Sally McKenzie, CEO McKenzie Management Printer Friendly Version

Do Patients Need a Back Door to Get Past the Front Line?

Here’s a common scenario: It’s the usual busy day in the dental practice. The phone is ringing. Patients are coming and going. There’s a cancellation or two, maybe an emergency, etc. As the doctor passes the front desk, he hears the business assistant wrapping up a conversation. “No, I’m sorry, we don’t.” “We don’t what? What don’t we do that someone wants to know about?” he wonders. Here’s what the doctor didn’t hear:

Business Assistant: Good morning, Dr. Stanton’s office. Anne speaking.
Caller: Hello. I was just calling to find out if the doctor is accepting new patients.
Anne: Yes, he is, although the schedule is pretty full right now.

Without even realizing it, Anne is sending a message to this prospective patient that she/he might not be welcome in the practice.

Caller: Do you offer any evening appointments?
Anne: No, I’m sorry; we don’t. (Silence.)

The caller waits for another option from Anne, but none is offered.

Caller: Ok, thank you. (Click.)

To the business assistant, this is just a routine inquiry—nothing special—and she doesn’t think much about it. She’s just answering the usual questions from a caller. True, the practice doesn’t offer evening appointments, but perhaps the practice offers appointments beginning at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Or perhaps the practice sees new patients at a specific time of day, so that the doctor can spend quality time with the patient and is less likely to be interrupted. But Anne doesn’t offer possible alternatives or educate the patient on the benefits of the other options. She simply answers questions and moves on.

How many new patients are lost every month because your business employees are handling new patient calls as routine inquiries rather than potential sales opportunities? If ever there were a perfect occasion to sell the practice and the services offered, it’s when the prospective new patient calls your office. They are interested, ready and willing to learn more.

However, dental teams routinely underestimate the value of phone inquiries from potential new patients and doctors are paying mightily for it. A prospective patient wants to schedule an appointment but is told they’ll have to wait three, four, six months to get in. Forget it. You’ve lost her.

In other cases, the prospective patient calls and asks for information on a specific procedure, such as implants or veneers, as well as information about the doctor and the practice in general. The business assistant quickly jots down the prospective patient’s name and address and promises to mail the information ASAP.

As Soon As Possible, in many cases, is about three months later when the business assistant happens upon the scrap piece of paper with the note to send practice info to that prospective patient as well as a handful of others. Those new patients are long gone to another dentist.

All the superior dentistry you have to offer cannot make up for weak communication skills or a lack of follow through on the part of your staff. The experience that prospective new patients have when they call your office is the “make it or break it” opportunity. It doesn’t matter if the caller knows you personally. It doesn’t matter if they’ve heard you’re fantastic. If the front desk is too busy to take the time to make callers feel valued and welcome, if the material they request is never received, if they simply don’t get the impression that their investment in your practice will be appreciated, a prospective patient is not likely to bother making an appointment.

Pay attention to how calls are handled. Keep a list of the types of inquiries the practice is receiving and discuss how the office typically responds. If patients are requesting information that you don’t have readily available, establish a timeline to develop and/or purchase the necessary informational materials. Establish a protocol for handling all inquiries, including calls from new patients seeking appointments and calls from prospective patients seeking information about the doctor, the practice, procedures offered, etc.

Oftentimes, just raising the level of awareness and education among staff as to how to properly handle prospective patient calls can significantly improve how your practice is perceived, not to mention the positive impact it will have on your bottom line.

Sally McKenzie is CEO of McKenzie Management, a nationwide dental management, practice development and educational consulting firm. Working on-site with dentists since 1980, McKenzie Management provides knowledge, guidance and personalized systems that have propelled thousands of general and specialty practices to realize their potential. Sally can be reached directly at 1.877.777.6151.

Interested in speaking to Sally McKenzie about your management concerns? Email her at Sally@thedentistsnetwork.net