Do Your Specialists Get It? - Do you?

In a discussion recently with a group of specialists, the question came up as to why general dentists give their patients several choices instead of just recommending one specialist. Most specialists think it is for liability reasons – that the general dentist does not want to take the blame if something goes wrong. It is a convenient explanation, but totally off base.

If you are a general dentist and referred one of your patients to a specialist and the patient came back raving about the experience and then thanked you for the referral, it would get your attention. If the patients you referred to that particular specialist routinely responded in like manner, you would start thinking twice about referring them to anyone else because that particular specialist made you look good – really good! If you are specialist and want more loyalty from your referring dentists, wake up and start giving the patients something to talk about so they can’t help but talk about their experience when they return to their general dentist. It seems like a simple formula. I am not sure why most specialist don’t get it, but they seem more interested in boosting their out of control egos and arrogance than they do TREATING patients in a way that reflects positively on the person who referred them. (And I’m not talking about clinical treatment.)

Now let’s turn the tables for a moment. What are you and your team doing to really give your patients something to talk about after their appointment? Take for example a recent new patient who works for a major employer who came into an office with which we work. After his initial visit, the phone started ringing at the dental office with other employees from the same company. They called simply because this one patient was telling everyone about his experience at the dentist. Since half the people don’t go to the dentist on a regular basis, they have a level of guilt that they are trying to relieve if someone will just give them a good reason to pick up the phone. All it takes is just a little enthusiasm from someone they trust to push them over the edge.

So what did this office do to get the patient to talk? They did what they do with every patient. They treated him right, made him feel important, listened to him, met him where he was emotionally, and followed the entire ToPS system for total case acceptance. They did it right!

So, whether you are a specialist or a general dentist, if you don’t have raving word of mouth, wake up and get on your game. Word-of-mouth is only the most powerful form of marketing in dentistry if you give your patients something to talk about. Make the commitment today to be a “specialist” – a specialist in creating such a compelling experience that patients can’t help themselves. They HAVE to talk about you.

Better than "Yes"

Among the many things we measure on a daily basis is the ratio of prospective new patient calls to the number of appointments that get scheduled from those calls. It is not cheep to get the phone to ring and we want to make sure we are maximizing the return on that investment.

So what is a reasonable expectation for appointments set to incoming calls? If the marketing is targeted to the right group and the verbal skills are correct, is there any reason why the appointment percentage shouldn’t be 100%. Note that I said the percentage. That does not mean that 100% of the patients who call are going to schedule. For example, what if someone calls to find a dentist who takes Medicaid and you don’t. You can use your best verbal skills to help him or her understand the benefits of coming to you anyway, but there are people who have life conditions important to them that direct them to other offices. That’s OK. You are not going to get them all. In fact, you don’t want them all! You’re not everybody’s dentist. But for every prospective patient who calls that you are not able to schedule, there should be another call behind it where you are able to inquire about other family members who might want to come in as well. Instead of scheduling just one appointment from that call, you could schedule two. That increases your average. When you look at it from that perspective, 100% is achievable. At least that is what I used to think.

Here’s the rest of the story.

Recently, in an office we work with, I started to notice an interesting trend. The call to scheduled appointment ratio was greater than 100% on a regular basis. At the end of each month when we totaled up the numbers, the appointment ratio was 120 to 130%. Was this a mistake or was something going on here? We checked into the numbers and they were correct. What was going on is that the appointment coordinator had a “Better than YES!” attitude. She was not satisfied with just getting one “yes” per call, she wanted two or more. And two or more she got! With good verbal and relationship skills, you can engage each caller in a slightly extended conversation with questions like:

• Who else at home is over-due for their regular dental appointment?
• Tell me about your family. We love families in our practice.
• Since health is a family affair, we like to invite the whole family to be part of our practice.
• Who else is at home that should be coming as well?

Like most situations, when you ASK, people respond. And respond they did. Just by virtue of expecting something “better than Yes,” this office starting getting one of the best percentages on their calls to scheduled appointments that we have ever seen.

This great example has raised my expectations. 100% is no longer good enough! 120%, 130% or more is possible if you just ASK and expect something “Better than Yes!”

So, raise your expectations. Don’t be satisfied with a simple “Yes.” Commit to “Better than Yes” by asking for more than just one scheduled appointment per call.

What's in a name?

Our oldest daughter Ashlin came home with an assignment from art class that said the following: "An architect named Antonio Gaudi designed buildings that had curvy outer walls covered with brightly colored tiles. The American word gaudy, meaning “in poor taste,” is derived from his name."

While the statement is false (the English use of the word “gaudy” dates back to the 1600’s and Antonio Gaudi lived from 1852-1926) it did cause me to think, “What’s in a name?” There are some “names” that are so powerful that they become synonymous for what they are. Kleenex: facial tissue. FedEx: over night delivery. Xerox: Photocopy. Oops…not any more! When what you do or what you are becomes so powerful, people automatically associate your service attributes with your name. For example, when people are asked to think of a beautiful flower, 80% say they think of a rose. Maybe that is why “rose” became a name…for a person. Your attributes give powerful meaning to your name to the point where the two may became bound together in the hearts and minds of your market. So it may be well to decide and act on the attributes you want to be known for the most in your market.

When you are ready to take that step, feel free to use our Top Service Attribute (TSA) worksheet that asks 9 specific questions that will help you identify your top service attributes and the market for which those attributes will mean the most. Just let us know when you are ready for it by e-mailing our team at Answers@TotalPatientService.com or by calling 1-877-399-8677 and ask for the TSA worksheet. Just remember: the decisions you make today about your top attributes may determine what people believe and say about you tomorrow.

Make it ToPS!

What's Your Hook?

While eating in San Diego’s Gas Lamp District recently with two friends who are both in the restaurant industry, the conversation naturally turned to the secrets of success in food service. (Between them, they own over 400 restaurant locations.) “It’s simple,” one of them said. “You have to have a hook.”

A “hook” is something for which you are known, that your customers love, that keeps them coming back for more. Without it, you are just another place to eat. With a hook, you are one of the most talked about places in town. In my one friend’s case, his restaurant’s hook is “all the peanuts and hot bread you can eat served the moment you sit down.” In the other’s case it is “full plate service” at a high-end steak house chain instead of a la cart like most steak houses.

So what’s your “hook?” What are you known for that your patients love that keeps them coming back for more? What do you do that separates you from every other dentist? Without a hook, you’re just another dentist. But with a hook, you are “The Dentist.”