Taking Control of Your Practice Phones

TAKING CONTROL
OF YOUR DENTAL
PRACTICE
N E W
PHONES PATIENT! CALL
B O N U S
C R I P T
BEST PRACTICES S
FOR WORKING WITH
NEW PATIENT CALLS
HEATHER NOTTINGHAM
VP of Training
All-Star Dental Academy
www.allstardentalacademy.com | contact@allstardentalacademy.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HEATHER NOTTINGHAM
VP OF TRAINING
Heather is a former retail sales trainer and manager for

Bloomingdale’s, Kate Spade, and Theory, and a top new pa-
tient coordinator for a multi-million-dollar high-end dental
practice where she personally increased revenue by over a
million dollars in less than 18 months. She has over 24 years
worth of customer service, training, and phone experience,
and designed the All-Star Dental Academy Phone Success
Course as well as the GREAT Call® Process.
Copyright © 2020-2023 by All-Star Dental Academy, LLC.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
We encourage you to share this publication with all interested parties. The content within may be excerpted and/or
reproduced for non-commercial projects as long as you attribute the content to All-Star Dental Academy and link to
our website
ABOUT ALL-STAR DENTAL
ACADEMY
ONLINE DENTAL TEAM TRAINING & VIRTUAL COACHING
All-Star Dental Academy provides online, systematic practice

management training and coaching, created exclusively for
dental practices. Our training helps you improve practice prof-
itability and work/life satisfaction with proprietary and proven
training systems.
Our training programs help you with:

• Improving your practice’s call conversion rate and appoint-
ment scheduling
• Increasing show-up rate by reducing or eliminating broken
and cancelled appointments
• Improving case acceptance by taking customer service to
the next level (Think Bloomingdale’s meets Ritz-Carlton in
dentistry).
• All-Star training is available 24/7 so you can train when you
want to, and results are guaranteed!
THOUSANDS
OF NEW PATIENT CALLS
Every month, our team at All-Star Dental Academy completes
call grading for our eligible enrolled practices that record their
calls or use our call recording service. We listen to recorded
calls between team members and patients from each practice
and then return a thorough evaluation with detailed feedback
to the practice.
When grading these calls, we’ve noticed that many team

members initially lack sufficient control over their calls. This
leads to a poor call conversion rate (where a prospective new
patient fails to book an appointment), unsatisfactory patient
experiences, lost marketing dollars, and decreased revenue.
In order to provide the best care for a patient on a call, the team
member must take control at the very beginning.
In this guide, we’ll take a closer at the look core ele-

ments of a flawless patient phone call and what
your team members can do to covert new pa-
tient calls while creating a memorable experi-
ence for existing patients.
HANDLING A CALL – REACTIVE
VS. PROACTIVE
Consider a common scene: A new or existing patient calls the
office. They ask a question: “How much does a crown cost?” Or
they make a statement: “I want to make an appointment for a
cleaning.”
Typically, an untrained team member immediately goes into

what we call “reactive mode.” They simply answer the patient’s
question or immediately comply with their request. They don’t
make any attempt to slow the conversation down, get to know
the patient, or ask probing questions.
Being reactive may seem like an effective way to serve patients

because it focuses attention on their stated needs. But the
truth is much more complicated.
A reactive approach allows the caller to retain control of the

conversation. However, despite what the caller might think,
they are not the expert in this situation. I’m sure you would
agree that the patient does not always know the best ques-
tions to ask or the best order in which to ask them. They are
not familiar with all of the important factors to consider when
making an appointment, or even what type of appointment
might be best for them.
Incidentally, this is why we don’t recommend allowing a pa-

tient to schedule appointments online, but that is a topic for
another day.
Reactively answering the patient prevents the team member
from building rapport and asking important questions about
the patient’s needs. Without knowing the patient’s needs, how
can you know if they are the best fit for your practice?
POLITELY CONTROLLING THE

