Four little words that can quietly kill your case acceptance rate. I’ll think about it, but here’s the good news. I’ll think about. It isn’t a rejection five tactical things you and your team can do starting today to improve case acceptance without feeling salesy or pushy? So if you’ve ever watched a perfectly good treatment plan, walk out your door never to return, this episode is your chance to fix that.
If you take, I’ll think about it at face value and just say. Okay, give us a call when you’re ready. You’re leaving thousands in treatment revenue on the table.
Hey there, and welcome back to the No BS Dental Growth Podcast, where we skip the fluff and talk real strategies that actually move the needle for your practice. I’m your host, Chris Pistorius, and today’s topic is one that every dentist has heard. Probably way too many times, hopefully not, but, and it’s four little words that can quietly kill your case acceptance rate.
I’ll think about it now. Let’s be real. When a patient says that they’re not going home to light a candle, meditate on your treatment plan and journal about the importance of dental health, they’re more likely hopping in their car and heading straight to Netflix. Never to think about it again. But here’s the good news.
I’ll think about it. Isn’t a rejection, it’s a symptom. It’s a sign of hesitation, uncertainty, maybe fear. And if you know how to respond to it the right way, you can turn a ton of these maybes into yeses and more importantly, into healthier, happier patients. In today’s episode, we’re gonna break down the real psychology behind that phrase, the common mistakes most practices make after hearing it.
And five tactical things you and your team can do starting today to improve case acceptance without feeling salesy or pushy. So if you’ve ever watched a perfectly good treatment plan, walk out your door never to return. This episode is your chance to fix that. So let’s dive in. Alright, so let’s get into the psychology behind this infamous phrase of, I want to think about it because here’s the truth, that line, it’s rarely, very rarely about time, patients aren’t asking for a few days to genuinely process your treatment plan like they are making a big life decision.
They’re using it as an emotional escape hatch. A soft way to say, I’m not ready, or more often, I’m too uncomfortable to say no to your face, and I don’t blame them. Think about it. Dental treatments can be intimidating. The money, the pain, the chair, the sound of that drill, none of it screams fun. I’m in, right?
Even if you’ve built a great relationship and the treatment plan is solid, they’re still coming from a place of fear or uncertainty. So when they say, I’ll think about it, they’re not stalling for time. They’re avoiding a decision. What they’re really saying is, I’m not sure this is worth the money, the time, the pain, I’m scared it will hurt.
I don’t totally trust you yet. Especially if they’re a newer patient or sometimes even, I don’t feel like I fully understand what you just said. It’s not a rejection to you. It’s a gap in clarity, confidence, or maybe even comfort. And here’s the kicker, if you don’t recognize that, if you take, I’ll think about it at face value and just say, okay, give us a call when you’re ready.
You’re leaving thousands in treatment revenue on the table. Not to mention you’re letting your patients walk around with problems they could have solved. So step one in changing this dynamic is understanding that your job isn’t to convince someone on the spot. It’s to remove the roadblocks that are keeping them from making a confident.
Informed decision. That’s where your real influence comes in. Not pressure, not pushiness, but leadership. Now that we’ve unpacked what’s really going on behind those four little words, let’s talk about what most practices are doing wrong when they hear them, and how you can avoid falling into that same trap.
So now that we know, I think about it as a code for I’m uncomfortable. Let’s talk about what most practices do wrong in response because this is where treatment plans go to die. Mistake number one, presenting treatment, like a technical report instead of a personal solution. Way too many dentists go full clinical mode.
You need a crown on number 19, due to a large, uh, failing blah, blah, blah, and risk fracture. Cool. But to the patient, that sounds like robot speak, that you’re sitting there wondering if it’s going to hurt, how much it’s going to cost, and if they can chew steak next week. Now what tooth number it is.
Instead, frame the treatment in terms of what it does for them. Something like this. Crown will protect the tooth, prevent it from cracking and keep you chewing comfortably. No surprises down the road. That’s a real life benefit that they can latch onto. Now, mistake number two is not connecting the dots between the patient’s goals and your recommendation.
They told you earlier that they hate how their teeth look in photos. Um, then you recommend Invisalign and forget to tie it back to the emotional driver missed opportunity. Every treatment plan should be positioned as the answer to their why you’re not selling a procedure. You’re offering a path to confidence, comfort, or peace of mind.
Mistake number three, the staff drops the ball right after the consult. Here’s what happens in a lot of practices, patient says, I’ll think about it. And the team responds with a friendly smile and, okay, well just give us a call if you decide to move forward and boom, that’s it. Game over. No follow up, no permission to reach out, no handoff to someone who can help them navigate the financial part of it.
It’s like everyone just collectively agrees to let that $2,500 case walk out the door and hope they come back at some time. Spoiler alert, most don’t. And finally, mistake number four. There’s no system in place to track and follow up on these cases. If your team isn’t logging every, I’ll think about it somewhere and setting up reminders to follow up.
You’re losing money every single week. That’s not speculation, that’s just math. Look, nobody likes being sold to, but people do like being helped, supported, and guided, especially when it comes to their health. And that’s what this is really about. Leadership, not salesmanship. So let’s fix it. In the next section, I’m gonna give you five tactical moves you can make right now, this week to turn more, I’ll think about it into, let’s do it.
