Fan Favorite | Boost Your Phone Skills

Transcript Performed by A.I. Please Excuse the Typos

00:00
So the great call process is a five-part process. It’s an acronym. So great, each letter stands for a different major part of the process. And we just picked an acronym like great because we want your calls to be great. It’s also easy to remember. So G is the greeting. Then R stands for rapport. E is engage the patient. A is ask for the appointment. And T is take information or it can be think if you already have their information.

00:32
This is Dental All-Stars, where we bring you the best in dentistry on marketing, management, and training. Hi, everyone. I’m Alex Nottingham, CEO of All-Star Dental Academy, and welcome to Dental All-Stars. The topic today is sizzle up your phone skills, and our guest is Heather Nottingham. Heather is the VP of Training and Phone Skills instructor at All-Star Dental Academy. She is a former retail sales manager and trainer for Bloomingdale’s Kate Spade Theory, and she was also

01:01
a top new patient coordinator for a multi-million dollar high-end dental practice where she personally increased revenue by over a million dollars in less than 18 months. She has over 24 years worth of customer service training and phone skills experience and designed the All-Star Dental Academy Phone Success Course as well as the Great Call Process. Heather will be joining us at the All-Star Practice Growth Summit on May 19th and 20th in South Florida. Please welcome.

01:30
Heather. Hey Alex, thanks for having me and thanks for setting up this nifty microphone. I have to admit you’re the most complicated of our guests, but that’s okay. I’m like the Mariah Carey of all the guests, sorry. Absolutely, but it’s well worth it. It’s well worth the content. Thank you. Because Heather wants to make sure everything is perfection. So we’re talking about…

01:55
sizzling up your phone skills. And as I mentioned in the bio, you’re the phone skills instructor, you created the great call process, actually give us a little bit of background of why you ended up creating the great call process. How did it manifest? I think working in the dental practice for so long, and I kind of had my own system and process, but then teaching it to others, I was like, what am I actually doing?

02:21
And so I had to think about it. And one of the things that I noticed from, you know, doing different trainings and coachings and seminars and things like that in the past is whenever it came to phone skills, it was more theoretical. was like, oh, you say this or you do that. It was either theoretical or it was a script. And I didn’t like either of those approaches. I felt like I wanted to have something that was very recipe-like. I feel like

02:50
team members, it’s easier for them to remember. They’re not gonna remember a script. And if they’re reading something off of a script, it’s gonna sound scripted, which sounds robotic and fake. you have no process, no step-by-step process, and it’s just theoretical, you don’t really know what to do in what order. So it’s just really cool verbiage. But if you’re saying it out of context, like if somebody calls up and says, do you take my insurance? And you’re like,

03:17
Well, you go into this whole thing, but you don’t have a rapport with the patient, it doesn’t work. So the great call process was created specifically because there are certain steps that have to happen in a certain order for it to work. So that’s why we did it like that. Well, tell me about the great call process. For those many of our members, or all of our members know what the great call process is, and those that have seen our webinars understand what it is, what is the great call process?

03:47
So the great call process is a five-part process. It’s an acronym. So great, each letter stands for a different major part of the process. And we just picked an acronym like great because we want your calls to be great. It’s also easy to remember. So G is the greeting. Then R stands for rapport. E is engage the patient. A is ask for the appointment. And T is take information or it can be think if you already have their information.

04:17
And I remember that we tried for many years, different formulas. We tried sales training and that would get a lot of people into the office, but they wouldn’t convert and they would be unhappy because they weren’t getting a experience. what we love about the great call process is it accomplishes both in sense of it has a direction to it, but you’re building rapport, you’re building a relationship and there’s no miscommunication. There’s nobody upset.

