1. TODAY’S PRACTICE
Marketing Mishaps
The Telephone:
Friend or Foe?
First impressions can make or break you.
BY SHAREEF MAHDAVI
I
n a high-end service business like refractive surgery, The Right Person for the Job
there is simply no substitute for face-to-face, in-per- Your Director of First Impressions should be the most
son communication between the provider and the pleasant person you can find—someone not easily rat-
customer. If practitioners could entice all the con- tled who is never robotic in his response. If you pay
sumers interested in refractive surgery to meet them in your staff based on what they can contribute to prac-
person, many more procedures would likely take place. tice revenue, this person should be among the highest
The closest many inquirers ever come to having refrac- paid, because he has the ability to make or break the
tive surgery, however, is picking up the telephone, so it’s number of patients who actually walk through the door.
high time that surgeons recognized just how important He must have a near-magical ability to juggle multiple
the phone is to their business. calls on several lines, empathize with callers (making
them feel important and special) and deliver to them
D I R E C TO R O F F I R S T I M PR E S S I O N S the information they need. You can easily cripple these
For any business, the person answering the telephone skills, however, by overloading your Director of First
is (or should be) part of the marketing department. In Impressions with other duties and responsibilities for
fact, his title ought to change from Receptionist to the sake of staff efficiency. In the long run, this would
Director of First Impressions. This idea is based on age- be a penny-wise but pound-foolish decision.
old wisdom: You only get one opportunity to make a Only once you’ve addressed how your practice’s
first impression, so you must make it a good one. Indeed, phone will be answered will you be in a position to
it is sobering to realize that a con- move on to the next step—
sumer’s impression of what the designated Director
your business—your should say to callers
surgical skill, care for inquiring about your
patients, and invest- refractive surgery offer-
ment in equipment ing. The order here is
and facility—is important, because
formed largely by most providers empha-
how the phone is size the content rather
answered on that than the feeling. For
first call. Notice in refractive surgery, the
the previous sen- “what” part of the phone
tence the use of call should answer four
the word “how”; in basic questions: (1) What is
fact, how the the procedure? (2) How
phone is answered much does it cost? (3)
is initially much Why would I choose you
more important over another provider?
than what is actu- and (4) Where can I learn
ally said. more?
62 I CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY TODAY I MARCH 2003

2. TODAY’S PRACTICE
SURVEY SAYS … to avoid taking the bait. Whether the response is dead-
pan or humorous, the goal should be to relax the
Most of the surveys asking why people choose not caller—if even for a moment—and create an opportu-
to undergo refractive surgery procedures indicate that nity to learn about and address his needs.
price is the top deterrent. Anecdotally, I hear from
clients that eight of every 10 calls end right after the Communications Training
price is laid out on the table. Meanwhile, similar sur- Your Director of First Impressions needs solid training
veys among those who have had the procedure indi- in order to make the telephone an effective substitute for
face-to-face communications. Surgeons too often take
cate that price was not a primary consideration in
for granted the skills needed to be as communicative
their decision process. Does this mean that refractive over the phone as in person. In order to be well-honed in
surgery is only for the rich? Hardly. each of those staff members who “touch” your patients
“It’s too expensive” is a classic, impulsive response and prospects via telephone, such skills require training
from any consumer who doesn’t have enough data to and retraining. This idea also holds true with each alter-
make a decision. It’s similar to how we typically native to face-to-face meetings: cell phones, e-mail, and
respond to a salesperson who asks, “Can I help you?” snail mail, among others.
We automatically answer, “No thanks, I’m just looking.”
Your Director of First Impressions must move beyond PLEASE HOLD
this knee-jerk response to pricing and delve into the Have you ever noticed your own reaction when you
truth: potential patients are afraid to entrust their eyes
make a phone call and hear an unpleasant voice on the
other end? What about when you are put on hold? I
to the laser and those who operate it. Inquirers’ fear
personally can’t stand it. A friend of mine simply hangs
levels are so high that it’s much easier and faster to say up after 30 seconds on hold—even with his own cus-
“It’s too expensive” than to let down their guard and tomers! What do you do? Let the answer be a guiding
engage in a conversation about their hopes and fears force in how your staff handles calls to your office every
about refractive surgery. Only once the defensiveness day. Yes, the prospective patient must visit your office
goes away will one be able to provide answers to ques- in person to determine his suitability for a refractive
tions regarding price. At that point, the proposition procedure, but don’t let that keep you from making the
will have a much more receptive audience. In the most of the telephone conversation.
process, it would be wise to have an array of options The initial phone call is the moment when perception
available—patient financing, flexible spending plans, becomes reality; many of the battles to build interest in
credit cards, layaway—that focus on making the pro-
refractive surgery are lost at this very point in time.
Your time and money are best spent finding and keep-
cedure more affordable than cash.
ing the very best person(s) available to manage callers
in an inviting manner and motivate them to learn more.
The answers to these questions should be discussed No fancy psychology is required here, just basic polite-
with all staff, heavily scripted, and coached through a ness and a desire to help. This way, the phone becomes
role-playing process in which every staff member sits in an important weapon in your business arsenal and
the “hot seat” and learns how to answer appropriately. paves the way for the next step: the face-to-face meet-
The key is that staff members must develop enough skill ing. When performed effectively, telephone interactions
to be nondefensive (especially when it comes to pric- go a long way toward building the relationship you
ing), to be able to ask questions of the inquirer in order need and want with your prospective patients before
to understand his or her perspective, and to provide they ever walk through your door. ■
enough information to assist the caller in moving to the
next step (which could be to receive an informational Each month, industry veteran Shareef Mahdavi looks at
package, attend a seminar, schedule a consultation, or a different topic relating to the business of refractive sur-
watch a procedure). gery and explores how mistakes from the past can be used
What often happens, though, is that the caller will by all providers for effective marketing. He provides mar-
sound hurried and impatient, and staff members keting counsel to medical manufacturers as well as indi-
respond in kind. It doesn’t take much from a caller to vidual physicians and is based in Pleasanton, California.
make a staff person defensive by asking: “Why do you Mr. Mahdavi may be reached at (925) 425-9963;
charge so much for a 10-minute procedure?” The key is shareef@sm2consulting.com.
MARCH 2003 I CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY TODAY I 63