Published: 01/06/2022

Read time: 6 Minutes

It’s hard not to fixate on the traditional – and often more physical – ways of interacting with leads. Calls, face-to-face consultations, lengthy emails, and the idea that either you book them in immediately or you lose them forever are how we usually operate when looking at lead management – but perhaps it’s time for a change in approach.

We’ve been brainstorming some more engaging, interactive, and personal ways to build trust with your leads that might take a while to result in starting treatment, but what’s the rush anyway?

 

Video Consultations

We all know that eye contact and body language contribute greatly to the way we successfully communicate and interact with each other. We all know it only takes one badly worded message in the Whatsapp Group to cause chaos and misunderstanding!

If you’re unable to hold consultations in the practice or see leads in person, then how about using a video call to start the ball rolling.

 

Nothing New

Video Consultations in dentistry as nothing new – in fact, companies like Smile Virtual and the Tooth Fairy App have been touting them as the first step towards the Direct-to-Consumer model for some time now.

In a world that depends more and more on convenience and the ability to do business and personal activities from the comfort of your own home, allowing leads to take the first step towards treatment from a comfortable space.

This isn’t just the domain of lead conversion and nurture, though. Video consultations can be a great way to engage with build up trust with existing patients – particularly those who might have a fear or phobia of dentists. Empower them to control the situation from the security of their own home and the rest of treatment might just be that little bit easier for them.

 

How to do it

How you make your video consultations available and choose to conduct them will depend on how you manage and run your practice, but if you’re looking for inspiration there are some great examples and guidance out there that can help you mould your own approach.

 

Ignite Growth

Derek Uittenbroek and the team at Ignite Growth have years of experience in how to successfully market and advertise your practice to prospective patients. With that in mind, they’ve put together a great ‘how to’ recording for getting your video consultations up and running:

Example: Tooth Doctor

The Tooth Doctor has a great page on their website that not only promotes the idea of an online dental consultation, but simply and effectively talks through the process of how the video consultation works, what the lead can expect, and what they need to do first.

The Tooth Doctor – Online Dental Consultations

 

What Next

As with any consultation, phone call, appointment, the goal of your video consultation with a lead should always be to focus them on the next step, and encourage them to book in for their face-to-face appointment or OHA – no matter when that might be.

Make sure you go in to the consultation with a plan, the same way as you would if the lead was coming in to the practice, and if you’re conducting the consultation from home, ensure you have access to your practice management’s booking calendar so you can book that lead in there and then.

If you’re not able to see the lead for a few weeks, or months, or they’re not ready to commit to a date for the appointment then try to book in another catch-up call with them at a time that suits them. At the very least, encourage them to follow you on social media to keep up to date with service provision, promotions, or offers – and keep them in touch until they’re ready to get started.

 

Got a question…

or just want to talk through your lead management techniques, approaches, or plan for the coming months?

Contact a member of the DenGro Practice Support team for advice and guidance, email support@dengro.com or open a chat window in the bottom right-hand corner.