VMP 293: Turn Calls Into Clients. The Ultimate Veterinary CSR Sales Training

Brandon Breshears 00:00:01  Let me ask you a serious question. How many calls did your front desk answer yesterday? And I want you to think about really quick how many of those actually turned into appointments, if you don't know. Or worse, you do know the number and it's not great. This episode might be the most profitable episode for your veterinary practice in the ten year history of the podcast. Here's the truth most veterinary practices are leaking clients every single day, and it's not because they're not practicing great medicine, and it's not because their marketing isn't working. It's because their phones aren't converting. Welcome to the Veterinary Marketing Podcast, where it's all about how to attract, engage, and retain clients to your veterinary practice. My name is Brandon Brashear, and we're going to be talking about phones and phone training. This episode I'm going to give you, hopefully, one of the best CSR phone training frameworks that you can use in your practice over and over again as you hire new CSRs. And it's going to help you to skyrocket, skyrocket Rocket conversion and help you to turn your CSR team into a sales team and help people who don't like sales to reframe the way they think about these phone conversations so that they can serve your clients better.

Brandon Breshears 00:01:11  We're going to be covering on how to turn the just price shopping into. Let's get you scheduled and convert more of those, while at the same time setting the expectations properly so that you're not attracting low quality clients. We're going to help. Even sales of our CSRs become more persuasive and better communicators. And we're going to share one small shift that can bring in literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue without spending a single dollar more on ads, or creating more content, or doing more marketing. So if you'd like for your team to confidently turn phone calls into loyal clients and help more pets get the care that they need, please don't skip this one. Save it. And if this is a value to you, it probably would be value to other people too. So if you could do me a huge favor, Share this podcast episode. Be. Be sure that you're subscribed on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube wherever you get your podcast content from. I promise you, this is going to be one of the most impactful trainings that I've ever done so far.

Brandon Breshears 00:02:09  So for those of you who don't know me, my name is Brandon Brashear and I'm the host of the Veteran Marketing Podcast. But before I did marketing and podcasting, I was actually a telemarketer. And I wasn't the one that was just cold calling people. But I would pick up the phone from different marketing pieces for a mortgage company. I did literally thousands of calls, probably somewhere around 5 or 6000 phone calls that I took. And I've since then sold tons of other stuff too. So I probably got more than 10,000 sales phone calls under my belt. And let me tell you, it's probably the most productive skill that I have is being good at sales and being good at talking to people. I actually love talking to people. And so it comes naturally to me because I think people are interesting. I love talking to people. But even if you have a team who has members that are introverts, they don't like talking to people. We're going to be able to help change the way that you are engaging with your clients.

Brandon Breshears 00:03:07  So today we're going to be talking all about how to turn your phone calls into appointments and give your CSRs the tools that they need to be more successful. Now phones skills really matter even today with online booking. More clients are typically booking through phone, especially for certain types of procedures, because they want to get information that's relevant to them. So even though more and more practices are offering online booking, I would still say anecdotally with the clients that I work with, most of the new clients are coming in from phone calls. Now, from a marketing perspective, this phone call is incredibly important. Number one, because you want to have as high of conversion rate as possible. And number two, it is the first point of contact for this potential client to become a new patient at your practice. So this first contact is just too often. Really just done poorly. There's a few studies that have come out on the phone call, conversion systems and things that practices have in place. And more than half of veterinary receptionists don't even ask to invite the caller to book an appointment, which is wild.

Brandon Breshears 00:04:20  So potential clients slip away. And this really hurts the practice's growth. For small animal practices, every missed appointment is a missed opportunity to really help more pets in your area and build a relationship. If you think about how much that is worth to your practice, what is your client lifetime value for a practice? And it slips away every single day, because the CSRs don't have the tools and training to get as high of conversion as possible. So who is this for? This is going to be really for practice owners, practice managers and CSRs who want to help train their front desk staff with a step by step strategy on how to handle calls with confidence, and also how to serve your clients better. By the end of this training. Team members who hate sales and coming off salesy are going to have some strategies that are not pushy and not salesy, but will help them to schedule appointments in a way that helps pets get the care that they need and help to grow the practice. So let's dive into this.

Brandon Breshears 00:05:26  First off, the cost of not having a robust training system for your CSRs is killing your practice. It is while practices that are in similar markets where the team is really good at phone skills and they're able to convert calls versus ones that aren't. And I listened to hundreds of phone calls every week with the ads that we run, were generating hundreds of thousands of clicks every single month to veterinary hospitals. And so I'm constantly listening to phone calls to see what is this kind of traffic doing as far as the intent and how can we improve this? But one of the most difficult things for me is that we'll get somebody who is a highly qualified and very ideal type of customer based on the conversation that they're having, and then they don't end up coming in. And this missed opportunity is incredibly important. Real quick, just imagine it's a busy morning in your practice. It's Monday when I'm recording this, but you have Price Chopper pet owners calls your practice maybe about puppy vaccines for example. And your overworked CSR is juggling multiple ringing lines, you know, and they pick up the phone and they say, hey, we're really busy.

Brandon Breshears 00:06:30  Can we call you back in ten minutes? Or, hey, is it an emergency or can you hold something to that effect? The client's going to think like the very first experience is that they're being made to wait, that they're not important. And so what do they do? They'll hang up, and then they'll pick up the phone and call the next person on the list. This is the first touchpoint when it comes to marketing, and so many practices that I talk with are thinking like, we do a really great job of handling our clients, we do a great service and we really care about our clients. But if the first impact that that somebody has in the first touchpoint that somebody has with your practice is can you please hold? And then they're on hold for 4 or 5 minutes, that is going to turn them away and make them think like, okay, I'm just another number here. I'm not important. And one thing that I think is really important is that that first missed opportunity might have a far greater impact, too, because maybe this person was going to refer, you know, maybe 3 or 4 additional clients too.

Brandon Breshears 00:07:29  So the snowball effect of missing these potential opportunities is huge. Conversion rates for phone calls are going to have a direct impact on your bottom line. There was a DVM 360 and a veterinary practice news study. Two of those, and they were both very, very interesting as this was a massive opportunity. The veteran practice news, research said that 53% of receptionists never asked the caller to even schedule an appointment. and then the DVM 360 research found that only 23% of CSRs actually asked for an appointment. So 77% of the calls that they had been listening to, potential new clients, were never invited to come in. And this is significant for practices. So let's say you had 96 phone calls in one month, which is pretty typical for a lot of practices as far as new client and potential client volume coming in. If only 30% of those convert, of those 96, you'd have about 29 new clients in a month. But if you had some training for your CSRs and you were able to take 30% of those calls and boost it up to 80% of those calls generating an appointment.

Brandon Breshears 00:08:46  You would go from 29 calls, I'm sorry, 29 new client appointments to 77 new client appointments. And this single difference you could save and not save, but generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue to your practice. These numbers are just showing that it is incredibly important that this is really treated like it matters, because it matters tremendously in your practice, especially if you're seeing more of a slowdown like so many practices are. And as the economy is kind of volatile and the world is kind of crazy. Things have definitely been slowing down for most veterinary practices. And so this is incredibly important because that number could be the difference between staying open and having to close down beyond revenue, though. You have to think about this from the clients perspective to somebody who calls in and they're met with somebody that sounds like they're happy, like they enjoy being there. They have enthusiasm and empathy and competence, and they're going to feel confident when they come to your practice. So even if they're just a price shopper, a well handled call is going to show the value that you can offer and help to win them over.

