Are you really welcoming new patients to your dental practice, or are you inadvertently turning them away? We are yet to see a sign proclaiming, “We have shut our door on new patients,” yet that is what happens too many times when potential new patients call your practice.
Most new patients do not start off their initial call by saying, “I am calling because I hear this is the greatest practice in the world. Please schedule me regardless of how you feel about my dental insurance.” Instead, most people ask about insurance. If patients are not covered by insurance, they commonly ask about cost.
Unfortunately, front teams, who deal with their share of difficult-to-manage price shoppers, make the wrong assumption that all calls about insurance and cost are just another set of interruptions in the day. And this is where the door is closed too often on potential new patients.
It is critical for teams to remember that questions about cost and insurance are not usually what motivated the call to the practice. Instead, people have concerns that you can help resolve, and many times they are nervous just calling a dental office.
Therefore, by showing patience and having empathy, you can keep the welcome sign up for potential new patients. Instead of trying to quickly end a call concerning insurance and cost, ask people how they heard about your practice. Ask about their dental concerns. And then most importantly, invite people to schedule. It is unfortunately well documented how many times potential new patients are never even invited to schedule.
Since you work so hard to get new patients referrals, make sure you are not inadvertently closing the door on these patients. Encourage your front team to approach each call with a fresh perspective and invite more new patients into your schedule.