We all want to know the cost of something we are about to buy. Well most of us anyway.

Why is that?

Well because you value our money, you work hard for it and times are getting tough for many of us right now.

Why wouldn’t I ask how much something costs before I decide to buy it?

Do you ask how much things cost? I know I do.

Then why do we get annoyed when people call our office asking about the cost of treatment and care at our dental practice?

You may have called people calling your office asking about the price, a “shopper” a “tyre kicker” a “time waster”.

All terms that are not very kind.

You may have been told to hurry up and get these types of callers off the phone quickly.

This does make me sad.

So how should you be feeling about people who call your office asking for the price of a particular dental treatment?

Well the first step before you answer any question a caller has is to……..

Find out more.

Before you can properly answer any questions it is always best to gather more information first.

Did you know that a caller’s first question may not even be the most important thing they want to know?

But this is usually what happens on these calls.

Most callers don’t even know what they need to find out when they call your office.

But you know this……

Most people who call your dental practice have a dental problem and concern that you can help them with but how can you do that if you immediately answer the caller’s question regarding price?

When you immediately answer the price question in the first few seconds of the call, you then have nowhere to go in the conversation.

If the caller loves what you say then you have an opportunity to make and confirm an appointment but you know what usually happens next?

The caller says thank you and ends the call. Goodbye.

The caller will now call more dental offices and ask them the same question until the caller finds what they believe is the cheapest fee and are often too exhausted to call any more practices.

You definitely don’t want to be running your dental practice on the hope that a patient believes your fees are cheap and they can’t be bothered making any more calls.

Now this is okay if your fees are the cheapest but you know and I know that this is a dangerous game to play because someone will always be there to undercut any price or fee.

So what do you do? How do you tackle the price question on the phone call?

My advice has been the same for many years after working with many dental offices and seeing my advice work.

Address the price question further into the phone conversation.

I am going to share with you the best technique I have been teaching Dental Teams for many many years.

If you want to start asking your own questions after a caller has asked you an initial question then ask this:

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

It’s what I call the “flip”.

Flip the conversation so you are the one asking the questions. The caller is now the person answering and doing most of the talking.

You are in control of the conversation.

You are finding out more and you are giving the caller an opportunity to tell their “dental story”.

When you get to hear the caller’s dental story you are now in a position to offer suggestions and the next step.

You can now make and confirm an appointment.

It does sound easy and with the proper training, guidance and practice, it is.