04:46
the patient gets the all-star patient experience. Right, and they really need, the order works the best. It’s almost like you describe it as a lock and key combination. I talk about it before as a recipe where it’s like, if you’re following a recipe, there are certain things you need to do in a certain way. Otherwise, if you’re baking a cake, the cake’s not gonna rise. Like if you put the eggs in after or you do something in the wrong order,

05:15
It’s the same thing with the great call process. So we naturally greet the patient. We wanna get their name first. That’s a big one that a lot of people don’t do. We wanna know who we’re speaking to so we can use their name in conversation. There’s different aspects of the greeting. Then we move into rapport. So we wanna have that personal friendly connection. We wanna like the patient. We want them to like us. Then once we go into engage, which is what we’re gonna be talking a little bit about today for the sizzle,

05:45
You then already have the rapport established. You know who you’re speaking with. And then it’s easier to kind of talk about some of those tougher questions, talk about price, talk about showing the value when you already have the rapport. If you try and engage the patient off the bat, which is what a lot of offices and team members do, it doesn’t work as well. Cause they’re like, I don’t know you, I don’t like you. I’m putting, you know, I’m just putting the price into, I’m not.

06:13
I’m commoditizing you essentially. So it doesn’t work as well that way. Right. That’s the example we give in our webinar. We talk about that somebody calls and says, what do you charge for veneers or dental implants? And you give them the price and they go, oh, okay, I’ll call back later. Cause what happened is they went to answering the question right away and they engaged. And so there was no rapport built. They didn’t even have a greeting and

06:43
they leave, price shopper. Now some other offices, what they’ll do is they just won’t answer the question and that frustrates the patient or the prospect. So we answer the question, but we put it into context. And part of this is- guess or know. Exactly, and part of this is the share the sizzle. So share the sizzle is found in the E section of great, correct? Correct, yes. What is share the sizzle? So-

07:09
There’s an old term from the 1920s. was an old marketing thing called sell the sizzle. They used to say, sell the sizzle, don’t sell the steak. It was like a marketing thing that they would do. And it was really about like, if you were going to a steak restaurant, if you just say, yeah, this is, we have this steak. Are they going to be interested? But if you describe it, if you kind of like give all the juicy details, like they were talking about this.

07:37
example that I was watching where they talk about a steak and it’s the bone in ribeye and it’s juicy and it’s falling off the bone. It’s going to have twice as much flavor as the regular steak, $20 more. People were willing to pay for it because they were showing the value. We at All-Star, we don’t really believe in sales, sales tactics. We’re more about educating. And so we kind of changed it up.

08:02
And instead of sell the sizzle, became share the sizzle. Because we want to share it with them. We want to highlight our practice. We want to talk about that wow factor and the value, but without being super salesy. So that’s where it came from. So what are the three attributes or what are the attributes about sharing the sizzle? What are they? These are just some little things that I came up with in. uh

08:29
putting together when I would talk to people on the phone and what we teach in the program as well is the three, it’s kind of like the three S’s of sharing the sizzle. So specific, it has to be specific, special, and it has to stand out. So kind of three S’s or SSSO stand out. ah But yeah, it’s really, uh

08:58
making sure that we, so I can go into the three if you want. Yeah, we’d love to. The first four specific, for example, we wanna make sure that we’re really listening to the patient’s wants and needs. So we do that during the report section where we’re asking them questions, tell me more about this. What did you not like about your previous dentist? What are you looking for? If they say that they’re a fear patient, whatever those things are.

09:25
We want to be listening and taking notes so that when we go to do the sizzle, and one of the things I’ll point out is when we listen to calls, it’s from other offices and different things. The sizzle is one of the biggest things that is missed in terms of missed opportunity that’s not being done. And I think it’s because they either don’t know to do it or they feel uncomfortable doing it. It’s something you have to practice.

09:55
feel confident in that you know these are the things that if somebody asks me, why should I choose your practice? Boom, you know right away. And you have specific ones for different types of patients. So for example, if you have a patient that is a fear patient, we’re not gonna be talking about cosmetics. We’re not gonna be sizzling on, this doctor is the top cosmetic dentist.