PHONE CALL
In order to have a successful call with a new patient, the team
member needs to be proactive – taking gentle and profession-
al control of the interaction so they can learn more about that
patient and determine how the office can best help them.
How do you effectively and non-confrontationally take control

of the conversation? You use what we call the Transition State-
ment. The Transition Statement is a simple phrase used at the
beginning of the call in the GREAT Call® Process.
GREAT is an acronym that stands for Greeting, Rapport, Engage,

Ask for the Appointment, and Take Info. This is our proprietary
five-step process for effectively handling patient calls.
Use the Transition Statement after the salutation and as part

of the Greeting to politely take control over the conversation.
You will take over asking questions, learn about the patient,
and build rapport.
A Transition Statement sounds something like this:
“I’d be happy to help you! Do you mind if I ask you a few questions,
so I can better assist you?”
This technique works whether they are calling as a new patient
or an existing patient. You are telling them that you can help
them and want to learn more about how best to do that. You
are also asking for their permission to take control and gather
more information.
Asking the patient for permission to guide the call also pro-
vides additional benefits: it’s going to help the patient feel
more empowered, improve your chances the patient will pro-
vide necessary information, and will likely result in an appoint-
ment. After all, when you ask considerate questions and show
you care about a person, they tend to relax and trust you more.
AVOIDING A POWER STRUGGLE

In the majority of cases, patients are going to be ok with this
shift of control. Who doesn’t want to be better assisted? (But
remember the verbiage - “May I ask you some questions so I
can better assist you?”) I sometimes hear concern from team
members about not answering the patient’s question directly.
This worry is alleviated by showing genuine concern for the
patient. Without compassion, your questions might sound like
an interrogation.
If you are friendly and helpful, then your questions will not be
seen as an interrogation but an investigation! Nearly all pa-
tients are just fine with this. After fielding hundreds of thou-
sands of patient calls, I can count on one hand how many call-
ers got upset over such an approach.
In fact, patients are grateful. Often, they call about one thing
when they actually need help with something else. They just
require guidance. If you don’t step up, then you’re missing out
on a huge opportunity to be of real service.
It doesn’t matter what fancy verbiage you learn from various

seminars, lectures or videos. It’s not the verbiage but how you
use it that counts.
FOLLOW THE STEPS IN ORDER

Just as when you bake a cake, the steps provided by the GREAT
Call® process will systematically lead you to success. If we skip
a step in baking our cake, then what’s going to happen? The
cake won’t rise properly or taste right. However, if you adhere
to our guidelines, your cake will come out right - every time.
Skipping steps in the GREAT Call® process or going out of order

does have an impact on the outcome of the call – even if that
effect is subtle. If we don’t properly greet the patient and build
rapport with them, then our relationship with the patient will
not develop.
Without that relationship, the call becomes a random transac-

tion between two people who don’t know or care about the
other. The caller will commoditize your office, comparing it dis-
passionately to your competition, and will likely choose who-
ever is the cheapest, the closest, or who takes their insurance.
They will never learn that perhaps, for more personal reasons,
your office would have been the best choice to serve their
needs.
AN UNFORTUNATE OUTCOME
What happens if you don’t use a transition statement? Let’s say
the patient calls up and asks, “Do you take my insurance?” You
reply, “Yes, we do,” or “No, we don’t.” In either case, the call will
probably end right there, leaving you without the opportunity
to build rapport and truly serve the caller.
What if you say something more detailed and involved, like

