Answering the practice phone, just to say you answered the phone is completely pointless unless you are DOING something with those answered calls.

We all know the importance of answering your practice phones. Minimum of 45 hours a week. During the WHOLE day. Every working day of the year, regardless if you are on vacation or not. Why would you stop working the opportunity that keeps knocking on your practice door every day even if you are on vacation? You CAN go on vacation and still reap the benefits of answering the phones and working the schedule.

Even on your “regular” days off of the week, you might be thinking, “Well our patients know we are closed”. Here’s some cold hard stats for you – Last month we scheduled over $277,000 in production for our clients, during regular, normal business hours including “regular” days off of the week. Want to know how we did that? If our clients phones aren’t ringing IN, we are making them ring OUT to work the schedule!

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Said the busy mom, calling on her lunch hour to schedule her children’s next cleaning appointments, only to receive a long winded VM at the dental practice, not only detailing their business hours of every second/every day but advising that said busy mom chose to call during THEIR lunch hour and to call back in 1 1/2 hours for assistance.  Mom LM asking for a return call. Mom never received callback. She gave them a week. Still heard nothing. Mom called a different practice and scheduled appointments for her whole family of 5.  (Missed NP production of over $1250)

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Notes. You can never have too many. You can always have not enough (and most do). Having consistent detailed notes attached to every patient, every appointment, every treatment plan, every broken appointment, every family file and every insurance description will not only make your life easier, it will make the patient happier and actually increase your systems for success. Communication is crucial for any success – personal or business. I can tell you from working in practices across the US, the more details a practice has in ALL areas, the stronger their scheduling success results are. Period.

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If your practice isn’t the one to STAND OUT, you will be forced to STEP ASIDE to the practice that is. To a typical patient, a dentist is a dentist, a filling is a filling and a cleaning is a cleaning. What is the one thing that will always set you apart and make you STAND OUT? Unmatched Customer Service.

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“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”

Procrastination is the line that divides the 4% from the 96% of the health care professionals that reach Economic Freedom by the age of 65.  Economic Freedom is the day you have a safe and reliable portfolio that produces your desired standard of living for the rest of your life.  This is the day you go to work because you want to, not because you have to.

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I’ve got two words for you. CUSTOMER SERVICE. Ok, well, let’s make that three words. EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE. Just what does “exceptional customer service” look like?

It starts with the phone. Every single phone call should be handled with the highest level of friendliness, warmth, patience and focused on connections. Listen to how your phone is being answered, how callers are being spoke to, and what the end results of the calls are. I’m telling you this – If you have NASTY answering your phone, you are severely crippling your opportunity. If you have BUSY or CLIPPED answering the phone, you are allowing a major roadblock to scheduling opportunity.  Make your telephone customer service SO genuine, warm and friendly, that even if someone doesn’t appoint NOW, they will remember how wonderful you made them feel. BLOW EVERY CALLER OUT OF THE WATER. Every single caller and visitor. You know, the guy who delivers your water? Potential patient. The guy who changes your reception area rugs out weekly? Potential patient. The fireman calling to ask for a donation? Potential patient. Rock that customer service like no one has ever seen.

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Communication Breakdown  = Frustration.

Frustration always rears it’s ugly head when there is a lack of communication, or a misunderstanding. Some one heard something wrong – someone said something wrong – in some people’s lives, someone LOOKED at someone wrong.

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con·sist·en·cy

conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness.

the achievement of a level of performance that does not vary greatly in quality over time.

Consistency. We’ve all heard about how consistency is key – consistency is crucial – but let me ask. What IS or IS NOT consistent if your office? What would you like to change?

We all KNOW it. We all WANT to be consistent with our systems and efforts. But usually after about 7 days, our attention wanders and we become lackadaisical in our consistency efforts.

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Have you ever gone to a business, prepared to purchase only to be so let down with the low level of customer service that not only did you leave without buying anything but you actually left feeling bad/upset/frustrated/discouraged?  Of course, you might mention your poor experience to a few people in passing………

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♫ Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me………. ♫

Ok. Ok – I got carried away with the Pink Floyd reference……..  Back to reality.

Just what are your patients and potential new patients hearing when they call your office?

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