Getting Started Guide

If you’re reading this it means we’ve already begun setting up your Campaigns, and there are a few things we would like to share with you in order for your practice to get the best results.

Since 2014, we’ve worked with dental practices all over Australia. After analysing thousands of calls, we’ve found there are 4 Key Benchmarks most practices should be paying attention to.

With a little teamwork and the help of the Benchmarks below, you and your staff can radically improve your results –– not just of the campaign, but of the practice as a whole. 

The 4 Key Benchmarks For Boosting Practice Results

1. Low Missed Calls
2. High Booked Appointments
3. High Patient Attendance
4. High Treatment Plans Offered

1. Low Missed Calls

Missed calls are calls that go straight to voicemail, or when the prospective patient hangs up at the start of the call. 

Why it’s an issue: It is crucial that the calls are answered in order to get bookings, which leads to more new patients for the practice. 

Recommended solution: Receptionists should always answer a call within 3 rings. If you're with a patient, simply answering the phone and putting the caller on hold works as well. We recommend that your practice should have at least 2-3 phone lines and enough receptionists working to avoid calls going straight to voicemail.  

2. High Booked Appointments

This is the number of enquiries who are booked in by your receptionists.

Why it’s important: It’s vital that your receptionists book in every enquiry who contacts the practice, so that the practice can convert those bookings into long-term patients and make the most of the advertising spend.

Recommended Resource For Receptionists:

Reception Training Manual

It contains the most common reasons where new patient bookings are lost on the phone and how to solve these problems.

Recommended Action Steps:

1. Print out 1 Training Manual for each of your receptionists
2. Train your reception staff before the campaigns go live
3. Continue training staff on a regular basis (schedule a meeting once a week, and then move to monthly).

We’ve found that dental practices who use this manual and prioritise training their staff on securing new patients see the greatest increase in the number of bookings.

Additionally, review How to turn every Phone Call into a New Booking as a guide for your receptionists when answering the phone.

Benchmark For Your Team To Hit: The percentage of enquiries which your receptionists turn into bookings should be 50% or higher.

3. High Patient Attendance

This is the number of patients who book into an appointment and show up. 

Why it’s important: We want a majority of new bookings to attend appointments so that you can begin to build strong relationships with your new patients.

Recommended Action Steps:

1. Send Appointment Reminders:
   • Send a reminder email so that patients can add the appointment to their calendar
   • Send reminder text messages 
   • Call to confirm the day of the appointment

2. Set up a Follow-Up System: When a patient cancels or is a no show, reception should always follow up with the patient. Call and email the patient, encouraging them to reschedule the appointment. This appears to be standard practice, however consistently ensuring this protocol is followed for each patient is key.

Benchmark For Your Team To Hit: The percentage of bookings that turn up to the appointment, therefore become a new patient to the practice should be 80% or higher.

4. High Treatment Plans Offered

This is the number of treatment plans or quotes for treatment presented to patients by your dentists.

Recommended Action Steps:

• Complete a General Check-Up for every patient that comes into the practice
• Ensure all dentists are consulting patients on the problems they diagnose and offering treatment solutions and prices at least verbally
• Ensure all major work to be completed of $1000 or more, is presented to the patient as a treatment plan and performed on the same day if possible

Benchmark For Your Team To Hit: the percentage of treatment plans that are offered compared to the total number of patients seen should be 80% or higher.