“We do take your insurance even though we are considered
a non-participating provider and we are happy to file it for
you.” There is strike 1 against you. “We have lots of patients
who come here that love our office.” Strike 2. “Would you like
to make an appointment?” Strike three and you’re out. But why
are you striking out when all of these statements sound appro-
priate? As I mentioned earlier, conducting an effective call isn’t
just about what you say, it’s about how (and when!) you say it.
In the above example, you were reactive and not proactive in

serving the caller. In other words, they were in control of the
conversation the whole time and you were simply responding.
Why should they trust any of those statements if you have no
rapport built with them?
TOO “EAGR”
This is what we call being too EAGR. You try to Engage the Pa-
tient first by answering their questions. You then jump in and
Ask for the appointment. Lastly, you Greet them by finally cap-
turing their name and info. This is often followed by an attempt
to salvage the call by building Rapport at the end, usually with
no luck.
Most of the time the patient will say, “Ok, let me think about it,”
or “No thanks, I am going to go somewhere where they take
my insurance.” This is because you didn’t build rapport before
answering their question(s). It’s like trying to ask someone out
on a date before getting to know them. You are more likely to
succeed on your calls if you get to know your patients’ needs.
This is where the transition statement is imperative to shifting
the power of the call to you.
THE TRANSITION STATEMENT

VERBIAGE
What should you say when they call and ask their question or
make their statement? It doesn’t matter if this is a potential pa-
tient or an existing one. You should begin with “I’d be happy to
help you with that. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions,
so I can better assist you?” Alternatively, you could say, “I’d be
happy to help you with that! Who do I have the pleasure of
speaking with?”
For the most part, patients want you to be the confident pro-
fessional on the phone. They look to you as the authority and
will follow your lead on the call if you get their permission to
take control. 99.9% of the time they will give you this permis-
sion.
HOW THE BEST DO IT
Most major successful businesses use a transition statement.
Try calling Disney or American Express. They always answer
politely with some sort of greeting/salutation followed by an
information capture. They use a transition statement to take
control of the conversation from the very beginning. In the
case of Disney, they even remembered my family members’
names from previous calls and referred to my son as Prince
Zachary! This makes for an amazing and memorable customer
experience.
Use these businesses as a model for how you want to handle

your customer calls. Practice this transition statement over and
over again with your teammates. Make great customer service
second nature!
PRACTICE MAKES PHONES

PERFECT
Get your team together and have fun with this. Go around the
room and roleplay call scenarios, giving everyone a chance to
practice the transition statement.
Here are a few quick examples. Practice these and then come
up with some of your own. Rapid fire them around the room
during a meeting.
• Patient: Do you take Aetna PPO insurance?

• Team Member: I would be so happy to help you with that!
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, so I can better as-
sist you?
• Patient: Hi, I wanted to schedule an appointment.
• Team Member: I would be happy to help with that. Who do
I have the pleasure of speaking with?
• Patient: Hi there. What do you charge for a crown?

May I get some information, so I can better assist you?
• Patient: I wanted to schedule a cleaning. What does that

cost?
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, so I can better as-
sist you?
Practice having those words roll off your tongue. It may seem
daunting now, but soon these statements will come naturally.
Taking control of a call takes confidence, and confidence takes
practice!
CONCLUSION
When you consider all these factors, it becomes quite clear
why staff training is a core ingredient for sustainable practice
growth.
Click here to register for our free training webinar and learn
more about mastering the new patient phone call and All-
Star’s GREAT Call® Process.
NEW PATIENT
PHONE CALL
SCRIPT
BEST PRACTICES
FOR WORKING WITH
A NEW PATIENT CALL
HEATHER NOTTINGHAM
VP of Training
All-Star Dental Academy
BUILDING TRUST OVER THE
PHONE
Generally the first human interaction a potential patient will
have with your office is the new patient phone call. This critical
step comes with lots of promise - the patient has a need, found
you and your phone number, and called!
The battle to get that patient into treatment is mostly won at

this point.
Yet the average dental practice only books about a third of po-
tential new patients when they call. Why such a gap?
Some patients are merely shopping and aren’t ready to make

an appointment. The rest of them really want to make an ap-
pointment... but something happens during a call to keep that
from happening.
An easy “out” is to put all the blame on the patient, but the real-
ity is that the typical dental practice receptionist doesn’t have
all the tools they need to consistently get potential patients to
turn into ACTUAL patients. And it’s not their fault. New patient
phone calls are NOT EASY, and most front-office team mem-
bers simply aren’t trained effectively.
All-Star Dental Academy is here to help with that!
This addition to the Taking Control of Your Dental Practice

