Answering the phone

Easy Enquiry Conversation Guide:

Use the following guide when you are on the phone with a new patient. This will enable you to achieve a higher conversion rate.

1. Enquiry

Wait for the phone to ring twice; then answer it. Sooner than two rings makes the callers feel uncomfortable. More than two rings sounds unfriendly.

Ensure that you are smiling before you answer the phone. A good technique is to picture the caller sitting on the other end of the line smiling back at you.

Your first line should be “Welcome to [Clinic Name]; my name is ________, how can I help you?”. If they give you their name immediately, write it down in front of you.

Slow down with this part if you seem to be rushing through, it’ll set the tone for the entire call.

They will ask their first question at this point. Some common questions are as follows:

• ‘Do you have any appointments available today?’

• ‘What’s the price of an appointment?’

2. Engage

Find out what the problem is so we can offer a solution

After they have asked their question, DO NOT answer it immediately.

Instead, ask one of the following questions:

• “How can we help?”

• “What have you done?”

Do not answer their initial question under any circumstances.

Engage with them by asking openended questions. These are questions that start with WHAT, HOW, WHEN etc.

Without doubt, this is the most important thing. You must ask questions that can’t be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions the prospect has to think about and get involved with.

Questions that lead into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response will stop the flow of conversation.

It’s a good idea to ask questions that encourage them to make the decision to book an appointment

Ask them specifically what they need,

“How did you find out about us?”

“Have you seen anyone else about the problem”

“When do you need that?”

“Tell me more”

“Can you give me a bit more information about [the problem]?”

Each question builds a deeper relationship, and leads to the ultimate outcome a clear picture of their wants, concerns and attitudes.

3. Educate

Offer a solution.

‘Based on what you’ve told me, it sounds like …’ [repeat the problem they need addressed back to them].

‘With that in mind, I recommend the ….’ [Best solution, with an explanation of why it is the ideal way to go].

Give information related to their enquiry and that leads to a conversion

I’m sure you will get along really well with [podiatrist], people love him!

Also consider using the following style of language

“I'm sorry Mrs Jones Brian is a bit popular today however John has just had an availability open up at 3pm this afternoon let's book that spot and I will ask Brian to pop in at the start of your session to update John on what's been going on how does that sound?”

4. Enrol

The Enrol process involves the following steps:

1. Get Agreement

2. Deal With Objections

3. Answer Their Questions

4. Book the Appointment

5. Get Client Details

6. Make FollowUp Appointment

Get Agreement:

At some point, you must get some feedback from the prospect. The best way is to ask a rhetorical question, and get them to answer ‘yes’.

You say "So, it sounds like you’d benefit by [benefit 1], and [benefit 2]

“Does that sound like what you are looking for?”

Once you have this agreement, we can turn a price enquiry into booking an appointment

Deal With Objections:

At some point, the prospect will probably raise an objection. That’s fine as long as you know how to deal with them. The first thing you say is

‘Can you elaborate on that for me?’ Get them talking a bit more.

Be empathetic:

‘I understand that, and I used to think that way myself, but then I discovered…’

‘Yes, I know what you mean. Someone else said that to me recently, but here’s something that will surprise you…’

Then, it’s really up to you you need to determine the major objections and a way to acknowledge them then turn them around.

If someone says ‘I haven’t got the money’ , you could say ‘I understand that it’s usually short this time of year. But there’s some good news We don’t want money to get in the way of your health, so we allow you to pay it off over 2 months. We also accept credit cards.

Which of those would be most suitable for you?’

They may say ‘I can get it for $x somewhere else’.

You say “I’ve heard of people doing it for those prices. We believe that what we have to offer is valuable and definitely worth it. You might want to check with them to see if they offer the same sort of treatment.”

Of course, there’ll be times when you run into objections that can’t be answered.

If you offer your best payment plans and they still can’t afford it, then forget it. These people are not in our target market; remember you can’t sell to people who don’t have the means to buy.

Answer their Questions:

How long will it take?

● “Allow 40 minutes for the initial consultation”

How much is the appointment?

● “The initial assessment is 120, if you have your private health fund card we can claim on the spot.”

How much will my health fund cover?

● “It’s hard to say because it is different for each level of cover. If you like, I can give you the item code and you can call your health fund to check your benefit entitlements”

What will the practitioner do?

● We’ll ask you some questions and take you through a full assessment to work out what treatment you will respond to best, and then get started with treatment straight away. Then they’ll talk with you about the best treatment plan for you.

How much is (a particular product/ service)?

● It’s hard to say because there are different needs for different people. To find ther ight option it might be best to make a time to discuss this with the [practitioner] as they will be able to help you find the most cost effective treatment. Can I arrange a time for you to come in?

● (If pushing the point) Again, it’s hard to say because of the range of options we provide, but a ballpark figure for the product itself would be around the 500 mark? But this could be different depending on what is needed. The caller is particularly difficult, and has many questions

● If we make an appointment time, I can arrange for the [practitioner] to give you a phone call beforehand so you can discuss your problem with them directly before you come in. That way you can get all the information you need, and get to know them before your appointment.

Book the appointment:

The first thing to do is trial an assumptive close. That is, ‘we’ll make an appointment now would you prefer tomorrow or Thursday?’

Availability:

“What day suits you?”

“Morning or afternoon?”

Alternatively, you could make the decision for them:

Instead of saying ‘Would you like to book in for your appointment now?’, why not say ‘I’d like to book you in for your appointment now would today or tomorrow suit you better?’.

If your close fails and they say ‘no, not yet’ or ‘I don’t want to’ , or “ I need to check my diary”

Say “Is there anything else you need to know? Is there anything that you are worried about?”

Get Client details:

Can I have your name please? Mobile number? Address? Email?

Make Followup

Appointment

While I’ve got you on the phone, the podiatrist may also want to see you for a follow up a week later. If I can book something for you now it will save time, and we can change it if not needed.

Do you know where we are?

● Give directions and landmarks to help your client find you.

● Please come 15 mins earlier to fill in some paperwork and allow us to serve you better.

● I’ll send you a letter in the post / email with further information and an SMS to remind you of your appointment the day before.

5. Enthuse

Thank the patient and reinforce the appointment time. Be enthusiastic and leave the phone call on a high note.

“Excellent, I’m looking forward to meeting you!”

“Thanks, will anyone else be coming with you?”

“Thanks so much for your call, and I look forward to seeing you at [appointment time]”

“Look out for your welcome letter!”