Best Practice Phone Skills

Best Practice Phone Skills

Have you ever called to make an appointment, leading you to feel more confused, less informed, feeling no sense of trust and finishing the call with no appointment made?

You are not alone. We have all been there.

We know that practices are spending big money on marketing, and if the marketing is successful, then their next biggest concern has got to be: are we converting those calls into appointments? 

Best Practice Phone skills is a self-paced course that will help your Front Office Coordinator (or any other team member who answers the phone) to be better equipped to:

• Increase the conversion of calls into appointments.
• Create a better first experience between the new patient and the practice.
• Create confidence in the team, which will create confidence in the patient
• Decrease cancellations and FTAs.
• Increase referrals (because we know new patients are the best referrers).

In this 2-part course you will learn skills and tools from Prime Practice in a workshop specially designed for the dental front office coordinator.

The course is designed with content built from years (25 years +) of experience, working with dental practices teams from all over the world, facing the same challenges of converting calls into appointments with patients becoming loyal to the practice. Patients for life.

What will be covered

1. Create a consistent patient experience with clear protocols to support the new patient call.
2. Decrease the number of unanswered calls.
3. Know the 3 keys to building trust over the phone.
4. Gather the right information .
5. Manage the expectations of patients.
6. Handle difficult questions.
7. Influence patients without them feeling pressured.
8. Transform telephone shoppers into new patients .

PART 1

Protocols that support the New Patient Call

• Understanding the value of a New Patient Call to your practice.
• Ensuring each new patient who calls your practice feels like they are in “good hands” and answer their questions making them feel safe around the practice.
• Treating all patients and their health as a priority.
• Ensuring the team supports one another at the Front Desk when responding to a New Patient Call.
• When and how to use “On Hold” and “Voicemail” to support the Front Desk.

Handling the New Patient Call

• Use empathy to align with the patient, particularly in respect to feelings of apprehension around infection control.
• Connect with the patient.
• Build credibility and trust by asking the right questions and providing the right responses.

PART 2

Handling the New Patient Call (continued)

• Driving the conversation and handling questions.
• Guiding the patient to an appointment.

The Telephone Shopper

• Learning how to handle those callers who are “just asking” for information and prices.
• Effective communication tools that will help convert shoppers into making an appointment.

Preparing patients for their appointments over the phone.

• Setting expectations for a patient’s experience is crucial to creating a positive experience.

Ask yourself; would you be satisfied with the treatment you received from your first point of contact with your practice? You only get one chance at making a great first impression with new patients, and it begins with their first phone call to your practice. This on-demand training will support your team to optimise this all-important first point of contact.

CPD Accreditation

Australian clinicians are required to make their own assessment as to the number of hours of Non-Scientific Continuing Education each course provides. This course is eligible for NZDA CPD points.

Prime Practice guarantees courses are compliant with the current Dental Board of Australia Guidelines on Continuing Professional Development.

* Number of accredited CPD hours depends on the length of the workshop.