Phones ebook is a script that can be used for a very common
call - an inquiry about the price of veneers.
But more importantly, use this script plus the commentary and
lessons from our other ebooks to build a foundation of skills
on the phone that will help you get the most new patients into
your practice.
In our All-Star Dental Academy Online Training Program, we

have 20+ role plays, each with a companion transcript.
Please note that a role play and transcript like what I am pre-
senting here is not a “script” to be parroted by your team. Read-
ing from a script is a TERRIBLE way to build rapport. You will
inevitably sound like a robot, or a person reading aloud. That’s
not how ideal human interaction works! Use this script from a
role play as a guide to help understand the underlying process
and concepts involved. Also note that the italics indicates com-
mentary about the verbiage being used.
NEW PATIENT CALL SCRIPT

This script is taken from All-Star Dental Academy’s Phone Suc-
cess Course, Module 9, Unit 8: Role Play Transcript - “What do
you charge for veneers?”
Heather: Thank you for calling the office of Dr. Awesome, this
is Heather, how may I help you?
Alex: Hi Heather. I wanted to find out what you guys charge for
veneers?
Heather: I’d be happy to help you with that. First, can I get
some information so I can better assist you?
This is a transition statement, which means we are breaking the
state of the caller, who is fixed on price. We ask if we can “better
assist.” Nearly everyone loves to be assisted better. Now, we can ask
questions and take control of the call so we can more effectively
help the caller.
Alex: Yes. What do you need to know?
Heather: First, who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?
Get the caller’s name! You should know by now how important a
person’s name is, right?
Alex: My name is Alex.
Heather: Hi Alex. Can I ask when we last saw you in the office?
Repeating the name is a good idea. Heather is also assuming caller

is a current patient because you want to avoid mistaking a current
patient for a new patient. It makes them feel more welcome.
Alex: I am not a patient… I’ve never been there before.
Heather: Ok, wonderful Alex! Welcome! Can I get a contact

phone number, just in case we get disconnected?
Getting a contact phone number is critical so you can call back if

you get disconnected, and also implies consent to follow up with
them. Otherwise, using caller id, you can seem like you are stalking
them.
Alex: Ok, it’s 555-4444.
Heather: Let me repeat that back to you. You said 555-4444,
correct?
Alex: Yes, that’s correct.
Heather: Great…and who can we thank for referring you?
We assume that the caller was a referral. The caller will correct us,
but we planted a seed in their head that we get lots of referrals.
Alex: Um, I just did a quick Google search, and your office came
up.
Heather: Ok, super! So, Alex, when you initially called you were
asking about veneers. First, are the veneers for you or someone
else?
Beginning to build rapport.
Alex: They would be for me.
Heather: Fantastic! Now tell me a little bit about your dental

situation. What made you think about getting veneers?
Heather is using positive, open-ended questions to build a connec-

tion.
Alex: Well, I have always been unhappy about the color of my

teeth. They are kind of yellowed and I have tried whitening
many times, but it really doesn’t make a difference.
Heather: I see. So, you are looking to get a really nice white
smile.
This is an example of paraphrasing and repeating.
Alex: Yes
Heather: And approximately how many teeth were you think-

ing about doing?
Now we are going with more focused questions. Remember, we

started with open-ended questions.
Alex: Probably around eight upper teeth.
Heather: Ok, that’s great. Now Alex, have you seen any other
cosmetic dentists to discuss your interest in the veneers?
Alex: Not yet. I just started calling around to different offices

