Advice for Dental Practices – Dealing with patient objections - the ‘but flip’

I have been encouraging you, my clients, to eliminate the word but from your vocabulary,because it restricts your options. I encourage you to use 'and' in place of ‘but’ and notice how many other options became available to you.
Just to remind you;

"I would love to go out to dinner with you but I have to be home by 10:00 pm." as opposed to
"I would love to go out to dinner with and I have to be home by 10:00."
Notice how in the second example dinner becomes a possibility.

I would also like you to use the ‘but flip’ to overcome objections. This is a fantastically powerful and simple technique that is used to overcome objections and deepen rapport with patients, staff and everyone else.

If we use the previous example;
"I would love to go out to dinner with you but I have to be home by 10:00 pm." When using the but flip, reflect the objection back to its’ creator swopping the parts of the sentence before and after the ‘but’ and add a ‘softener’.
A softener is a phrase that allows the listener to feel understood, these include, I understand, it is normal to feel, of course it is appropriate to feel..., etc.
Examples of the but flip in action
"I understand you have to be home by 10:00 pm, but I would love to go out to dinner with you."
Suddenly what was an objection becomes a compelling client outcome with an opportunity to find a way forward.

Other examples may include
Example 2
"I would like to go ahead and have my teeth whitened but I don’t want to wear something in my mouth over night."
Becomes
"I appreciate you don’t want to wear something in your mouth over night but you would like to have your teeth whitened."
Example 3
"I would really like to have a root canal to save my tooth, but I am scared about the amount of pain I may experience."
Becomes
"It is normal to feel anxious about the possibility of pain but you would really like to have the root canal to save your tooth."
Example 4
"I would really like to attend one of your training courses but I am not available on Mondays."
Becomes
"I understand that you are not available on Mondays but you would like to attend one of my training programmes."

Once you have done the but flip, and your client is focused on their desired outcome, you can then simply inform them as to how you can help them reach their goal.
Using our previous examples

Example 1
"I understand you have to be home by 10:00 pm, but I would love to go out to dinner with you, why don’t we go to that lovely restaurant that is on the way back to your house?"

Example 2
"I appreciate you don’t want to wear something in your mouth over night but you would like to have your teeth whitened, we can use a system at the practice that will lighten your teeth within the hour, how does that sound?"

Example 3
"It is normal to feel anxious about the possibility of pain but you would really like to have the root canal to save your tooth, I will use a strong anaesthetic that will ensure that you won’t feel anything. When would you now like to go ahead?"

Example 4
"I understand that you are not available on Mondays but you would like to attend one of my training programmes we are able to offer all training programmes at your practice, which is the most convenient day for you?"