Wouldn’t it be great if everyone that called your dental office asked this question:

“Can I please make an appointment?”

You would immediately find out what type of appointment they needed, what their dental problem and concern is and then ask if they would prefer a morning or afternoon appointment.

EASY!

But this is what very often happens.

You ask the caller:

“How may I help you?’

And they immediately ask you these questions:

• “How much does _________cost?”
• “Do you have an appointment today?”
• “How much will I get back from my health fund?”
• “Do you take medicare?”
• “Are you able to put me to sleep?’

I listen to calls coming into dental offices everyday so I know what questions are being asked.

I hear these questions a lot!

Now this is fine. Most people calling any business are naturally curious and want to know more before they make a decision.

At this point in the phone call, two things happen.

The person at your office will immediately answer the question and the call will either continue or end as quickly as it started.

If your front office team are skilled in knowing how to handle the caller’s initial question, the call ends with an appointment being confirmed most of the time.

Many teams have been given strict instructions from the business owner, NOT to give out the prices no matter what!

I do understand the logic in this.

If you start given out the prices to every caller, they will just continue shopping around and if you are not the CHEAPEST dentist then they don’t make an appointment with you.

Where I struggle with this, so called logic, is if your team are told NOT to give out the price then what do they say instead, when they are asked for the price.

Many teams are not given any instructions on what to say and ask the caller and in their panic they do exactly what they have been told not to do, they give out the price or they say, “sorry I cannot tell you the price.”

Usually in both scenarios, the caller hangs up and does NOT make an appointment with you.

So how do you handle the price question?

You actually handle the price question the same way as you handle all questions.

As soon as the caller asks for the price, an appointment time, health fund rebates, if you accept medicare or provide sedation, you MUST start asking questions.

It is what I call the QUESTION FLIP.

But how do you start asking your questions when the caller has just asked you a question, without appearing rude?

Easy.

First create a slight distraction by asking their name.

Write down their name and their initial question so it is staring you in the eye during the whole phone conversation. The last thing you want to do is forget their name as soon as they tell you.

Remember that the caller believes their question is IMPORTANT, and it is, even if it is about the price.

Say the caller’s name back, and then ask this one question.

This one question is like your passport to asking more questions while the caller does most of the talking.

“John, so I can help you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions first?”

At this point John wants to know what you are going to ask him, so the response most of the time is, “yes.”

Now you can ask questions to:

• Find out about John’s dental problem and concern.
• Determine the type of appointment for treatment and care that he is wanting.
• Check the level of urgency and concern John has.

While you are asking questions, you want John to be thinking and becoming more concerned about his dental problem.

While you are asking questions, you start to build rapport with the caller. Further into the call you can NOW address the caller’s initial question.

Answering the caller’s initial question further into the phone conversation is going to give you more success in making them an appointment.

If you answer the question too soon you can miss the opportunity of ever making and confirming an appointment for treatment and care.

Price Question:

Only give the price for a consultation. This fee is a reasonable price for most callers to take in.

Explain to the caller that when they come in for their appointment you will then know exactly what treatment and care they need and be able to go through any fees.  This removes much of the fear of the unknown price.

Appointment Today Question:

If you have an appointment today, then that is perfect. Ask the caller if they prefer a morning or afternoon appointment. Never ask them if you can make an appointment.

If you do not have an appointment available today then immediately let the caller know the soonest time available and offer to make this appointment and to call them if an appointment today becomes available.

Health Insurance Question:

Let all callers know that you do take their insurance. ” Many of our patients have your same Health Insurance.”

Avoid asking if the caller has insurance. Why enter into a Health Fund discussion. Most of the time these conversations end badly and the caller is disappointment.

Remember they may have asked you this question initially because they didn’t know what else to ask you and thought this was an important question to ask.

Medicare Question:

Let the caller know at the end of the call that medicare is not available for adult dentistry, then return to the discussion about the importance of the treatment and care they need.

Remember many people who call your office ask what they believe to be an important question and soon discover that there are other aspects of their dental treatment and care to consider.

Sedation Question:

If you have sedation available let the caller know. Ask the caller if they have had a particular type of sedation in the past then let them know what you do have available. The sedation you have available may be right for them. Remember they may have asked you this question initially because they did not know what else to ask you and thought this was an important question to ask.

You can see that this phone conversation is easy to have once your team know the sequence of what to say and ask.

Making changes in the way we speak to our patients makes a BIG difference in appointments booked and confirmed.