The Coaching Center, LLC 12400 Hwy 71 W, #350-401 Austin, TX 78738
877.63 Coach (877.632.6224) email info@thecoachingcenter.net

Upcoming Programs:

May 2-4*
New York City Area
Dental Boot Kamp Level I
Masters Boot Kamp Level III

June 8-9*
San Diego, CA
Leadership Boot Kamp
(Dentist only)

October 3 - 5
Las Vegas, NV*
Dental Boot Kamp Level I
Hands-On Boot Kamp Level II

October 5 - 6
Las Vegas, NV*
Alumni Weekend Celebration
(Golf on Sunday)

November 7-9*
Nashville, TN
Dental Boot Kamp Level I
Hands-On Boot Kamp Level II
Masters Boot Kamp Level III

"The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I'd made my teammates play."
NBA Hall of Fame Center, Bill Russell

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. "
Viktor E. Frankl

"You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny. "
The Upanishads

"As it takes only one speck of dirt to destroy the purity of clear water, it takes but one speck of fear to hide the presence of love. "
Gerald G. Jampolsky

March 15th 2007

On Hold Marketing – The Unique Technique
By:  Trisha Donaldson, National Client Advisor

Have you ever called a place of business only to be put on hold almost immediately?  According to industry statistics, 70% of ALL business calls are placed on hold or in a call center queue for an average of 45-60 seconds.  That adds up to hundreds of hours of ad time per year!  And guess what….On Hold Marketing is one of the most cost effective marketing tools available.  Here are just a few of the things On Hold Marketing can accomplish:

• Inform, educate and motivate the listener
• Differentiate your practice from others
• Enhance your practice’s image
• Reach a captive audience
• Reduce caller hang ups
• Reinforce other ad campaigns
• AND, Generate more revenue

The average company spends their marketing budget on generating inbound calls, yet does not allocate any budget to professionally handling those calls.

Here is another surprising fact:  Few patients are aware of the full range of services, promotions and treatment options available to them from their dental office.  Patients who call your practice are your best prospects!  Are your patients fully aware of the services, products or special programs you offer?  If your answer is NO, perhaps you should consider creating a custom On Hold Marketing program for your practice.

Recently, I called a practice and was put on hold.  Within seconds I heard what was probably the Doctor’s voice asking me if I had heard of the Referral Program.  He wanted more patients just like me and wanted to reward me when I referred anyone to him.  He went on to tell me about patients whose self esteem blossomed after having cosmetic dentistry done.  I found out about the new whitening promotion going on in his office and discovered that he did an oral cancer check on every new patient.  The information went on and when they took me off hold, I wanted to hear more. I was not upset because I had been on hold because I had been engaged in learning about this dental home.  I learned so much about the practice, and it gave me such a great feeling, I wished I lived close enough to be their patient!  I wanted to know more about some of the services, and in my mind I was seeing my smile whiter and better than ever.  WOW!

What could you include in your On Hold Marketing message?  Consider the following:

• Cosmetic procedures and what they do for your patients
• The doctor’s leading edge clinical skills (including implants)
• Hygiene services and how they impact the health of the patient
• A referral program so you get more patients just like the one calling
• Hand selected payment programs available to make budgeting easier
• Your website address – so they can learn even more, or sign up for a  newsletter
• Seasonal or Special offers – and more – any plus you wish to include

I am certain you can see how On Hold Messaging can turn your telephone “hold time” into a powerful practice builder every time a patient is put on hold.  Marketing Research shows that 88% of customers who are exposed to “On Hold” messaging inquire about the products or services they just heard about.  88%!!  That is powerful!

Here is a suggestion to get your new campaign off the ground.  While there is no doubt that On Hold Messaging is a service that pays for itself, there are ways of saving even more by partnering with your suppliers.  Discuss the possibilities with your suppliers prior to creating your On Hold Message program.  If you highlight a specific brand from one of your suppliers in your message on hold you can effectively increase sales for your practice AND for the supplier – while sharing the incurred cost of your messaging.  That would definitely be a Win-Win situation.

So where can you go to put this all together?  For one resource, feel free to contact your National Client Advisor or Coach with The Coaching Center at 877-632-6224.  We will be happy to brainstorm with you and come up with topics for you to include.  So far as the technical side - there are many providers available to help you in creating your own On Hold Message program.  One of the oldest and best is a company called Tel-A-Patient.  You can reach them at 800-553-7373 and just ask for a Sales Representative.  Check out their website at http://www.telapatient.com.  At the website you can even check out the voices available to do the recording.  They have a fantastic Refer-A-Friend program that you will love.  Get them to give you the details!

Now - you not only know what your practice looks like, with this new tool – you will know what your practice sounds like too!  

*********************************************************************************************************

Trisha Donaldson - Trisha joined the Dental Boot Kamp team in January, 2000 after moving to Texas from Alabama.   Her greatest joy is serving others and helping them to find the most workable solutions for the challenges in their lives.  She quickly found that getting dentists and their teams to Dental Boot Kamp allowed her to do exactly that and she became hooked on the end results.  Trisha dedicated herself to helping all the dentists she served with both the Dental Boot Kamp Continuum and special Coaching programs designed to tackle even their toughest problems.  She is completely committed to making sure that our clients' experiences with Dental Boot Kamp, the Coaching Team, Eagle Network and Power For Life are as good as they can possibly be and she  is extremely happy to be part of The Coaching Center team.Trisha can be reached at trishadonaldson@thecoachingcenter.net.

The Coaching Center, LLC 12400 Hwy 71 W, #350-401 Austin, TX 78738

877.63 Coach (877.632.6224) email info@thecoachingcenter.net