now more likely to say yes. As a result, I've seen practices increase case acceptance 33% alone, just by adding that question to their new patient questionnaire, and then reinforcing that by interviewing the patient at the chair. Well, Mrs. Jones, I see here that you prefer to be proactive, so you don't want your dental issues to get worse and cost you more money, time and pain. Is that correct? That's right, doctor.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Excellent!
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So ask before they get to you and then reinforce the commitment verbally. When they're with you at the chair, you'll have them in the right mindset, and you're automatically going to see more success and more yeses.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now, how do we build relationships with people? Well, we can lean on 3 of our principles to help us build better relationships. Okay. We've got reciprocity. We've got liking. And we've got unity right? These are the 3 best principles to build those relationships with folks. So let's dig in and get a point or a technique for each of these. Reciprocity basically states. As I said, if you give someone a gift of value of significance. They feel the need in this obligation to get back to you. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: but there's something else we could give them as well. Let's say you've given a request to a patient. Let's say it's your financial coordinator. Right? You've made a request, hey? Doctor said that if you do nothing today you're going to need a root canal build up in a crown, and that's going to cost you $3,600.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, the good news is, he said, you're not there yet. If it's only a crown, it's only $1,200, hey? And after insurance pays its part. It's only $800.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Does that work for you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So at this kind of point, when our financial coordinators are presenting numbers, taking people down the stairs in this example, we're asking for what we want.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and if
Dr. Chris Phelps: it's not about the money for that person now, because we've influenced them properly, most people will say yes at that point, and pay the 800.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But what about those that they really don't have the means right? They really can't afford that 800 today.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, what we can give them instead is what we call a concession.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So instead of being afraid of people rejecting us and saying No to whatever we're asking of them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: our advice is just be ready for it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, what's the next thing you're going to ask for? What's the 1st concession? The next gift you could give them from that aspect. The next compromise you could give them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Here's an example. So they did a study of people in college where they were walking by, and they stopped them and said, Hey, would you mind doing this 15 min phone survey for us? Okay, we've got somebody on the phone here. Would you do a survey for 15 min, and of course the vast majority of these kids were like, No, thanks. I'm not doing your survey
Dr. Chris Phelps: well in a second study, they said, Well, what if? What do we need to do? What do we need to ask for to get to the 15 min survey?
Dr. Chris Phelps: So they backed it up. And these they stopped kids and they said, Hey, would you help us out by doing this 60 min survey?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Almost a hundred percent of people said, No, I don't have time to do that
Dr. Chris Phelps: after the rejection after no, they said, well, that makes sense. How about? Instead, you do a 15 min survey for us. Instead.
Dr. Chris Phelps: it almost doubled the results. Okay from the original group.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And had they asked for those that said no, the other 56% in that group. If they had asked them to do a 5 min survey as the next concession, the next offering that they gave them, it probably would have been 88% of those folks would have said, Yes, okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So there's this moment of opportunity. After no, that instead of running away and sulking. Just be ready for it. Be ready to offer the next best thing. Okay, so $800. You can't do that payment. What about this? Could you do 2 payments?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Could we do half today for 400? We'll start it, put a temporary crown on it, and we'll finish it next month for another 3.rd Does that work for you?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: No, I can't do that. Okay. What if we do a 3rd today as a prepayment, we'll start it next month for another 3, rd and we'll finish it the 3rd month for the last 3.rd Does that work for you? Oh, actually, I could probably do that great. Let's get you signed up.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So always come into a situation when you're about to make a request of someone ready to go 2 or 3 nose deep.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right. If you get a rejection, what are you going to ask for next?
Dr. Chris Phelps: What is your next ethical fallback position? If you're ready for that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: you're gonna get more yeses. What if you can't make the money work at all on the crown?
Dr. Chris Phelps: What's the next fallback position?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, the next best treatment option is what you jump to. All right. Well, we can't do the crown, so let's at least do a buildup, and let's go through the numbers of that, and you can kind of repeat that sequence. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: now, let's look at liking. Okay, we like to do business with people we like. But what that means is, we like to do business with people who are like us, who have similarities, commonalities to us. Right shared interest if you will.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I saw the power of this when I had a woman in my office, and I saw her checking into the front desk, and I realized on the surface I didn't think I was gonna have a lot in common with her right the least the visual cues I was looking at. I thought it was gonna be a struggle for us to find some common ground, and but my recommendation for all of you is before you get down to the business of dentistry before you start putting your gloves on before you start ripping their lips open and looking inside. Okay, before you go through the medical history.
Dr. Chris Phelps: find one thing in common with them first, st
Dr. Chris Phelps: the more the better. But at least one thing, one connection. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: then you can get down to the business at hand. So I knew I was going to find something. So I just I was thinking in my head, I was just gonna have to ask a ton of questions and hope I get lucky. Well, as I was walking up to the operatory, I was looking over her medical history, and I realized that we had a connection that was right there on her form. So I go in, and I said I got introduced to her, and her name was TTEA. So it's like, hey? T. I'm Dr. Phillips. Nice to meet you, hey? T. Let me ask you, were you born October 14, th 1976.
Dr. Chris Phelps: She was like, yeah, I was why I said so was I. Same day same year. We're birthday buddies.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and she couldn't believe right what a connection
Dr. Chris Phelps: she lit up like a Christmas tree, and we spent the next 20 min talking about our birthdays. Now, what's interesting is after this investment of time and this connection, guess who left my practice right scheduled for a $12,000 treatment plan
Dr. Chris Phelps: my birthday, Buddy.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now is that the only reason why she scheduled?
Dr. Chris Phelps: No, there was. That's a lot of money on the line, right? It was other things that we did. But do you see how that small little connection made a big impact
Dr. Chris Phelps: and set the scales on the other side, more towards it's not about the money and the insurance. Now, it's about the relationship and other factors. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So for those of you that are not good or not comfortable asking these questions of patients. Or maybe you feel like you don't have time to do that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: One of the shortcuts I can offer you is this, write down everything you feel comfortable, sharing about yourself.
Dr. Chris Phelps: What would you feel comfortable talking about with a patient, your hobbies, your interests, your kids, your animals, your pets, whatever. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and then educate your team
Dr. Chris Phelps: and then ask your team to be your detectives. Ask them to go find these things for you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so that when my patient, my team, comes to me they're like Dr. Phillips. We got a new patient in Room 2. She's got 2 kids like you do, and she plays tennis
Dr. Chris Phelps: awesome.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now I waste no time finding the thing. I just start the conversation with it
Dr. Chris Phelps: all we have to do is bring up to the surface that we have this connection. The patients realize it took us time and effort to figure it out and we're showing them. We like them
Dr. Chris Phelps: because we found that connection and they reciprocate in kind. Okay, so liking is probably one of the most bungled and underutilized principles in dentistry, because people feel like they don't have time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, I'm telling you right now. That is where you need to slow down and figure it out, because not connecting with them is not only costing you on the treatment side of things, but it's costing you in that attrition category. I showed you earlier. This is why they're not coming back, because I don't know you, and I don't like you. Therefore I'm not going to say yes you today or come back and do business with you tomorrow. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: let's look at unity. As we said, we unite ourselves under certain categories, family culture, teams, religion, geography. Okay, so how do we leverage
Dr. Chris Phelps: unity? Well, it's not about a you versus me situation anymore. With unity. It's a we.