to get prices.
Heather: I see. So, a dentist didn’t tell you if you are a candi-
date?
Alex: No, not yet. I think I should be since the only thing really
wrong with my teeth is that they are discolored.
Heather: Well, the best way for us to help you and see if you
are a candidate is to have you come into the office and meet
with Dr. Awesome. Now, you initially asked about the price of
veneers. In order to give you a specific price, we would need
for the dentist to evaluate you in a free consultation we offer.
I can give you a basic range so you at least have an idea of our
pricing. Does that sound good?
Heather is beginning to use “Show and Tell,” which will build value
and put the price in context. Now, we are in the ENGAGE section of
the GREAT Call ™.
Alex: Yeah, I don’t need an exact price… I just want to see if it’s
feasible or not for me.
Heather: I completely understand. Now, I want to first give you

a little background info about how we come up with the price
range. There are three elements that go into the price of ve-
neers and our other porcelain restorations. Those three things
are 1) the skills and training of the dentist, 2) the quality of the
lab we use, and 3) the customer service of the staff and office
experience. Those three things will vastly set our office apart
from most other practices in the area. And with dentistry you
will find that it is true - you get what you pay for. I can tell you
that Dr. Awesome has been in practice for 35 years, he is an Ac-
credited Member of the American Academy of Awesome Den-
tistry, and only 500 dentists exist with that training in the US!
And patients travel from all over the world to see him. We use
the best lab in the US and they only work with the top 2% of
dentists in the country. Finally, we are proud to offer an amaz-
ing, spa-like experience when you visit us. Our veneers range
from $1,295-1,595 per tooth. The final price will be based on
how many teeth you have done, which lab you choose, and
how complex your case is. Those are all things you will be dis-
cussing with Dr. Awesome in your appointment. How does
that sound?
Notice how Heather “showed” the value and how her practice de-
termined the fees. Then, she Shared the Sizzle, highlighting what
makes her office special. Finally, she provides a price range.
Alex: Sounds good to me.
Heather: Fantastic! Let’s go ahead and get you scheduled…
Heather asked for the caller to make an appointment, and the pa-
tient scheduled. Most likely, he will be very excited to come in. To
conclude the call, Heather will take information and set the ap-
pointment up properly, so there are no misunderstandings.
Even if she did not schedule the appointment, I guarantee you that
this patient had a great experience. We often see that patients who
don’t schedule immediately (on the first call) will call back when
they go down the street and see the huge difference in customer
service they receive.
Remember, when you are engaging in customer service, you are

planting seeds that will sprout in a big way, but you must be pa-
tient.
***
You will see three significant benefits of employing the GREAT

Call® Process. First, you’re going to have more high-quality
patients that make appointments. Second, those patients are
going to accept treatment. And finally, they are going to refer
their friends and family
When properly executed, your patients will show up for their
appointments. When you set appropriate expectations, and
help the patient understand the value of an appointment, they
will think, “Wow, I’m in the hands of a professional!” Compared
to everybody else, you stand out. Remember that incremental
improvement from the business growth formula? Ultimately,
through building rapport with your patients, they will show up
and are set up to accept treatment - All the elements we talked
about earlier.
CONCLUSION
When you consider all these factors, it becomes quite clear
why having the right attitude, tone, and verbiage is critical for
a successful outcome.
Remember - the script we provided here shouldn’t be used

verbatim. Rather, use the script as a training tool.
Learn more about All-Star Dental Academy’s proprietary and

proven patient phone call handling system - the GREAT Call®
Process - in our free training webinar. Click here to register!
All-Star Dental Academy Online Training Program:
HELPING YOUR PRACTICE THRIVE
1 more new patient a week = $30,000 per year
1 less broken appointment per week = $24,000 per year
1 less employee turnover per year = $30,000 in savings
Add it all up, and you can earn an extra $84,000 per year
To reach your potential, you must build warm, trusting relationships with
your patients. Focused training on phone skills, productive scheduling, and
patient service will result in happier patients, a more engaged team, and
significant growth in your practice’s profitability.
Get more new patients Retain patients

