My mother always taught me that it was rude to answer a question with a question.
So, I always immediately answered a question with an answer.
There is only one problem with this strategy…….
When you answer that one question, you have not found out anything else, so how can you answer that question correctly?
I’m definitely not recommending you stop answering the caller’s initial question. This is NEVER a good idea!
Ignoring and avoiding a caller’s question, can come across a little sneaky, like you are trying to hide something.
Now let’s look at what is happening at YOUR Dental Practice on some or ALL of your calls.
A person calls your office, asks a question, and that one question is answered before finding out anything else.
So what do you do when a person calls your office and immediately asks you a question?
How do you correctly handle this call?
Ultimately, you answer calls in a dental office so you can help people with a dental problem and concern.
When you immediately answer a caller’s initial question, you fail to find out MORE before you start to help them.
Can you see how this does NOT help the caller?
When you answer the caller’s first question, you run a high risk that the call will end as soon as it started!
This call has failed because as soon as you answer the initial question, YOU didn’t get an opportunity to ask questions to find out more.
The MORE is what you need to find out, so you have a much better picture of the caller’s problem and concern.
The MORE is what helps build urgency and concern with the caller.
And the MORE is what leads to a KEPT appointment being made and CONFIRMED!
The worst part, is the caller believes they have found out what they need, yet they have not made an appointment.
Now, I know this doesn’t happen on every call, but please pay attention as it does happen on more calls than you realise!
Let’s look at how to handle that initial question the caller asks.
I want you to start doing this:
No matter what the caller asks YOU, I want you to:
- Ask for the caller’s name
- Say hello again using the caller’s name.
- Then ask the caller this question (yes you are going to ask a question!!!) “John so I can help you, do you mind if I ask you a few questions first?”
You are now asking permission to ask questions.
Yes please, ask permission first.
When you ask politely, the caller will say yes, most of the time!
Now, the caller has given you permission to leapfrog over their initial question, so you can start asking questions.
Always write down the caller’s initial question, so you can answer it further into the phone conversation. But NOT at the start of the phone conversation.
You now have an opportunity to find out MORE about the caller’s Dental problem and concern.
This communication technique and strategy is a segue way, for you to enter into a GREAT CONVERSATION with the caller, so you can both find out MORE.
Always remember on every call that comes into your office, the caller wants to know MORE, and your job is to ask questions so you both find out MORE!
The good news is whoever is asking questions is in control of the conversation.
I listen to many phone calls where the caller asks questions, the team member immediately gives them an answer, and the call ends with NO APPOINTMENT and NO NEXT STEP.
This is a true missed opportunity in your practice.
Being able to ask the caller a series of questions to find out MORE, is a skill.
A skill that is easily learned and easy to use.
When you know to take control of the call and ask questions, you make more appointments and help more patients.
What do you think?
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THE DENTAL PHONE EXCELLENCE ONLINE MASTER CLASS IS HERE!!!
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I LISTENED TO YOU and finally my Master Class is here ONLINE just for YOU!
Your team do not need a day off work to attend this Master Class. YOUR TEAM can complete the Dental Phone Excellence Master Class right there in your practice at their own pace. The BEST part of my Master Class is that you have it FOREVER once you purchase the Master Class.
It’s time to say GOODBYE to New Patients calling your office and NO APPOINTMENT ever being made, people calling your office about the price and never making an appointment and your patients continually calling to cancel their appointment!
There are 7 Learning Modules in this Master Class
• Module 1: How to Effectively Communicate with Your Patients
• Module 2: The 8 Steps to the New Patient Call
• Module 3: How to Answer the Questions Callers Ask
• Module 4: Correct and Easy Appointment Scheduling
• Module 5: How to Prevent and Handle Cancellations
• Module 6: How to Follow Up Your Patients
• Module 7: Giving the Very Best Patient Experience
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There are a total of 42 Learning Videos and over 60 Worksheets, Checklists, Templates, Scripts and Flowcharts to help support your team’s learning.
This program has been designed to teach dental teams how to communicate more effectively with their patients and get better results.
This Master Class is easy to understand, easy to work through and you can go through the program at your own pace.
This is the Master Class that guarantees your success when you start using the strategies and skills we go through together.
To secure you LIFETIME access to my Master Class click the link below. It is that fast and easy to get!
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I look forward to seeing you all get the RESULTS you deserve and MORE!
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Call Tracking Excellence
Click this link to find out how to get started. It’s that easy! http://www.calltrackingexcellence.com/
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