Dr. Chris Phelps: We're on the same team. It's us. It's a partnership. So automatically using that unitizing language
Dr. Chris Phelps: is going to be important for you, we us our. So you don't say something like, well, Mrs. Jones. Let's figure out how you're gonna get this done.
Dr. Chris Phelps: It's Mrs. Jones. Let's figure out how we are. Gonna get this done together.
Dr. Chris Phelps: because now you're telling them that you're on the same side, and people want to do business with those on their team.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You know the the
Dr. Chris Phelps: number. One thing I use, you know, Parthiv is going to talk to you later about how to get more new patients with this growth machine.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But what if you could take every one of those opportunities and add 2 or 3 more out of the same conversation, so you could triple or quadruple your results from one opportunity.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, you can do that by asking a new patient who has just scheduled an appointment in your office? That's 1 simple question. So they've made a new patient appointment. You're about to end the phone. Call. You end it with this, hey, Miss Jones, before you go.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Is there anybody else we can make an appointment for
Dr. Chris Phelps: now they're on the family, right? They've made appointment. So it's we. So people are so stuck in their own mindset that they actually forget they do have other people in their family, they could refer and bring with them.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Oh, yeah, you know, now that I think about it, let me get the kids in there, I'll get the kids scheduled. Let me get my husband. Let me get my in-laws, whatever. Okay?
Dr. Chris Phelps: So an example, I started a call center here in the States for new patient phone calls and my agents record to date for one client. She got 10 new patient appointments scheduled off one phone call because she asked that question.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? Imagine what that did to the return on investment in marketing. Right? When you can turn every one potential call into multiple opportunities.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And you're doing that through. We us through this co-creation with that patient as well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Co-creation is also about getting the the patient involved in the process
Dr. Chris Phelps: of picking their treatment and walking this path and making choices along the way. So one of the nonverbal ways I like to co-create with the patient is, instead of me sitting across from them right sitting across from somebody.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Non verbally, has this tendency to make people think this could be a potential conflict situation.
Dr. Chris Phelps: We're facing off each other. This is a you versus me. So what I do instead is, I move my chair around and I sit next to the patient. So we're on the same side.
Dr. Chris Phelps: facing the same direction. And I've got materials in front of them to review about what we're going to talk about today. And then I can point to. So now I have an excuse to sit next to them, so we can look at the same thing.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So that simple act of moving next to them
Dr. Chris Phelps: involves them in that process. We're co-creating this together. Right? We're not opposing each other, and I have my financial team do the same. There should never be a desk between you and a patient. If you're talking about money.
Dr. Chris Phelps: you should always be on the same side of the desk. If that makes sense. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so reciprocity, liking, unity, these are all things we can use to build relationships with people.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Let's look at, how do we decrease uncertainty. Well, to decrease uncertainty. Okay, we use social proof, the evidence what others have done or are doing, and we look to credible experts to tell us what we should do. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so we'll start with social proof.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Don't we want to be unique individuals that are different than everybody else? Of course we do. But what has nature taught us when you? You're unique and different, and you're out there swimming in the ocean all by yourself alone.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You get eaten right. Bad things tend to happen. So we've learned that while we want to be unique individuals different than everybody else, we still want to be unique individuals that are part of a group.
Dr. Chris Phelps: part of a tribe, part of a community of some aspect. Right? So this is why you see this in nature. Why do fish school together? Why do animals herd? Why do birds flock? Okay? Why do people congregate to Facebook and other social media apps like that? Right? Because we want to be a part of a group in some way, shape or form. So if we see evidence that that group is moving, or a significant number of people in that group are moving a certain direction
Dr. Chris Phelps: that's going to influence you to do the same.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So how do we leverage that in our world. Well, let's say you're presenting options to patients. Okay? And let's say that one of those options, actually, the majority of your patients choose.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, you would do well to share that information with your patients.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and you'll get more to say yes, let me give an example. So we did a big study with our coworkers at influence at work in the Uk. And Steve Martin, one of our lead researchers, and this was a study that was done in over 600 different Mcdonald's franchises down in South America. Okay? And what they did was they took different stores, and they were measuring. If we put a most popular sticker on the menu for in this group of restaurants a chocolate Mcflurry
Dr. Chris Phelps: versus this group of restaurants, a caramel, Mcflurry versus this group of restaurants, a Strawberry Mcflurry
Dr. Chris Phelps: rotating the sticker. Right? Would that influence more people to buy that specific? Mcflurry? Just because it said most popular?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Let's see.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, what they noticed was that depending on where that sticker was chocolate versus caramel versus strawberry.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Every time the most popular sticker was there, it led to a 48% increase in sales of that specific dessert flavor.
Dr. Chris Phelps: What's even more interesting is that it led to a 52% increase in sales of desserts overall as well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So not only did people buy more of that specific Mcflurry. They bought more desserts.
Dr. Chris Phelps: which makes sense right? It draws people's focus and attention to go. Oh, that's the most popular. That's interesting. But you know what I don't like chocolate, Mcflurries.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But now you got me thinking about a Mcflurry, or some kind of dessert, right? So it brought desserts top of mind, and more people bought it and said yes to it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So if you've got, let's say, a bridge, a partial and an implant.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and the implant is your most popular option. Make sure you highlight that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: hey? So, Mr. Jones, I'm going to go over some options for this missing tooth. We're going to start with this implant. Now, of course, this is the one the majority of my patients choose for themselves.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Let's find out more about it now.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Oh, that's the one everybody picks. Okay, that's the one I want. Now, right? The evidence. What others are doing reduces people's uncertainty about what they should do for themselves. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: let's do authority. Okay? We looked at credible experts to tell us what we should do. But it's not about you telling people you're the expert
Dr. Chris Phelps: directly
Dr. Chris Phelps: that doesn't usually come across. Very well when you try to tell people how good you are right. It's about letting other people other items. Other things present you as the expert instead.
Dr. Chris Phelps: when they present you as the expert, you tend to get a better result. Okay, so with authority, we're really looking to build 2 things we're trying to get. Let other people. Other items present our expertise to the patient. And then we're gonna talk about how to get them to trust us. So how do we let other things and items present you as the expert? Well, you need to show them that you've got training
Dr. Chris Phelps: degrees certificates, credentials. If you're members of any of these academies. Okay, if you're a member of mastermind groups, and there's certificates given out for being a participant in these things or hitting achievements in these things. If you've got awards in your area, right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Patient testimonials. Okay, all of these things help highlight the fact that you're an expert. You have training and experience. And we should put these things up in areas where people are going to resonate with them. They're going to see them. This is the viewpoint I like to show from the patient's perspective. So to the right, they see all of these authority triggers
Dr. Chris Phelps: before you even walk into the room. So they see, Jeez. Look at all this, that training certificates degrees awards 15 plus years serving this community. Okay, this. This dog knows what they're talking about. They're automatically going to take your recommendation more to heart.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And if they see the social proof evidence to the left. Wow! Look how many of these cases they've done? Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: maybe I'll be safe getting this done here as well right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But how do we build time right? Presenting our expertise is one thing. But how do we build? Trust? I should say, because trust typically takes time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, l'oreal cosmetics figured this out. Okay, they used an advertisement slogan that helped them increase their market share by over 200%.
