0:00

All right, welcome back to the Dental

0:00

Domination podcast.

0:03

This is Dan Brian or I am Dan Brian

0:03

rather, that was weird.

0:07

But this is episode 16 of the podcast.

0:10

I'm so excited to be here today with a

0:10

very special guest, Janet Hagerman.

0:16

And Janet is a case acceptance coach.

0:18

She is an author of the book Selling

0:18

Dentistry Ethically, Elegantly,

0:23

Effectively. And she's also a fractional chief hygiene

0:24

officer for DSOs.

0:28

And we are here today to talk about

0:28

something that I think is not talked about

0:32

enough within the dental field and that's

0:32

really, you know, the essence of Janet's

0:37

book, which is selling dentistry. And I know that for a lot of dentists out

0:39

there, a lot of the dentists that we work

0:43

with at dentalscapes, that's sort of an

0:43

uncomfortable touchy subject.

0:47

So the idea of straddling that line

0:47

between patient education, treatment

0:53

planning, and then actually selling the

0:53

service or selling the treatment.

0:57

And there's been some some resistance to

0:57

to that idea in the past and and I

1:02

understand I think we can all relate to

1:02

You know that sort of you know that that

1:08

bit of discomfort for in that in terms of

1:08

you know wanting to do things like like

1:13

Janet says in her book Ethically and

1:13

effectively at the same time, but there's

1:17

definitely a way to do it right and do it

1:17

ethically and do it do it well

1:22

And so I'm so glad to have you here today,

1:22

Janet.

1:24

Thank you so much for joining the show. Before we really dig into the nuts and

1:26

bolts of this, I wanted to give you an

1:30

opportunity to share with our listeners

1:30

who you are, where you're coming from, how

1:35

the heck did you get involved in this

1:35

element of dentistry in the first place?

1:40

Thanks, Dan, for having me. Yeah, this is a subject dear to my heart.

1:44

My degree is in dental hygiene, so I

1:44

practiced dental hygiene for years.

1:51

And I always thought I was a great

1:51

communicator till I had a patient one time

1:56

reach up and just pat me on the arm and

1:56

say, little lady, little lady, please

2:05

dispense with a lecture. I have an important meeting to go to.

2:07

Just hurry up and finish me up and get me

2:07

out of here.

2:10

So once I got over my A, embarrassment, B,

2:10

anger, and then C, curiosity, you know, I

2:19

thought I was so great at patient

2:19

education, where did I go wrong?

2:23

How did I miss out on such a big

2:23

opportunity to have a relationship with

2:28

this patient? And that... I don't feel like there's any way to

2:30

gracefully recover after little lady.

2:35

I don't think that's probably, yeah.

2:37

I was in the deep south when that

2:37

happened.

2:41

So, yeah.

2:45

So that sort of began, that definitely

2:45

began my quest for, you know, what is

2:50

communication? How do we get through to our patients

2:51

quickly?

2:53

Because we don't have a lot of time. So fast forward, I was in private

2:55

practice.

3:00

I did consulting, not just for hygiene,

3:00

but for full practice consulting.

3:04

And then I was invited to become the

3:04

director of hygiene for a DSO, a large

3:10

DSO. We had over a hundred offices and I

3:10

basically created the hygiene department.

3:16

So, you know, it's like having your

3:16

laboratory because you get to practice and

3:20

test ideas and see them happen over a

3:20

broad variety of different offices and

3:26

practices. And that's where I really honed this idea

3:27

of case acceptance and selling dentistry.

3:33

Yeah. I ended up writing the book about it.

3:35

My friend Paul Homily told me if you want

3:35

to be successful write a book write a book

3:40

write a book and Yeah, yeah, and I named

3:40

it selling dentistry because I had a lot

3:46

of dentists that said Don't call it

3:46

selling dentistry.

3:49

We want one you're like, just watch me.

3:53

Sort of, yeah.

3:56

But with the caveat of ethically,

3:56

elegantly, and effectively.

4:01

So ethically means we're not selling

4:01

somebody a bill of goods that they don't

4:05

need, right? This needs to be clinically diagnosed

4:07

treatment that we have discovered.

4:14

Ethically effectively means did they say

4:14

yes?

