The Real Reasons Behind Price Objections

Andrea (00:04):
Well, hi there. I am Andrea Watkins, and if you're listening to this while juggling three patient calls, checking in a couple patients, taking a payment, selling skincare, and trying to catch your doctor in between procedures, you might be working in an aesthetic practice.

Blake (00:18):
And I'm Blake Lucas and this is Practiceland. This is not Your doctor's podcast. Welcome back to Practiceland listeners. So happy that you're here. We have a great episode lined up for you today. We're talking all about price objections. I think this is high on the list for so many people, so strap in. We're going to dive right into this. So excited again to have Heather Hughes Hardy with us. Welcome, Heather.

Heather (00:45):
Hello. Thanks for having me.

Blake (00:47):
And Jenna Hennig as well is back with us.

Jenna (00:50):
Hey, good to be back.

Blake (00:51):
Hopefully you know who Heather and Jenna are, but if you don't, I'm just reintroduce 'em really quick. Heather Hughes Hardy is a former COO and registered nurse who knows how to partner with practices to take big ideas and make them work in real life and ultimately drive profitability that lasts. Jenna Hennig is a nationally known aesthetic nurse injector and sales strategist who's all about helping providers connect with patients on a deeper level, making the process feel just a little less salesy. Heather, Jenna, we've got a tough one for both of you today. As I mentioned, we're going to be talking about price objections. This is something that happens to providers who present their own quotes, and it also happens to PCCs. What do you do when a patient rejects a treatment plan with an objection to the price?

Jenna (01:37):
This is, I feel like one of the most difficult objections because it's hard to pre handle and it's one of the only things that we feel like we can't solve when it comes to an objection because it's not within our control unless we're offering a discount or something like that. There's so many really, really cool techniques that I like to use a few different phrases. I'll share a few of them with you now if that's okay.

Blake (02:03):
Absolutely, yes, absolutely. Please do. This is what we're here for. I love it.

Jenna (02:07):
One of my favorite ones to use if I get a price objection is to ask the patient, okay, well, let's just pause for a moment. Price aside, tell me the treatment plan that we discussed, do you feel like that is the treatment plan to get you to your goals? And most importantly, do you feel that I'm the provider to help you achieve that goal? Then you're figuring out is it really the price or is it the plan? Is it me? Is there something else that's going on? From there, another one I like to use is, is it the upfront investment that has you hesitant or are you worried that the outcome is not going to justify the value. And then you're figuring out is it more so the total cost? Are you just like, I don't really know if that specific treatment plan is going to get me there? And then another one that I really, really love, this is from, I always butcher his name. Forgive me, Alex Hormozi I think is how you say his last name. Yeah,

Blake (02:56):
I think it's good.

Jenna (02:57):
Yeah. He has this great tactic where he asks the patient or the individual he's working with, he says, okay, on a scale of one to 10, zero being you never want to see me again, and 10 being we're moving forward, where are you at? And they give whatever number it is, and then instead of asking why not a 10, he asks them why not a zero? And what that does is it allows them to justify what they like about the plan and they say, oh, well, because you outlined overall the timeline fits into where I want to be. You mentioned that there is financing options, and so a monthly payment would be better. You mentioned that there's minimal downtime, which is really important to me, and then you're really identifying what those true objections are because very rarely is it really cost. There's so many times that I go in somewhere and I'm like, okay, we're on a budget. It can't be spending money, and then I see something I want. I'm like, I got to have it, and if you really want it, it's really going to solve an emotional need for you, you do it. And that's the most important thing is figuring out, is this going to meet your need? Is there something that I need to adjust to make this make more sense for you?

Blake (04:03):
In previous episodes, we've kind of talked about price and when to bring it up and something it comes up as an issue is if a patient has no idea what the basic cost is or the approximate price is before coming into this moment, that's a whole nother issue. Where should the process include price education before the consultation?

Jenna (04:26):
Before the consultation? I think it depends. So in my personal practice for the med spa procedures that I personally perform, you don't always get the opportunity to discuss price beforehand. We personally do put all of our pricing online. We like to be super transparent. For surgical, there's usually a pre-call involved where you're kind of going over what the different ranges are and things of that nature. Most patients who come in have done a little bit of research as far as they think they know what they need, and so they've looked into that specific procedure, but a lot of times it turns out that that's not actually what's going to serve them best. So they may come in thinking that they need a HydraFacial, but really it's a laser treatment. That's two very different price points. So it's a little bit difficult because if you have the opportunity to speak with them beforehand, that's key.

(05:13):
And that's where your sales staff really comes into play cuz their job is to credential the practice and the provider. So if they answer the call, I like to, when I was in the front desk doing sales, I like to kind of get some of those sort of pre handling questions covered, and I would ask them, oh, what is your main concern? What are you hoping to achieve with this appointment? What other treatments have you tried just to get a range of what other things have you attempted? How much it kind of tells you too, how much have you really spent trying to fix this problem without directly asking it? And then you're able to give them some ranges as far as the provider's going to go over all of the specific treatment plan with you. But as far as the treatment plans that you brought up to me, these are the ranges for them. And that gives them a little background, but it's a difficult question to answer because you don't always get the opportunity to cover that beforehand depending on what area you're in.