Dr. Chris Phelps: By saying this, l'oreal, we're expensive, but you're worth it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Interesting, right?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Avis rental car did the same thing. They increased their market share in the rental car space by over 300%. With this Tagline
Dr. Chris Phelps: Avis. We're number 2, but we try harder.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So automatically. What they're telling you is this.
Dr. Chris Phelps: how do you build trust with people?
Dr. Chris Phelps: You don't hide the elephant in the room. You start with it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: If there is some negative or weakness in your case. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: you don't hide that fact. You lead with it upfront.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, Miss Jones, let's talk about this dental implant.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now, the bad news about it is it's the most expensive option that I'm going to talk about today, and it's gonna take the most time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But the good news about it is, it's 1 of the few things I could put in your mouth that if you take care of it, and if your body accepts, it should last the rest of your life
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? So in that scenario, guess what?
Dr. Chris Phelps: I didn't hide the fact that it's expensive or that it's going to take time. I started with it. So why is this an authority shortcut and a trust shortcut? Because studies show that when you start with a negative
Dr. Chris Phelps: pivot on that word, but because that word but's important, and then tell them why it doesn't matter. The positive.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You're showing the person that you're being transparent.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You're not trying to hide the negative because you're starting with it. You're giving them both negative positive. You choose, so to speak, so don't hide that fact that there's a negative start with it instead. But remember to pivot on that keyword. But why? Because studies also show that people don't remember what you said before the word, but
Dr. Chris Phelps: all they remember about that option is what you said after the word. But
Dr. Chris Phelps: so when you start with a negative, you build trust.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But what they remember about what you said was the positive thing about the implant.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? If you take care of it, and your body accepts. It could last the rest of your life, so to speak, right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The other thing you can do to kind of leverage authority to decrease people's uncertainty here is to, if you really would recommend this as an expert to your family member, your your wife, your kids, your your parents. Whoever
Dr. Chris Phelps: make that recommendation, a personal endorsement from an authority has been shown to increase acceptance. So if you say, let's talk about this dental implant. This is the one that not only does this the one the majority of my patients choose, but this is also the one I would do if you were my mother, or if you were my family member.
Dr. Chris Phelps: my grandparents, whatever right? So make that personal recommendation. If you truly believe it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: get in, you're gonna get more acceptance as a result.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So let's finish up with the last 2. How do we motivate action today? Okay, well, you need consistency, right? And we need scarcity to do that. So consistency, we said, is, when people make a commitment, they tend to do so. What are the type of commitments we need to get out of people. Well, we need active commitments out of people.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, there's 3 types of active commitments. Number one is called a verbal commitment.
Dr. Chris Phelps: People have to tell you they're going to do it
Dr. Chris Phelps: right. So in a popular study at a restaurant up in Chicago, Illinois, this restaurant was very famous, but it had a 30%. No show on reservations. Okay?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well.
Dr. Chris Phelps: the way they would end the phone call kind of went something like this, after you've made a reservation, the person would say, Hey, thanks for calling us. We've got your reservation. Please call us if you need to cancel or change this. Thank you. Goodbye. So they ended up with a statement. Well, our recommendation to them was, let's just make one change. Let's turn this into a commitment question instead.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and let's get a verbal commitment out of them. So they change that to will you please call us if you can't make this reservation?
Dr. Chris Phelps: And they waited for them to say, yes, right? By making that one verbal commitment. No show rates of the restaurant fell from 30% to 10
Dr. Chris Phelps: with one verbal commitment. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: so we need to get verbal commitments out of people. We need to get written commitments out of people. People tend to live up to what they write down.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So if you're filling out the patient's appointment cards for them for their next visits, you're bungling an opportunity. They need to fill it out. Okay. If they write it out themselves, they're more likely to show for that thing.
Dr. Chris Phelps: If you're not getting them to sign their treatment plan. You're missing out on a powerful written commitment
Dr. Chris Phelps: that they need to be doing. Okay. The highest acts of commitment, of course, is effort. If they put money or time into it, or, as we like to say, skin in the game.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So when possible, getting a small deposit to hold a reservation means more people show
Dr. Chris Phelps: getting them to pay half or prepay for the entire visit means they're definitely going to show, and that they're committed to doing that treatment.
Dr. Chris Phelps: What does it tell you if they see a Yes to your treatment, and they don't prepay today.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Well, then, they probably don't have the money
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? Because wouldn't you rather know that now, instead of sitting around later going, where are they? Why didn't they show?
Dr. Chris Phelps: I know I would. So, for any kind of larger treatments, say 3 or 4,000 or more.
Dr. Chris Phelps: My patients prepaid before they got on my schedule. I want only those most committed
Dr. Chris Phelps: to get my time. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: next is, we need public commitments, hey? The more people that know they said they were going to do this, the more influence there is on them to do it. So if you're docs, if you're in their treatment planning the patient alone.
Dr. Chris Phelps: you're bungling an opportunity. If it's a significant enough amount of money I want. Whoever's talking about the money to be in that room the entire time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I want an assistant in there, too, a hygienist. I want as many people in that room to hear what the patient values, what they committed to, and the treatment that they have chosen.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And now, my financial coordinator being there for the entire conversation, hearing all those commitments when I leave.
Dr. Chris Phelps: There's no disconnect.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That patient knows they know what they said they were going to do versus if the treatment corner comes after the fact and didn't hear any of the statements. Prior.
Dr. Chris Phelps: The patient's thinking. Well, I committed to the doctor, but I didn't commit to you. I don't know. I don't know you
Dr. Chris Phelps: right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So get as many people in there as possible, and whenever possible give people a choice.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Don't tell them they need treatment.
Dr. Chris Phelps: You need a crown.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That patient's thinking. No, I don't. In essence, when you tell people things you've taken away their control.
Dr. Chris Phelps: you've taken away their choice. And the 1st thing they do because of scarcity. When you take it away they want it back, and they want it more. So they take that control back and say, You know what? I'll decide
Dr. Chris Phelps: what I need. Thank you very much.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I'm in charge of me right? I'll decide when I'm going to do this crown?
Dr. Chris Phelps: No, instead present it as a this or that choice as simple as that. Right? So, Mr. Jones, you got some options here. Number one is, you could do nothing.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But this decay is going to keep getting worse and down the road. You're going to need a root canal build up in a crown
Dr. Chris Phelps: for 3,600 bucks.
Dr. Chris Phelps: or you could not let that happen, and you could do a crown for significantly less today. Which would you prefer
Dr. Chris Phelps: this or that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I don't want to get in worse stock. Okay, it sounds like we're at the Crown. I'll get the financial team to come over that option with you.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So the better you give them these choices.