4:19

So you can. patient educate all day long, but if the

4:19

patient doesn't say yes, you haven't been

4:24

effective. And finally, Dan, I added elegantly

4:25

because I want this to be a process that's

4:31

comfortable for the clinicians where they

4:31

don't feel pushy and salesy.

4:37

We're not pushing, we're not selling,

4:37

we're basically helping our patients and

4:42

guiding them to make good healthcare

4:42

decisions.

4:45

Yeah. I want it to feel comfortable for them and

4:46

comfortable for the patient as well.

4:51

So that's sort of my show where that came

4:51

from.

4:54

love that and you know, I love your focus

4:54

on ethics as well You know, it's something

4:58

I'm a marketer obviously, you know, that's

4:58

that's that's what I do my in my nine to

5:04

five and you know, it's funny when I first

5:04

well, you actually know my husband Zach

5:08

who's a dentist and you know when I Yeah,

5:08

that's right.

5:13

So it's funny when I first told him that I

5:13

was in marketing when we met he was like,

5:17

oh you mean trickery and I don't

5:21

And and I get it I get that perspective

5:21

but I've always thought and I've always

5:25

taken the approach that I think you do

5:25

which is that there is nothing inherently

5:29

wrong with selling so long as you're

5:29

selling something that is right for the

5:33

client and that is evidence -based and in

5:33

dentistry but but also in marketing, you

5:39

know to a certain extent and then and then

5:39

also something that you deeply

5:43

passionately truly believe in

5:45

And and I think that's true not just in

5:45

dentistry but also in marketing and also

5:51

pretty much universally So I love that you

5:51

focus on that.

5:53

But anyway, I'm digressing they say, we all love to buy.

5:56

We just hate to sell. Yeah, that's right.

6:01

So anyway, I'm so glad that you know you

6:01

mentioned all of those really important

6:06

points and I want to dig into it.

6:08

So one of the things though that you said

6:08

is that you know we're not necessary.

6:14

I'm saying we're I'm not a dentist. Believe me, you don't want sharp things in

6:16

my hands, but you know I always say like.

6:21

You don't go to dental school to learn how

6:21

to run a business and you sure as hell

6:24

don't go to dental school to learn how to

6:24

sell.

6:27

And yet that is a very important part of

6:27

running your own practice.

6:32

It's an important part of working in any

6:32

practice regardless of whether or not you

6:36

own it or not. So tell me about that.

6:40

Like, what do you think the issue is that

6:40

most clinicians are facing when they

6:45

graduate from dental school? Suddenly they're thrown to the wolves.

6:49

They're in this real life environment now

6:49

where there is an expectation that, you

6:56

know, you... you need to produce and you need to to

6:56

sell.

7:02

But most people, I think it's fair to say,

7:02

probably are not super comfortable with

7:07

that. Of course, there's some natural

7:08

salespeople among dentists and that that

7:12

works just fine. But like, what is the real issue?

7:14

What's the pain point facing folks that

7:14

you talk with on the ground?

7:18

Yeah, I would change that from being

7:18

uncomfortable to hate.

7:23

I'm a clinician, I'm not a salesperson.

7:28

So, I mean, you can change the word to

7:28

case acceptance or enrolling patients in

7:32

their treatment, use whatever you want. But I think if you break down the

7:34

resistance to the concept of selling and

7:39

use the selling concepts that the best,

7:39

really best salespeople use, you'll find

7:46

that they're not pushy or salesy.

7:51

Okay, so we come out of dental school,

7:51

learn or hygiene school with our clinical

7:57

skills, but no, we're not taught any

7:57

communication skills.

8:00

And particularly in our era now, I mean,

8:00

where do we communicate the most?

8:06

It's on these silly devices with emojis,

8:06

and then we expect people to be able to

8:11

sit down and have a face -to -face,

8:11

eyeball -to -eyeball conversation with a

8:16

real live patient. about the second most important and

8:17

intimate thing in their lives, and that's

8:21

their pocketbook, their wallet.

8:23

So we're totally unprepared for that.

8:30

So how do we learn that?

8:33

And the other thing, Dan, is this is not

8:33

just Dennis and Hygenist.

8:36

This is a total team effort.

8:39

Some of the things I've heard in dental

8:39

offices, I just shake my head, so I can't

8:43

believe somebody actually said that.

8:47

So one person on the team can sabotage the

8:47

efforts of everybody else.

