When is the best time to contact a patient?

Anytime is the best time of course.

Within reason. The crack of dawn or midnight will not go down well.

In the past we have been a little hesitant contacting patients in case it’s not the best time for them.

We call patients sometimes in hope they will pick up that phone, but alas this is easier said than done nowadays!

A text message has become a great way to shoot off a message to patients who can then read it immediately or when they have a moment to check their phone.

But there are certain times when you really need to speak with your patient over the phone.

One of these times is when you need to get patients back for their incomplete treatment where no appointment has been scheduled.

This is the time when you may need to have a serious conversation with your patient regarding urgency and importance and the consequence of delaying treatment. This is near impossible to do in a text message. During these calls your patient may have questions and even objections that can easily be handle on a phone call.

The biggest problem faced by practices is when you try to call your patient, even at a time that you believe is best, you most often get a voicemail and must leave a message.

The next problem is most dental practices do not know how to leave a great phone message and have lost sight of the purpose of the message they leave.

What is the purpose of the phone message you leave?

Yes, it’s for the patient to call back immediately.

So, what phone message will achieve this?

The phone message you leave needs to let your patient who you are and where you are calling from and what the call is in regard to.

My advice always, is to avoid telling the patient too much.

You want your message to be a little cryptic and mysterious.

Remember you want your patient to call back to find out more.

“Hi John, it’s Jayne from Active Dental. I’m calling in regard to your appointment. Can you please call me back on ___________as soon as you can this afternoon.”

Can you see I have let the patient know who I am, where I’m from and why I was calling.

Now think about it.

This patient has no appointment.

The patient hears the phone message and is trying to work out which appointment.

The patient is now more driven to call you back to find out more.

Now you have control of the conversation with the patient. They have called you back.

You now have an opportunity on the phone to schedule an appointment for the patient that they do not have booked in yet.

So, back to the best time to call a patient.

Anytime is the best time because this is what usually happens, you end up leaving a short message for the patient to call you back at a time that suits them.

Giving a time frame when you need the patient to call you back is important and avoid giving too much information in the message. You want your patient to call you back to find out more.

Now you can have a great conversation with your patient, schedule and confirm their appointment and go tell your dentist how great you are at following up your patients!

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THE DENTAL PHONE EXCELLENCE ONLINE MASTER CLASS 2024

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2024 is here! Let’s hit those goals, empower your team and do what you have never been able to do before!

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.

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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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