Some dental practices have rockstar Treatment Coordinators that are great at sales…while others have coordinators that hate making follow-up calls. I get it, doing telemarketing (which is selling a service over the phone) is not an easy skill. It takes a lot of will power to withstand rejections and power through objections. It’s hard to maintain a positive attitude and put in the volume to get the results.
Also, most coordinators are not trained in sales, but, as the owner, it’s your job to help them so they can succeed. Here are some tips to improve their sales skills
1. Understand the Service Well
A new treatment coordinator needs to know each procedure in and out. This can include things like how a Crown is treated, the costs and how long it takes to complete. You also need to train people on your dental software, follow-up system and the basics of dentistry. It’s a lot, but if you create a resource like a handbook with all of these details, you have something they can refer to…plus it saves you time re-explaining everything to new staff members.
2. Train Them On the Mindset of Sales
Sales isn’t about being pushy or getting your way, it’s a true win-win for you and your patient. Selling can provide a valuable treatment for a patient that needs it, in exchange for money that helps grow and support the practice.
It’s not “selling” but instead “helping patients.”
Even with my own team, we present every sale as a win. When we meet a new dental practice, we have the chance to help grow their revenue so the owner can have a better quality of life, hire more staff and even go on a dream vacation.
3. Focus on “Patient-Centered” Communication
A key part of selling is listening. Encourage your coordinators to actively listen and hear the concerns of the patients. You can then tailor the response accordingly.
Ask them why they didn’t schedule the treatment. Ask them about if they truly understand the procedure.
You can build empathy over time and then once a patient trusts your coordinator, they are very likely to schedule their treatment.
4. Role-Playing
Before calling patients, a coordinator should PRACTICE their script with you (or someone on your team.). We do this all the time for our new staff, because it helps ease them in calling patients.
Also, create a folder with sample phone calls for new coordinators to review of successful calls with real patients.
Take these calls and create a sales script. Include FAQs to address regular concerns.
Then spend 15-30 minutes each shift, practicing the script. It should not sound like someone is reading from a script, but a coordinator should not be freestyling on a call. Find out what works well, write it down and use role-play to get your coordinators to know the best ways to speak on the phone to patients.
5. Teach Objection Handling
I already wrote this newsletter on Objection Handling here
We have our own document on how to handle a variety of objections such as “I can’t afford it.” or “I need to think about it.” or “It’s nor urgent, I can wait.”
6. Use Case Studies and Visual Aids
You have success stories from previous patients, so encourage your coordinators to use them! Share before and after photos of patients who went through a similar treatment and how it helped their lives.
Have brochures with pictures of the treatment. Show videos as well. The more visual aids you can provide, the better the patient can understand what their treatment involves. It also builds trust as well.
7. Use Goal Setting and Performance Tracking
Do you have a goal for your Treatment coordinator each week? Our staff knows exactly how many calls they need to make per week (300-400 typical) as well as how much treatment to schedule ($3,000+) in order to have a “successful week.” Each day, we look at their data and aim to help them hit their goals.
If your staff doesn’t know how many calls to make a week, they have no idea what your expectations are.
“What gets measured, improves.” is a key statement I follow in my business. Have your staff report each week on their contacts and celebrate the wins. If they are off track, find out why and see if a new tactic yields better results.
If you’d like assistance following up with your Unscheduled Treatment Plans from my team so your appointment book is full, Net Profit King can help out. We partner with dental practices and guarantee $150,000 per year in Case Acceptance or we work for free. We will call your patients with HIPAA-certified treatment coordinators that are effective at getting results. One of our clients got $11,000 in Treatment scheduled in the first 30 days. Book a 10-minute consultation meeting with our team to learn more.