8:53

That's why it's so important that the

8:53

whole team be on board and with the same

8:58

mindset. Everything we say and do in dentistry

8:58

either pushes patients away or pulls them

9:04

toward us. So having a mindset first and foremost is

9:07

really important that the whole team's on

9:13

board. And then secondly,

9:17

The main pain point is that the average in

9:17

this country is only 30 to 50 % case

9:22

acceptance. So, you know, you have that syndrome, the

9:23

in the front door, out the back door.

9:28

You know, we've spent, dentists spend all

9:28

this money marketing, as you know,

9:32

marketing, how do we get our patients to

9:32

call the office?

9:35

We get a nice fancy website. We do our social media and we get patients

9:37

calling.

9:42

So how many of those patients never make

9:42

an appointment?

9:46

and then they finally do make an

9:46

appointment and then they walk out the

9:50

back door without scheduling treatment.

9:53

So there's that 30 to 50%.

9:55

That's a huge pain point for a number of

9:55

reasons.

9:58

You're losing revenue. You're losing revenue.

10:03

Your patients are not getting the

10:03

treatment that they need.

10:09

Oral systems, systemic health, they're

10:09

walking around with diseased oral

10:13

cavities, diseased... systemic health and it's already been

10:15

diagnosed.

10:20

So for a lot of reasons it's really

10:20

important that we really focus on how do

10:25

we have a healthy case acceptance which

10:25

should be around 85 percent.

10:29

Right, right. And I mean, you have even said that within

10:29

your work in this coaching program, you

10:34

know, you've been able in many, many cases

10:34

to take dentists from where they're at and

10:39

actually triple their treatment

10:39

acceptance, which is phenomenal.

10:43

So, and that's obviously, I mean, who

10:43

doesn't want to do that?

10:45

But where do you even start? So what's sort of step one when someone

10:47

comes to you and says, hey, Janet, like, I

10:52

think we need to talk. I've got an issue here.

10:55

Maybe they're at that 30 % acceptance

10:55

rate.

10:59

Yeah. the starting point and where do you even

10:59

begin?

11:03

getting the whole team on board with the

11:03

mindset first.

11:06

So this is what I like for people to

11:06

understand.

11:09

You know, science pretty much has

11:09

concluded now that our brain operates with

11:16

two halves. We have a very logical side of our left

11:16

brain, and that's where we make logical

11:21

decisions, mathematical computations,

11:21

things like that.

11:25

And the right side of our brain is the

11:25

more creative side and the more emotional

11:30

side. So in dentistry, where do you think we

11:32

live?

11:36

We live in a world of millimeters.

11:39

We live in a very exact, precise

11:39

scientific world.

11:44

So when it comes to patient education, we

11:44

have a tendency to speak logic.

11:51

We know from many marketing surveys over

11:51

and over repeatedly that have been done

11:57

that buying decisions, including

11:57

healthcare decisions, are made.

12:01

with emotion. We rationalize them with logic, but

12:03

they're made with emotion.

12:07

And so we need to understand how do we

12:07

reach our patients emotionally and find

12:14

out where they are emotionally. We know that they're anxious when they

12:15

come to the dental practice, but how do we

12:19

really plug into their values so we can

12:19

relate their treatment to their individual

12:24

values? You know, it's funny you say that because

12:25

this, this whole idea of the left brain

12:29

versus right brain and, and appealing to

12:29

emotion and selling it's funny because I

12:34

think you're absolutely right in that most

12:34

dentists probably live in that left brain

12:40

area most of the time. But you know, one thing that's always

12:41

struck me and that I kind of fell in love

12:45

with in terms of learning more about the

12:45

dental world.

12:48

Uh, you know, when I got married and now

12:48

that I work in dental marketing, people

12:52

always talk about it as this.

12:54

really cool mix of science and art.

12:59

And it's really kind of the same when you

12:59

think about it, when you talk about

13:03

selling dentistry itself, it is both an

13:03

art and a science.

13:07

So I think you're onto something. I love that you said that because a lot of

13:09

the presentations that I give, I call

13:14

particularly for people who are so

13:14

resistant to the concept of selling

13:19

dentistry, the art and science of case

13:19

acceptance.

13:22

It is absolutely. I'm not saying that there's not a place

13:24

for patient education, which is the

13:29

scientific explanation of. why you need a crown or why you need

13:31

periotherapy instead of a prophy.