Brandon Breshears 00:09:58  On the flip side of that, if you have somebody who is grumpy or short or feels like you're bothering them, that can also tarnish your reputation as well. you know, unhappy callers are never going to call back. And I've actually seen negative reviews referencing calls that didn't go well. And I'm sure you've seen them too. Practice owners need to recognize that every single call is basically a marketing touchpoint, and even though it is an older method of calling, I'm sorry, of communication. Right. It's not like the coolest new tactic or tip that you like to focus on. this is incredibly essential, especially when you're spending money and time creating content. Doing social media. Doing paid ads. Building your website. Working on your SEO. All of these things are really built so that you can get more people coming into contact with your practice, and having a good phone system in place is what is the first step where they go from in that evaluation period to thinking, okay, I'm going to call the practice now.

Brandon Breshears 00:11:03  And that's a micro conversion that happens. And it's the most. One of the most important steps. So don't lose the client at the very beginning of that. And hopefully after implementing some additional training, you'll be able to see your conversion rates skyrocket and close more of your clients, which is going to help everything you do be far more effective in the future. If you think about this, like if you're doing SEO or any type of paid ads, if you're able to double the conversion rate, it's going to make the cost to acquire your customers, come down and make everything work better. Now, in the vendor industry, the word sales is a bad word, and nobody becomes a vet so that they can become a salesperson. Nobody becomes a tech, or people aren't applying to veteran hospitals to be CSRs because they want to be salespeople. I'd say I don't think I've ever met somebody who's like, I'm going to join this veterinary hospital so I can get really great at sales. Now, typically people want to help animals, and so we need to reframe the way that sales is approached and consider.

Brandon Breshears 00:12:05  It feels like a dirty word. And team members can oftentimes worry that they're feeling like they're being too pushy. And so even the the task of would you like to come in for an appointment? Would you like to book an appointment? That type of a question comes off as pushy or inauthentic. And so it's really, really important that we think about this. Practice managers practice owners. They need to acknowledge this might feel uncomfortable and unnatural. And that's okay. A lot of times when you're starting out new, when it comes to scripting or working on phone calls or working in phones. It feels uncomfortable simply because it's new and you're not practiced at it. So it is really, really important that you practice and you work on improving. Everybody in your practice is actually selling all the time. We just call it educating or helping. And that's the truth, right? So it might feel like you're educating client about why you think they should do routine dental care. Maybe you're educating the client about why you think they should be doing a procedure, why they should be doing rehab after TPO, why they should vaccinate their pet.

Brandon Breshears 00:13:15  You're not trying to convince people. You're trying to educate and persuade. And there's a big difference between being convincing and being persuasive. Persuasive is giving people as many tools as possible that they can come to. I'm sorry. As the as they can get to hopefully come to the right conclusion. And convincing is being a hard salesperson When you have somebody that has buyer's remorse, they've typically been convinced to do something. If you've ever felt like that where you bought something, you're like, geez, I really regret that. That's actually a testament to the fact that the salesperson was a really good salesperson, and they were being manipulative and trying to convince you to take a treatment plan. I'm sorry, were to buy something. So the truth is, we want to be persuasive. We don't want to be, manipulative. And so persuasion is positive. Manipulation is negative. We're hopefully aligned on the fact that we want our clients to have the best outcomes possible. Hopefully we have some really high standards, and everybody is on board with the mission that we have in the practice.

Brandon Breshears 00:14:19  So selling I like this definition, but basically it's finding a need or want and then fulfilling it. So as simple as I want and I need this thing and you're going to provide it. So then you sell it to them. If you think about that, you buy stuff all day long and you're also selling things all day long, but you might just not be framing it in that method. So you're not pushing towards an unwanted service. You're not pushing for an unwanted outcome, but you're simply offering a solution that's going to help improve the pet's life and give the pet owner, ultimately what they want. So pet owners want a few different things. Sometimes they might just want the lowest price because they're maybe feeling guilty. Maybe they want to provide great level of care for their pet, but they don't know how they can get it. They don't know what's important. You have to remember that you have a very unique position working in a veterinary hospital, that you're around stuff all day long that seems routine and normal, but most people don't know what they don't know.

Brandon Breshears 00:15:19  And so it's our job to help educate them in a way that is going to hopefully get them the outcome that they're looking for. And your clients might not be linking those two things together because they don't realize, okay, dental care really dramatically improves the quality of life for my pet. And they don't know that. They just think, oh, he'll be fine. He chews on stuff all day long. Right. They don't know. Right. And with all of the content that's out there and people watching, you know, different content producers and content creators that might not be telling them the best things. They just don't know where to get information from. So I think it's really, really important to think that when you have CSR, they're going to probably think to themselves, I'm not a salesperson, I don't like sales, and I don't want to be a salesperson. I don't want to be pushy. And usually when we have the idea of a salesperson, a used car salesman comes to mind. And the problem is that most of the time, car salesman use a lot of tricks and tactics to manipulate people because ultimately they don't have your best interest in mind.

Brandon Breshears 00:16:21  Most of the time, that would be my experience. When I've bought a car, I've hated the experience. And so we're not going for that. What we're going for War is trying to be a guide or problem solver. And so when you are in sales, you're trying to help them get the outcome that they want to be a problem solver. One of the best books about sales and psychology that I really, really like is it's called Persuasion by Robert Cardini. And there are so many great insights in that book that will help you to serve your clients better. I can't recommend that book enough, but I'll be referencing that a bunch here in this training because I really like his approach to being persuasive in a way that is ethical and helps everybody to win. And I think this type of everybody wins. Mindset is collaborative, and it's ultimately where we want to be when it comes to the sales process. We are working together with the client to help get to the best outcome possible. So we're partnering with this pet owner to give the pet the best potential outcome.

Brandon Breshears 00:17:28  Let's say that there was, a cure to cancer for dogs. That's, like 100% effective. Works every single time. But it costs $2,000, right? It takes costs, like, let's say, $1,900 to make it so that the pharmaceutical company makes $100, and that's how much it costs. So pretend that exists. And let's say that most people didn't know about it. If a dog came in with cancer and you think to yourself, oh, you know what? There's this great cancer treatment, but it's $2,000. I'm not going to mention it because it's expensive. Making that judgment call for your clients is, in my opinion, not ethical because you don't know if they can afford it. You don't know if they can find a way to afford it. And so you have to approach things, especially from a sales perspective, of not trying to make these judgment calls before you need to give your client the opportunity to really make that decision themselves, in my opinion. Because if you don't, you're making judgments for them.

Brandon Breshears 00:18:32  That's really not fair to the client. So a lot of times, and I've heard this on phone calls and things where people will call in, they want service. Like I'm thinking of an example here. This lady called in, she had three rabbits, and with her three rabbits she turned one of her bedrooms into a rabbit room. So, like, this lady was crazy about her rabbits. And she called in and she said, you know, I just got these rabbits. I love them. And I built this room. And she talked about how much she'd been working on this stuff for the rabbits. And she's like, I just really want to make sure everybody's healthy and is doing great. Can I come in for an exam? And this receptionist like this is perfect. You have somebody who's obsessed with their rabbits. They want to give them the best care. They have the income to do it. They've made a whole room in their house just for the rabbits. It sounded amazing. But the CSR said, you know what? You should probably wait till they're older just because you're going to have to bring them in again anyways, and it just is a waste of time and money because we can't spay them right now.

