Every call is important and is an opportunity to build a new patient relationship!

By: Shana Chapman, Senior Practice Services Specialist, at Phonak

When patients call your practice, you want them to feel confident about making an appointment and that they will receive the best care when they arrive. The front-office staff are typically the patient’s first impression of your practice. That is why it is so important that they receive the proper training to represent themselves, your business and your brand overall!

We have all been in the position of going into an office that is chaotic, perhaps seeing the front-office staff being short with customers, answering the phone improperly or simply a lack of empathy to who is in front of them. Most of us would decide not to return to that business since the first impression was not as expected. With Phonak E.D.G.E. you can eliminate events like that happening while providing a seamless experience. It’s an exclusive training designed with your patients in mind from the help of a former patient care coordinator who has been part of the hearing industry for 13 years.

By taking this training your front-office staff will learn how to engage with prospective patients using proper call handling techniques while learning what the patients’ hearing health concerns are. This will result in a connection to help them discover valuable information that will be needed for the provider when they see the patient. By forming this connection, it helps make the patient feel comfortable and establish rapport. When the patient comes into the office, your front-end staff will be able to greet them with confidence and establish trust to guide them through the remainder of the appointment process. This will then lead them to be empowered to make a positive decision in their hearing journey.

When I first helped design this training, I considered all the challenges I faced as a PCC. Patients who would not open up, seemed to have lack of interest in attending their appointment and even the patients who called simply for just pricing. I then thought about ways I turned these situations around to create a more positive patient experience and it all started with what I do best, which is talk. I was more empathetic on my calls, answered challenging questions with better answers and always made the patient feel important. They are vulnerable at this time, having hearing issues is not easy. I often told my own hearing story all while following the proper phone protocol. By the time they arrived in my office, we knew a lot about one another and started building a relationship which made it easier for them to be proactive regarding their hearing health. Doing these things on a consistent basis made the flow easier to manage and patients came and left happy.

By investing in Phonak E.D.G.E. you can expect great training to make your front-office staff even better than they are now. You will see improved morale which in turn will result in retention of patients. Being a PCC was one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had in my career, especially when it came to connecting with patients. Having the proper training is the key to unlocking your staff’s true potential. Try it today, you will be glad you did!

And if you still aren’t sure, check out this comment from Steve Reinshuttle, CEO, America’s Best Hearing LLC.

“CallSource did a great job training my staff and I would highly recommend this service to any practice. My PCC’s got a lot out of the training and their call-to-appointment conversion ratio improved by 15% after implementing the Call Coaching.”