13:35

I'm not saying there's not a place for

13:35

that scientific explanation, which you

13:40

layer on with, you know, layman's terms.

13:43

What I'm saying is the relationship has,

13:43

the rapport has to come first.

13:49

And we do that by having to quickly,

13:49

because we don't have a lot of time.

13:54

getting in rapport with our patients.

13:57

So these are soft skills, Jan.

13:59

These are not hard skills. These are soft skills and communication

14:00

skills.

14:03

And you know, the more technological we

14:03

get, the more technology gets involved in

14:11

dentistry, the more we need these soft

14:11

skills.

14:14

And a lot has been written about that as

14:14

well.

14:17

But the soft skills become more important

14:17

as we get more technological.

14:23

So where do you start with that? I mean, how do you, you know, like I said

14:24

earlier, some people are salespeople

14:30

naturally. Some people are natural people, people,

14:30

people.

14:35

But where do you start with that?

14:37

You know, it is a soft skill thing. And like you said, patient education is

14:39

about science at the end of the day, but

14:42

there's also, I have a master of science

14:42

degree.

14:46

There's an art to communication as well.

14:48

So where do you start with that? And how do you advise your clients?

14:53

to approach conversations in patient

14:53

education, to lay the groundwork for

14:58

actually ensuring that follow through and

14:58

that case acceptance.

15:03

The first thing I do, we talk about

15:03

mindset in terms of what you and I have

15:07

just talked about. So people begin to understand that

15:08

process.

15:12

And then we talk about the values

15:12

questions.

15:16

So open -ended values questions like what

15:16

is the most important thing to you about

15:20

your teeth and your dentistry?

15:24

And just... Janet now you're getting into motivational

15:25

interviewing.

15:27

I knew you were after my heart. know, for a hygienist, instead of jumping

15:31

in and telling them all about periodontal

15:36

disease, to be able to say, so tell me,

15:36

what do you know about periodontal

15:40

disease? What do you know about implants?

15:44

And you get the patient's perspective and

15:44

you get to hear where they're coming from

15:49

and then have conversations based on what

15:49

they've told you.

15:53

That's really interesting, Dan.

15:56

Did you know that 50 % of the population

15:56

or more has periodontal disease?

16:01

Or did you know that implants feel exactly

16:01

like your real tooth?

16:06

Or I'm glad you mentioned the fact that

16:06

your mom had dentures and you don't want

16:11

them too. It just gives you something to have a

16:11

personal conversation that you then can

16:18

connect to your clinical findings.

16:21

I know you told me, Dan,

16:24

But the most important thing to you about

16:24

your teeth were that you don't have any

16:28

more pain. You've had so many painful experiences.

16:31

And I want you to know I'm here to support

16:31

your goal.

16:35

And as a result of that, let's look at

16:35

your treatment, at your situation and how

16:42

we can handle that. So those values questions are the first

16:43

things that I teach.

16:47

The whole team can learn that. The whole team should be aware of that and

16:48

have the ability to ask that question.

16:53

Yeah. the ability to say, you know, I know Janet

16:54

asked you about what the most important

16:59

thing was to you about your teeth. And I can see that what you said, you want

17:00

to keep them for a lifetime.

17:05

And we're all in the whole office

17:05

dedicated to that.

17:08

So everybody starts talking in those

17:08

terms.

17:11

All the skills that I teach are skills,

17:11

because you mentioned this earlier about

17:16

perhaps not feeling like you're the kind

17:16

of, they're all can be taught for any.

17:22

personality style. You're an A type personality or you might

17:24

be a very shy, quiet type of person.

17:30

These are the types of things you can

17:30

still ask no matter what your personality

17:35

style is. everyone for sure.

17:38

You know, I brought up motivational

17:38

interviewing because, well, I know we've

17:44

had Matt Allen, Dr. Matt Allen on the podcast in the past, and

17:45

I know you're familiar with him in

17:49

different kind. Oh yeah, absolutely.

17:51

And yeah, you've been a guest on his

17:51

podcast, I know, and sat on panels with

17:56

him. But yeah, this concept of motivational

17:57

interviewing and shared decision -making

18:00

in particular, it's interesting. I...

18:03

I am so behind that concept in dentistry

18:03

and it is, there's so many parallels

18:08

because in marketing and sales, we call

18:08

that consultative selling essentially.