Brandon Breshears 00:19:31  They need to be a little bit older. So you should probably just wait. And the the client kept saying, no, I think I would like to come in and just make sure everything's good, get an exam and have them checked out and stuff. And the the receptionist kept saying, you know what? No, I think you should not waste your time or money. They're making a judgment call for this lady. She wasn't valuing the time and money. She was valuing her rabbits. Right. And the peace of mind that comes with knowing, like I'm doing everything I possibly can to make sure that these rabbits are healthy and happy, and they're going to live a fulfilled life in their rabbit room in the house that I just built. And so I think that's a really good example of we need to come to the the end result that is going to serve the client best. And I don't think that the CSR was trying to do anything that was was bad in her mind. Right? She was trying to basically push up the thing that she valued most, which was you need to save time and money.

Brandon Breshears 00:20:24  How could anybody want to take their their rabbits in for extra vet visits? So we can't make those judgments. And I think it's really important that when we're trying to serve clients, we're trying to serve them to kind of meet the goals of the practice. When it comes to the philosophy around how we practice medicine. The types of services that we provide and really make sure that everybody is on the same page. So stepping back for a second. Making sure that we have very clear goals when it comes to our team, when it comes to our mission, in our practice, and how we can basically get everybody aligned with the fact that this is our mission, this is who we serve. If you were to ask, like for example, US has a great the the US traction book has a great part in this about if you ask each of your employees what is our mission as this veterans hospital? And you ask your employees that you'd probably get different answers from everybody, unless they have a clear understanding of exactly what you're about, who you serve, how you help, and the mission that your practice is on.

Brandon Breshears 00:21:24  So it's, I think, really important that, number one, you have a clear mission so that everybody can easily communicate that and point back to these kind of defining values that you've set up for your practice. And number two, it's really important that your CSRs understand that the job that they're doing, it really matters. It makes a huge impact on the practice. And they are the first touchpoint for your veteran hospital. And so we can't understate you're not just answering the phones. It's not something that needs to be belittled. But it is incredibly important. And I think a lot of times people will downplay, you know, I'm I'm not a veteran. I just am a CSR. Don't don't think like that because you're incredibly important. You set the brand up. You set the experience up. You set the expectation up in your practice. And so your job is critical when it comes to generating new clients. And then number three remember sales is service. It's not pushing people to do things that are financially responsible.

Brandon Breshears 00:22:24  It's not pushing people to do things where you're taking advantage of them. It's important that everybody understands that when we do something, when we recommend something, it's because we think it's going to help. If your CSRs don't have a high level of belief in the practice, it's going to be hard for them to sell in your practice. And so giving your CSR team some insight into what goes on in the exam rooms and what type of wins you have seeing, like for example, with treatment options, if something is really effective, you're able to then build up the belief in the CSR that this is actually making a difference. So as often as possible, have your team share wins on treatments that were successful, on clients that are seeing improved outcomes and build up as many of these types of stories as possible, so that everybody understands when I make these types of recommendations. It actually helps the pet, and we're really achieving the goal and mission that we've set up in our practice. If you believe, like back to the example that you had that cancer cure that that cures cancer for dogs.

Brandon Breshears 00:23:34  If you believed that it worked and somebody called in and said, hey, my dog has lymphoma, you would be like, we've got something you need to come in right now, and it's going to work great. It cost this much, but we have a 100% success rate with it and it's amazing. So when would you like to set an appointment? That is how they need to feel in general about the types of services that you offer and the types of things that you're doing, and that it does make a difference in the life of the pet and the pet owner. So now let's dive into some really applicable things that I think you need to approach all of your phone calls with when it comes to trying to create an opportunity that has the highest potential for a conversion. So effective. Phone communication isn't an art, it's also a science. I mentioned Doctor Robert Cardini. He's got tons of data and studies to help back this up. But these six principles will help you to be much better on the phone.

Brandon Breshears 00:24:31  The first principle is that people prefer to say yes to those that they know, like, and trust. And so we need to get to know the people that are on the phone. And again, I think this is important that you are genuinely interested in your clients. If you have somebody that's at the front desk. And no matter how hard you try, they just don't want to talk to people. They don't like people. They're generally grumpy and gray. It's probably not the best front line person to answer the phones. I love talking to people. you can book a time with me to talk and we can talk about marketing. I've had hundreds and hundreds of veteran professionals reach out just to talk about marketing. And I love talking to veteran hospitals. And so I think you need somebody in your CSR position that actually likes talking to people. And that's kind of the easiest way to go about it. If you have somebody that's worked in your practice a long time, but they're consistently grumpy, we're kind of just always a cloud hanging over them, like figure out a different spot for them, because they're probably not being served well by being forced to try to be somebody they're that they're not.

Brandon Breshears 00:25:30  So that's just a step back to again to think about that for a second. But you know, your team, the first thing that they need to do is get to know the client. So number one, when here's a super easy way to sound friendlier. And that is to simply smile when before you answer the phone and when you're talking. And I know that sounds weird. We had this this one guy that worked with us and he had a really monotone, deep voice. And so it was difficult to get any emotion out of him. He was kind of like Doctor Spock from Star Trek, and he was just always flat. And so before we he answered the phone, we made him look at himself and smile. We put a mirror on his desk so that he could look at himself and it would always say smile before answering. And so before you would answer the phone, you'd have to smile. And it worked a little bit. He still was very monotone. He was very good. And he developed his his phone skills.

Brandon Breshears 00:26:26  But still, if you if you call somebody somebody's cheery, enthusiastic or empathetic, depending on the situation, it's going to come across. And so we're looking for that rapport and that instant connection. The other thing too, that you need to do quickly in the phone call is to get the caller's name and their pets name, and then use it as often as possible in the script that you have. It's also very easy to talk about things that you're going to be able to bond with quickly when it comes to dealing with these clients. So, for example, somebody calls in and they say, I was wondering, how much does this pay cost? Just as an example. Right. So, hey, I was just wondering how much this may cost. And assuming you have a warm greeting, so you know. Welcome to ABC Animal Hospital. How may I help you? Yeah, I was wondering how much. How much is a spay? Awesome. I'll definitely be happy to give you some info on that.

Brandon Breshears 00:27:18  May ask you. I'm speaking to you real quick. My name's Jim. Hey, Jim. Thank you. And what's your pet's name? My pets name is lemon, right? Lemon. That's an interesting name. What kind of dog is is lemon is a dog or a cat? No, it's a it's a dog. And it is a Great Pyrenees. Amazing. I love Great Pyrenees. I actually had one and she was my favorite dog of all time. They are so, so cool. Yeah. Let me let me get just a little bit more information so that I can kind of give you some idea of exactly what we offer and how much that costs for you. Right. And so then you just transition into these transitional phrases that help you to take control of the conversation, but building that at the front end with little types of, engagement, getting their phone, getting their, their name, and then also their pets name, their pets breed. Any type of additional information, but being really conversational.

Brandon Breshears 00:28:13  Building rapport. And ultimately, this is because hopefully you like your clients. You want to get to know them. You don't want them just to show up, drop the dog off, leave, and then come back to pick it up and then pay and leave unless you're drop off practice. There are some of those, which is okay, but, most practices really want to build a relationship with the client, and it starts right here. So we need to understand exactly what's going on. Sometimes enthusiasm isn't the way sometimes you need to be empathetic. So those are the two options when it comes to vet. So you know if they say yeah my dog he's been he's been throwing up for the last two days, I'm really kind of nervous about it. Like you shouldn't be like, great. I'm so excited. You know, it needs to be. Oh, no, that sounds terrible. Let's let's find out what's going on so that we can make sure. So jump into empathetic and start building rapport that way.