So let’s get into it. Alright, let’s get into the fun stuff. The five tactical moves you and your team can use right now to turn those maybes into yeses. These are battle tested, no fluff, no gimmicks, just stuff that works if you actually do it. That’s the key. Number one, frame the decision before you even present the treatment.
One of the biggest mistakes is waiting until after the patient, here’s the treatment plan to gauge their readiness. By then, it’s too late. They’re already sliding into the, I need to think about it mode. Instead, before you even present something, say something like, once we go over everything, I’ll be asking you how you feel about moving forward.
And if you’re not ready today, that’s totally fine. I just want to make sure you have everything you need to make the best decision for yourself. What that does is plant the seed that a decision is expected, and more importantly, it takes the pressure off. You are telling them, no surprises here. I’m gonna help you think this through.
It instantly makes the conversation feel more collaborative and less like a sales pitch tactic. Number two, ask open-ended follow-up questions. If somebody does say, I need to think about it. Don’t just smile and nod. That’s where most practices go wrong. Instead, follow up with something, something like. I totally understand.
Do you mind if I ask, is there something specific you’d like more time to consider gets them thinking or even better? Sometimes when people say that it’s about cost or uncertainty, about the procedure itself, is, is that the case for you? You’re not being pushy, you’re being curious. And more often than not, that question unlocks the real objection.
Once you know what’s actually holding them back, now you’ve got something you can solve. And tactic number three, use the power of social proof strategically. This is simple, but wildly underused. If you are recommending a crown or Invisalign or an implant. You’ve had other patients go through the same thing, share that.
Say something like, we’ve had a lot of patients in your situation who felt a little hesitant at first, but they always come back saying they’re glad they moved forward. Especially once they see the results or realize it wasn’t nearly as bad as they thought. It’s not a hard sell, it’s just reassurance.
Through relatability and psychologically, it gives the patient permission to move forward by seeing that others have done it as well. Tactic number four, bring in a closer your treatment coordinator. Now, I know this depends on the size of your team, but if you have someone who handles financials and scheduling, they should be playing a bigger role here after the clinic discussion.
The handoff should sound like this. Okay, I’m gonna have you chat with Taylor. She’ll go over the next steps and help figure out what works best for your schedule and your budget. Let that person be the one to unpack financing options, answer logistical questions, and guide the patient through the process.
It gives the patient breathing room from the doctor and helps them feel more in control of the decision and tactic. Number five, build a follow-up system and actually use it. Here’s the deal. If you’re not tracking your, I think I’ll think about it. Cases you’re leaving money every single month. What gets tracked gets done, whether it’s a simple spreadsheet, your PMS or A CRM, have your team log every undecided case with notes and a follow-up date.
Then follow up, not once, multiple times with empathy, not pressure, something like, Hey Sarah, uh, just checking in on the treatment we discussed last week. Do you have any questions or anything we can do to help? Uh, before moving forward with it? You’d just be shocked how many people just need that extra nudge and how few practices are doing this consistently.
I see it all the time. Alright, so that’s your toolkit. Five. Very doable, very effective tactics. That can help you and your team turn hesitation into action. Next up, I’m gonna wrap this up with a few closing thoughts, including what your next step should be if you’re serious about improving case acceptance across the board.
So let’s bring it home. Alright, so let’s wrap this whole thing up. Here’s the bottom line I’ll think about. It doesn’t mean the patient is not interested, it just means that they’re unsure. It means something wasn’t clear, something didn’t land, or something was left unanswered. That’s not a rejection, that’s an opportunity.
And the practices that win, they’re the ones that have systems in place to spot those moments and do something about them. They don’t leave case acceptance to chance. They don’t cross their fingers and hope the patient calls back in a week. They lead, they educate, they follow up. If your team isn’t trained on how to handle those conversations, or if your systems for follow up are basically just sticky notes and good intentions, that’s not just a growth issue.
That’s a revenue leak. We don’t want that. But the good news, you can fix this starting today. Rewind this episode and take one tactic, just one, and implement it this week. Whether it’s scripting a better pre-frame, maybe cases for follow up or training your treatment coordinator on how to uncover hidden objections, just start somewhere.
And if you want help dialing this in across your entire patient experience, that’s what we do here at Kickstart Dental Marketing. One of the things, we’re not just out here running ads for people. We help you optimize the full patient journey from first click. It’s a closed case, so if that’s something that you do want to explore, let’s talk.
Thanks so much for listening to the No BS Dental Growth podcast. If this episode gave you something useful, do me a favor, share it with someone on your team or with a doc who needs to hear it. Hey, if you haven’t already subscribed, go ahead and do it now. You’ll never miss one of our newly dropped episodes.
Alright, go close some cases. Talk to you soon. Thanks for joining us this week on The Dental Marketing Podcast. Make sure to visit our website, www.kickstartdental.com/podcast, where you can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Spotify, or via RSS, so you’ll never. Miss a show while you’re at it. If you found value in the show, we’d appreciate a rating on iTunes or if you’d simply tell a friend about the show, that would help us out too.
If you are ready to grow your practice, then you might want to schedule a free strategy session with us. Just go to kickstart dental.com. And click the free strategy session button and give us 15 minutes of your time to change your practice forever. Be sure to tune in next week for our next episode. And thanks for listening to The Dental Marketing Podcast by Kickstart Dental Marketing, where dentists go to win online.
