There are many challenges when it comes to running a successful Dental Practice.

The most important part of any challenge is how you handle the challenge, the steps to follow to ensure you overcome the challenge and what you put into place to reduce or eliminate it happening again.

Answering the phone in your business can be one of those challenges.

I know.

I answered phones in a dental practice for many years and now I get to listen to calls coming into dental practices every day.

When you answer the phone in your business, the goal is to answer the call and offer a solution.

In a dental practice, the solution is to make and confirm an appointment.

If your phones are busy right now, and believe me I am hearing many dental practices with a large volume of calls during these uncertain and ever changing COVID times, then you need to keep reading this blog.

The golden rule to always follow is:

“If you haven’t got enough people to answer the calls coming into your business then you need more people.”

So keep an eye on this.

Do you have enough people answering the phones in your dental practice right now.

The best piece of advice I can give all dental practices right now is to track and measure the calls coming into your office.

You need to know how many calls are coming in and how effectively are they being converted to appointments.

You also need to know how the calls are being answered.

Are the calls being managed well?

Are the calls answered by the second ring?

Does the person answering the calls have enough time for each caller, or are they being rushed?

Does the person answering your calls know how to handle multiple calls?

I have noticed that the skill of handling multiple calls coming into a dental office is a challenge for many people.

Answering multiple calls is not the easiest thing to do, especially if no one has shown you how.

As soon as you have multiple lines, at some point in the day more than one or two lines will ring at the same time.

Many dentists would say this is a good, and it is, but ONLY if you have a trained team who are prepared and ready to handle the volume of calls coming in.

Your team need to answer each call within two to three rings.

If you need to place a caller on hold when another phone line is ringing, you have to get the timing right.

Ask yourself this question:

“How long will I be on the other line?” 

You must know where you are up to on each call at all times.

If a second call comes in and you have just started speaking to the first caller then you need to ask the second caller’s name, find out briefly the reason for their call, and their contact details, and then let them know when you will call them back.

Keep in mind that there is a risk when you call a person back that they may have gone ahead and made another appointment at another dental office while they waited for you to call back, so never delay the return call.

When you pick up a second call always ask permission from the first caller if you can place them on hold for a moment.

Never pick up the second call and immediately tell the caller you are placing them on hold.

“Thank you for calling Green Dental. This is Jayne. Please hold.”

Think about those times when this has happened to you on the phone.

You feel unimportant and you have no idea how long you will be on hold.

You now run the risk that the person on hold will hang up.

Make it a rule never to do this!

Ask their name and explain you are on another call and do they mind being on hold for a moment.

The other rule is to make sure you have something for your on-hold caller to listen to while they wait for you.

Having silence is wrong. Chimes or bells is equally wrong.

I would suggest non-irritating music.

Test the music choice out on a few of the team and get their feedback on how they feel listening to the music.

A better choice than music is recorded information about your practice and how you help your patients. The message should be all about the caller and the patient experience they will receive when they come to your practice for the first time.

A great message gets the caller thinking about a dental treatment they hadn’t even considered.

So have a good look at how your phones are answered and how the caller is placed on hold!

When you track the calls coming into your office and get the opportunity to hear both your team and the caller on the phone, you will see if your team need help.

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What exactly is going on, on your Dental Practice Phones?

Call Tracking Excellence is a RESULT, not a product.

Call Tracking Excellence is More Patients MAKING appointments.

Call Tracking Excellence is More Patients KEEPING appointments.

If you are interested in my Call Tracking Service or have any questions please call 1300 378 044 or email jayne@thedpe.com. Stop missing out on making appointments.

www.calltrackingexcellence.com

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Dental Phone Excellence is a simple to implement, complete Phone Answering System I developed that helped me to build an extraordinary dental practice in the heart of working class Western Sydney.

If you’d like to know more, download my sixteen page FREE special report “How I Quickly and Easily Went From 35% to 77% New Patient Telephone Conversions, and Doubled The Size of my Dental Practice Along the Way” and discover some of the many costly mistakes being made on your phone…..