opticall webinar: give patients a reason to say "yes"

Give Patients a Reason to say

“Yes”

Positive Attitude is a Competitive Advantage


“Yes”

Staff Motivation

Customer at the Crossroads

Land of Business as UsualSeeking a “New Place”

» Land of Catchy Slogans» Land of Big Promises» Land of Lofty Vision

It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude. -- Zig Ziglar

Land ofBusiness as

Usual

Land of

Catchy

Slogans Land of

Big Promises

Land ofLofty Vision

Staff Motivation

» Understanding & Identifying Basic Patient Needs» Creating & Implementing Service Systems» Dealing with Problems & Complaints » Setting the Stage for WOM Referrals » Selling “the Experience”» Creating Passionate Team Members

Land of “Walk the Talk”

Survey

Engaged Not EngagedActively Disengaged

* Gallup Management Journal, January 2006

27%14%

59%

The Golden Rules

TREAT—others the way you’d

like to be treated— with dignity,

respect and courtesy

EMPATHIZE—customers need to believe you feel their pain, concern, etc.

LISTEN—to understand the

facts and emotions behind

the patient’s state

ATTITUDE—more important than skills and can be

contagious

“Signature Customer Service”

Do You See……. What Your Patients See?

The Boring Figure - wikipeida

Do You See……. What Your Patients See?

The Boring Figure - wikipeida

Survey: “Nose or Chin”??

Customer Service…

It involves the WHOLE TEAM!

Continues with follow up phone calls and written correspondence after the procedure!

Continues during the exam

Continues when the patient meets the staff

Continues when the patient enters the office

Starts on the telephone

-H. Jackson Brown

“Never forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.”

Important and Appreciated

• Becomes more personal• Friendly instead of sterileUse their name

• Be excited for them• Congratulate them for coming in

Acknowledge the decision is a big step

• People like to have their feelings validated• Helps them feel at ease• Go above and beyond – anticipate their needs!Give anecdotes

Re-engineering the Entire Practice

Doctor Techs Staff

Are you all on the same page?

Train & Involve Your Staff

Influence

Compliance

Dominance

Steadiness

DiSC - How do you fit together?

http://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/

Train for Service Excellence

» Match training to service standards» Equip the team with hard & soft skills» Keep training» Who needs to be “retro-fitted”» Measure your Patient’s Experience» Scheduled

˃ “Mystery Shoppers”˃ Patient Surveys

» Participant Survey

A Positive Attitude

» Is attractive and contagious» Promotes teamwork» Increases productivity» Seeks opportunity in every

difficult situation» Reflects peace» Wears a SMILE!

Of all the things you wear..

…your expression is the most important!

Applying Customer Service

Made to Feel Welcome,

Comfortable &Oriented

EstablishedTrust &Rapport

ConsistentService &

Follow-Through

EmpowermentThrough

Education

Safety & Security(Feeling in Control)

Recognized as an

“Individual”

Financial Counseling/Affordability

17

“Hierarchy of Patient Needs”

Power of the Daily Huddle » Drives change

» Changes habits» Real-time coaching» Involves whole team» Puts customers first» Discipline of doing it» Make it FUN

Leadership

Contact

» Every contact point between the patient & staff member should have a distinct & memorable opening

» 15% - Technical Skills» 85% - Communication, Presentation, Get Along,

Rapport, Emotional Intelligence

People Buy Who You Are… Not What You DO

Customer Requirements(Understand the Mind of the Consumer)

Customer Satisfaction

Quality Value

Service

Customer Requirements(Understand the Mind of the Consumer)

Customer Success

Quality Value

ServiceExam

Experience Price

It’s About A Feeling

» People base decisions on how they “feel”» It’s not just about great technology» It’s not just about great doctors

» It’s about FEELING like you made the right choice!

Refocus Your Team

» Your front line is your bottom line» Under promise and over deliver

˃ Personalize the experience» Implementation

For a Successful Patient Journey

Building Patient Rapport

Confidence through Communication

55% body language38% tone7% words

Confidence Builds Rapport

Great body language – impacts your attitude and can be used to impact others in a

positive and predictable way.


» 55% of overall communication is body language » “Turn on” before speaking to a patient, what’s your trigger?» Vary your body language based on the patient.» Stay upbeat, especially when managing patient expectations

and scheduling the procedure.» Have a passionate state and reflect this through your body

language when talking to a patient.

-Pete Cohen

“Attitude is the mind’s paintbrush, it can color any situation.”


» Proactive – confident and self-assured. These patients are knowledgeable and will be coming in seeking facts and assurance of your qualifications.

