The idea of asking current patients and parents for referrals strikes fear in the heart of most orthodontists! We are professionals and we don’t beg or act “salesy!” I used to think the same thing but I’ve learned that PRIDE IS EXPENSIVE. These days I ask for referrals all day, every day. How? Easily – I use the same basic script over and over and over because it works. And I know I’m having an impact when someone stops me midstream and says, “I know, my friend told me.”

 For example, at the end of every new patient and observation appointment I say basically the same thing over and over. It goes something like this and accomplishes several goals.

“You did the right thing to come see us! We love to see kids age 7 and older to check on them and look at an x-ray to evaluate their growth and development, look for extra, missing or stuck teeth and to check for other crazy stuff like cysts and tumors. You would be amazed by what we find because we are looking at different things than your dentist is. We love it when dentists send their patients to see us at the right age but some don’t realize that we need to see your child by age 7. The good news is that you don’t need a dentist referral to come see us. Please help me educate other parents about this! Be sure to tell your friends, family and neighbors to come see us by age 7 so we can catch any issues early and avoid problems that get worse over time if not detected. We don’t like to treat kids early and we rarely do but by seeing them young we can often avoid problems and make braces easier when the time comes.”

It takes half a minute to say this. I get tired of saying it. The TCs get tired of hearing it. But I get a ton of patients by doing this day in and day out! Try it for yourself and see.