When the phone rings in your Dental Office you need to be armed with the right questions to make more appointments.

The incoming phone call is your opportunity to help the caller and make an appointment for them.

There are some very simple questions you can ask that will increase your call conversions straight away.
1. “Who am I speaking with?”

I am always shocked when I hear a call coming into the Dental Office and no one asks for the caller’s name.

What a difference it makes to know the caller’s name. You now have an opportunity to say the caller’s name back to them.

Regularly.

Who doesn’t like to hear their own name?

“A person’s name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” – Dale Carnegie.

Research has shown that a person is more responsive when you say their name.

Saying the caller’s name gets their attention and they feel important and validated.

The caller is now more likely to make a commitment and an appointment.

How easy is that?

2. “How did you find out about Dr Jones?”

Asking a caller for his source of referral is a must. This piece of information lets you know so much.

You are now aware how qualified the caller is.

The caller who is referred by a friend has already been given a raving testimonial about you that has lead them to call your office.

The caller is now very likely to be ready to make an appointment.

If the caller has found your Dental Office on your Website or Social Media, then you now have the ability to ask them specifically what they liked. In this way, you now will know the content they have read and you can even narrow down what they exactly read.

Asking the question about the referrer also helps you keep track of how effective your marketing is and how most of the callers are finding you.

Many offices say they will wait and ask the caller when they come in for their appointment and complete their New Patient Form.

Why wait?

Knowing the referral information on the call is more useful at the time of the call. It tells you so much about the caller and helps you know how to handle the call effectively.

3. “Is there a reason you have chosen to be a patient of Dr Jones?”

I have found over the years that I have answered calls in a Dental Office that this is a very powerful question to ask.

This one question can tell you the number one reason why they want to see your Dentist.

This reason now becomes a big part of the call and the reason is validated during the call.

You have also presumed the caller is now a patient of Dr Jones just by asking this question.

The caller hears they are a now a patient of Dr Jones and making their appointment is just the next step in the call.

4. “How long have you had this dental problem?”

During the call you want to ensure the caller’s level of urgency is maintained so that an appointment is made.

Some callers don’t seem to be overly concerned about their dental problem and yet they should be.

Asking the right questions will increase the caller’s concern.

An easy question about how long they have had the “broken tooth” or “bleeding” will get the caller thinking more about the seriousness.

5. “Is there anything else you are concerned about that Dr Jones should know?”

After the appointment has been made you want to ask the caller if there is anything else they are concerned about.

This is such a good opportunity to make a note for the Dentist to talk to the patient about other dental issues.

Asking this question also gets the caller thinking about other dental issues they have but have not mentioned during the call.

You want to get a big picture of the caller’s oral health on the call so the Dentist is now armed with important information to discuss on the first appointment.

If you are not asking these questions on your calls, start today and see the difference!

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On Friday August 19 and Saturday August 20 I will be co-presenting Dental Phone Excellence in London England at Dr. David Moffet’s Ultimate Patient Experience Workshop.
Click here for details and Early Bird Registration.
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This blog will feature simple practical ideas that are easy to implement tomorrow in your Dental Office, impacting immediately on your Patients’ Dental  Phone Experiences, and ultimately, improving your practice profitability.

At present I have availability for four new private clients. For more information on how I can improve your Dental Office’s Phone Numbers contact me, Jayne Bandy at  jayne@theDPE.com