Dr. Chris Phelps: they can make a voluntary choice with this or that. The more compliance you're going to have. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: let's talk about scarcity. Okay, our last principle here. Scarcity, as we said, is about resources running out makes us want it more. But true scarcity is about loss. Okay, we care more about what we stand to lose than what we stand to gain out of a situation. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: dental school taught us to promote the benefits of treatment.
Dr. Chris Phelps: But what studies show actually moves more people is not the benefits of a feature. It's the consequences of doing nothing and not tapping in to those benefits. What is the cost associated with that? So when I treatment plan patients, okay, I anchor them
Dr. Chris Phelps: to the ethical consequences of what's gonna happen if they do nothing. That's why it's always my 1st option.
Dr. Chris Phelps: just like that Crown example. Do nothing, and you just play it out in your mind down the road. Let's pretend they're back in your chair. I don't know 2 or 3 years from now, and they want to get back to where they were today.
Dr. Chris Phelps: What's it going to cost them an additional treatment?
Dr. Chris Phelps: What's it gonna cost some of the additional money that treatment's gonna cost?
Dr. Chris Phelps: And what's it going to cost them what they value.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Now, how do you know what they value? We'll go back to that new, patient questionnaire. I showed you the proactive reactive question. That's where I'm asking those questions. So they define what they value for me. And I'm not guessing anymore.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? So there's got to be a consequence like, let's say they valued longevity. That's why I said, the benefit of this right is to
Dr. Chris Phelps: this is one of the few things that could last the rest of your life
Dr. Chris Phelps: versus. If I'm talking about the bridge.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I'm going to say, well, the good news about the bridge is, it's less expensive and doesn't take as much time as the implant. But the bad news about the bridge is.
Dr. Chris Phelps: hey? Did you know that studies show that the insurance companies will pay for New Bridge every 7 years.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That means they're probably only lasting 5 years. So that means in your lifetime you're going to have to pay for another bridge. If you don't take care of this thing. 3, 4, maybe 5 more times, and that's 3 or more teeth you're paying for each time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So you see how somebody who values longevity. Things being around for the long run might not like a consequence of this bridge, that they may have to keep messing with it
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? So it's got your your anchor, if you will. You talk about should have the consequence of doing nothing. And what's gonna cost them an additional treatment and what they value. And of course, a dollar amount. Okay, so now let's think about this. Let's say we use these things persuasively to get people in the right mindset. Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: we've compared and contrasted things appropriately with them. We've added reciprocity and liking and unity to build relationships. We've used social proof to decrease uncertainty. We've used consistency and scarcity to motivate action today. Now we've weighed the scales down. So far
Dr. Chris Phelps: it doesn't have to be about the money or the insurance.
Dr. Chris Phelps: If you haven't been tapping into these things.
Dr. Chris Phelps: they still need something to use to decide.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That's why they fall back to the money and the insurance. Okay, so I hope you guys have enjoyed this. Obviously in our mastermind group, we're gonna be digging deeper into this and and really uncovering, not only more tips and strategies, but a comprehensive worksheet and workflow and structure to how you should be presenting anything. So
Dr. Chris Phelps: I'll hand it back over to my colleagues.
Parthiv Shah: Alright! How about giving him a round of applause? And they, you cannot see them, but they're clapping.
Parthiv Shah: No, thanks.
Anisa Patel: Fantastic.
Parthiv Shah: So, guys, I want to apologize. I had the chat disabled. I didn't. I was too afraid to touch the settings, but chat is now enabled. If you have any questions
Parthiv Shah: you can either ask in Q&A. Put it in chat, or
Parthiv Shah: or raise your hand if you, since you couldn't interact with Dr. Chouldini Dr. During his presentation.
Parthiv Shah: If you want to talk to him directly, just reach out to me, I will arrange either a call or an email response or a text response from
Parthiv Shah: Dr. Phelps. Directly. Again I apologize for the
Parthiv Shah: glitch. So, Dr. Phelps, would you be coming back? Because I would love to talk to you again before the webinar ends? So please.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yes.
Parthiv Shah: Stay here as long as you would like to, and if you go out, please come back because I would like you to close the webinar and invite them to the next quarterly meeting.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, I'm going to be back right towards the end. I've got a powerful study. I want to share with people on something you can all utilize to further grow your practices this year. So you're gonna hang around for that study.
Parthiv Shah: So may I ask you a few questions before you leave?
Parthiv Shah: If you can elaborate on importance of coaching and mastermind, I mean
Parthiv Shah: I wholeheartedly believe in it. I have joined at least a dozen
Parthiv Shah: coaching groups and masterminds. I have had the privilege of learning directly from
Parthiv Shah: you, Dr. Robert Cialdini. I I am a private client with Dan Kennedy.
Parthiv Shah: I have been. I have spent more money on my education, my continuing education
Parthiv Shah: in last year than most people would spend in their college. Not but I'm I'm talking in in general. I'm I'm a lifelong student.
Parthiv Shah: Why is
Parthiv Shah: joining a study club or building. A peer group of fellow dentists who will learn with you
Parthiv Shah: is important. How does that help a dentist.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, good question. And when I come back I'm going to share that study that's going to hit this point more solidly for you. But before then I'll tell you this. Go back to that gorilla video.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay.
Dr. Chris Phelps: As I said before, when you're too close to it, you can't see the gorilla.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I had the same problem, my own practices. I had all these little fires going on. It wasn't that I was intending to ignore them. I just didn't see them
Dr. Chris Phelps: right, and it wasn't until I started joining a coach Mastermind Group myself for my own businesses and
Dr. Chris Phelps: strategic questions were put in front of me and asked of me right that it made me realize
Dr. Chris Phelps: there is a gorilla there. Oh, my God!
Dr. Chris Phelps: Why has this thing been going on this long? I had no clue. Right? And so I think one of the benefits of that is you're getting unique perspectives in unbiased, independent people who can point these things out to you, number one, but at the same time we tend to run our business as a business owner
Dr. Chris Phelps: in a reactive mindset.
Dr. Chris Phelps: always waiting until the next fire, and then we do something, and then we wait to the next fire, and then we do something, and we wait to the next fire, and then we do something. Well, what I also realized from masterminds and coaching type groups. What they did for me was
Dr. Chris Phelps: it allowed me to get into a proactive mindset about my business
Dr. Chris Phelps: to look ahead and say, Hey, what's coming? What is the next fire in, instead of waiting for it to light?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Why don't I snuff it out now
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? Why don't I make a better system now for this small frustration before it becomes a large frustration, and then I can keep my growth
Dr. Chris Phelps: on the right track.
Dr. Chris Phelps: right? So I think, helping me to get into a more proactive mindset is key and helping identify those gorillas that you can't see.
Parthiv Shah: May I ask a few more questions before you leave, sir? And then I'll get into my session.
Parthiv Shah: How to you as a dentist
Parthiv Shah: when you were young, and starting out.
