Make sure your Team know what you expect from them when they answer the Phone and make Appointments.

Often the people answering the Phone only know these two things:

• Answer the phone
• Make Appointments

There are no specific directions given about how to answer the Phone efficiently, including what to say and how to say things to ensure callers make an Appointment and get the help and care they need.

In most Dental Offices, the people answering the Phone receive the least amount of training.

Does your Team know the key reasons why they answer the Phone at your Office?

The Key Reasons would be:

• To successfully make an Appointment for each caller.
• To ask the caller questions to be able to find out what they really need.
• To improve the Business by Pre Qualifying all Patients and preparing them for their Appointment

You want to choose the right people to answer the Phone in your Business. You want people who just don’t turn up for work but people who arrive ready to go and make a difference in the place they work.

Once you have the right people, you want them to receive the best training so they are prepared and ready to make a difference. This is often the part we overlook.

On the job training may be nothing more than having people just making it up as they go. Our whole lives are full of ingredients and directions and answering the Phone needs an excellent recipe for things to turn out well.

There is nothing more dangerous in your business than thinking that the people working for you are doing their job well and then getting a big surprise when you find out it has all fallen apart because they were struggling the whole time.

We need to provide our Team with:

• Guidelines
• Training
• Accountability
• Expectations to be met

Most employees who want to make a difference in your Business are looking for these four things to ensure they are on the right path.

I always refer to how many years of Training and Education that a Dentist needs to become qualified and then be able to start looking after their patients.

It should be no different for the Front Office Team answering the Phone.

The Phone is like a Dental Drill, in so much as you need to follow instructions and you need to know what to say, to be able to operate it effectively.

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 two 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