» Reactive – aggressive and focused on understanding how they will benefit.

» Inactive – timid and questioning of benefits

Patient Attitudes to Recognize:

-Harvey McCay

“If you wish others to believe in you, you must first convince them that you believe in them.”

» Everyday, we live our life with our beliefs.» Beliefs help us respond to situations & stimuli.» We carry mental recordings of our past in our minds & replay

them in certain responses. Known as stimulus (S) response (R) or S R.

» Many times this is an instinctual response & we don’t think.» Need to change this to S T R where T is thought or

thinking.» Think about your response first and modify it to optimize the

desired result.


Beliefs – your beliefs give you the certainty you need to be confident in providing the best level of service to your patients

Focus on patients and their needs:


» What can you can do for your patient?» Be curious about their lives, why do they want your services?» Be associated with their needs before they walk in the door.

Remember why we’re in business – to best serve our patients!

Flexibility – being flexible or adaptable is crucial for demonstrating and understanding your patient.


» Every patient is unique & you must adjust your style to connect.

» Be flexible with your style because you work with different types of people.

» Identify the patient’s style˃ Visual˃ Auditory˃ Kinesthetic

Engage imagination


» Engage them on how they will look & feel after….» Patients buy elective procedures for possibility reasons, not

necessity reasons like a heart bypass.» Focus them on what you’re offering.» Boost their self-esteem through the whole process.» Remember the outcome. » Use “what questions” – what will you do when…. or what are you

going to do differently?

– the patient picked your practice for the consultation!

Rapport – building a relationship with the person to whom you’re interacting.


» Pay attention to responses. Patients will engage if communicated to in their preferred channel.

» Channels – visual (like to see), auditory (like to hear) and kinesthetic (like to feel).

» You need to care – align with their concerns.» LISTEN - Most are only 25% effective at listening. We have

two ears and one mouth for a reason – listen twice as much as you talk!


“Yes”

Learning to Listen

Learning to Listen

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason, we need to listen twice as much as we talk.

» The average person listens at a rate of 500 words per minute, but speaks at the normal rate of 125 to 250 words per minute.

» Listener’s mind dwelling on other things » Listening skills are poorest when interacting with the people

we are closest to family and co-workers

Failure to LISTEN

» Building the Relationship» Understanding Motivation» Addressing FEAR» Comfortably discussing MONEY» Getting Contact Information» Following up on “Pre-Sold” Inquiries

Failure to LISTENLeads to Failure in:

The Voice and Customer Service

» Your voice and its tone are the most versatile tools you have. » It can translate your message into:

˃ Concern, care, compassion˃ Conversely, it can convey boredom, neglect or contempt˃ Goes a long way in helping customers feel valued and cared for˃ Remember, “It’s more than what you say, it’s how you say it, too!”

Listening

Listening

» Don’t jump into the discussion» LOOK for individuality

˃ Personal Item˃ Appearance˃ Body Language

» Comment on… » Connection to…

˃ In the Moment

LOOK Before You Talk

Embracing SILENCE

» The 10 Second Pause˃ Count to 10 after you ask˃ Encourage Elaboration˃ Demonstrate Listening

» The Lincoln Approach˃ When asked how he prepared his speeches:˃ “I spend two-thirds of my time thinking about what the audience wants

to hear, and one-third on what I want to say”

Listening

Encourage Staff Listening» TEAM Effort to Report

˃ Telephone Comments˃ Exam Comments

» Process of Recording˃ Database Notes˃ Flags in Charts

» Have Regular Meetings˃ Role Play Exercises˃ Discuss Patient Comments

Listening

» Build the Relationship» Don’t Answer Unasked Questions» Match Your Prospect’s Tone» Ask for Commitment Upfront» Sell Emotion, Increase Credibility» Deal With Price Head On

˃ Believe In Your Price, Procedure, Practice, Surgeon, Team» Allow Prospect to Close

˃ “What would you like me to do now?”» Continue Relationship

˃ Post-Sell˃ Ask for Referrals˃ Stay In Touch

Putting “Listening” Skills to Work

Listening

EVERYONE On The TEAM Is Involved At One Point Or Another!

Let’s Review

In Closing…

» Prepare and do your homework.» Come alive.» Engage the patient and get his/her attention.» Get them to trust you and like you.» Create interest by making it important for them.

Remember…You must be

committed to customer service

EVERY day, EVERY patient!

Thank You for your attention & participation!

I encourage you to take personal responsibility for the success of your practice.

Questions?

Coni Sweeney FisherCSF Consulting

[email protected]