Weekly E-Alert: “I can help you!”

This week I want to share with you a little secret that can have a BIG impact on your practice. But I've got to build up to it with a little "rant". Enjoy!

I have to admit that there are a bunch of things that really BUG me. At 39 I'm relatively young, yet sometimes when I repeatedly encounter things that bother me I feel like a crotchety old man.

Here's one thing that really sends my blood pressure soaring:

"Indifferent Service"

This is a phrase I recently coined that represents 95+% of what we're all getting nowadays in most service oriented businesses. And if you're keeping score, dentistry IS a service business.

What is "Indifferent Service"? Well, let me define it by simply saying it is service with indifference, or a complete lack of motivation or passion to exceed expectations in any way. It's often not "bad" service, but it's not "good" either...which makes it BAD.

The worst thing about "Indifferent Service" is that it sneaks up on you, most commonly when you or your team is performing a service that you consider as very mundane or routine...maybe even a little boring in your eyes. Problem is, it's none of the above for your patients, or your prospective patients either.

OK, here's the secret I promised you.

In order to prevent "Indifferent Service", you must continually look for ways to do routine things DIFFERENTLY, even if slightly so. That's what keeps things interesting, even fun. Here's an example.

Answering the phone, perhaps THE most critical task in your entire practice, can become very boring for those who do it most often. And that's the LAST thing you want anyone on your team to become indifferent about! Most good dental practices have a decent greeting that goes like this:

"Thank you for calling Dr. Chris's office, this is Kim, how may I help you?"

There's really (yawn) nothing wrong with this, except for (yawn) the fact that (yawn) it's plain, normal, BORING! It's not bad, it's just not GREAT. Isn't that what you're looking for?

So, change up your greeting a bit to differentiate your practice. How about this:

"Thank you for calling Dr. Chris's office, this is Kim, I CAN HELP YOU!"

WOW, now that's a greeting! Just 2-3 words were changed, yet this greeting takes on a whole new feel.

1- It's UNIQUE
2- It's ULTRA-POSITIVE
3- It's CONFIDENT and ENTHUSIASTIC
4- It SETS THE TONE for GREAT SERVICE!

You're stating that you can help them before they even ask. Like the late great Walter Hailey said: "The answer is YES...now what's the question?!"

We've been using this greeting for over 5 years, and we still get tons of positive feedback from our patients and prospects who call. In fact, most of our new patients tell us that they chose us because of how they were addressed and treated on the phone!

Go ahead, give it a try...work through the initial discomfort of saying something new...and just watch how your callers react. You won't believe how they'll perk up when they hear it!

All my best,
Chris

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