While the above statement may sound too good to be true, I assure you, it isn’t.
It is a generally accepted fact that the typical dental practice converts roughly thirty percent of calls from a prospective patient into a solid, kept appointment.
That’s less than one in three.
Practices who commit to providing their team members with the training to become Master Telephone Communicators convert closer to ninety percent of new patient calls into kept appointments.
That’s nine in ten.
No sleight of hand – just simple math.
Dental Marketing Is More Than Just Making The Phone Ring
Why, you might ask, is a dental marketing agency concerning itself with what happens after they’ve gotten my phone to ring?
Because an effective dental marketing company is about more than simply “leading a horse to water.” Put another way, marketing does not end once the phone rings, it is only just beginning!
In thinking about success with dental marketing we like to use the chain analogy. As you know, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. For far too many practices their weakest link is how telephone calls from first-time callers are handled. While you may well have an “A” Team, a specific skill set is required to ensure calls from people who do not yet know, like, or trust you result in the desired outcome, namely, a solid and kept appointment.
Before You Make An Appointment, Make A Friend
The need to connect emotionally before discussing details is but one of the key distinctions shared as part of what we refer to as The Art of First Impressions™ (TAFI). Put differently, to successfully convert a call from a prospective patient into a kept appointment, it is essential to remember that:
People don’t care how much you know,
until they know how much you care.
It’s this human element of the success equation with which TAFI is primarily concerned.
The coaching first ensures “buy-in” from each Team Member of the value of becoming a Master Telephone Communicator, both to the practice and their career, and how it actually simplifies the process of converting callers to appointments.
Next, we share the three components that comprise effective communication, as well as pitfalls to avoid, and opportunities to exploit.
Then, it’s on to the emotional underpinnings of effective communication, followed by the art and science of effective questioning and listening.
We wrap things up with ‘real world’ cases of how to successfully connect with even the most challenging caller. You know, the ones who insist on knowing if you are in their network, demanding to know the cost of a given procedure, etc.
If you’ve been looking for search engine optimization, direct mail, or another type of marketing company for dentists that keeps its promises, and realizes that marketing does not end, but only begins, with the first call to your office, call us or reach out via contact form today!
Our AIM is your success!
Sincerely,
Daniel A. ‘Danny’ Bobrow, MBA (finance), MBA (marketing)