One of the key points that comes out of my regular one-day workshop is the inability of Dental Front Office staff to deal with simple questions they receive on the phone.

The questions, in the main part, are answered by the Dental team as if they are the real question, when in fact, the real question being asked lies just below the surface.

Think back to dating.

When a nice young man asked a nice young lady out to go to the movies, it was not because he wanted to see the movie.

Was it?

Because simply, he could easily have gone and seen the movie on his own.

No.

There’s a deeper question.

It’s never about the movie.

In the same way, the question asked by most callers to the Dental Office is never about the first question.

Down Under, the first question usually asked is:

“How much is a cleaning/crown/extraction/check up?”

In the USA the question most asked is:

“Do you take ABC/XYZ/123 Insurance?”

Most Dental Office staff believe this is the actual question.

Most Dental Office staff believe this all that the caller is really asking.

And sadly, most Dental Office staff answer this question so poorly that statistics will show you that only one in five, or twenty percent of callers to a Dental Office make an appointment when they call.

And in this day and age, where with technology and the internet there is the ability now for all callers to have gathered with certainty all the information that they need to make a decision where they want their Dentistry performed *BEFORE* they pick up the phone, it is farcical that this rate of conversion is still so low.

In this day and age, the public have the ability to know what you look like, to know what your team look like, to know what your Office looks like, to know everything about you.

There’s nothing they don’t really have the ability to find, unless you choose to be so secretive.

So when Mrs. Smith starts looking at two Dental practices online, and she sees that at ABC Dental, they have professional photos of a team wearing makeup, and they have detailed pen portraits about those team members and their hobbies and likes, while at XYZ Dental, the photos look like they were taken with a blurry old box brownie and the team look like they’re wearing prison garb and look about as excited as if they were in Cell block A….

Well where do you think Mrs. Smith is going to choose to go?

She’s going to call the Office with the better images and information.

So if you’re not putting your Office’s best foot forward online and in your marketing, well you’re just turning away potential business hand over fist by being ignorant.

And even if you think you don’t need to have a fancy website because your glorious practice relies on word of mouth, well even with word of mouth there will be referred people who will check out your daggy old website and decide to skip the endorsement.

So here’s my tip.

When someone calls your Dental Office and says:

“Do you take ABC/XYZ/123 Insurance?”

What they are really saying is:

“ I have a Dental problem. Can you help me?

So when the caller asks:

“Do you take ABC/XYZ/123 Insurance?”

We need to say back to them:

“Sounds to me like you need some Dentistry. How can I help you? What do you need to have done?”

And then listen….

It’s the same Down Under.

When someone rings a Dental Office in Australia and asks:

“How much is a cleaning/crown/extraction/check up?”

What they are really saying is:

“I need a cleaning/crown/extraction/check up. I like your website. I’ve chosen you. Please make me an appointment.”

When we look at these calls in this totally different way, then we’ll be able to make different decisions in how we answer their questions.

With this new understanding, we’ll be able to help these people receive the dentistry they need.

Remember, the reason they ask the questions that they do ask is because they do not know how to ask any other questions.

They do not know how to say what they really need to be saying.

And what they really mean to be asking is this:

“I have a dental problem and I’m looking for someone who really cares, to help me.”

What they really are is a person with a dental need we have not yet persuaded or convinced that our office is the only office for them.

Can we help them now?

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My One-Day Workshops cover in greater depth how to address simple changes that create BIG RESULTS.
For more details about my Australian workshops in August 2015, CLICK HERE.

*****

Have you read my book , How To Build The Dental Practice of Your Dreams [Without Killing Yourself!] In Less Than Sixty Days.

You can order your copy here: Click Link To Order

*****

The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.

Email me at david@theupe.com

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