Parthiv Shah: and as you matured into the journey and became more and more knowledgeable, how did you go about choosing
Parthiv Shah: who you will learn from and where you will congregate for your continuing education.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, what's interesting is probably my 1st 7 years in practice. I was uncoachable.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay? Meaning. I was so driven and focused on where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I didn't need anybody in my head to guide me to do that. Okay, I knew the omelet
Dr. Chris Phelps: I wanted to make, and I was gonna keep breaking eggs until I made it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And I did.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And I noticed that after the fact that that was a very sloppy way to to learn. Okay, a lot of mistakes made along the way, a lot of eggs broken to make that almond. Okay? So I realized doing it yourself only gets you to a point.
Dr. Chris Phelps: And so I needed and leveraged the wisdom and experience of others.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So I didn't have to make those mistakes.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and by leveraging that wisdom that was the best shortcut ever that helped accelerate my growth. Instead of going up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I could keep it more on a linear path. So what really set apart for me is when I realized the value of collaboration with others and mentors and coaches. And these kind of things.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I want experience. I want wisdom right? I want people. I look to those that had been there and done that. So like when I heard Cialdini speak.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay, I hit it the 1st time
Dr. Chris Phelps: he hit on a pain point. I was like that. Guy knows what he's talking about to get people to move all right.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That consistency principle was the root cause behind the majority of the problems in my practices I was experiencing during that post housing crisis time. Right? So I thought, all right. This guy's been there. He's done that. He's got the research. He's the expert. I need to go to the expert.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Kathy Colby. Right? So with human behavior and and predicting. Is this person in the right seat on the bus or not?
Dr. Chris Phelps: Maybe they should be in this seat on the bus.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Maybe the seat itself is wrong. It's actually 2 different seats, right? So help. Maybe I should let them on the bus. Maybe I should help them off the bus. So you know, she had kind of done the research and proven that. Hey.
Dr. Chris Phelps: this is the right way, right? This is how you objectively can define these things. So I kind of look to those kind of people and said, Yeah, that's where I need to go their expertise. And they have that experience meaning if they've done those in dentistry that have done that.
Dr. Chris Phelps: That's the trifecta.
Parthiv Shah: Another question I have for you and Dr. Anissa feel free to chime in. Is
Parthiv Shah: any continuing education requires investment. Even free continuing education requires investment of time.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Sure.
Parthiv Shah: How do you put that time? Budget time block on your roadmap. How do you come prepared to learn? How do you learn? And what do you do with your learning
Parthiv Shah: as a dentist, as a dental staff? And how do you take what you learn
Parthiv Shah: from various events and masterminds, and funding education and
Parthiv Shah: dispense it to your associate doctors and staff.
Parthiv Shah: so the whole practice is learning through your glasses.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Doc, you want to answer it, and then I'll go.
Anisa Patel: Okay.
Anisa Patel: So I think you nailed it, Parth, because that is was the biggest pain point for me. If you see today the knowledge is free. You can put anything on Google and Youtube, and you will very well have an answer for that. Even. I think if I put principles of persuasion, I'll definitely get some info, whether it's dentistry or any other field. The point is that education and knowledge is free, and it is
Anisa Patel: the point. The pain point of most people, and that was my pain point when I did all of this, when I was growing, my practice was that I would attend a lot of workshops. I would attend a lot of webinars.
Anisa Patel: I would, you know, listen to these experts. And then these were weekend workshops, and I would come back on a Monday morning, and then
Anisa Patel: I was.
Anisa Patel: you know, I would have my notes and all, but then I would struggle to put that into implementation because
Anisa Patel: there was no accountability partner. There was. There was no peer group, there was no handholding, and you know, of course, the mentors would be very open to, you know you can definitely ask them questions and all, but somehow that there was no structure of getting back to them. And you know there was, there was no structure of implementing all of that, and that is one of the biggest pain points which I myself had, and back.
Anisa Patel: I think, 2021 when I launched this program for the 1st time. That is exactly so. I'm my best target audience, because I'm a dentist of 2 decades, and that was my pain point. And that's the reason I launched this mastermind. And I think
Anisa Patel: if people have a group, a peer group, they have accountability, and they have experts who have been there done that and applied it, and they know the path, and they are going to show the path. And they're going to do handholding, then that is the single, most factor for me, even if I, you know, take a clinical course. My main thing is.
Anisa Patel: I want to see what is the post course support that I'm getting, and whether I'm actually able to implement it where I'm able to ask my doubts and where I'm going to get that clarity. So I think that's the probably the biggest thing even, I think part of. You've invested in so many masterminds. It's not about the knowledge. You can get the knowledge on series. But it's about the peer group, it's about the networking and about, you know the group and the proximity
Anisa Patel: of whom you are, and people say that you know you are the product of the 5, the 5 close people whom you are talking to on a daily basis. So I think that is for me. That is the biggest thing. What I would see when I invest in any kind of coaching or mastermind. Yeah.
Parthiv Shah: All right, and the last question before I let you go, Dr. Phelps, is I I know you, you. I'm holding you back, so I promise? This is the last question.
Parthiv Shah: You are a very learned admin
Parthiv Shah: dentists look up to you. You wrote multiple books
Parthiv Shah: your textbook. Dental marketing is, I mean, you are a well published author. You are what I call a super dentist.
Parthiv Shah: Who do you learn from?
Parthiv Shah: What are you learning now, and what 3 books are you reading right now? What are you investing in now?
Parthiv Shah: At this point in your life.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah, that's a good question. As always.
Parthiv Shah: Learning directly from Dr. Choudini.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Yeah. Well, I'm still learning from from him for sure. There's all kinds of new research that's coming out.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right now. AI is everybody's focus, right? That's all anybody's talking about. And it's going to reshape dentistry massively over the next 5 years.
Dr. Chris Phelps: So understanding AI and the tools, and what do we do with it is interesting. But
Dr. Chris Phelps: there's new studies coming out like, is AI susceptible to the principles of persuasion.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Okay?
Dr. Chris Phelps: What if it is, what does that mean? Right? When, if you're gonna protect your personal data at your office and there's an AI that's supposed to be the force field around it.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and you can ask it a simple 2 simple questions and override its programming because of that. And now anybody can get your data. That's gonna be interesting. Right? So I'm kind of looking at what's the form of technology that's on the rise, right? And I want to see who are the leading experts in that field
Dr. Chris Phelps: and try to go like always go right to the source and learn as much as I can, and then take what that knowledge they present is.
Dr. Chris Phelps: and put it back into trying to figure out what to do with it. Because what I found is, you know, a lot of people struggle.
Dr. Chris Phelps: not with learning things, but with the application side. What do I do with this? Right? Yeah, I think I know it, but I don't know what to do with it. So that's another big benefit about the mastermind stuff is that those environments help you with application.
Dr. Chris Phelps: Right? Me? I just happen to have a strength in in applying these things just because I get so frustrated. It pisses me off, and I don't know what to do with it. I can't shake it until I figure it out right. But I know that's not everybody's tendency. So I want to get out there and learn what the latest technologies is the latest research is saying on all of these things, and then help try to create the application, and then I can go back and share that wisdom with others.
