One of your major assets in treatment acceptance lies in the presentation skills of your front desk. You’ll tell the patient what they need to have done, but they’ll still leave your exam area with a lot of questions they were too nervous to ask ……..or just plain didn’t think about till they got to the desk. Now it’s up to your treatment coordinator or front desk staff to review the finances and get the appointment set. The problems arise when your front office staff doesn’t really know what the heck they’re talking about!
This lack of knowledge is pretty common in many of our offices and, unfortunately, no one but the patient is aware of it. The front desk may have a general idea what a laser does, what TADs are, or what exactly is that new crown you’re using, but when a patient asks for details, they’re lost. This lack of knowledge means the patient will most likely get an unsatisfying answer and decide to “think about” scheduling until they can look it up on-line or talk to friends. Either way, they have a 50/50 chance of getting incorrect explanations to use in making their decisions regarding treatment.
At your next staff meeting, find out what areas of office treatment need more explanation…..I can guarantee there are some….and set up lunch time sessions where assistants and/or doctors explain the “mysteries” of the back office to the people who schedule the treatment. You wouldn’t send a salesman out to sell a product with no product knowledge, but that’s exactly what you do when you leave your front desk “sales” team uninformed. They’re doing their best to book treatment……..with only a vague idea of what will be done at the appointment. Train your entire team completely today and watch your case acceptance grow tomorrow!