10:23
We’re not gonna be going into descriptions on cosmetic procedures. We’re not gonna be going into a lot of detail on anything except how well we’re gonna take care of them and all the things that we have to take care of somebody like that. So for in your dad’s practice, my father-in-law, it was, you’re a fear patient. We’re gonna take great care of you. We have patients like you all the time. I might use the feel felt found verbiage, which is,

10:54
I totally understand how you feel. Patients have felt like this before when they’ve called up. And what we found is when they came here, they were 100 % comfortable and they raved about the experience and now they’re a patient for life. So that would be something that would be specific to a fear patient. If we have a cosmetic patient, we’re gonna talk about what are the benefits, what are the features of the practice, what are the sizzle points for that type of patient.

11:22
So it really just depends. That’s where the specific comes into play. So special is the second S. And so with special, we wanna make sure that we’re highlighting maybe some different awards, achievements, accolades of the doctor, the hygienist, whatever it is, whoever is the provider. And this is something for the team that everybody should be talking about. So we’re all aware of what.

11:50
what we have as our sizzle and we can talk about that a little bit later in terms of implementation. But special would be like, if the doctor does a lot of continuing education, if it’s some special award or recognition for whatever it is. So those are different things that the office would individually craft as they’re creating their sizzle points. And then the third we talked about is standout.

12:20
And to me, that means what makes you unique? What sets your office apart? Because there’s so many dental offices out there. There’s so many choices that patients have. And it’s really, I think we can stand out by just listening, making sure that we sound like we care about the patient, taking an interest in them, building rapport. So I think some of that happens naturally. Some of the sizzle happens naturally during the call.

12:48
It’s not like just checking a bunch of boxes. However, I think that when we get to this part, it’s like, how are we unique? What are we gonna do? Maybe that’s like the, you know, the stake where we’re describing it. Paint the picture in the patient’s mind of when they come here. It’s like, oh, you’re gonna feel like you’re in a relaxing spa atmosphere. ah It could be telling them that if they’re interested in Invisalign, for example, we are the top.

13:17
1 % Invisalign provider in this area. Or, hey, I see that you’re interested in implants. Our doctor not only is the top implant provider in this area, he or she actually teaches other doctors implant procedures. So when they’re thinking, like, who do I want to go to? Somebody that just does it or somebody that also teaches it to other people? So all of these different things.

13:43
And this is where, when we talk about implementation, it’s going to come to talking with each other and practicing and really getting an understanding of what makes the office special. Cause some team members might not be aware of that. It sounds like there’s so many missed opportunities on phone skills, and this is just one of them. And in our webinar, we talk about, and I can put a link to the webinar as well. And this is a free webinar. We talk about these opportunities missed.

14:13
And this is another one. I mean, these are softballs, which means they’re easy to hit and, or not even that. I don’t think often the team is even aware of it. This is an opportunity. like, Oh my goodness. The patient is waiting for you to say this. Like we had, we did a webinar with Larry Gazzardo about referrals and that patients are expecting you to ask them. And patients are waiting to hear something to delight them about your practice. And this is like the stage to do it.

14:42
And here we go. And it doesn’t happen. And often doctors will get mad at their team. Like, gosh, now, obviously if they’re rude, that’s a whole personality issue, but they’re like, oh, they miss these opportunities. And the sizzle is a more advanced technique to be aware of, but they’re like, that was an opportunity to say something. And often it’s hard for a dentist to kind of say, tell them how great I am. Cause they feel a little bit uncomfortable about that. You can’t get upset at the team because

15:12
You have to ask yourself, did you train them? Did you provide them the support? And not just the information, they can say, oh, listen to this podcast with Heather and now everything is fixed. No, because we’re talking about her phone skills course in our online training program is the most comprehensive detailed course in the market, not even close. And sizzle isn’t necessarily just on the phones too, I’ll point out.