Blake (06:07):
Yeah, absolutely. And shameless little plug here, there's a financing component of this too, I think right where that becomes a really important conversation to have early and often to make sure patients are comfortable with the affordability of the treatments.

Jenna (06:24):
That is my favorite thing to do, and I'm not even exaggerating. It's so funny, there's so many other providers who are like, I don't talk about the price, and I'm like, why? Why would you leave this to anybody else? You have the opportunity to, they trust you. You are talking about it, you are recommending this. Why would you leave it to anybody else? Not to say that that's wrong, but I'm like, I'm going to cover it. And the way that I handle it is two different ways. Anchoring when it comes to financing, where I like to anchor with the larger total investment, and then I just tell them, so it's going to be $12,000 for your total treatment package or a thousand dollars each month for the next year, which is the course of your treatment plan. When you anchor, you give them that initial overall investment and then you come back with that lower price and it seems more feasible and it's just a little bit more palatable to them. Then the other thing I love to do is I just tell them we're looking at a 12 month treatment plan for you. What most of my patients do, and what I prefer to do personally is just space this out into 12 interest free payments. That way it normalizes it instead of, the most icky thing that you can do is be like, do you need financing? And they're like, that's rude.

Blake (07:35):
Yeah, why would you assume that?

Jenna (07:36):
Exactly, and patients can take that the wrong way, and so I just tell 'em like, this is how I do it, and it's true. I love to use financing options as interest free. Maybe I have the money, maybe I have the overall upfront investment, but I prefer to space it out and it just normalizes it in a way that's not saying that I'm not assuming you need this. This is just your two different options. If you prefer to do it all upfront, totally fine. If you prefer to do interest free payments, that's also an option for you.

Blake (07:59):
I love what you've brought up here as far as, I think these are great ways of bringing up the number to patients. It's not being afraid to dive right into it, talk about what's available, and then maybe that more palatable monthly number makes it a way for them an easier way for them to get to. Yes. Instead of coming in with that big scary $12,000 number. What are you looking for or trying to observe while the patient's there digesting this price?

Jenna (08:35):
The one that I most typically see when they're shocked is it's a very subtle eyebrow raise and eye widening, which is normal mean, and the thing is, it's so normal. A lot of these treatments cost more than we expect for any of us, and so looking for that, and so typically when I'm delivering the overall price point, I'm looking directly at their eyes, making eye contact and watching their facial expression. They're usually looking at the tablet or whatever I'm showing them and just acknowledging too, like, Hey, this is an investment, so if I see that kind of shocked look, I tell them, I know it's an investment. I know this is a lot to take in. Initially, you mentioned to me that your top priority was this, and we can absolutely start with that if you'd like. We don't have to do all of this at once, but this is what I'd recommend to meet all of your goals. We could paste it out however makes sense to you. 12 interest free payments would be this. If you want to space it out over two years, it would be this, all of this is totally fine, but you're looking for that sort of like Heather, you can weigh in too. But typically I see a bit of a tensing, a bit of an eyebrow raise, raise, and usually this is a little sharp, and here we're like, oh my goodness.

Blake (09:34):
I've had those moments too where you start to bring up those price and then it's like, oh, and yeah, it hurts. Heather, I've heard the term loss aversion used as a tactic to help rationalize overcome hurdles. When you're trying to close a high value, high price tax service, what is that and how do you use it?

Heather (09:53):
Loss aversion is really just the idea that people feel the pain of loss twice as strongly as the joy of gain. And so in consults, it's often more effective to ask something like, how will you feel if nothing changes, than to just talk about how great the results could be. So patients are more motivated to avoid staying stuck than they are to chase improvement. Saying something like, you mentioned this has been weighing on you for two years, tell me about how you think you're going to feel after this procedure. You get them in the right head space of what the future looks like and how it feels after the procedure. Once they've actually visualized it and described it out loud, it's so much more real to the patient, and so then you can ask them, how will it feel if you don't move forward and another two years goes by? Because they're going to walk away now knowing what it feels like to lose what could have been.

(10:49):
And so in doing all of this, so you want to remember that this is a genuine exercise that you're doing with your patients, and you should do it with care and with compassion for the patient's goals, not just as a sales tactic. Because it can feel kind of icky if you're like, I'm just going to use this to get the yes. You want to go on this journey with the patient. If they're here for something and they've been wanting to do it for so long, what will it feel like if they wait another two years?