Parthiv Shah: Do you have any questions for me before I get started, sir? Or.
Dr. Chris Phelps: I don't. I'm excited. The crowd will be entertained by your talk, and, as I said, I'll be back, and I want to show you that study on the power of masterminds, and then we'll wrap up for the day. So you guys enjoy, and I'll see you in a bit.
Parthiv Shah: Thank you very much, sir.
Parthiv Shah: All right. So everybody.
Parthiv Shah: My name is Parsip Shah. I own a company called elonches.com. The company was started in 1989,
Parthiv Shah: I find I found myself in dentistry and dental marketing and dental growth.
Parthiv Shah: When a dentist in Dan Kennedy, Mastermind group
Parthiv Shah: hired me to work for him.
Parthiv Shah: Dr. Dustin Burleson, an orthodontist he be, he went on, to become
Parthiv Shah: a dental growth coach for orthodontiff, and he
Parthiv Shah: presented me as I'll teach you what to do. Let part of do it. He did everything for me, and that's kind of how my journey got started in
Parthiv Shah: dentistry, so I have always sold my agency services
Parthiv Shah: 2 dentists. Whenever I meet dentists I always look at them.
Parthiv Shah: I can grow them.
Parthiv Shah: I will make them money.
Parthiv Shah: and when I make them money I make money. So I have been a money, money, commerce, guy, forever. And I'm I have a very hungry relationship with dollars money. Come, look! Money always come looking for me. I'm blessed to be where I am.
Parthiv Shah: and I am
Parthiv Shah: grateful for what I have been able to accomplish the trophies behind me show that I have won award for making this much money. That much money blah blah!
Parthiv Shah: But December 2024. I was on an airplane that shifted my focus
Parthiv Shah: to something that is far more important to me now than money ever was.
Parthiv Shah: You know money is my profession.
Parthiv Shah: Money was my passion, but I did not know that money was not my purpose.
Parthiv Shah: December 2024. I was on plane from Washington, DC. To La. 5, 6 h flights, long flight
Parthiv Shah: on a night. So I mean after we got settle, I mean
Parthiv Shah: take off they. They give you meal
Parthiv Shah: and and and then, after everything settled, I have about 3, 3 and a half hours to kill, so I get up get my laptop out, and I begin working on my
Parthiv Shah: a dental landing page, and for for for my my business.
Parthiv Shah: And there is this gorgeous, beautiful, the most beautiful
Parthiv Shah: old women I have ever seen. She is. I'll tell you how old she is in a minute. But she she told me so she was. I don't reveal her age right now. But she she was just beautiful very, I mean not a hair out of place. Makeup, light lipstick, one pearl, I mean she she just looked gorgeous.
Parthiv Shah: I mean, I'm like, if I was a woman I would like to be like her when I would grow up to be 90 year old.
Parthiv Shah: Okay, I mean she she she walked up. She doesn't came and then, and 2 people were escorting her. They set her down next to me her entourage went back in coach it it was like it was a thing. And then, like bringing her on plane was like anywhere, magnificent woman.
Parthiv Shah: So she kept like looking at my laptop curiously.
Parthiv Shah: And then, after I was done with my work, as I'm putting the laptop away, we were landing.
Parthiv Shah: so I had to put the laptop away and put it under the desk, so I once I did it. I didn't have chance to touch the laptop again, but
Parthiv Shah: so then she asked me.
Parthiv Shah: Are you a dentist? I'm like, Oh, no, ma'am, dentists are my clients. I own an agency, and I help dentists sell more implants.
Parthiv Shah: Then she says, do you help them sell more full arch? Kfif!
Parthiv Shah: Now I was foot priced.
Parthiv Shah: Are you a dentist, ma'am, and shift? If no
Parthiv Shah: but I love my dentist. He does full arch cases.
Parthiv Shah: I am one of his patient, and she smiled. Just I mean beautiful smile right? I mean. She looked in her, and I mean if if I just look at her face only and and ignore the the
Parthiv Shah: the wrinkles, I mean. She looked in her sixties right, and she just a fabulous smile.
Parthiv Shah: and I'm like, Oh, my God! You have an absolutely beautiful smile, and she like Thank you.
Parthiv Shah: And she said, I can bite into an apple and chew on steak.
Parthiv Shah: I'm like, I know, just like me, yeah, just like you.
Parthiv Shah: And I'm like, so what do you do for flash
Parthiv Shah: and like with a child like smile, shift, aid, water pick, and I have a toothbrush, I'm like, yes.
Parthiv Shah: that's amazing.
Parthiv Shah: Who is your dentist?
Parthiv Shah: And shefed Lefloberg.
Parthiv Shah: That was the moment my life changed forever.
Parthiv Shah: Her rent is worth my client.
Parthiv Shah: It was my work that worked in helping her.
Parthiv Shah: her new smile, her new teeth, and as
Parthiv Shah: I was talking to her right next to her, I could see my father's face.
Parthiv Shah: He is also 89.
Parthiv Shah: They are about same age today. I mean, I own Denver growth machine
Parthiv Shah: world's best dentists are my clients.
Parthiv Shah: and I make good money. I can afford anything for my parents.
Parthiv Shah: I have a very great friend dentist, Dr. Omar, in Cleveland.
Parthiv Shah: I wanted to take my dad to him, and my dad would like. No, no, no, no, I'm afraid I don't want to go. Cleveland is too far. It's too cold. Blah blah.
Parthiv Shah: So one day Dr. Omar gets on phone with my dad. He says, Peppy.
Parthiv Shah: I know you don't want to come to Cleveland.
Parthiv Shah: but if you don't come to see me
Parthiv Shah: I will come to Maryland. It's about 4 h. Drive 1 h. Flight. By the way, so it's not a short drive.
Parthiv Shah: I will come to Maryland.
Parthiv Shah: I will see you in somebody's office in Maryland.
Parthiv Shah: one way or the other. I want to take care of you
Parthiv Shah: when I come to Maryland. Can I stay in your house?
Parthiv Shah: Okay, now, my dad says, okay, I'll go. So we went. We took him to Cleveland.
Parthiv Shah: That's what it took to take him to see my friend
Parthiv Shah: the oral surgeon, who would put implant
Parthiv Shah: he did the the Phoebe 50, and he told me to come join him in in the X-ray room.
Parthiv Shah: and him and I are looking at
Parthiv Shah: the biggest disappointment of our life. My dad had no bones.
Parthiv Shah: The only
Parthiv Shah: implant option they had was that the what is it called the I can't pronounce it, I know
Parthiv Shah: at that, and that's too much for him at this age. So we decided not to do it.
Parthiv Shah: So unlike the Lady Grace, my dad will die
Parthiv Shah: with his teeth in a cup.
Parthiv Shah: He didn't get sonicare or a water pick.
Parthiv Shah: He is stuck with politent.
Parthiv Shah: So I want to help dentists
Parthiv Shah: grow. I want to help 10,000 dentists worldwide, sell more implants.
