People don’t buy from other people they don’t trust, and people don’t trust others they don’t know. 

First you Know, then you trust, and then you buy. In that order. There’s different ways to develop trust, but trust cannot be pushed or purchased. It is gained over time. We can create the illusion of time by informing patients about how long we have been in business, or how long we have been in this town. 

We can increase the feeling of familiarity by offering an office tour that more than showcasing the facilities and the technology focuses on giving the patient and insight into the doctor’s background and philosophy. It helps if we have seen any of their relatives because they feel like they know us by association. Put a picture of the doctor or the team on all your marketing material, if you post a video of the office. They feel like they know you a little bit more. 

A quick trick is to introduce yourself while patients are filling out the paperwork in the waiting room. When you see them again in the operatory, theoretically speaking it is like you’ve met before somewhere else, even if the interaction was just a few minutes ago and a few feet away, to the mind it is interpreted as a second instance. You can even create the impression of distance by telling them:

“Once again it’s nice to meet you!”