Brandon Breshears 00:29:03  But people want to feel a human connection that there's somebody on the other line that they can trust and that they can depend on, so that they can get the outcome that they're looking for. So once you have built rapport, you've collected the name of the people, their their pets name and the type of pet that they have. You need to also be authoritative. And I think this is where most CSRs drop the ball. And I'm not saying that your CSR should be trying to be a veterinarian or trying to diagnose at all on the phone. And in fact, there's a lot of times and I'll give you some examples here in, in the scripting of how to change the tone of the conversation so that when they're just trying to probe for information, you can change it into a way that, hey, this isn't serving you, let's get you in so that we can get your questions answered type of a thing. But people trust and follow the advice of experts. And so ultimately the veterinarian is the ultimate expert.

Brandon Breshears 00:30:02  But the CSR can help to project some of that authority by demonstrating knowledge and confidence, and make sure that your team is really well versed in routine care, especially like what goes into things. Now, obviously you don't want them talking out of turn in terms of like diagnosing things or misstating, but it's really important that they understand what goes in to all of these different types of appointments and the approach and, and things like that. You know, for example, let's say somebody calls in for a TPO, hey, how much is a TPO? And you collect all the information? Yeah. I would love to give you some more information. we do lots of TPO here because our veterinarian, Doctor Smith, actually has 20 years of experience with TPI and has done over 3000 of those. And so she's very, very experienced, has really great outcomes. And we do things a little bit differently here because we have so much experience. So I'd be happy to explain that to you in just a second. You know, those types of things where you're appealing to the authority of your team and helping to build out, the team in general.

Brandon Breshears 00:31:11  It's also important at this stage, too, if you are really invested in things like fear free. if you're an accredited, if you have special training, if you have special equipment, those types of things help you to establish authority. It can also reassure the caller that this is the practice that I need, and this is the expert that we need in handling this thing, you know, saying, you know, you've definitely called the right place. We actually do tons of echos every single week. and, you know, talking about things in a way that help to really build authority. And by the way, I think it's incredibly important that scripting is done for these CSRs, that you have a general framework of a script that covers all of these major points. And just as a quick note to I'm going to put in my show notes here, a PDF document. That's my scripting system that you can use and download for free. You don't even have to opt in for it. But if you are trying to figure out how can we Taylor script that's going to convert people as high as possible? This is going to be a great resource for you, so be sure to go to Vendor Marketing Podcast Comm and search up episode 293.

Brandon Breshears 00:32:21  And that's where this script is going to be. So authority is a really big important principle because people want to know that they've called the right expert, that they're going to get the care that they need, that they can trust you. And so building on that, know, like and then trust with authority. The next element in principle that's really important on these phone calls is building up social proof. People feel comfortable when other people have gone before them or when they're part of a group. It's just how we are wired, right? It's easy to follow the crowd. And so by looking at what people have done in similar situations, these types of stories and elements can really help improve conversion. So ways that you can include social proof in your phone calls. You know, for example, let's say somebody's calling up and they say, hey, we just got a new puppy. We're looking for a vegetarian. Hear that all the time on phone calls. You can talk about things like, you know, we have lots of puppy owners in our community that choose our puppy wellness package because it includes X, Y, and Z.

Brandon Breshears 00:33:25  They really feel comfortable because they're not only on their first shots included, but also there are additional wellness visits and everything is set up to really help get your puppy in a way that is going to be set up for life. We also include our heartworm prevention. We also include flea and tick treatment, and we make sure that everything is really set up well that you feel comfortable in, you know, partnering with your pet's health so that their base is great. And then you can have somebody on your side like, you know, I'm going into these types of things, but helping them to feel like, okay, lots of other people are doing this too. So if you have products or different types of clients in general, I would have these types of stories ready. So for example, if you're doing pillows or dental procedures or things like that, somebody calls in, says, you know, I want to do an anesthesia free dental procedure. I'm really nervous about anesthesia. It's okay. Great. Totally understand.

Brandon Breshears 00:34:27  So many pet owners are a little bit hesitant when it comes to anesthesia because they think that it can adversely affect their pet. But here's what we found. Most of the the pet owners feel really comfortable because we have human level monitoring. We have a technician that's there monitoring all the vitals. We do all of these tests to make sure that everybody's going to be healthy, and we take all the precautions necessary to make sure it's it's very safe. And if we're worried about it, we actually won't even suggest that you do it right. So using that social proof again is a very, very important principle because people feel a lot more comfortable. And weaving that into your sales script really, really helps. Next is consistency. So getting small yeses throughout the conversation. it's called the principle of commitment and consistency. But people are more likely to say yes to an appointment if they've consistently said yes throughout the phone call. When I was in telemarketing, we would ask permission to get started. We would ask permission to share some information.

Brandon Breshears 00:35:28  We would ask permission to gather things, and we'd say it in a way that was framed in yes or no questions. So would it be all right if I gather just a little bit more information so that we could give you some specific examples? That's an example of one of those yes phrases. I remember it 15 years later because the scripting was just embedded embedded into my brain. But when you can get people to say yes often and early in a conversation, it's going to help increase your conversion rate. And that might sound super strange, but it 100% works. Types of questions and language throughout, like using things. Does that make sense to you? Yes. Right. so every time you can get the client to say yes, there's subconsciously just becoming more receptive to saying yes. And then additionally, with this too, if you're having no shows or things like that for your new clients, making sure that you follow up each of the calls with, hey, will you please call us if you need to cancel or anything changes and asking for them to say yes, that's super reasonable.

Brandon Breshears 00:36:30  But having that actually decreases the no show rates by significant amounts because, it helps people commit an extra level. So they've gone through, they've committed to the appointment and now they're going to commit to calling if something comes up and changing. The next principle that Kathleen really talks about is called reciprocity, which is giving value first. So if if somebody gives you something, you're going to feel obligated to give back to them in the behavior that you first gave. And so offering something helpful or kind up front helps them to feel like they need to reciprocate by engaging with your services. And this is also true when you're being kind to them on the phone and being enthusiastic. They're going to feel like they are going to try to match the energy that is coming back and that you're putting out to them. So this could be something as simple as just some free information. It could be a small token. A lot of practices that I work with have welcome kits for their new clients. And so CSR mentioning that.

Brandon Breshears 00:37:34  So let's say somebody calls in for puppy exam and you can say yeah absolutely. And we just actually have a new client welcome kit. And that includes a bunch of things. We'll talk about it. But if you're giving them something before they even get to the price of it, they're going to feel like they probably want to give back the good favor that they've been given. And that reciprocity principle really helps. spending extra time patiently waiting with this client, answering all of their questions, making sure that you're giving them helpful information. That's something that I think is is really important. The other thing too, is empathy. So let's say you, for example, a person calls in and they're like, you know what, I'm not sure if I should do euthanasia for my pet. let's say you answer all their questions and you know what they say we're going to we're going to wait over the next week and we'll we'll take a look and see if we think it's a good idea. Next week type of a thing.