Parthiv Shah: I want more grave.
Parthiv Shah: That is why I built what I am building now. Yes, I will continue to have dentists as clients.
Parthiv Shah: Yes, I will have dentists pay me. Yes, I will help dentist make money, but
Parthiv Shah: I shifted my focus from selling me to dentists
Parthiv Shah: to sharing what I know to dentists.
Parthiv Shah: I have teamed up with people like Dr. Anisha, Dr. Phelps, Dr. Goldberg, Dr. Mish
Parthiv Shah: way, too many to count who are joining me in this quest of helping dentists.
Parthiv Shah: because implants are very close to my heart.
Parthiv Shah: Implants may not add years to your life, but they would add life to your ears.
Parthiv Shah: I know what Graf can do that my dad cannot do.
Parthiv Shah: I know what we can eat. Me and my wife can eat that my dad cannot eat with his dentures.
Parthiv Shah: so while you have a chance.
Parthiv Shah: educate them on importance of the life-changing impact of implants.
Parthiv Shah: it's not just about money that you will make.
Parthiv Shah: It's about the impact you will deliver in the life of that patient and their family
Parthiv Shah: when you empower them to bite into an apple and chew on tasty food, so their wives and daughter-in-laws
Parthiv Shah: don't have to cook mushy, denture, friendly food.
Parthiv Shah: That is my purpose.
Parthiv Shah: When my purpose met my passion.
Parthiv Shah: I think I became a better professional. I think I became a better friend
Parthiv Shah: for this, for the dentist worldwide.
Parthiv Shah: I think 2025 parthel is different.
Parthiv Shah: So welcome to my home heart and hard drive.
Parthiv Shah: I want to make an impact. I want to make a difference, and I want your help.
Parthiv Shah: Let's talk about money.
Parthiv Shah: It's a subject very close to my heart.
Parthiv Shah: Cost of dentistry is rising. Cost of doing business is rising, there is inflation.
Parthiv Shah: but price of dentistry is not rising. When I was 30 year old, 40 year old, 50 year old, and now almost 60 year old.
Parthiv Shah: Implants have been about 5 to $6,000.
Parthiv Shah: But $6,000 means different to people today than it did.
Parthiv Shah: So as a doctor, how can you sustain the lifestyle and grow your practice.
Parthiv Shah: Well, if you sell more implants, even if you're not a surgeon.
Parthiv Shah: you can work with an oral surgeon and still do restorative.
Parthiv Shah: But
Parthiv Shah: 2, 2 and a half restorative will make you save money, as if you were actually doing placing the implants and doing restorative.
Parthiv Shah: So the economics of implants is going to help a dentist
Parthiv Shah: live a better life of a doctor.
Parthiv Shah: I'm on a mission to help you grow so I can grow my agency, my business.
Parthiv Shah: I'm not a doctor. I'm a commerce Guy.
Parthiv Shah: I sell me to dentists, and I sell you to your patients.
Parthiv Shah: That's my profession.
Parthiv Shah: But I have built a dental growth Study Club, where I want to give away all my resources
Parthiv Shah: of free membership and peer to Peer group. There'll be a membership site somewhere or a Facebook group. But we're still working on that. Everything in blue here
Parthiv Shah: is available to you now.
Parthiv Shah: I've been doing a live quarterly dental growth summit, where I bring in
Parthiv Shah: 3 world class speakers and speak to you for 4 h. Absolutely no charge
Parthiv Shah: resources and swipe files and samples of the work I have done for other doctors. I'm willing to give that to you.
Parthiv Shah: I even arranged with Dr. Anissa Holmes, another Anissa, not Dr. Penisa Patel Matanisha hounds
Parthiv Shah: to get you free, continuing education for you and your staff.
Parthiv Shah: We will continue to do our free, live, quarterly summits.
Parthiv Shah: free interactive workshop workshops with Dr. Anisa and a guest, either Dr. Goldberg, Dr. Phelps, or someone else.
Parthiv Shah: I, I'm even creating a free dental growth Book Club, where we this is for us. Only I can't afford to do that outside us.
Parthiv Shah: I would, Fedex you 2 books every 2 months, so you will get 12 books
Parthiv Shah: a year all for free and free consultations with me and other faculties of the Study Club.
Parthiv Shah: So this is my contribution to the profession of dentistry, so I can help you sell more implant.
Parthiv Shah: even if you don't pay me.
Parthiv Shah: This is what Grace did for me.
Parthiv Shah: How we help. We have a dental growth mastermind program that Dr. Anisha and Dr. Phelps
Parthiv Shah: are launching. She's going to get into what we do about it.
Parthiv Shah: We have
Parthiv Shah: some chair side marketing assets. I took everything Dr. Phelps has created, plus everything I have created over last couple 3 decades
Parthiv Shah: and built a
Parthiv Shah: magnificent marketing automation program that you're welcome to buy from me. And if you need digital marketing, I have a vast network of trusted service providers like
Parthiv Shah: swell upswell gargle the progressive a dental implant machine.
Parthiv Shah: There are vendors all over that I work with who have multiple decades of experience in dentistry. There is one very close to my heart. I can reveal to people when you talk to me.
Parthiv Shah: but let me share how I operate. What is my operating system?
Parthiv Shah: Your ideal patient lives at the top of your pyramid
Parthiv Shah: and to find your pyramid. You want to pass
Parthiv Shah: or ray through a prism and get a rainbow.
Parthiv Shah: That's how you do your market segmentation.
Parthiv Shah: This is how you will find Jane or your grief.
Parthiv Shah: You know I have always called her Jane Jane, the buyer.
Parthiv Shah: I think we should call her Grace the Patient.
Parthiv Shah: Okay, so this is your grave.
Parthiv Shah: I am a human version of a prison.
Parthiv Shah: I do data, intelligence and market segmentation. That is my core competence.
Parthiv Shah: I'm a predictive economist. I have an Mba in marketing. I'm doing doctorate in predictive economics.
Parthiv Shah: And I live and breathe data.
Parthiv Shah: I focus on 3 elements of marketing time data and money.
Parthiv Shah: So there is one report in software called dental Intelligence in us. If you're using dentrix
Parthiv Shah: open dental or eagle soft.
Parthiv Shah: I connect it to dental intelligence.
Parthiv Shah: and I look at a report called Patient Finder. I gotta give credit where credit is due. My friend, Dr. John Meath.
Parthiv Shah: taught me how I can use dental intel and patient finder. He made me a power user of Di.
Parthiv Shah: You are very poor.
Parthiv Shah: How many active patients who have been thin and last 600 days
Parthiv Shah: that have an unscheduled treatment plan
Parthiv Shah: that you have presented more than 30 days ago, where the code is implant and the amount is greater than $2,000
Parthiv Shah: for this particular practice that does
Parthiv Shah: that. That is one location, 9 million dollars.
Parthiv Shah: That number is 910 patients.
Parthiv Shah: I have 910 grace
Parthiv Shah: in your database. Now, this practice spends $25,000 a month
Parthiv Shah: on Google and Facebook advertising with progress.
