How to Make Every Caller Happy, Increase Appointments and Make a Few Friends Along the Way
As we've mentioned before, the average practice loses $55,000 per year due to mishandled calls. Your staff undoubtedly wants to handle every call appropriately, but have they been trained to do so? If not, your practice is one of those losing money every year.
To help you address this problem, we're offering this portion of our Appointment Conversion Guide for Front-Desk Staff, just a part of the intensive and highly effective training Practice Builders provides to our clients. To get more information on this training, or to schedule training for your staff, call us at 800.679.1262.
Appointment Conversion Guide for Front-Desk Staff
The first impressionFirst impressions mean a lot. And because the telephone represents most people’s first impression of your practice, it could mean everything if they don’t love what they hear, they’ll hang up and keep calling around until they find someplace that they will love. And if a caller is not interested in what they hear within the first 30 seconds, you’ve lost them for good!
So here are a few tips on how to give a great first impression over the phone, answer callers’ questions thoroughly and politely, increase appointments and create a pleasant atmosphere for everyone involved.
• Be enthusiastic and caring in all that you say. If it helps you to get the right attitude, think of the caller as a close friend who needs your help.
• It may sound trite, but smile while you talk this actually helps you to transmit a positive “vocal transmission.”
• It’s more important to be comfortable and ready to talk with a caller when you answer the phone than it is to answer on the first ring. Be sure you’re at your desk with your script in front of you.
• If you have too many calls to handle at once and you have to put one (or several) on hold, make sure you come back at least once a minute to tell the caller that you’ll be right with them. Studies show that after about 45 seconds on hold, attention and interest fall dramatically.
Your opening words
The first 30 seconds will make or break the call, so how you answer the phone, and then how you answer the caller’s first question, will set the tone for the rest of the conversation...and maybe the rest of the caller’s relationship with your practice. Remember that many people are a little intimidated when they have to call a new place. Just like you, they want to make a good impression. So remember that they might already be uncomfortable, and do what you can to ease their fears.
A few more tips:
• Answer the phone with the full script opening each and every time. Speak the words cheerfully, as if welcoming guests to a party you’re giving.
• Speak at about 180 words per minute. Many people tend to talk too fast while explaining information, and the listener can’t absorb it all and tunes out remember school? You might want to count out a 180-word text and practice.
• Learn the name of your caller and use that name frequently. It’ll make him or her feel more comfortable.
So here are a few tips on how to give a great first impression over the phone, answer callers’ questions thoroughly and politely, increase appointments and create a pleasant atmosphere for everyone involved.
• Be enthusiastic and caring in all that you say. If it helps you to get the right attitude, think of the caller as a close friend who needs your help.
• It may sound trite, but smile while you talk this actually helps you to transmit a positive “vocal transmission.”
• It’s more important to be comfortable and ready to talk with a caller when you answer the phone than it is to answer on the first ring. Be sure you’re at your desk with your script in front of you.
• If you have too many calls to handle at once and you have to put one (or several) on hold, make sure you come back at least once a minute to tell the caller that you’ll be right with them. Studies show that after about 45 seconds on hold, attention and interest fall dramatically.
Your opening words
The first 30 seconds will make or break the call, so how you answer the phone, and then how you answer the caller’s first question, will set the tone for the rest of the conversation...and maybe the rest of the caller’s relationship with your practice. Remember that many people are a little intimidated when they have to call a new place. Just like you, they want to make a good impression. So remember that they might already be uncomfortable, and do what you can to ease their fears.
A few more tips:
• Answer the phone with the full script opening each and every time. Speak the words cheerfully, as if welcoming guests to a party you’re giving.
• Speak at about 180 words per minute. Many people tend to talk too fast while explaining information, and the listener can’t absorb it all and tunes out remember school? You might want to count out a 180-word text and practice.
• Learn the name of your caller and use that name frequently. It’ll make him or her feel more comfortable.
• Be empathetic show that you care about their concerns. For instance, if the caller says, “I hate to wait when I have an appointment,” you can reply,
“I know what you mean. It makes me feel like my time doesn’t matter.”
• Make sure you ask questions, too. It keeps the caller’s interest. Especially if your answer to a question is a long one, you’ll keep the interest of the caller better if you break up your long answer with a question or two. It can be as simple as, “You’d agree with that, right?”
• When you do ask questions, you’ll want to ask questions that have a positive response for your practice. For example, instead of asking, “Would you like to come in for an appointment and see how experienced we are?” you should ask, “Would you like a really experienced doctor?” When they answer “yes,” you say, “Great. Let’s set you up for an appointment.”
• Make sure you ask questions, too. It keeps the caller’s interest. Especially if your answer to a question is a long one, you’ll keep the interest of the caller better if you break up your long answer with a question or two. It can be as simple as, “You’d agree with that, right?”
• When you do ask questions, you’ll want to ask questions that have a positive response for your practice. For example, instead of asking, “Would you like to come in for an appointment and see how experienced we are?” you should ask, “Would you like a really experienced doctor?” When they answer “yes,” you say, “Great. Let’s set you up for an appointment.”
For more training tips and proven methods for converting patient inquiries, call us at 800.679.1262.