Lesson 1 :
Teach the front office team how to properly answer new patient questions on the initial call . Talk about how to listen , empathize , and sincerely care about the person ’ s dental needs . The least expensive thing a person can do is care yet it is most important .
Lesson 2 :
Whatever you talk about first on the initial call is what the patient perceives is most important in your office . Example : If the first question you ask is , “ Do you have insurance ?” then the potential new patient will believe that insurance is important to you . In reality , it ’ s not because we don ’ t ever want the new patient to think that insurance dictates patient care or the doctor ’ s diagnoses .
Lesson 3 :
Train your team to identify different personality types and how to respond accordingly . For example , if a caller speaks in short , to the point sentences that is how he / she prefers to be spoken to as well . If a caller tells us their life story in the first five minutes of the call , then he / she prefers to begin building a relationship upfront . If we show the caller that we respect their personality , it will immediately result in a great first impression which lays the foundation for trust .
Lesson 4 :
Remember to always smile , ask their name and phone number , and how they heard about us . There are specific pieces of information to extract out of a new patient on the initial call . Smiling lets the caller know that you appreciate them calling your office vs . the dental office down the street . Asking their name shows respect . Go a step further and use their name at least three times during the call . This will show sincerity . Last , always ask how they heard about us . This information is very helpful when deciding where to spend marketing dollars .
Lesson 5 :
Train your front office team on the art of “ passing the trust ” to the clinical team . This can be accomplished by proper hand-offs . Each time a new patient is passed to another team member , the passing team member should :
1 Introduce the new patient 2 State what has been done 3 Reinforce the next step
Example : “ Mrs . Jones , this is Amy , our hygienist . Amy , Mrs . Jones ’ paperwork is complete and she is ready for her cleaning . It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs . Jones and I look forward to seeing you after your visit .”
If your dental front office team can master this “ trust ” training , you will be well on your way to more new patients , increased case acceptance , and exceeding your monthly revenue goals .
Tracy Civick
After managing a business office for 11 years , Tracy played with the idea of becoming a dental front office trainer , but immediately decided that was not how she wanted to begin her quest . She felt that in order to properly train someone in the front desk position , she needed to have the kind of daily , real-world experience of managing the massive demands put specifically on the front desk . It was then that she decided to focus strictly on the front desk role in an effort to “ walk in the shoes ” of each person she would come in contact with as the Head Coach at Front Office Coach . Tracy dedicated herself to create a training program that helps the front office team manage the many hats they wear , bridge communication gaps , and identify areas to increase revenue . Today , Front Office Coach and Tracy have trained private practice teams all over the map however , her heart belongs to Texas where she resides with her husband , three sons , three dogs , and a passion for authentic Mexican food . For more information about Tracy , call ( 214 ) 755-0955 or visit www . FrontOfficeCoach . com .
www . northtexasdentistry . com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 29