8 Outgoing Phone Calls Your Practice Should Make

Episode #368 with Jenni Poulos

Every dentist and team member feels too busy — especially when it comes to making outgoing calls. But are you too busy to build your practice, or too busy to be more productive and profitable? You can create a better practice just by making phone calls, and Kirk Behrendt brings back Jenni Poulos to share how in Part Four of the Verbal Skills Webinar. To learn about the eight outgoing phone calls your practice needs to make, listen to Episode 368 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Put energy into keeping patients you already have.

Be proactive in how you're reaching out to patients.

Lean into the relational aspect when making calls.

Be aware of HIPAA compliance when making outgoing calls.

Prep with patient information for outstanding treatment calls.

Save-the-date calls give you the gift of time.

Reminder calls should be 24 to 48 hours in advance.

Reminder calls are reminders, not confirmation calls.

Set aside time to get these calls done.

Quotes:

“We don't want to be a reactive team. We want to be a proactive team. We always want to be proactive in how we’re reaching out to patients and the things we’re reaching out to them about. It allows us to eliminate E - R = C (Expectations minus reality equals conflict), it allows us to build value, and it allows us to control our days.” (1:43—2:02)

“People think they have to put so much energy into getting new patients into the practice — you do. And let's put some energy into keeping the patients that we already have. So, this needs to be something that is systematized that happens consistently. Don't tell me, ‘My schedule is full, so I don't need to make these calls.’ Because I'll tell you what, if you don't make them, eventually, your schedule is not going to be as full. So, this recare/recall, we’re going to reach out to our patients and we’re going to invite them to get back on the books.” (5:23—6:04)

“When you're making outgoing phone calls, you have to be aware of HIPAA compliance. So, if we are leaving a message, we’ve got to be careful about what we say. We can't leave any personal health information. We can't talk about specific treatment that a patient is going to be needing. So, we want to just lean into the relational component of these.” (6:08—6:32)

“I like to tell teams to just KISS [with recare phone calls]. So, Keep It Simple Stupid. ‘Doc and I were talking about you. Give us a call. Dr. Poulos and I were chatting. We were thinking about you today. He asked me to give you a call. Give me a call back.’ A key thing there is that it’s not just me, Jenni, team member, saying, ‘Hey, I'm thinking about you,’ it’s doctor and I saying, ‘Hey, we were thinking about you.’ That little extra layer is going to get you some more return calls.” (7:18—7:52)

“Stay on top of [recare phone calls]. Set aside time to get them done. And we’re just letting patients know, ‘We’re thinking about you. Give us a call back.’ And you'll be able to get them on the schedule.” (8:47—9:04)

“If I haven't seen you in two years, I did see you at some point, I've established some sort of relationship with you already. Let's try to re-call you back to the practice. Also, I want my data to be clean. I want the data in my software to be clean. I want to know how many patients I really have. So, you've got a lot of patients sitting in there that have moved or that are now seeking care elsewhere. I want my software to accurately reflect the status of my patients. So, [the purging call] is going to help you get there.” (9:24—9:55)

“The reality is that the farther and farther and farther a patient goes away from being in your chair, the harder it is to get them back on the schedule and the harder it is to get...