Brandon Breshears 00:38:31  If you are the person who calls out just to check in and you give them just, you know, hey, was just thinking about you, you know, we had a conversation and I just wanted to call, check, see how everything's going. If you're just checking in with them and you could even ask permission to do that on that phone call, you know, would it be okay if I called back in a couple of days just to check in and see how things are going? If you had any more questions or any of the behavior changes. I would just be really interested to make sure that you're not feeling alone on this type of thing. things like that really make a difference. If your practice offers any new client specials or incentives, even if the person isn't calling for that. And so many times practices don't want to discount, I totally understand, but if you have a new client special, if you get through the description of the price and then you're the person who brings it up and you give it to them, the likelihood that they're going to accept that is going to be, very persuasive and help them to feel like they have that reciprocity owed to you.

Brandon Breshears 00:39:33  And they're going to want to come in, and start a relationship because they're feeling like it's being treated fairly. And, honestly, the next principle is scarcity. And scarcity creates urgency. People want more of what they can't have, and that's human nature 100%. So we need to use this ethically. You can't say, oh, we only have one appointment in the next week. If your appointment is all your schedule's all the way filled up. But the truth is, appointments are limited. The time of the doctors is really valuable. And so acting sooner is going to help them to get the appointment slot that they'd hopefully look for. So saying things like, you know, Doctor Smith is very popular and your schedule fills up quickly. So I want to make sure that we can get fluffy in in a time that works for you, which typically works better mornings or evenings. Those types of questions are going to help to signal that, you know, we're we're trying to do our best to accommodate you.

Brandon Breshears 00:40:34  But space is limited, especially if you have a specific time in mind. So let's be sure to gently get that person in in the time that's going to work for them. You're also emphasizing that they risk missing out of something. And the fear of missing out is one of the biggest and best motivators when it comes to people. People are far more motivated to avoid losing something than they are for potentially gaining something with scarcity. You want to use it sparingly and truthfully, because scarcity message will will prod the client to hopefully make the schedule like schedule an exam. But if it's in every single one of your calls, it'll lose its effectiveness because people will be like, well, they say it's like going to Coles, for example. Everything's always 60 to 70% off, right? They always got like 70% off sale. And it's kind of just normal price. You're like, I don't believe these sales. So you have to use scarcity in a way that's authentic and actually meaningful. So now that we understand some of the main principles that we want to be using when it comes to trying to be persuasive, and if you use these six things, I guarantee you will be more persuasive in your practice.

Brandon Breshears 00:41:44  Let's break down. I think there's really seven steps that are going to take somebody from being a caller to setting an appointment. So step number one, and these are all pieces that you need to be scripting out. What is the warm and professional greeting. First impressions really happen in just a second. So number one CSRs need to answer the phone quickly. My ideal phone system does not have a phone tree in place. If you're calling a practice and you're looking to build a relationship with the practice, you're not thinking like, I'm going to call this practice and they're going to treat me like my bank treats me like, that's not how they're thinking. I'm going to call this practice, and I want to have me feel like I was treated exactly like the DM treats me. If I call, I'm going to be placed on hold and I'm going to go to a phone tree. And it's that's not what they're thinking. So I need you to think about your practice in terms of how How do we say we practice medicine and then does this system align with that? If you tell me we care about our clients, we're there for them whenever they need us.

Brandon Breshears 00:42:51  If they had an emergency and they're distressed and they called and it's like, thank you for calling. ABC Animal Hospital. Our business hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. we are located at and you're in 45 seconds before it says for urgent care and emergency cases, press one. For prescription refills, press two. It is not what you want. And so please don't use phone trees unless you want to be like Bank of Veterinary Medicine. So that's not typically what anybody wants. And it is no wonder why you're not converting more of your clients and your existing clients. They're not enjoying this. It's not actually helping them. It is helping you to have to not talk to them. And that's. Is that how you want to come off? I don't think it is. I don't talk to practices who are like, please don't call us. Please don't talk to us, you know? If that's the case, keep it up. But if you're actually looking to build a relationship with these people, these phone systems, they're not great.

Brandon Breshears 00:43:54  So number one answer promptly. When I worked in telemarketing, we had what was called the bat line, which was a phone call system that if anybody called, we had to pick it up within two rings or that somebody was getting in trouble. So every single time you could not ring more than twice, you pick it up by the second ring, hopefully on the first ring. That's how CSRs need to approach the phones in the practice. It must be picked up quickly that promptness says somebody is there somebody caring? They're on it and they're here for me when we need it. Need to be friendly and uptown beat. Remember, smile when you're talking and have something that is professional. So you know. Good morning. Thank you for calling. Green Animal veterinary clinic, this is Brandon. How may I help you? Something like that. That's easy to say, easy to remember, but is consistent every single time. Identify yourself so that they know your name. That how may I help you is a good opening question because then you're able to like, is this a euthanasia call? Is this an emergency? Is it a general call? Is it a Price Chopper but don't have something that's lackluster? and the one thing that I actually don't like is when they just say ABC Animal Hospital.

Brandon Breshears 00:45:06  It's like, hey, you're interrupting me. That's not what you want. So really think about this. Those little changes make big, big differences. The caller cannot see you. They can't see the practice. So make sure that you're smiling, that your body language is good, and that if you have somebody that's slouching and looks unhappy, you probably sound that way on the phone. So sit up straight and have lots of coffee available to you. It's always helpful to this. Opening really sets the stage for the rest of the call, I think to you that phone recording systems are really, really important. Systems like mango and weave and call rail. All of those are fantastic for training, but they don't work good unless you actually listen to it and go through it and use it as training opportunities. Anytime we make mistakes in anything, it is an opportunity for learning. And unless we continue to make the same mistake over and over again, then it's just being stupid. So making mistakes is part of the learning process as a part of growing process and having, a system where you don't get feedback doesn't allow you to learn quickly.

Brandon Breshears 00:46:12  So make sure that you review your calls. I do this all the time with my clients, with myself, and I make sure I'm trying to communicate the way that I think I am, not just the way that I remember it, because how you remember a conversation is going to be very different than what actually happened. I think it's also really important, too, that you approach this from a way that this isn't judgmental. You're not in trouble. We're just trying to improve and I think this is going to improve everybody. So I think people can feel defensive, make sure that it is a learning atmosphere where people can improve and get better and explain also the why. Why is this so important? Not just, hey, we're going to listen to phone calls. It's going to be kind of embarrassing. I'm going to point out all your problems. You better get better. That's not going to be a good environment. So record your calls, listen to them, use them as training and actually improve them.

Brandon Breshears 00:47:03  I would say with this warm, professional greeting, it's really important that this is the first step to make the person calling thinking like, wow, this sounds like a nice practice. These people sound friendly, they sound caring, and this positive vibe is going to lay the groundwork for really everything else. So once we have that greeting done, next step is to build rapport and personalize the call. Don't drive straight into transaction. Don't go right for the sale because they actually have a problem. We need to understand who they are The context for their problem and get to know them here. And so again this is where the people skills comes in. Start building rapport. So ask for the caller's name. ask for the the caller's pet's name. Ask for the breed of the caller. How old are they? I'm not the caller. Ask for the breed of the college pet. Ask how old the pet is. Things like that. So if the if somebody calls, says, yeah, I'm looking for vaccines for my puppy.

Brandon Breshears 00:47:56  Wonderful. I'd be happy to help you with that. May I ask your name real quick? And what's your puppy's name? My puppy's name is Max and my name is John. Hi, John. Great to meet you. Definitely. congrats on the new puppy. What kind of what kind of puppy did you get? Right. Those types of things. Oh, he's a golden retriever. Golden retriever is my favorite dog. I can't believe it. I love golden retriever puppies. How old is your golden retriever puppy? Start building legitimate rapport. Have some questions in there. And I think one thing too that's really important is just doing some role playing and figuring out like, what are some things that sound natural because everybody talks differently, but what are some things that sound natural that you can just bring up that's kind of stored away? But this type of personalization, it does really two things. Number one, the goal here is to make the person calling feel like that they are actually they actually matter and that they're actually valued in the practice.

