x $4,850 = $1,047,600!!! You may expect roughly one-fourth of that during their first 12 months with you … put another way, motivating just another 1 percent of your patients to refer each month could net you and EXTRA QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS in 2019! Dr. Robert Cialdini is a regents professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Dr. Orent has been studying Dr. Cialdini’s principles of persuasion for more than 20 years and has brought Dr. Cialdini to speak to the Gems Family on several occasions. Dr. Orent used Dr. Cialdini’s triggers of influence and persuasion in order to motivate more of his existing happy patients to refer their friends, family, and coworkers more often. Dr. Orent brought Dr. Chris Phelps to speak to our Gems Family at a recent retreat. Dr. Phelps is also an avid student of Dr. Cialdini. He shared with us a new patient referral boosting strategy worth its weight in Gems! Dr. Phelps’ strategy starts with Cialdini’s theory of reciprocity. If you do something for someone (for example, make a patient really happy with the outcome of a treatment), it’s hard-wired in their DNA that they will want to do something for you. You gain a moment of opportunity. In that moment you can ask for two or three things from the patient to return the favor. The verbiage I use goes something like this: “How did everything go today?” Assuming the patient expresses positive feelings about the visit ... “I’m so glad to hear that. We really appreciate having you as a patient.” Then I like to fan out a deck of gift cards, each ranging from $10–$15 from local stores — car wash, restaurants, liquor store, etc. They’ll take one or two, and then I have the opportunity to make sure I take action on two opportunities. I use one to schedule their follow-up appointment, and for the other, I use our mug referral strategy.
Certified GG12 Coach, Lisa Weber, RDH How to Double or Triple New Patient Referrals !
Your new patient referral rate from current patients is terrible!
I say this not to criticize but to point out where you have a huge opportunity just waiting for you to take advantage of it. Do the math.
I’m going to use some generic (but fairly typical) numbers. Grab a pen and paper and substitute your own numbers in order to determine your new patient referral rate. Let’s say you are a one-doctor practice and have 1,850 active patients (patients who’ve visited at least once during the last 18 months). You get 34 new patients per month, half of which come from your website, sign in front of your building, and other forms of advertising. The other half — 17 new patients — are referred by your existing happy patients.
NOTE: During Dr. Phelps' presentation, he explains exactly how to get $10 and $15 gift cards from local businesses and restaurants for
The Scary (Opportunity Laden) Math:
17/1850 = 0.009, which is less than 1 percent of your patients referring new patients to you each month! Okay, let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment. Let’s say I’m way off base. Maybe you’re getting 50 new patient referrals per month …
50/1850 = 0.027, so you’re still getting less than 3 percent of your existing patients to refer to you every month!
The good news is actually GREAT NEWS. Since 97–99 percent of your existing patients are not referring new patients to you each month, it’s really not that hard to move the needle by a significant amount!
If Another 1 Percent of Your Patients Referred
What would that mean to your practice financially if there were a way to get just 1 percent more of your existing patients to refer each month? 0.01 x 1850 = 18.5. 18 more new patients per month x 12 = 216 EXTRA new patients per year. The LAV (lifetime average value) of a new patient in a general dental practice is $4,850. Over the next six years, that’s 216
5 InsidersCircle.com | 1-888-880-GEMS (4367) Continued on page 6 ...
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