My last few blog posts have been about the importance of great customer service as a way of differentiating your office from the competition. Perhaps no one in your practice is more influential in this regard as the person who answers your telephone. The telephone is the conduit for patients to enter the practice, and is the very first step in the key process of relationship building.

There are proven systems and scripting to convert phone leads into happy patients with an appointment. I would respectfully suggest that any new patient telephone interaction needs to be a minimum of ten minutes of back and forth dialogue. You need to create a major “WOW” in the mind of that patient based on the care you took to understand their individual needs and requests, and by the great customer service that was extended. That patient needs to feel when the call is over, that they have never had such a positive experience from any professional office.

When a dental practice understands the enormous lifetime dollar value of any new patient – both from dental treatment for that patient now and going forward, and the potential of referrals – they just have to become exquisitely good at converting calls to appointments.

Look for my next blog where I will share some tips on great telephone techniques that work.

The saying goes “that you never get a second chance to make a great first impression.” Delivering consistent – and NOT schizophrenic – exquisite customer service will separate you from your competition.

Providing this type of experience – by the doctor and by all team members – for each and every patient interaction – must become an essential part of the DNA of your practice.

This won’t happen automatically by some decree from on high. Don’t think that places like the Ritz Carlton got their reputation for unbelievable customer service without hours and hours of meetings, going over every last detail of what each staff member does in every situation. And as good as they are, they constantly strive to improve.

So make the commitment as a team to get started with planning and training to become a truly remarkable office. I feel that when it comes to customer service, it is not difficult to be outstanding when pretty much everyone else is so bad.

The biggest challenge facing any business today is to build and maintain a loyal, talented, dedicated, and customer service oriented team. The dental business is no different. It is absolutely impossible to have a great practice without a great team.

Building the best staff you can is an on-going process. I feel it is the responsibility of the dentist to create a nurturing environment where the best staff WANT to work. Pay well – anything different is penny wise and pound foolish.  Offer an outstanding benefit package,  and give people responsibility and opportunity for growth and advancement. Create easy to understand barometers to measure individual performance as well as overall practice results. Don’t be afraid to incentivize and reward outstanding performance. The greatest management principle in the world says that if you reward great behavior, you will get more of that behavior.

The two things that staff want more than sex and money is to (1) know that  they are appreciated and are doing a good job, and (2) that they have some opportunity to influence business and management decisions at the place they spend most of their waking hours. So go out of your way to tell them every day if they are doing a good job, and create communication opportunities where they feel that they have a voice to express ideas.

Building the perfect staff will take time. Resist the temptation to hire any warm body. be selective and don’t compromise your standards. The results will be well worth the effort.