Brandon Breshears 00:48:52  Like if you're trying to build personal relationships, it needs to be personal. And it then is going to do the second thing, which creates connection. So many times people feel like their clients are bound to their practice, right. Like we have a great relationship with our clients. If you have a great relationship with your client that puts a moat around your client in that it's much more difficult for them to go to another practice location, even if it's more convenient or closer if they feel like the doctor and the team here really is in their corner, and if they called, they would get the answer that they needed. They could trust you. This type of connection, it starts here on the phones. And so building that connection is really, really important. It signals friendliness. It signals personalization. And the vast majority of CSRs. Back to this DVM 360 study that was done by Doctor Donnelly. She said that 93% of receptionists just answer questions mechanically, immediately, without getting any more context, without making any attempt at personal connection.

Brandon Breshears 00:49:55  And so this is a really easy way to start building rapport. other types of rapport builders are expressing empathy or excitement depending on the situation. You know, like, oh, I'm so sorry Max isn't feeling well. That's terrible. Let's see how we can help. things like, oh, you got a new kitten. That's so exciting. What kind of cat is it? Oh, it's a it's a shelter cat. You're not sure? You're like, I don't know. thinking about things like that. But you really want to make the client feel heard, understood and welcome. And that's in this second piece of rapport building. The third thing is asking questions to understand if a client calls in and they have a two year old dog and they're like, I need a pillow, that's interesting, but do they know that they need it TP yellow. If somebody is like, I need my my dog's teeth extracted, that's really interesting. How did they come to that conclusion. Again, you're the professional and you're not in order taker.

Brandon Breshears 00:50:52  And so in this step in asking questions to really understand the needs, you can't make a diagnosis over the phone without understanding things. And many times too, you need the pet to come in so that you can make an accurate diagnosis. So at this point, we're just trying to collect information to see what is the best fit. This person who called, they have something that they want and need. Otherwise they wouldn't call. Like how many times are you calling the mechanic just to say, hey, how much is it to replace a transmission? Like you don't care unless you want and need a transmission. You're not going to call. So in this step where we're asking questions to understand needs, we're going to try to shift from being an order taker to somebody that's going to make recommendations and use the authority that is important that we establish. Otherwise, we're going to get patients and pet owners who think that they know the best, and they just want what they want. They want it for as cheap as possible.

Brandon Breshears 00:51:50  And generally, those aren't the types of clients that you really want to be bringing in anyways. So it's really, really important to understand the needs here. If you think about it, when you go to Starbucks or coffee shop, you know, I would like a train to iced coffee with sugar free vanilla. That's what I want. I'm telling them my order. They're not going to say, well, real quick here. Do you enjoy drinks with more cream? Do you enjoy caramel? Like, let's diagnose this problem. That's not how it is, right? In in situations like that where the client knows what they want and they tell you what they want. That's a very different relationship than somebody that say, a veterinarian. And so it's important that we don't be perceived as order takers. And so in this stage, we basically take control of the phone calls so that we can guide it to the desired outcome. That's going to give the pet owner the best outcome and the practice the best outcome as well.

Brandon Breshears 00:52:45  So sometimes they might not need to come in, sometimes they might. But really, here is where we want to encourage CSRs to ask a few key relevant questions. So like for example, if somebody says how much is the kitten exam or how much for a new puppy exam, you say things that helped you frame the conversation in a way that lets you convey the value of the things? Yeah, absolutely. I can tell you how much that is real quick. I just have a couple questions so that I can be more accurate. how old is your kitten? Did she come from a shelter or a breeder? Has she had any vaccines yet? Now, is she in good health? And then taking that from like, oh, it's 130 bucks to and that's that's probably the majority of CSRs right now. If somebody says how much for an exam $130. Okay, great. I'll call you back. That's the average phone call. We're trying to again build the relationship here and take control of where is this going.

Brandon Breshears 00:53:47  And so by starting to ask those questions you get those answers. And then the next follow up is going to be educate and communicate value. But we can't do that until we really understand the needs and understanding the needs by asking more questions, by being talkative and building rapport. That helps us to set up for educating and communicating value. So let's say you get all of the the answers to your questions there. The next thing that I like to do is transition into something that is again, taking control of the conversation, but helping you to educate and communicate the value. The price is never the thing that they're there after. Definitely it is a good measure of the value of this, right? If I have two things that are exactly equal, and one is $135 and one is $100, and they're exactly the same. Why would I want to pay for the $130 thing? Right. And so if we're trying to be a practice that does not discount, we have to explain and educate. Where is this value coming from? So for example, you go through, you get all your questions.

Brandon Breshears 00:54:52  Okay great. You know our our exams are a little bit different from everybody else. Do you. Would it be okay with you real quick if I just went through what is included in our kittens exam? And that's again another yes question. That yes principle of building that yes momentum through the practice I'm sorry through the through the call. But then it lets them say like actually I would like to know what is included, what goes into it. And then you dive into here's all the things that we do. So number one, we make sure and we do a nose to tail exam. And that's not just, you know get them in. Take their temperature listen to their heart. Now we are much more in depth than that. So we do nose to tail exam. We talk about lifestyle. We talk about your health goals with your pet. We really answer all of your questions. You get this much time with the doctor and it's not a rush thing. We're not trying to get you in and out again.

Brandon Breshears 00:55:46  We're trying to build a relationship with all of our patients because we want them to be as healthy as possible. And that way too. If you ever called up, you had an issue in the future where, you know, Max wasn't feeling so good, we would have really in-depth idea of what might be the the thing that's affecting them. So, right. You're able to then start to convey value. Talk about your unique selling proposition. Talk about all of the things that are cool in your practice. Talk about your fear free exam. Most people have no clue what fear free is. talk about the accreditations that you have, the experience of the staff. All of those things help get communicated here. Really, we want to be using benefit driven language and talking about all of the benefits. People would like to know price a lot of times. I know there's some things that you can't give prices for. So for example like dental procedures, if they come in for a cleaning, you can say no.

Brandon Breshears 00:56:47  One of the the vets that I work with for ads and things, we've been driving a lot of dental, procedures to his practice through Google ads. And his team is amazing because they are able to communicate that when they're in for the dental exam, if any complications come up, they're actually texting the clients, they're showing them pictures, they're showing them specific examples and educating them throughout the process so that they know exactly what's going on. And so you can talk about the price of the exam, but if there's anything that comes up, we'll keep you up to date with it so that you can make decisions as we're going, those types of things. But if you're just talking about the price and this is again what happens so much. So how much does it get in the exam. $130. Okay. Thanks. Bye. You're never going to hear back from them versus here's all of these things that we do. Here's why we think these are important. And the price is just $130. You're referencing and anchoring that price against all of these different pieces of value that you just explained, that nobody else explained.