Parthiv Shah: Great, wonderful, but there are 910 in your database
Parthiv Shah: that we can convert them into full arch or a Fingertooth Cave.
Parthiv Shah: How many diamonds do you have in your database how many grave will die with a
Parthiv Shah: teeth in a cup because you did not approach her to see if they can come in for an implant consultation.
Parthiv Shah: This practice has 910.
Parthiv Shah: Now that we know the who we can
Parthiv Shah: decide what we are going to do, these are the reports I run.
Parthiv Shah: how many, how many proposed treatments we have in last 24 months?
Parthiv Shah: In this case, in this practice this is live. I'm I'm not going to share who this is for. But this is one of my doctors with 2 locations
Parthiv Shah: 6 doctors, 6,475 cases presented.
Parthiv Shah: How many inactive patients, 25,000 inactive patients with 6,400 email addresses.
Parthiv Shah: how many patients over 50 with an email, how many patients over 50 with no email.
Parthiv Shah: how many patients under 20 months. So we don't market to them?
Parthiv Shah: How many patients who have email addresses.
Parthiv Shah: how many patients with no insurance that we can sell them.
Parthiv Shah: And in office a maintenance plan
Parthiv Shah: patients with no recalls, we can reactivate and re-engage and make them active patients.
Parthiv Shah: Now that we know.
Parthiv Shah: Now we can decide what we are going to do with this data, this is micro campaigns of internal magnetic marketing to the patients who know you like you and trust you.
Parthiv Shah: I don't do Facebook advertising, Google, advertising social media, even the direct mail which is close to my heart.
Parthiv Shah: We just do creative concept strategy based on the data
Parthiv Shah: and feed you to a vendor who will do
Parthiv Shah: the printing, mailing and direct mail. I mean, I use
Parthiv Shah: upsell. I use Mvp. I got their vendors all over.
Parthiv Shah: What I do is data.
Parthiv Shah: This is the system I built for dentists.
Parthiv Shah: I call it Brent. I wrote a book.
Parthiv Shah: Brent. Never forget. If you are in us.
Parthiv Shah: If you want this book, you can buy it from Amazon or just share your contact information. I'll fedex this book to you.
Parthiv Shah: I wrote 17 books
Parthiv Shah: and and and I have a little bookshelf behind me where I I keep all the books I wrote, and the books that are close to my heart.
Parthiv Shah: So this is the spirit of Brent Brent is an elephant. He does not forget.
Parthiv Shah: and we are humans. So we forget. And when we forget to do something for a patient, we have a brand damage. When we forget to do something for a prospect.
Parthiv Shah: we lose an opportunity. So Brent is a 7 inch tall elephant
Parthiv Shah: that will remind you to stay in touch, educate, and indoctrinate your patient. So if you want the toy and the book, I'll be happy to
Parthiv Shah: offended to you.
Parthiv Shah: So he didn't.
Parthiv Shah: The connection between your bread and your grave.
Parthiv Shah: It is a data intelligence system.
Parthiv Shah: It is a sister.
Parthiv Shah: The system will do the campaign
Parthiv Shah: to a targeted sub segments inside your internal database.
Parthiv Shah: It will capture responses.
Parthiv Shah: It will educate nurture and indoctrinate automatically in email print and text messages in India, using other tools like Whatsapp and whatever else you guys are using?
Parthiv Shah: We would give you print assets, chair side marketing and case presentation tools
Parthiv Shah: that are influenced by Dr. Chaldean is teaching, and that is used and perfected by Dr. Phelps and other doctors that I have had the privilege of working with
Parthiv Shah: and build a relationship with your patients, and soon to be patients, so you can nurture, deliver the treatment, cross, sell up, sell them into significant dentistry and ask for a phone.
Parthiv Shah: This is what I do.
Parthiv Shah: I use a software called Keep.
Parthiv Shah: But I can build this on any software. Therefore I use keep Hubspot go high level and click funnels. I love keep.
Parthiv Shah: I have
Parthiv Shah: several dentists using that software. But software didn't matter in India. We don't that, that you might have other options.
Parthiv Shah: So pitch me.
Parthiv Shah: What I want to share is dental growth study Club a free resource.
Parthiv Shah: This is slowing me down. What I will do is I will put this URL
Parthiv Shah: when Dr. Anisa is speaking, I'm almost done with. How am I doing on time, Dr. Anissa? Do I have few more minutes
Parthiv Shah: so dental growth Study club a completely free resource.
Parthiv Shah: where you have access to everything that I have learned, everything I am learning, and everything
Parthiv Shah: that everyone is learning and access to people who are willing to teach their craft to you for free.
Parthiv Shah: So that is a free resource that I would like to share with you.
Parthiv Shah: And
Parthiv Shah: the one thing that you can.
Parthiv Shah: Jane is dental growth, mastermind.
Parthiv Shah: It's a 24 week live interactive sessions with Dr. Anissa, Dr. Phelps, and a little bit of me.
Parthiv Shah: I we'll do the data, intelligence and internal marketing. And over direct response marketing outreach for dentists.
Parthiv Shah: I come at it from a commerce and agency standpoint while they come at it. From
Parthiv Shah: what a dental practice owner should do, internal and external.
Parthiv Shah: There are lots of masterminds. There are a lot of coaches. There are a lot of training programs.
Parthiv Shah: I have never seen anything like this.
Parthiv Shah: This mastermind is geared towards helping you learn how you can buy marketing, how you can own marketing.
Parthiv Shah: how you can use internal resources to things that must be insourced.
Parthiv Shah: how you can hire the right agencies and vendors to outsource things that cannot be done internally.
Parthiv Shah: Dr. Anisha created a term
Parthiv Shah: called right source. What to insource, what to outsource, how to create a blend, and how to manage the circus of internal and external resources, and how to hold everyone, including yourself, accountable
Parthiv Shah: for money spent and money made.
Parthiv Shah: That is the true spirit of this dental growth, mastermind.
Parthiv Shah: less than half the cost of one single tooth implant.
Parthiv Shah: You can spend half a year with Dr. Anissa and Dr. Pelts, and I'll
Parthiv Shah: talk more about it, as she is going to share more information about the mastermind.
Parthiv Shah: Yes, you can hire me for implementation
Parthiv Shah: and everything I do there is. There is a non-trivial investment to be my client. Less than 2% of dentists that I will touch will actually become my clients. And I'm okay with that.
Parthiv Shah: because when I'm not making money I'm making friends, and for that reason
Parthiv Shah: I am not here to sell you dental growth machine dental growth Mini machine. I am here to share with you.
Parthiv Shah: come on, stop pitching, general broke mastrimony and dental growth Study Club.
Parthiv Shah: That's what I want to talk about.
Parthiv Shah: Dr. Anifa. Why don't you take it from here and talk about
Parthiv Shah: who you are, what you do?
Parthiv Shah: And why would someone want to join your our dental growth? Mastermind?
Anisa Patel: Thank you so much, Parth, for this session. And