002 - How to Improve Customer Service with Laura Hatch from Front Office Rocks
07/02/18 • 69 min
Welcome back to another fantastic episode of the Driven Dental Implant Marketing podcast and video interview series!
We’re continuing our new series with one of the top influencers in the industry, Laura Hatch. Laura is a Dental Office Manager and the Founder of Front Office Rocks, an online training resource that provides online and video training for your front office team to be as efficient and effective as possible with a focus on improving customer service and boosting patient retention.
Laura is committed to empowering dental teams to provide the best customer care to their patients by offering her first-hand knowledge and expertise to help improve the day-to-day operations within your practice. She is a member of the American Association of Dental Office Managers, and in 2016, Laura was recognized as one of DPR’s Top 25 Women in Dentistry.
In the podcast and video, we discussed:
[01:33] Understanding that the front desk (and the phone) are the most critical aspects of your practice for getting new patients through the front door
[05:11] Why the phone should be viewed as the “lifeline to the outside” and how you can use your phone skills to increase the number of new patients coming to your practice
[06:53] Always “respect the phone” and remember that you only have one shot to make a good first impression – so make it count!
[08:48] Mastering the art of multi-tasking at the front desk, switching from one hat to the other and why you must always have the right attitude on the phone
[11:00] Common mistakes your team make when handling the phone and how to overcome them
[13:25] The power of saying YES to patients and not letting insurance or money dictate the conversation
[19:33] Why you should treat every phone call with the utmost respect and how to take control of the conversation
[22:40] To script or not to script? - the benefits and drawbacks of using a script
[24:26] How to handle high-value cases with the ultimate goal of getting them to book a face-to-face consultation at your practice
[26:27] Reducing and/or eliminating cancellations and no-shows
[30:25] Why you should never judge a patient by their tone of voice, physical appearance or their day job
[35:08] The most phone calls come in between 11am and 2pm so make sure you have someone ready and available to take calls over lunch
[36:46] How to manage phone calls when you have a patient in front of you
[41:15] The best time to call a patient that has got in contact with your practice via email
[43:20] Dealing with leads that come in after hours or on the weekend and how to make scheduling appointments out of hours fun for your team
[50:15] How to answer the “price question” and why you should focus on financial options rather than providing an estimated quote over the phone
[59:15] Understanding that you can train dental, but you can’t train personality
[1:00:55] How to negotiate with patients who are adamant about INS benefits
[1:03:19] Why you should spend more time getting to know the person behind the call
We hope you enjoyed our discussion with Laura and found as much value from it as we did. If you would like to get in touch with Laura, you can visit Front Office Rocks, where you can learn more about her company, view free sample training videos and sign-up for dental customer service training for your entire team for as little as $5 per day!
If you would like to book a FREE Strategy Session with Charles, go to drivendentalmarketing.com and hit the big green button to schedule a 15-minute strategy session covering how you can implement a program to attract and convert more high-value patients to your practice.
For more information on this episode click here.
Welcome back to another fantastic episode of the Driven Dental Implant Marketing podcast and video interview series!
We’re continuing our new series with one of the top influencers in the industry, Laura Hatch. Laura is a Dental Office Manager and the Founder of Front Office Rocks, an online training resource that provides online and video training for your front office team to be as efficient and effective as possible with a focus on improving customer service and boosting patient retention.
Laura is committed to empowering dental teams to provide the best customer care to their patients by offering her first-hand knowledge and expertise to help improve the day-to-day operations within your practice. She is a member of the American Association of Dental Office Managers, and in 2016, Laura was recognized as one of DPR’s Top 25 Women in Dentistry.
In the podcast and video, we discussed:
[01:33] Understanding that the front desk (and the phone) are the most critical aspects of your practice for getting new patients through the front door
[05:11] Why the phone should be viewed as the “lifeline to the outside” and how you can use your phone skills to increase the number of new patients coming to your practice
[06:53] Always “respect the phone” and remember that you only have one shot to make a good first impression – so make it count!
