The New Patient phone will be the most important first impression for your patient. This sets the stage for all their future appointments, if they’ll schedule treatment, or follow through with sending their family and friends to your dental office. It’s all about building relationships and trust. This is NOT a phone call to rush through! Drop everything you’re doing and this is your chance to deeply engage with your new patient.

When that new patient calls, here are three simple tips to give them a WOW experience:

1. Smile when you are talking! As I was just starting out, it was hard for my introverted-self to be bubbly on the phone. As hard as it can be for some, it CAN be trained if you work hard enough. A great tip is to have a mirror on your desk and actually SMILE when you are talking on the phone. You wouldn’t believe the effect it has on your voice. Don’t believe me? Try it now!

2. Don’t start asking about their insurance and details right away. First, get to know the patient. Ask them who referred them (always assume your patients are raving about you and they didn’t just find you on Google). Tell them about your Doctor and what makes your practice different. Ask them about their previous dental experiences and how we can make their visit with you more comfortable. Yes, you need to get the details but get those at the end of the phone call, not right away.

3. At the end of the phone call simply ask, “What other family members can I get scheduled for you today?” Such a simple but impactful sentence! While you have them impressed and comfortable on the phone, schedule their spouse or the kid’s appointments. This simple question can make one phone call equal multiple appointments.

At BDB, we believe the new patient phone call may be the most important phone call you take. Don’t wing it! We have scripts to walk you through the entire call from start to finish.