Brandon Breshears 00:57:49  And you have to remember that consumers in the hospital simply don't know what goes into the process. Every hospital is different. And I've worked with veterinary hospitals. I actually don't know every single component of a wellness exam. I don't know what the difference is between a puppy exam and a kitten exam. Right. And so, you know those things, Obviously no one's for puppy. One's for kitten. But like, are there different things that you do? Are there different tests that you're looking for? These are the types of things that you want to be conveying and educating your clients on. I like to use the word just before talking about pricing as well, because it helps to make it feel like for all of that value, it's only or it's just those two things, it helps to anchor the price. This is a great value going back to benefit driven language. let's say somebody's calling for a rabies vaccine. They're not just looking for rabies vaccine. Why do they want a rabies vaccine? Obviously, to make sure that their pet does not get rabies.

Brandon Breshears 00:58:54  Right. But instead of saying just the rabies vaccine, you can say, you know, to make sure that your dog Max is protected from rabies and then also to keep them legal with state laws. Our rabies vaccine. Right. So adding in that additional benefit that it helps to keep legal with state laws. instead of saying a fecal test, for example, you use things like we do a parasite test to make sure that he doesn't have any worms that could affect his health or even your family. Right? Those types of things are really, really important to think about. I really like to use language that avoid vague terms to if possible. So physical exam. What does that mean? That's very, very vague. It doesn't tell you what is included. But the nose to tail exam is like everything in between on the pet is being checked out. You need to not automatically assume that people know what is included in an exam and help to educate the clients. and in doing this, it makes you again, the authority.

Brandon Breshears 00:59:56  But it also positions your practice as a place that really cares, that is thorough, and it aligns with the way that you're actually providing your service in your practice. Also, really subtle small words make big differences. So if you say the cost of the exam is $200, for example, the cost is always negative and there's a connotation negatively with the word cost. And so you need to think of it as maybe a fee or our exam fee. I like the word exam fee. Our exam fee is X and the fee implies a professional service. I think an even better step is naming it something. So like, for example, our ABC Animal Hospital comprehensive exam is 90. That helps two people, helps to create a product that is not commoditized. Again you just went through like the 14 things that are included with that and all of the component pieces that help to make it unique to you. And also, if you're using the word price. Price is oftentimes negotiable. If you've ever gone to the dealership, they have the MSRP, which stands for their price, and it's never the actual price of the thing, right? So these tiny little word choices can make a huge difference for sure.

Brandon Breshears 01:01:15  So now that we've gone through. Number one, building rapport. Number two I'm sorry. Number one. One professional greeting. Building rapport. Asking questions. Really getting a good understanding of everything that's going in there. Educating and communicating value. The next thing that we have to do, and this is where so many people drop the ball, is invite them to schedule in the types of closing questions that I like. I like it to be an assumed close and I like it to be non pressure non salesy. And so this is the critical moment where they're going to say yes or no. but you need to always ask for an appointment. The closing questions that I like are giving people options. So you say the price and then I wouldn't give like a long awkward pause. It would just be like the our exam is $97. What typically works better for you? Mornings or afternoons and then just wait. and then obviously where it's appropriate. If somebody's like, I'm getting a dog in in two months and I'm just calling all the different practices to see, you know, who's who's going to be the vet for my dog.

Brandon Breshears 01:02:27  I just wanted to get an understanding. And I've heard those calls before, too. and that's definitely where that that follow up call and rapport building is going to be important because this is a person who deeply cares about their pet. They're doing tons of research. And this is going to be a very, invested pet owner. So do a presumed close, which is I'm assuming they're going to say yes and always ask for the appointment. So questions that I like are, were you hoping to get in this week or sometime next week? And I don't really like that question too, because it is giving people the opportunity to push off or or delay. So typically my favorite one was what time works better for you mornings or afternoons? especially if you have, like same day appointment availability. You can ask questions like, you know what, we actually have a couple time slots today. Would today work for you or were you thinking tomorrow or later in the week? Something like that. But again, giving them an assumed close and letting them make the decision, it turns it from yes to no to morning or evening.

Brandon Breshears 01:03:37  Like in their mind, they're on board and okay, we're we're solving a different problem. It's not should I come in here? But it's rather when should I come in here? I actually heard, one of the clients that I currently am sending lots of phone calls and traffic to with Google ads right now. I was listening to their calls, and, there was a call. They were able to close it, but, the the client, the way that they they framed that question was, were you hoping to come in, sometime today or tomorrow? And they didn't actually have any more times today. And so if they would have, if the client would have said, you know what, I want to come in today, make sure that number one, like if you're giving people an option, it's something that they can take. Otherwise you're setting up for a disappointment. Again, you can have a great experience. But then if you're like, were you hoping to come in right now? Yeah, that'd be great.

Brandon Breshears 01:04:37  I'd love to come in right now. Okay. you know what? Unfortunately, our next appointment is next Tuesday, so. Yeah, we can't see you in for a while. Make sure that your CSRs know what the, schedule is. And then the other thing to hear is make sure that there's not a huge time delay, any type of gaps or, waiting in this period. It really slows down that conversion process and all of the momentum that you've been building throughout here, and so quickly have all of the different things up and available so that you can see, okay, with this person. We have these potential slots and make it easy to get that information. If you're constantly waiting on the system. It is difficult at this stage. I like the assumed close of which is better morning or evening for you because it's easy to ask. It doesn't feel salesy if you call. I mean, if you ask somebody, would you like to schedule an appointment? That's a yes or no. People typically like to answer in no.

Brandon Breshears 01:05:36  It's one of the first words that we learn as little kids. If you've ever been around a 2 or 3 year old, they say no all the time like they it's built in. And so don't make it a yes or no question. Make it either open ended, make it assumed closed with a couple different options. In this instance, options are always the best. I would always lean towards options and I think to hear you need to have some training in place so that these types of answers are just really ingrained in them. So, for example, let's say that somebody was calling because their dog had been vomiting for the last two days and they're they're nervous about it. and, and you can tell that they feel nervous and apprehensive about it having the preparation and saying, look, okay, we have, you know, 2 or 3 slots that we could fit them in today. saying things like, you know what, we actually have a couple openings. We could get you in today. Would that work for you? something like that is an okay question to ask.

Brandon Breshears 01:06:37  especially if you have. And I just said never, never ask a question. Yes or no, but, you know, trying to make the conversation of, again, that scarcity and urgency. And a lot of times with these same day appointments, it is kind of like a work in. And so you need to make people understand, hey, we'll make time for you. I can get you early in as early as this time. Or you. We could get you in tomorrow if that works better for you. Which one works better for you? putting it in a way that, again, is which of these options works best for you? But this should be, natural. And again, people aren't calling because they want to talk to CSRs. They're calling because they want an appointment. And so by helping them to make the decision at your practice, and I think this is really, really important to you. if you're CSRs and I've heard this before, where CSRs will refer people to other practices.

Brandon Breshears 01:07:34  sometimes that might be the appropriate thing. Like if it's an emergency. But if it's just like, you know what? You should probably try the other practice. They're actually less expensive. And I've heard that, which is wild to me. your CSRs can't perform. They can't guarantee that they're going to get a great service if they go to another practice. The only way that you know that you're going to be able to serve this pet as if they actually come in here and it's in control of your pet. So if your CSR is referring to other practices, you probably need to work on systems in the practice to provide better outcomes, or let them know about the ones that are taking place because their belief isn't high enough that they don't think it's worth it. So again, make sure that these are natural conversations. I assume the close is yes, because they wouldn't be calling just for the fun of talking to veterinary hospitals. They want and need something. and make sure that these types of closings are really well scripted and practiced so that it can just come out automatically, even if the call goes perfectly well and everything is handled perfectly, there's still going to be some objections, hesitations and things like that.

