Australasian Dentist Magazine May June 2021

Category Australasian Dentist 139 columnists L et us be clear, the dental practice is the end game for our industry, all the information, all the advertising is here for only one reason: to support the practicing dentist. Dentists spend a small fortune on equipment, software, fitouts, education and advertising. All this time, effort and cash is for only one reason and that is to attract and provide service to patients. Amid all the latest 3D hi tech equipment purchases too often one important aspect of a dental practice success that is overlooked. From the patient’s point of view there is and probably always will be a sense of dread when we call the dentist to make an appointment. A first phone call may have been because of the beaming smile on a photograph your Instagram page, the result of your slick professional website or from a recommendation. New patients are the life blood of your business; and all your efforts to attract them will amount to nothing if the person on the phone or at the counter in your practice does not know how or is not capable of answering the phone or greeting potential patients in a way that is both welcoming and comforting. At that first contact they are your voice; they are mirrors of your practice and ultimately a reflection of you. Research tells us that although patients do not visit the dental office to see the receptionist, the attitude of the receptionist impacts the overall satisfaction of the patient’s experience and can affect both the patient decision to make that appointment and ultimately their retention. I am sure there is a hierarchy in most practices with the dentist at the top and the receptionist front of office staff would be somewhere near the bottom. However, if you were to put a minimum average value of $1,000 a year per new patient and the first contact experience with your practice loses one potential patient a day that is a potential loss of over 200K in income and you will never know. What should you do about this? 1. Treat the hiring of your front office seriously, just because someone is presentable doesn’t necessarily mean they will be good for your business. 2. Be brave enough to hire someone older and or even what you may consider to be overqualified. 3. Conduct your initial interview over the phone, if they can sell themselves to you that way, then it is reasonable to assume they will be able to sell you to prospective patients. 4. Involve your front office staff in courses you do, explain to them as simply as possible about clinical procedures, remember they may have to explain them in laymen terms to your patients. 5. Your receptionists need the ability to inspire trust, patients who have trust in the receptionist feel more relaxed, making them easier to negotiate with and to act as mediator between the dental team and the patients. The reality of all this is that the person at the front of your practice is in many ways the key person in your practice. The catalyst for making an appointment to see a dentist can be wide ranging but no matter the reason it is to most people a deeply personal decision. It is worth noting here that if a prospective client does not accept your offer at first contact the chances of them returning are less than 20%. I think in so many ways the job of the person or persons that handle that first contact at your practice can be best summed up by the words of that wonderful poet, Maya Angelou. “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” u Contact Kim White Tel: 1300 372 743 Web: www.rapidsmiles.com.au First contact – is it costing you money? A first impression is critical because you won’t have another chance to correct that first impression again. By Kim White Kim White