18:12

So it's, it's having the conversation as

18:12

opposed to, you know, just talking at

18:17

someone and really evoking their own

18:17

values and their own emotions and that

18:23

sort of thing. So I love that you said that once you sort

18:23

of established those foundational values

18:28

though, with a patient in discussing.

18:32

their treatment plan. What's next?

18:34

Where do you go from there? Well, I'm going to jump to, because you

18:37

sort of touched on it when you mentioned

18:42

that we sometimes, you know, offices can

18:42

triple their case acceptance by utilizing

18:49

these processes.

18:52

One is what I call the treatment triad.

18:55

And one of the reasons I call it the

18:55

treatment triad is because it does have a

18:58

tendency to triple case acceptance when

18:58

you use it.

19:01

But, you know, often...

19:04

I'm a marketer.

19:06

Oftentimes in dentistry, we are reluctant

19:06

to present a comprehensive treatment.

19:15

Patient comes in, they haven't been in

19:15

eight years and they have a lot of work

19:18

that needs to be done and we're going, oh

19:18

my gosh, if I tell them they need all this

19:23

work, are they gonna be overwhelmed and

19:23

think I'm just after their money or...

19:33

being overwhelmed. So we break it down, we prioritize it in

19:35

three types of treatment.

19:39

Dan, do you mind? I'm gonna be looking at three types of

19:40

treatment as I evaluate your mouth.

19:45

You mind if I share that with you? One is urgent, the 911, we've got to do,

19:46

this is why you came in, that we've got to

19:51

get you out of pain. And the other tooth on the other side

19:53

that's broken, we need to fix those right

19:58

away. There are other things that are going to

19:58

need to be done.

20:01

I can't tell you when they're going to

20:01

break down, but we want to keep you out of

20:05

pain. So we want to do those as quickly as we

20:05

can, but they don't need to be done right

20:10

now, but they need to be done preventively

20:10

to keep you healthy.

20:14

And finally, we're going to look at

20:14

cosmetic options.

20:18

Totally unnecessary, but fun to look at

20:18

and just amazing technology that we have

20:25

now to share with you. yeah.

20:27

than nice to have exactly.

20:29

And so by utilizing that three step

20:29

prioritizing, it makes a huge difference

20:35

because now the patient's going, well,

20:35

that is like a really thorough, I've never

20:39

had it explained to me that way.

20:41

And it also gives patients a feeling of

20:41

control over their own dental destiny, if

20:49

you will. It gives them an opportunity to feel like

20:50

they are, and they are indeed

20:53

participating. and how that plan rolls out.

20:59

So, you know, gone are the days where you

20:59

went to the doctor and the doctor just

21:02

said, well, whatever they said, I don't

21:02

know what it is, but they're the doctor.

21:06

So they know those days are gone. Our patients are well informed.

21:10

They're educated. They regularly consult Dr.

21:13

Google, as we all know.

21:17

So patients want to have a relationship

21:17

with their provider.

21:22

We know this from surveys. and they want to feel like they have part,

21:24

that they are active participants in the

21:30

plan of their health. So by using the treatment triad, it helps

21:31

provide that for patients.

21:38

now you mentioned at the outset, the most

21:38

important part, step one is getting the

21:43

team on board. But you know, once you've, once you've

21:44

taught these, these approaches, the

21:49

treatment triad, once you've, uh, you

21:49

know, introduced dentists and their teams

21:54

to these concepts, how do you, how do you

21:54

instill that or how do you, um, how do you

22:01

integrate that into the culture of the

22:01

practice and make sure that it remains

22:05

embedded? Like what's, what's, Because it's one thing to teach something.

22:09

It's another thing to ensure follow

22:09

through and consistency.

22:14

How do you ensure the practices compliance

22:14

with this method to improve compliance?

22:19

Like, how do you do that? Yeah, that's a great question because we

22:20

all know that it's one thing to learn at

22:25

one time and then to implement it

22:25

successfully and then to keep it going.

22:30

So. it's one thing to learn it, but like to

22:31

actually keep it going.

22:34

so for private practices and for DSOs, it

22:34

becomes especially important because now

22:38

you're multiplying it by many more

22:38

practices.

22:42

So when I teach the course, I also utilize

22:42

some follow -up calls to do some follow

22:47

-up coaching to reinforce what we learned.