15:39
We’re sizzling on our website. So your marketing company has to share the sizzle on your website effectively to get them to call and pick up the phone. But really the first impression, the first opportunity is that first phone call. And then the sizzle continues not just in the first phone call, but when we’re getting them to schedule an appointment, when we want to make sure they show up for the appointment, when they’re in the chair, I can’t tell you how many times.

16:08
patients in the chair, they’re sitting there and they say, like, why should I do my treatment with you? Or even more so what happens and doctors might not be aware of this, doctor presents treatment, doctor leaves the room, patient turns to the assistant and says, so what do you think about all this? Like, why should I come here? And then if the assistant’s like, well, you know, like it’s not gonna happen. So that all…

16:37
that all makes a big impact. So it’s really, gotta all be sharing the sizzle and we can’t have amazing person at the front answering the phone, but then the clinical team doesn’t know the sizzle either. The marketing companies will often say that without proper phone skills, it’s a waste, the marketing. And often they’ll push clients away saying if you’re not doing the investment that it’s really not worth our time and risk. Now, just picking up what I was saying before,

17:07
So you say, well, we have the information, we see it. That’s number one. We have to have awareness is number one. Then we need information. Then you have to train and training is also role playing, practicing, being ready. And team members were often saying doctors, I know, ooh, we hate hearing that. I know already. I’ve heard that already. Well, you got to hear it again. Repetition is a mother of skill and then demonstrate you can do it. Oh, that’s easy. Okay. Role play.

17:37
go do it. And they’d be like, uh what, what do I do? And when you put a real patient on the phone, they, they go back to the old way. They, they’re not thinking. So it’s easy in theory, but in practice, it takes a lot of time. So people listening now you’re saying, Oh, Heather, sounds so easy what she’s doing. Well, for this podcast, she prepared and she even wrote a course on it.

18:07
And I still am coached and still practice and review my stuff. It’s not like, oh, I got it, I’m done. You gotta always be improving. What should team members know about the sizzle, sharing the sizzle?

18:24
I think that there’s two scenarios that happen. The first scenario is that a patient will outright ask, what sets your office apart? Why should I choose you? I heard a call a few months ago, ah great doctor, really, really nice, beautiful practice in the South, which, you know, they’re always charming. And uh the patient called up, she was a fear patient. She was interested in an implant.

18:54
She said price was no issue for her. She’s like, I don’t care what the cost is. I just, was supposed to get my treatment done in another office. Didn’t feel comfortable there. Didn’t feel like they cared. It was disorganized. So I’m not moving forward with that office. I’m looking for another office. And she asked the girl on the phone and the girl could not be less warm. It was like.

19:19
like, oh, it was so easy, like, oh, you know, we’re going to take great care of you. You want to hear that empathy in the voice and that like genuine care, that understanding and make her feel comfortable. And the girl was just like, mm hmm. Yeah. Okay. And I was like, oh my gosh. And then when the patient asked why, you know, why should I come to you? Is your doctor good? She said, yeah.

19:49
my doctor’s good, he’s really nice, I see him myself. And I was like, I hope you see your own doctor if you work there, like that’s not a good sizzle. So I mean, that was a huge missed opportunity. So we have to be prepared if the patient asks that, whether they’re asking over the phone, in the chair, whatever. However, the biggest missed opportunity I think is oftentimes the patient doesn’t ask that question.

20:18
but they’re still thinking it, right? So we have to proactively talk about that and say, let me tell you a little bit about our office, right? It’s like, because sometimes they wanna know the price or they wanna know different questions like that. You have to put the price in context, especially if you’re a fee for service office, you’re out of network, whatever, you have to show the value that

20:48
you know, this is what we’re going to do. This is how we’re going to take care of you. Then we talk about those other things. Once we’ve built rapport and we’ve shared the sizzle and put the price in context, then it’s like, well, wow, I get all that. You know, I feel like I’m coming to a spa. So it doesn’t, it doesn’t make it as difficult. And then once they get to that point, the price isn’t as big of a deal. So those are the major things I would say for team members to be aware of is to practice and say it proactively.

