Please listen to, then evaluate, the call using the distinctions presented in The TAFI Introduction™ before proceeding to our Evaluation. The main benefit of Call Of The Month is to ‘Flex your self-coaching muscle.’
» Listen to January’s Call of The Month
» Call Analysis and Recommendations
Knowing your coverage is the best policy yet.
This month’s COTM concerns the practice’s participation in a particular insurance plan. While the Team Member begins with a rather strong Greeting, being upbeat, thanking the caller, clearly stating the practice name (but not tagline) and asking how to be of assistance, that is the high point of this call.
Because the Team Member was not versed in the practice’s insurance offering, she actually lost a patient whose insurance the practice actually accepts.
The main lesson of this call, therefore is to know thy offering.
The other key takeaway is that use of The TAFI Introduction™ achieves the essential objective of connecting with the caller and managing the call to a successful outcome.
The caller was placed on hold for nearly 30 seconds which, given that the practice has a regularly updated on hold message system, is within acceptable limits (60 seconds or less). Had the Team Member listened carefully to what the caller said she would have already known which plan was being discussed, and not needed to inconvenience the caller by placer her on hold.
The other consequence of this call is that now the caller, if asked about the practice by anyone with the same insurance will suggest they not bother calling this practice.
Finally, had the Team Member remembered that no one ever calls an office simply to learn about insurance, that is, they are calling today because of a dental-related need, she could have accurately addressed the insurance question, then moved on to learning why the caller was calling now.