22:51

And then, you know, practices need to have

22:51

regularly scheduled meetings.

22:56

I've written a manual called Meetings Make

22:56

Money.

23:01

to teach practices how to have productive

23:01

meetings where you actually end on time

23:07

and you actually do accomplish things.

23:09

So those are opportunities to reinforce

23:09

that mindset, see how we're doing and

23:15

measure, you need to measure where is your

23:15

case acceptance now and where is it?

23:20

I just finished with a practice, they

23:20

went, a huge practice, they've got lots of

23:25

doctors, about six doctors and about eight

23:25

hygienists.

23:29

And they went from an average of about 34

23:29

% to an average of about 70%.

23:36

So now the trick is going to be how do we

23:36

keep that?

23:41

The great news too is that of all of them,

23:41

every single one of them improved.

23:47

So the average wasn't like, well, some did

23:47

really, really great.

23:50

Some didn't really improve. No, all of them improved in their case.

23:54

So it's just ongoing reinforcement of

23:54

that.

23:59

And then being able to, you know, perhaps

23:59

have a refresher course once a year or so

24:05

if you've had any kind of turnover.

24:07

Yeah. Now, you know, you talked about, we've

24:08

talked about culture.

24:11

We've talked about instilling this idea as

24:11

really being team -based and that's what

24:17

it is. But at the end of the day, we also know

24:17

it's the dentist that diagnoses.

24:22

It's the dentist that puts together the

24:22

treatment plan and makes the

24:25

recommendation, you know, and communicates

24:25

that to the patient ultimately.

24:30

But what is the supporting role?

24:33

in all of this for say a hygienist who

24:33

also interfaces with the patient and you

24:39

know other members of the dental team what

24:39

is what is their role in in cultivating

24:45

this type of system as well?

24:50

Well, first of all, the dentist isn't

24:50

always the one that presents the

24:55

treatment. Oftentimes there's a treatment coordinator

24:56

that's very good at that.

25:02

So they help to support the dentist.

25:06

And the assistants should obviously be of

25:06

a mindset where they want to be in rapport

25:15

with the patient. So look, a lot of times,

25:17

patients will, the doctor will go out of

25:17

the room and the patients will say to the

25:22

assistant, do I really, do you think I

25:22

really need that crown?

25:25

Or do you think I really need that implant? So there's a great opportunity for that

25:27

supporting role, that assistant or

25:33

whomever is in there to be able to answer

25:33

that question positively and gracefully

25:38

and compassionately.

25:43

Doing the treatment triad, the way I

25:43

explain it,

25:47

It's like a blueprint for further

25:47

treatment.

25:51

So every time that patient comes in, that

25:51

hygienist has the opportunity to have a

25:56

supporting role in saying, I see Dr.

26:00

Brian diagnosed a crown in this area.

26:03

The last time you were here, we've been

26:03

watching that.

26:06

And it looks to me like it might have

26:06

broken down more since the last.

26:12

Here's the caveat. The next thing should be,

26:16

What questions do you have for me about

26:16

that?

26:18

Instead of that crowns, that tooth is

26:18

breaking down, you're probably gonna need

26:22

a crown and this is why, blah, blah, blah.

26:25

Instead of patient educating, once again,

26:25

asking good open -ended question.

26:31

Not do you have any questions for me, but

26:31

that tooth that Dr.

26:36

Brian recommended crown, it looks like

26:36

it's broken down a little more since the

26:40

last time. What questions do you have for me about

26:41

that?

26:43

open it back up and get some patient

26:43

feedback.

26:46

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Now, ultimately, this whole process is

26:48

designed obviously to improve case

26:54

acceptance, in turn improve production

26:54

profitability, but it's also about

27:02

creating a more patient -centered

27:02

practice.

27:04

And so ultimately, none of these ideas are

27:04

mutually exclusive.

27:10

Of course, no, absolutely.

27:12

Yeah. so when you when you work with practices

27:13

on implementing this system and that what

27:18

sort of the the end game, what do you see

27:18

beyond just a more profitable practice

27:22

beyond just you know the impact on the

27:22

bottom line?

27:26

What sort of the transformation ultimately

27:26

that you see in the clients that you work

27:30

with at the end of the day? I don't think I've ever gotten that

27:31

question before, but I will tell you what

27:35

my clients have told me.