21:18
get comfortable being a cheerleader for the office and for the doctor because people will pick up on that if you don’t feel confident about it. And if you don’t know what you’re talking about, like if you just say your doctor’s nice, that’s sharing the stake. Oh, he’s a great dentist. Like everybody says they’re a great dentist. You know what I mean? So you can’t just use that. You have to be more specific. Yeah, it’s generic. It doesn’t stand out.

21:47
I think of another theme called the silent killers. And we talk about that in our dental practice excellence webinar. And as you can see, you may not have been aware of this. And we’re just talking about one aspect of the phone call that you’re not aware of. And they’re huge missed opportunities because they’re, they’re guised and they’re so nice. They’re so good to the patients. They’re so sweet. But

22:16
as you can see, they’re missing opportunities, tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from just these phone skills mistakes. That’s why we call them silent because they’re not apparent. They’re not in your face. Heather, what would be one thing that we can put in tomorrow to improve the sizzle tomorrow? What’s one simple thing the doctor can do just on the sizzle tomorrow with their team?

22:44
I would have a meeting and just write down, I would have everybody write down what they think their top three sizzle points are for the office or for the doctor. It doesn’t take very long. You can say, are the top three sizzle points? And then go, you know, rank them in order of like, which one you like the best. I think that’s a simple topic to cover at a meeting because you can kind of get a sense of what does everybody think our sizzle is for the office.

23:14
Like if they’re tasked to do it on their own, I would say, like, if I asked you, what are your top three things that set our office apart? What would it be? And then have everybody write it down and just quickly go over them. And, you know, maybe you could do a workshop method where you put it on the board and then you rank them and everybody can kind of vote on their top ones. But it’s interesting to see some people might not have very specific ones. You know, oh, our doctor’s really nice. It’s a family atmosphere like

23:44
you kind of see like there was ones that a lot of people will say. And we want to make sure that, okay, we can take that, but expand on it. Yeah, our online program, you discuss that in your course, what to do, how to do it, and they take quizzes and they get feedback on that. I also would suggest that those who are not members, mean, great to be members, you can also, depending on which way you’re consuming this information,

24:13
Right? Whether you’re listening on your podcast, whether you’re following us on the social media channels, because we post every day, we have a little snippet, one minute snippet of some of these interviews. And then we link to the entire interview. Plus we’re on YouTube. So you can get the video version or audio and share with your team. This is a great one to share and Heather can teach your team. There’s a little sizzle. So that can be helpful in the training. The next step I would recommend for all of you.

24:42
There are some two resources I’m going to put in the show notes. One is loving the phone, which is an ebook. One of the many ebooks that Heather wrote that you can get. And there’s also the dental practice excellence webinar that I do several times a week. We’ll talk about phone skills, broken appointments, turnover, a lot of these areas to combat the silent killers and to help grow your practice. The online program.

25:12
We also have 22 plus role play examples. Oh, good point. And we go through the role plays as well as the transcripts of those. So you can see, what are we saying? There’s a lot of really good sizzle examples in there. So if you don’t have good ones, you know, you can look at those and those will be helpful. That is a good point because you have the model, you have the transcripts. So we’re not big, and we can do another webinar or another podcast on scripts versus verbiage.

25:41
because you want verbiage, not scripts. It’s a whole nother thing. Yeah. You don’t want to like read it verbatim, but that gives you a guide to handle all these situations, which you have alluded to and you have done. So very good. Thank you, Heather, so much for being on the show and we’ll have you again next month. Yay. Thanks for having me. Bye, everybody. Please remember to follow us on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. And until next time, go out there.

26:11
and be an All-Star.

26:16
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Dental All-Stars. Visit us online at AllStarDentalAcademy.com.