Jo Phillpot shares simple techniques to transform every enquiry into a patient…
Having new enquiries is great, but unless they turn into new, and paying, patients, they won’t actually have much impact on the growth of your practice. A front desk team that is skilled in converting these enquiries into booked appointments is a must when it comes to your business’ success, especially when you consider how much a patient can be worth during their time with you.
Below, are a few top tips to help refresh your team’s approach to new enquiries and keep growing your patient list:
Respond quickly and personably
Whether the enquiry is face-to-face or via the phone, it is important to react quickly – no one likes to be kept waiting. If it’s a telephone call, set an expectation that it is answered within a certain number of rings (I’d suggest no more than four) and in a certain manner, e.g. you might want the team member to give their name, have a smile as they speak, etc.
You can create similar guidelines for face-to-face interactions as well, e.g. acknowledge patients within a certain number of seconds, even – or especially – if you’re busy dealing with someone else, just eye contact and a smile would suffice. Having these rules as part of your induction and staff handbook will help your team to stick to them, and ensure every new enquirer has a good first impression.
Find out the specifics of what they want
Some people may well be only interested in a check-up, however if you assume this from the start you are potentially losing the opportunity to build rapport as well as closing off an additional income stream. If you ask open questions about what they are interested in and their dental health priorities, the enquirer will feel that they are being treated as an individual and will feel more at ease to discuss their treatment requirements.
Receiving this kind of personalised attention that’s focused on what they want/need right at the start of their relationship with you, will signify the kind of service they can expect. This could be just the thing that tips them over into booking an appointment.
Explain how you can help – without the jargon
Once you understand what the person is interested in, you can tell them how your practice is able to help them. This doesn’t need to be a long discussion, but just an overview in simple terms – without the technical descriptions of equipment that they probably won’t understand – of what you offer that meets their needs. After explaining how you can help, you can then invite them for an appointment to discuss it further and for an initial assessment.
Closing the conversation by asking ‘Is there anything else we can help you with?’ will give the person a final chance to tell you about anything else they may not have felt able to so far.
With these three tips, you will be best placed to transform each enquiry into an appointment, keep your patient list growing and reduce the white space in your diary.