Blake (11:14):
I even think of my own personal goals. It is got me thinking about myself and it's like, oh yeah, what are the things that I've put up with for so long that I'm so frustrated with? It's like, well, getting to the gym consistently, or even just those little things and it's like, wow, I'm going to trick myself. I'm going to ask myself those same questions. How am I going to feel in a year if I don't actually get just into the gym or eat right or whatever it may be? So these are amazing tactics that I love that I'm definitely going to be using on myself. Practiceland, Elephant in the Room is brought to you by PatientFi. We've talked about financing of course, and how this, I really feel like this can level the playing field for patients and how bringing up financing early and often or talking about price early and often can really help get that person over the obstacle of costs. How do you approach the process of financing logistically? Is it something that you want to have them do during a consult or is this something that you want them to be doing prior to even coming in?

Heather (12:21):
Yeah, I think ideally your patients are being exposed to this ahead of their visit with you. I don't think that there's ever a wrong time to go into it. Once your patient's talking about it, that's the perfect opportunity, but if you are able to, specifically for surgical consults, those are going to be big ticket items and they're going to be big ticket items. So taking care that patient care coordinator, connecting with the patient ahead of time, talking with them about what the potential ranges of the procedure could be, and then using that exact transition then to talk about what it could be monthly and how they can apply for financing and what your preferred partner is and what the process is for that. When they come in for their consultation, they speak with the doctor again, they hear the ranges again, they're not getting huge sticker shock and they already know which avenue that they could potentially pursue. A lot of times, patients too get stuck on that whole like, oh, financing. No, no, thanks. Not for me. And it's in my opinion, good care to say, Hey, I totally get it. Financing isn't for everybody, but I do want to talk to you just a little bit about it because a lot of my patients do really benefit from it. Is it something that you're open to? And that's a way to reopen that door for someone that's automatically hesitant.

Blake (13:37):
And I love that, and I think it's such a natural way of weaving this into your conversation with patients, even if it's not front of mind for them, maybe they do have the ability to afford it, but if you bring it up and all of a sudden it becomes, oh, well, I never really thought about that. But yeah, actually I would prefer just to hold onto my cash and just put this on a monthly payment program, which is easy financing, getting to that approval and that dollar amount ahead of the consultation. I really feel like it's just the best practice at this point, right? It's part of your financing partner's job. One thing just to talk about patient file a little bit, we have a whole team here who helps with this. Each practice that we have that comes onto our program gets a success manager that's dedicated to them, helps 'em customize talk tracks and workflows to get through these types of conversations to make it more natural and also too, even marketing materials and all those different things to help garner interest in your practice.

(14:39):
We really want to be that partner, not just another financing option for patients, but we really want to drive business at PatientFi. So I think that's one of our number one goals. You'll see it in our marketing. It's something that we really want to be able to do. We were born out of a medical practice like our initial investors, the way that we got started was really within the aesthetic space, and so we feel like we really understand it. It's a part of our DNA, and it's something that we really want to help drive and help these practices be successful. So that's my one little plug and then I'm done. Thank you so much, everyone. Jenna, Heather, I love this conversation. I think this could go on for absolutely we could go on for hours on this one. I know it's top of mind for so many different practices, so I'm glad we got a chance to talk about this today. Now, the takeaway, the one thing that maybe we want to identify that our listeners can use in their next consult, what's the one thing maybe Heather, you want to start?

Heather (15:42):
Yeah, truly. I think that talking about pricing is just part of good medical care. You're taking care of your patient and their budget is part of their holistic self, and so I think everybody has a role in the process. And so if you're someone listening to this episode and it's resonating, I would highly recommend sharing it with someone in your practice because it can feel a little uncomfortable to start. And so having these tools, I think it would be a very kind thing to do to send it along to one of your team members that could benefit.

Blake (16:12):
Awesome. Jenna, what do we got?

Jenna (16:15):
I'm going to break the rules and do two. They're quick, I promise.

Blake (16:18):
Perfect.

Jenna (16:19):
The first one is that a price objection is rarely actually about price. So ask your questions and figure out what the real objection is, because if it makes sense to them, they are going to make it work. And that's where the financing is key. And the second one is with every single presentation of price, always offer them the total and then the monthly payment. You don't have to phrase it as anything other than, so in total it's going to be $12,000 or we can do 12 even payments of a thousand, whatever it may be, and it just normalizes it. And then people are like, oh, I didn't know I could do that. Yeah, let's do it. I cannot tell you how many times that has been just an alleviator, so always offer both.

Blake (16:55):
Jenna, Heather, thank you, thank you, thank you. Where can we follow you online if we want to know more about what you're working on?

Heather (17:03):
Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram at Heather Hughes Hardy, same name on LinkedIn. I'd love to connect.

Jenna (17:10):
And I am on Instagram at Austin Beauty Boss and on LinkedIn at Jenna Hennig

Blake (17:16):
And listener got a question that you want Heather or Jenna to answer? Send us a message at practicelandpodcast.com. This has been another amazing day in Practiceland. We're so excited that you joined us. Tune in next week when we have a next episode. Until then, take care. Got a wild customer service story or a sticky patient situation? Send us a message or voicemail. If your tale makes it into our "She did what?" segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love .Promise, no cheap swag here.

Andrea (17:44):
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