[08:48] Mastering the art of multi-tasking at the front desk, switching from one hat to the other and why you must always have the right attitude on the phone
[11:00] Common mistakes your team make when handling the phone and how to overcome them
[13:25] The power of saying YES to patients and not letting insurance or money dictate the conversation
[19:33] Why you should treat every phone call with the utmost respect and how to take control of the conversation
[22:40] To script or not to script? - the benefits and drawbacks of using a script
[24:26] How to handle high-value cases with the ultimate goal of getting them to book a face-to-face consultation at your practice
[26:27] Reducing and/or eliminating cancellations and no-shows
[30:25] Why you should never judge a patient by their tone of voice, physical appearance or their day job
[35:08] The most phone calls come in between 11am and 2pm so make sure you have someone ready and available to take calls over lunch
[36:46] How to manage phone calls when you have a patient in front of you
[41:15] The best time to call a patient that has got in contact with your practice via email
[43:20] Dealing with leads that come in after hours or on the weekend and how to make scheduling appointments out of hours fun for your team
[50:15] How to answer the “price question” and why you should focus on financial options rather than providing an estimated quote over the phone
[59:15] Understanding that you can train dental, but you can’t train personality
[1:00:55] How to negotiate with patients who are adamant about INS benefits
[1:03:19] Why you should spend more time getting to know the person behind the call
We hope you enjoyed our discussion with Laura and found as much value from it as we did. If you would like to get in touch with Laura, you can visit Front Office Rocks, where you can learn more about her company, view free sample training videos and sign-up for dental customer service training for your entire team for as little as $5 per day!
If you would like to book a FREE Strategy Session with Charles, go to drivendentalmarketing.com and hit the big green button to schedule a 15-minute strategy session covering how you can implement a program to attract and convert more high-value patients to your practice.
For more information on this episode click here.
Previous Episode
001 - How To Start Placing More Dental Implants With Dr. Arun Garg
Welcome to the first Driven Dental Implant Marketing podcast and video interview series!
We’re very excited to launch this new series, which focuses on conducting thought-provoking interviews with some of the top influencers in dentistry.
Our first guest on the show is Dr. Arun Garg, who specializes in teaching dentists across the world how to place dental implants. Surprisingly, he started his career as a chemical engineer undergraduate but soon realized that his real passion was with dentistry. So, he went to dental school and joined the faculty in the University of Miami for almost twenty years.
Dr. Garg has a strong passion for dental implants and published his techniques in over 150 scientific publications. He decided to leave the University of Miami and joined a private practice. He launched Implant Seminars and now conducts multiple educational courses in dental implant surgery and enjoys teaching and sharing his knowledge with the world.
In the podcast, we discussed:[02:54] Why a general dentist should think about focusing on mastering implants and how to keep the service affordable for the patient
[05:31] The perspective that implant dentistry is life changing dentistry
[06:20] The benefits of implementing dental implants as a primary focus
[08:15] How to learn dental implants and utilizing various sources to educate yourself properly
[09:50] Importance of hands-on workshops and understanding that practical training is vital if you want to pursue implant dentistry
[11:47] How to enhance the speed of your mastery by surrounding yourself with a community that is just as focused on progressing their educational journey as you are
[12:57] The sheer number of dentists that Dr. Garg has trained to place implants (you may want to sit down for this one!)
[15:38] The analogy of successful implant seminars and why you need to be a great player AND a great coach if you want to be a true educator
[19:41] Taking charge of your own journey and why you should let your students make decisions for themselves without pushing any bias opinions of your own onto them
[22:31] Details about Dr. Garg’s value-driven courses including Implant Continuum, the Implant Masters Series, Oral Sedation and many more!
[27:38] How Dr. Garg’s sessions have helped dentists around the world and the power that we have as dentists to change a person’s life
[29:37] Everything you need to know about our Implant Seminars Cruise in Cuba from November 15th to 19th including WHY you should come and what you can expect to get out of the experience
[32:55] The importance of having a supportive team to help you establish yourself and your practice as an excellent and successful implant provider
[34:30] How new graduates can get the training they need to offer implant services in a private practice
[37:24] Why you should have a system in place to stand out in your marketplace as the provider of choice for dental implants and how you can achieve this with help from a professional marketing strategist
[38:58] Why you should start marketing immediately after graduation and before you finish a course
We hope you enjoyed this very first episode of the podcast and our video series, if you would like to find out more about Dr. Garg’s dental implant seminars, please visit www.implantseminars.com for more information.
