Cosmetic patients are trying to give you money … but you won’t answer the phone! It’s a serious, universal problem that you either don’t think you have, don’t think it’s a big deal or don’t know what to do about it.
How to Capture Cosmetic Patients that are trying to give you money
Just this morning, I made 10 calls to cosmetic practices and only 1 answered the phone with a human being.
The others:
- Didn’t answer after 6 rings so I gave up and hung up
- I got the phone tree from Hell with 5 options and hung up
- Their answering service picked up on the 5th ring and they didn’t know why the practice wasn’t answering their phone at 10 am in the morning and I should try again in an hour. Really?
- The answering machine said leave a message and we’ll call you back (that was 5 days ago from this writing and I’m still waiting for the call backs).
I can’t imagine what is more important than a prospective patient with a credit card picking up the phone to call you specifically to talk to you about become a paying patient.
They could have filled out your website form or your chat box or DM’d you on social media or text you if you offer that. But they didn’t.
Only the super serious prospective cosmetic patients actually pick up the phone and WANT to talk to you. Don’t you think you should be available?
Here is what I suggest you do immediately to turn phone calls into profits…
Answer the Phone with a Human Being
Have enough designated staff available and trained to take phone calls and book them to appointments.
So often, I see everyone in the practice pick up the phones but have no idea how to convert that caller to an appointment so true front desk staff must own this part of your practice.
Try this instead…
In busy offices, it’s popular to take the phones to the back office so it’s less hectic up front.
In other offices, they have a concierge answering the calls and then triaging them and sending them to the appropriate department.
And some offices use a backup concierge receptionist service that is very friendly and professional to act as the concierge to then route the call to the right person.
The goal should be to answer the phone with a human being within 3 rings.
Only 3 Prompts if you insist on a Phone Tree
These phone trees are out of control and the opposite of good customer service.
Some offices have so many prompts, you can’t remember all the choices, so you have to hang up and call back to listen a second time.
If you insist on using a phone tree, three prompts should be the max
- Dial 1: If you are a first-time caller, dial 1 for our receptionist
- Dial 2: If you have questions about post op care from your surgery, dial 2
- Dial 3: All other callers, dial 3
If you are toggling between cosmetic and insurance calls, consider using different phone numbers to identify them.
Post-op surgical cosmetic patients would be given a business-size card to call for any questions that come up so they would not tie up your receptionist.
On-Hold Messaging for Cosmetic Patients
Some offices know how important it is to pick up the phone, so they have that right, but now the receptionists are putting callers on hold and coming back in 20 seconds or 2 minutes (by the way, that feels like eternity when you’re the caller).
At least distract the caller with interesting information about your services, the benefits they’ll get and some bragging points about you.
There are numerous vendors that offer on-hold messaging. They even help you with scripts that can be read by a voice over professional.
And lastly, if you are answering your phones but not converting the callers, then you have a different problem that is costing you money. Click below for my Free 5 Phone Fixes Guide. Give it to your receptionist and she’ll be converting 30% more calls to appointments within 48 hours.