27:37

I had one doctor that said, you know what,

27:37

it's just pulled, well, several that have

27:42

said, it's just pulled our whole team

27:42

together.

27:44

We work together more as a team.

27:47

I had one doctor say, I learned a lot more

27:47

about myself and I learned that little

27:55

changes can make a big difference.

27:57

Yeah. Yeah. And then I had one doctor that just said,

28:00

well, our case acceptance soared and

28:06

that's higher production and our patients

28:06

are happier and that makes me happy as the

28:12

dentist. So those are some of the added benefits.

28:15

The techniques that I took, one of the

28:15

people that reviewed my book said, these

28:21

are techniques that could be used for any

28:21

business.

28:25

or in life in general. And so the things that I teach can be

28:27

helpful just in your personal life as

28:31

well. Things like prioritizing decision,

28:31

prioritizing big things to make in more

28:37

bite -sized pieces, asking good open

28:37

-ended questions is always a great way to,

28:43

and then listen with the intent to

28:43

understand, not to respond, but with the

28:50

intent to understand.

28:52

That's how. That's how we create relationships and get

28:53

them rapport quickly because we don't have

28:57

a lot of time in dentistry to do that.

29:00

much of it is simply about listening, I

29:00

think, and elevating the patient and their

29:04

concerns and their values and their

29:04

perspectives as well.

29:09

And truly making this a, again, it's all

29:09

about shared decision -making.

29:12

So I love that. Well, Janet, this has been such a

29:13

wonderful conversation and I can't tell

29:18

you how much I appreciate you dropping by

29:18

the podcast and sharing your knowledge

29:21

with our audience. What is the one thing you want to leave

29:22

folks with today?

29:25

to maybe a practitioner who is struggling

29:25

with case acceptance or thinks that maybe

29:32

it's time to think about a change in terms

29:32

of how they're approaching patient

29:36

education and treatment planning and that

29:36

sort of thing.

29:39

Like what would you want to leave folks

29:39

with today above all else?

29:42

want to leave them with the idea of be

29:42

open to new perspectives.

29:47

Open to new perspectives and reach out to

29:47

me and have a conversation about how I can

29:53

help you and your team. It starts with the doctor or the practice

29:54

owner, whether it's who owns the DSO or a

30:03

solo practice, but it starts with the

30:03

leadership.

30:06

I mean, they have to buy in and say, you

30:06

know what?

30:08

Case acceptance is important and we're

30:08

not...

30:11

we're no longer willing to accept 30%.

30:14

We want 35 % and we wanna do it ethically

30:14

and elegantly and effectively.

30:21

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. so I'm gonna put in the show notes the

30:23

link to your book, to your website, but

30:27

what's the best way folks can get into

30:27

contact with you if they want to take

30:31

things to the next level? they're welcome to call me and leave a

30:33

message and I'll call back.

30:37

And or the best way is just to simply

30:37

shoot me an email and we'll schedule a

30:42

complimentary discovery call and find out

30:42

where they are and where they want to go.

30:47

So that's Janet at JanetHagerman .com.

30:50

Awesome, and I'll put all those links in the show notes. Well, Jana, I can't thank you enough for

30:52

stopping by today.

30:55

Thank you so much. And if I have my way about it, this will

30:56

not be the last time that we have a

30:59

conversation on here. I would love to have you back at some time

31:00

in the future, because like I said, you

31:04

are also doing fractional chief hygiene

31:04

officer work for DSOs.

31:08

And that's a whole nother topic that we

31:08

didn't even get into today.

31:12

I couldn't have been happier, Dan. This has been great.

31:14

Thank you. This has been really enjoyable for me as

31:15

well.

31:17

Thank you so much. I'm so glad to hear that.

31:19

Thank you, Janet. And thanks to everyone who listened today.

31:21

If you enjoyed what you heard, please take

31:21

a moment, just a minute or less to leave

31:26

us a five star review on Google podcast or

31:26

Apple podcast or Spotify or wherever

31:32

you're listening to this show. Really appreciate it.

31:34

It's the best way that you can help us

31:34

reach other dentists and folks within the

31:38

dental field. Really appreciate it. Like I said, my name is Dan Brian.

31:41

You've been listening to the dental

31:41

domination podcast.

31:43

Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you, Janet, and we will all talk

31:45

soon.

31:47

Thanks so much. Take care.