You can also check out his book on Amazon and sign up for his Live Dental Implant Training course by clicking here.
Find out more about the 4-night Implant C.E. Cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Havana, Cuba and The Bahamas - we would love to see you there!
Not sure if dental implants are for you? Click here to sign-up for our FREE 15 Minute Strategy Session for dental implants and learn how YOU can start driving patients to your practice.
For more information on this episode,
Next Episode
003 - How To Get Patients To Say Yes To Dental Implant Treatment with Dr Paul Homoly
We’re honored to welcome Dr. Paul Homoly onto the Driven Dental Implant Marketing podcast and interview series!
Dr. Paul Homoly is the president of Homoly Communications Institute, an excellent resource for dentists who want to increase case acceptance and elevate their professional and practice-building skills. With over thirty years of experience as a restorative dentist and acclaimed educator, he has a bounty of innovative insights to share with fellow dentists who want to thrive and grow their practices.
Dr. Paul Homoly is regarded as one of the world’s top communication coaches, consultants and speakers in dentistry. He is also a published author of several books including “Dentists: An Endangered Species, Isn’t It Wonderful When Patients Say Yes!”, “Making it Easy for Patients to Say “Yes”, “Just Because You’re an Expert...Doesn’t Make You Interesting” and “Case Acceptance for Everyday Dentistry”.
In the podcast and video, we discussed:
[02:27] Transitioning your practice into an implant focused practice
[03:46] Case acceptance as the engine of a dental practice and how you can improve case presentation for dental implants
[06:35] Why you should start thinking about the kind of practice you want to have an understanding that there are essentially two types:
- Modest Care Practice – case fees less than $3500, but with more patients
- Complex Care Practice – case fees more than $5000, but with fewer patients
[07:37] The driver of case acceptance for a Modest Care patient is education, whereas the driving force for a Complex Care patient is more about understanding why the patient wants the dentistry done
[10:00] The importance of making a personal connection with your patients and showing empathy and emotion
[12:26] Avoiding overly complex treatment presentations in your marketing strategies and the relationship between marketing and dental implant case presentation
[14:40] How to connect with patients by asking questions that gets them into the “storytelling mode”
[18:20] What to say during dental implant treatment presentation and why you should start the conversation with the behavioral benefit rather than the structure of the treatment sequence
[22:13] Initiating the behavioral benefit conversation and how to streamline it into your case presentation for dental implants
[23:43] Implant case presentation tips and the four key ways to make a great first impression on your new patient high-value cases
[26:33] How to deal with “shoppers” and establishing a dental implant marketing strategy that will attract shoppers to your practice
[30:41] When the case fees are over $10,000, fewer than 5% of new patients are ready to start their care. So, when you’re presenting implant cases, it’s more beneficial to assume that the patient is not ready for treatment
[34:14] Advice for getting patients to become a patient of record (hygiene patient) when they don’t accept treatment the first time they hear the treatment plan
[39:00] What dentists can do to improve case acceptance for complex care
[41:24] Why you should always revisit the patient’s life circumstance before revisiting the conditions
[46:56] Improving case acceptance and how to present dental implant cases while maintaining the upwards momentum
[51:00] More information about Dr. Paul Homoly’s online courses
[54:37] Understanding that when you start focusing on building a practice that genuinely cares about changing people’s lives, financial awards will follow
For more information on this episode, click here.
If you would like to get in touch with Dr. Paul Homoly, you can visit his website and click “Your 3 Top Decisions To Make It Easy For Patients To Say Yes” to begin the case acceptance coaching program which includes dozens of excellent implant case presentation tips.
If you want to get into placing dental implants, you can join our course cruise, “Implants Unlimited” with Dr. Arun Garg which runs from November 15th to 19th from Fort Lauderdale to Cuba. Also, if you’re enjoying this video and podcast interview series, make sure to follow us on Facebook to keep up with the latest updates!
For anyone who’s interested in finding out if Driven Dental Implant Marketing is a good fit for you and your practice, you can book a FREE 15-minute strategy session over on drivendentalmarketing.com
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/drive-your-practice-with-dental-implants-21454/002-how-to-improve-customer-service-with-laura-hatch-from-front-office-763070"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 002 - how to improve customer service with laura hatch from front office rocks on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy