GAP Australasian-Dentist Issue 80 Jul-Aug 19

Category AustrÀlÀsiÀn Dentist 123 Dr Toni Surace the Managing Director of Momentum Management and Co-Director of The Practice Entrepreneur Network (PeN). Momentum is the premier dental practice management consultancy and training firm, Momentum has been empowering dentists in Australia and New Zealand to reach their professional, personal and financial goals for over 16 years. On average, Momentum clients increase production by 30-40% and achieve a 579% return on investment from the Momentum Practice Management Program. If you would like to learn more about Momentum Management programs or about PeN, call 1300 519 000, and request a free 1-hour consultation with an experienced coach. even if they don’t know you well. Àever undermine the previous dentist, though! You can say something like, “À know that Dr Previous was committed to never doing unnecessary dentistry, and so am À. Àhe great thing is that new technology means that we can do a great deal of prevention, and we also have different diagnostic abilities. Ào we’re able to avoid unnecessary dentistry by… [insert recommendation here!]” Àn short, your active patients will need to find a new dentist anyway if their previous one has moved on, so you want them to choose you! Dear Dr Toni, I keep reading your advice here on telephone skills, but my practice is still struggling with them. How can I get them to stick? Dr F, Vic. Dr F, you’ve stumbled on something important here! Àt’s not enough to understand the systems; you have to make sure that they become habits in the practice. Ào make an idea a new habit, everyone in the practice needs to understand why it’s important, and they need to have training in the how to make it work. You also need to hold them accountable for results. Àt can be hard to get front office coordinators to become proficient at converting callers (such as fee-shoppers) into appointments. Àhat mindset and skill set is fairly new. Àt’s also common to regard fee-shoppers as a nuisance, but how about considering them an actual resource?! You have people calling the practice with questions and needs; that’s actually good news! All that’s needed is some commitment to finding out what they really want from a dentist and showing them how your practice is perfect for them. Àhat means that it’s essential to have FOCs engaging with callers and asking questions as well as providing answers to callers’ questions. For example, if someone calls asking for prices on whitening, the FOC should ask something like “Do you mind me asking if you’re looking for a new dentist at the moment?” As soon as the caller starts answering questions, it gets them off the mindset of ringing for prices, BeÀt ÀraÀt eÀ À&À and engages them. Àf the FOC sounds interested, the caller will find it way more interesting than if the FOC just answers questions directly. FOCs should also ask for the caller’s name, too. Àhat helps make the call memorable for the caller, and even if they make another five calls to get prices, it’s most likely to be your practice they remember later. Àhe mindset here, as À’m sure you understand, is that there are definitely callers who actually want the cheapest dentist, but in fact most people ask for prices because they don’t know how else to distinguish between practices. Àt’s the FOC’s job to use these engagement techniques to help weed out the callers who really are price sensitive and convert the ones who aren’t. Obviously, a pleasant, helpful, engaging phone manner is essential. You should make sure that your hiring process includes this as a non-negotiable. Beyond that, though, your hiring and training should include reinforcement of the FOC’s ability to do that. One final note! Your question is not only about telephone skills, but you also focus on the idea of making them “stick”. What À infer from that is that you aren’t holding people accountable for their results. Ào do this, you do need tracking mechanisms. Make sure that you’ve got some way of recording the callers to the practice, finding out what they say, and finding out which callers convert, and which don’t. You can design a spreadsheet for that, or you can give us a call to find out about how our systems help. Àf you don’t have tracking or accountability, it’s no wonder that the system hasn’t been fully implemented. u For further information on Momentum Management, visit www.momentummanagement.com. au or call 1300 510 000 for details on short courses, Momentum’s Management Program, coaching package, in-practice visits, or other ways in which Momentum can assist you. For further interest in PeN go to our website, www.thepennetwork.com “