GETTING RESULTS

Rod Solar of LiveseySolar Practice Builders gives some tips on how to turn more phone calls into consultations

Every day ophthalmology businesses are losing potential customers on the telephone, and it’s completely unnecessary. After evaluating thousands of recorded inquiry calls made by real patients to ophthalmology businesses large and small, there is no mystery as to what works and what does not work. Our 10 years of research reveals 34 best practice distinctions correlated with world-class telephone call handling performance and better conversion rates. Results of putting these distinctions into practice are independent of the experience of the call handlers, the size of the business, the price point of the product, the geographic location or number of locations.

In this article I’ll share 10 of the 34 most important inquiry call handling practices that I routinely train telephone handlers to do, resulting in not only better conversion rates
but also better customer service reviews.

To make the most from your inquiry calls, you need to ask your callers questions that reveal the following:

1. Their objective and subjective view of the problem. Go beyond facts. Explore the caller’s feelings and how the problem affects their life.

2. The trigger for their desire, or “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. The specific event that motivates the caller to cross the “do-something” line. If you get a superficial answer, probe further for a descriptive past motivating incident. Probe for how the problem affects them at work or leisure.

3. What success means to them. Have them paint a picture of what future success looks and feels like. Make sure thatyou hear and use their own specific words when paraphrasing this back to them – do not assume you understandthem – verify it.

4. The date for when the solution must be in place. Specific events and dates work best. You may discover their decision is time sensitive and you can refer to this later in the conversation. Probe for how the problem affects them at work or leisure.