Introduction
With the advancement of technology and the increase in competition within your industry, it’s more important than ever to ensure that you’re converting as many leads as possible into paying customers. When someone calls or visits your practice, don’t let them walk away without knowing what they need to do next. Remember: everyone who comes through your door is a potential patient for tomorrow. Here are some tips for ensuring that happens:
It’s important not to let leads get away!
It’s important not to let leads get away.
Many dentists know that they need to convert their leads into patients and make money, but sometimes they forget how important it is to convert these leads. The consequences of not converting your dental practice’s leads into paying customers include:
- Losing money
- No growth in business for yourself or others in your office (e.g., staff members)
- You will be unable to build a strong client base.
When someone leaves a message on your website, call them back ASAP.
When someone leaves a message on your website, call them ASAP. Make sure you have a process in place for responding to notices. Here are some best practices:
- Respond promptly. If you don’t hear from the person within 24 hours, email them again and let them know how long it will be before you can get back to them.
- Respond consistently. If someone has been waiting more than 24 hours for an update or just wants an update on their appointment, they’ll start to feel like they’re not being taken seriously—and they’ll probably go elsewhere. So make sure that when people fill out lead data on your site, you respond quickly and let them know what’s going on with their request as soon as possible; otherwise, they may think their response wasn’t received and find an alternate practice.
- Respond professionally and cordially because this shows respect toward potential clients and that you care about them and their business.
When offering multiple options, give people ideas and suggestions for what to do next.
- Give people options, but don’t overwhelm them.
- Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals!
Build trust by being genuine, authentic, and providing accurate information.
You have to be genuine, authentic, and confident in your abilities. People want to know that you are a trustworthy person who will provide them with the best care possible.
You must also have the knowledge and ability to answer questions, address concerns, and explain all of your services’ benefits and any risks involved if they choose not to take action on their oral health issue(s).
Be transparent in the way you convey information to patients.
When you’re in front of a patient, whether for an initial consultation or an appointment, provide them with as much information about your practice as possible. This includes things like:
- Your strengths and weaknesses as a practice – You don’t have to list every detail on the website. Instead, focus on the most relevant aspects of your practice and what makes it unique. If there are specific procedures that you specialize in because they’re particularly difficult or expensive, highlight those!
- What can I do for patients? – Give patients an idea of what services are available at your office and what they should expect from each one (for example: “We offer full-mouth reconstruction dentistry using veneers”).
- What can’t I do? – Tell them if any treatments aren’t offered (for example: “We don’t offer laser gum surgery or complete implants due to time constraints”).
Create an experience that lets people feel comfortable and cared for.
- Create an experience that lets people feel comfortable and cared for.
The first step toward converting your dental leads is creating a welcoming environment for them. This means offering a warm, clean office with friendly staff ready to help patients feel comfortable—and it also means being aware of how you come across as you interact with them. For example: Are you confident? Do you make eye contact? Do your body language and tone of voice convey friendliness and openness? If so, great! You’re already starting to create an atmosphere encouraging patients to commit to dental treatments.
Don’t let potential dental patients slip through your fingers.
Don’t let potential dental patients slip through your fingers. Using the following tips to follow up with your leads will help increase your conversions:
- Don’t let leads get away. If a patient leaves a message on your website, always follow up with them within 24 hours.
- Don’t let people fill out information through your website and not respond. If you don’t follow up with potential dental patients within 24 hours of receiving their information, you risk losing that lead forever—and it’s not worth taking the chance! You never know when they’ll come back looking for another dentist… or someone else might be able to get in touch before you do! Partner with Growth99 to help automate the process to give you more time working on or in your practice.
- Don’t let people leave messages on your website and then ignore them, then let them go. Suppose someone is interested enough in contacting you about scheduling an appointment but doesn’t hear back from down the road after sending an inquiry. In that case, chances are good that person will keep looking until he finds someone who does respond quickly and professionally—and that won’t be YOU!
Conclusion
Dental leads are valuable and can be the key to your success. By following these tips, you’re already on your way to converting more of them into paying patients! Don’t let potential clients slip through your fingers; instead, turn them into paying customers by following our advice above and keeping them informed every step.
