Disney sets a precedent by detailing their priorities immediately, even to people they may or may not hire. Meanwhile, dental offices all around the country don’t know their priority hierarchy. In my practice, potential new patients contact us over the phone, so I expect all team members to share the responsibility of answering calls attentively. This method is established and has a profound effect on our business. Many dental practices don’t implement this expectation. I saw a survey in a magazine the other day where dental employees were polled regarding their office priorities. At the top of every employee’s list was interacting with the patient, and answering the phone was toward the bottom. Those polled viewed the office phone as a hindrance, and when they did answer it, these employees were irritated that the call interrupted their work. But answering the phone really isn’t that complicated when you break it down. Potential patients call for only two reasons: They have a problem they don’t want, or they want a result they don’t have. When you answer the phone, you are acting as a problem solver. If you’re merely answering questions, that’s not enough. You want to let them know they’ve called the right place, and that goes deeper than just listening. Use your “best-friend voice” and ask questions to get to the core of the issue. Most importantly, smile. It may sound odd, but people can tell through the phone if you’re smiling. This will open up meaningful dialog and play a role in your conversion rate. Answering the phone is one thing, but converting the caller to a customer is another. A web marketing specialist called me one day asking to learn how our call-conversion rate was at 90 percent for the month. I explained to him the in-depth model behind our tactics, and you can learn the same. To increase your new patient flow by “fixing the phone,” schedule a call with your GG12 Coach today, then have your entire team watch GG12 Monthly Team Training Toolkit episode 38.
How a ‘Little’ Thing Could Cost You a Half-Million Dollars
Pick Up the Phone!
By Jeff Anzalone, DDS, Board-Certified Periodontist, Certified GG12 Coach
True success is built from doing little things in big ways. If you think you’re above answering the phone, you are not. Most practices only dedicate one or two people to answer the phones, not realizing the opportunity they’re letting slip through their fingers. Research shows that the average dental practice misses out on gaining a new patient anywhere between 2–4 times a day by simply not picking up the phone. Let’s do the math. Two patients a day for four days every week adds up to about 96 patients a year. In the cover, Tom discusses the average lifetime value (ALV) of a new patient, which is $4,800. So if you’re comfortable missing out on over $450,000 a year by not answering the phone, you can stop reading. So, who should answer the phones? The solution is simple. Everyone should have the ability to handle a new-patient call. There was a moment about five years ago that made this lesson evident to me. A friend of mine encouraged me to go through the interview process at Disney (just for the eye-opening experience … I’m not giving up my day job!). I was going to Orlando for a meeting, so I looked into it, went through the process, and was able to secure an interview. Before I even spoke with someone directly, the people at Disney had me take a 40-question personality test. From there, I sat down with an employee, and the first question he asked was, “What do you think the No. 1 priority would be working here?” Since Disney is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” I thought logically and responded, “It’s making sure the guests have a good time.” The gentleman answered, “Yep, that’s certainly an important part, but that’s not the No. 1 priority. The No. 1 priority of someone who works here is guest safety. That trumps everything.”
No matter how amazing your team, you’re still losing new patients when they call at times you simply can’t pick up. Nights, weekends, holidays, early morning before work, and even during the day when you’re slammed and nobody can grab one more ringing phone. That’s where Dr. Orent’s Ultimate Phone Concierge comes in.
UPC not only answers your phones when you can’t, but they SCHEDULE NEW PATIENTS for you — new patients who call when you can’t answer. Learn more at UltimatePhoneConcierge.com.
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