The first person a patient notices when they enter your practice is the receptionist. From the way your receptionist greets new arrivals to the experience they provide in the waiting room, this front-of-house staff member often takes on the role as the face of your practice.
Whether or not you’re utilizing your receptionists for more than just booking appointments, it’s important to recognize that front desk staff have the ability to persuade guests and influence their all-around practice experience. One of the simplest ways they can enhance this, while also increasing the bottom line, is through the art of selling. From upgrading treatments to recommending products, these valuable staff members are relationship-builders that should be treated as such.
Here are our top three teachable tips to help train your front desk staff improve their sales skills:
1 – Counter Objections
One of the more common scenarios practices face are customers looking for a deal and cost breakdown over time. While the sentiment is understandable, it’s important the front desk is able to handle it with ease.
Below are some helpful ways to engage with both concerns:
- Offer free consultations, but if you’re getting a lot of no-shows, charge $25 for a consultation fee — applied towards purchase.
- If someone is hammering about pricing, use a range: “Body contouring treatments start at $1,000, and the average is approximately $3,000. We have a great promo going on right now, too!”
When your staff comes across as knowledgeable and accommodating, patients feel more comfortable — just be sure everyone is aligned with up-to-date promos, deals, and protocol.
2 – Build Trust
Another common patient behavior is last-minute cold feet. While the comfort of your patient trumps all, a lot of the time a lack of education or transparency is at the core of your customer’s concern.
Teaching your front desk staff to eloquently educate while also fostering mutual trust can help assuage concerns.
Below are some easy tips to help develop a straight-forward, honest rapport:
- Always highlight the personal and custom approach you take to consults and treatment protocols. No two patients are the same and no two treatment protocols are the same.
- Highlight 1:1 private consultations with trained professionals.
- Highlight your top-of-the-line equipment/devices.
- Educate the front desk on all services you offer , including how many sessions a patient may need to see their desired result.
3 – Upsell Effectively
Finally, be sure your front desk staff understands the importance of upselling. After countering patient concerns and establishing trust, they have the ability to influence the purchase. Teach your employees to get another appointment on the books, splurge on a premium add-on, or purchase an effective skincare product.
Below are some tips to help your front desk staff upsell seamlessly:
- Discuss personal favorite products with customers already purchasing and confidently suggest complementary ones that correlate with the existing purchase.
- Following an appointment, suggest a follow-up time and date rather than ask if they’d like to book one now.
- Offer an add-on to a pre-existing treatment for a more luxurious treatment (for example, a HydraFacial with LED LightStim to treat acne in addition to hydrating the skin).
When you improve and maximize the customer experience your bottom line increases, allowing you to expand your practice to new levels. Teaching your front desk staff selling techniques is a great way to get there.
Grow With Urge
At Urge Interactive, we’re more than just marketing experts. We give our clients and their staff the guidance they need to grow their bottom line to reach their full potential. Call (888) 348-3113 for a free consultation to discover what we can do for your business today.