Help patients understand why your practice Patients appreciate premium customer
is their best choice. With better phone and service and stay loyal.
verbiage techniques, more prospective More referrals
patients are converted to appointments and
Training helps your staff provide an improved
are scheduled productively.
patient experience, which leads to happier
Improve case acceptance patients that refer friends and family.
Because you began building rapport with the More free time & improved profitability
patient over the phone, patients will trust you
Scheduling and phone training makes your
and case acceptance improves.
practice more efficient, so
Happier staff and lower turnover you make more money in less time.
A more knowledgeable and confident staff is
more productive and happier with the service
they provide. Happy staff stay longer.
Start Getting the Results you Deserve!

Join us for a free webinar: Dental Practice Excellence: 3 Steps to an All-Star Practice. We show you how
All-Star Dental Academy can help you overcome three critical challenges all practices face - and how
your practice can reach its full potential. Sign up today!
allstardentalacademy.com/webinar-dpe

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TAKING CONTROL

Heather is a former retail sales trainer and manager for

Copyright © 2020-2023 by All-Star Dental Academy, LLC.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

All-Star Dental Academy provides online, systematic practice

Our training programs help you with:

When grading these calls, we’ve noticed that many team

In this guide, we’ll take a closer at the look core ele-

Typically, an untrained team member immediately goes into

Being reactive may seem like an effective way to serve patients

A reactive approach allows the caller to retain control of the

Incidentally, this is why we don’t recommend allowing a pa-

POLITELY CONTROLLING THE

How do you effectively and non-confrontationally take control

GREAT is an acronym that stands for Greeting, Rapport, Engage,

Use the Transition Statement after the salutation and as part

A Transition Statement sounds something like this:

AVOIDING A POWER STRUGGLE

It doesn’t matter what fancy verbiage you learn from various

FOLLOW THE STEPS IN ORDER

Skipping steps in the GREAT Call® process or going out of order

Without that relationship, the call becomes a random transac-

What if you say something more detailed and involved, like

In the above example, you were reactive and not proactive in

THE TRANSITION STATEMENT

Use these businesses as a model for how you want to handle

PRACTICE MAKES PHONES

• Patient: Do you take Aetna PPO insurance?

• Patient: Hi there. What do you charge for a crown?

• Patient: I wanted to schedule a cleaning. What does that

The battle to get that patient into treatment is mostly won at

Some patients are merely shopping and aren’t ready to make

All-Star Dental Academy is here to help with that!

This addition to the Taking Control of Your Dental Practice

In our All-Star Dental Academy Online Training Program, we

NEW PATIENT CALL SCRIPT

Alex: Yes. What do you need to know?

Heather: First, who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?

Alex: My name is Alex.

Repeating the name is a good idea. Heather is also assuming caller

Alex: I am not a patient… I’ve never been there before.

Heather: Ok, wonderful Alex! Welcome! Can I get a contact

Getting a contact phone number is critical so you can call back if

Alex: Ok, it’s 555-4444.

Alex: Yes, that’s correct.

Heather: Great…and who can we thank for referring you?

Beginning to build rapport.

Alex: They would be for me.

Heather: Fantastic! Now tell me a little bit about your dental

Heather is using positive, open-ended questions to build a connec-

Alex: Well, I have always been unhappy about the color of my

Heather: And approximately how many teeth were you think-

Now we are going with more focused questions. Remember, we

Alex: Probably around eight upper teeth.

Alex: Not yet. I just started calling around to different offices

Heather: I completely understand. Now, I want to first give you

Heather: Fantastic! Let’s go ahead and get you scheduled…

Remember, when you are engaging in customer service, you are

You will see three significant benefits of employing the GREAT

Remember - the script we provided here shouldn’t be used

Learn more about All-Star Dental Academy’s proprietary and

1 less broken appointment per week = $24,000 per year

1 less employee turnover per year = $30,000 in savings