Brandon Breshears 01:08:43  And that is okay. This is part of the process. Not everybody's going to say, yep, 4 p.m. sounds great immediately. So it's okay to have some hesitations or concerns. And so we need to have scripting in place to help the CSR really coach the hesitant client towards a yes, or at least at least leave with the great impression that if it's not now, they'll definitely want to come back because the team was so great. So if the price is a problem, if I'm just calling for information needing to check with the spouse, I might call back later. Don't be discouraged. But these are really opportunities to really help to provide more information. So always totally understand that that that definitely makes sense. Is there any questions that your spouse might have that you think would be something that they would want to know to? Like asking that if there's an objection, that is the actual objection asking, you know, do you think there's anything your spouse would have questions about that might let them voice the the hesitation or their hesitation without them coming out right and saying it? So the other thing, too is, you know, instead of just saying, okay, call us back.

Brandon Breshears 01:09:54  asking and empathizing with them. You know, like, I definitely understand. It's definitely a lot of information. is there anything else that you were expecting or any particular concern that you had? I always like the thing, if you don't mind me asking, is there any specific thing that you're not really sure about? Is there information that you need? And really coming back with an empathetic like I totally can understand it is a big decision. but giving a little bit more feedback and insight versus just. Okay. And then hang up, which is the most of them. So actively listen. Actively be empathetic. and in these types of situations, being combative is never helpful. So I totally understand. if the price is big, you could mention payment options that are available. You know, I totally understand that. especially for for dental procedures, it might be a little bit more expensive. if the if the vet. I'm sorry if the pet owner is concerned that the dog isn't going to handle it.

Brandon Breshears 01:11:00  Well, you talk about the low stress things that you have in place. if it's a cat owner and they're just a little bit nervous about taking their cat in, you could talk about all of the precautions that you take in having a cat area or a dog area, things like that. But actively listen, actively empathize with them and, try to offer solutions that are going to work. And ultimately, at this point, if they still decline, listen, some callers aren't going to book. Not everybody is is booked on that first call. maybe they just truly were calling multiple practices. Maybe they aren't ready, but always end it on a positive and friendly note and that leaves the door open for the future. Scripting out some type of, a decline close like of the of the call is a good way, you know? You know, I totally appreciate you calling in. And we really hope that we have the opportunity to meet your puppy. Max. We're always here for you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call.

Brandon Breshears 01:12:02  You know, it can be fun, but also kind of new and and difficult. So if there's ever anything that you need, please be sure to save our number and call us back. But it's going to remind them that you want their business and that you're actively wanting them as a client. and listen, this might not be appropriate, all appropriate all the time, but I guarantee your competitors are not doing this, especially in like, the euthanasia space and things like that. But if if you say, you know, would it be okay if we followed up with you just to check in and see how things are going, collect their info and then call them back, and that follow through will really help you to stand out, especially if you are slower and you're looking for more appointments. Giving people better service and following up with them, is okay. And I always ask permission before doing that. Never cold call people. That's just a recipe for for bothering people. We're not looking to bother people.

Brandon Breshears 01:12:54  We're not looking to manipulate. But to actually show that we care is something that's that's really beneficial. Don't take no's personally. If somebody says no, it's okay. Some will, some won't. So what? That's one of my favorite, sales, phrases out there, right? Some people aren't a good fit for your practice, too. And it's okay to be choosy in this stage. But really, if you're able to convey the value that you you have in your practice, all of the things that you include, the philosophy behind that versus how much is a Spey, 130 bucks. Okay. Call you back. Those are completely night and day difference in terms of calls. And it lets you attract the people that are going to say, wow, I get all this. This is going to be my vet. You have to remember when people buy things, it's not equal value. The perceived value actually has to be higher for people to say yes. So for example, if I had $20 and you had $20 and I said, hey, let's go meet and we're going to swap our $20 bills and say, that's a waste of time, I'm not going to do that.

Brandon Breshears 01:13:56  Why? Why would I want to do that? But if I said to you, hey, I have $30, I'll give you $20 for it. You say, how many times can we do this? I'll do this all the time. So the perceived value has to be higher than the price. And hopefully in packaging and presenting your offer in a way that increases that perceived value, you're going to have a higher conversion rate, but you're also going to attract a higher type of clientele who actually wants to have you come in. The other thing is to that most of these phone calls are going to go down a certain path. So again, taking control of the conversation and then guiding it down the path that you want it to go, there's only going to be so many objections that you hear regularly. And so make sure that you're using these recorded phone calls and these types of objections regularly for training. And I would even have them written down on, on flashcards Cards so that if somebody says, well, that price is too much.

Brandon Breshears 01:14:46  Like, what are the objection handling things that you have in place? but it's always a good learning experience. And people saying no to you is just part of sales. That's how it goes. Not everybody's going to say yes. Some will, some won't. So what? you always want to do the best that you can. And, implementing these things are going to help to attract the right kinds of clients. The final step here is to confirm the details and the next steps. And this really is setting expectations. Okay. So they said you know what. Afternoon's work. Great. Okay. Wonderful. We have, tomorrow at 4 p.m.. Okay. Great. Your 4 p.m. tomorrow. But confirm the date the time clearly get any additional info that's needed. And then use this to help emphasize that they've made the right decision. make sure that you tell them about the different ways you communicate with them. Are you using text reminders? Are there any check in forms that they need to fill out all of these different things, but remind them of anything that they need to bring or prepare? and then also encourage that commitment by saying, you know, if anything comes up, we'll be sure to call us and let us know.

Brandon Breshears 01:16:01  if you do have forms that they need filled up, would you be able to come just a few minutes early just to fill out the new client forms? Again, I think probably presenting those over is the way to do it, but really reinforce this, confirm the details a few times. Use their, their name throughout this and express enthusiasm that you're really looking forward to meeting them and their pet. And then thank you and thank them for for calling in and booking the appointment. Always end it on a positive note. and be as appropriate to the tone of the conversation as possible. But really, these seven steps are going to help you to skyrocket the conversion here. So let's go through those again really quick. Step number one is a warm and professional greeting. Step number two is build rapport and personalize the call. Step three is ask questions and understand what is needed. Number four is educate and communicate the value. Number five is invite them to schedule. Number six is handle objections and any hesitations.

Brandon Breshears 01:17:09  Number seven is to confirm details. And next steps really set the expectations. So even if you know all of these steps, knowing them is not enough. We have to implement them. And we have to practice. The more you practice, the better. And I would say, at least on a monthly basis, make sure that you're doing role playing exercises, team building exercises, reviewing phone calls. So make training a continuous routine. You need to dedicate time in staff meetings to handle this. You can use these objections for people that are in the exam rooms with people and the CSRs. Role play. Price shoppers, role play. Worried pet parents. Different scenarios. Role play, existing clients with a new pet, role play, hesitant spouse and really adjust scenarios that are going to meet what commonly come into your practice, especially when people are starting out. I would really suggest that CSRs stick to the script as much as possible. I remember when I went in for my first telemarketing job, the owner of the business gave me the script and he's like, okay, read this.

Brandon Breshears 01:18:14  When you've got it memorized, let me know and we'll practice. And on the very first call that we did for practice call, I completely went off script and it went off the rails and it was terrible. Right. That's going to happen, I guarantee it. It's okay. So make sure that you have a script, make sure they go through it, make sure that they memorize these different phrases. And then you can loosen the reins once they understand these general frameworks, but when somebody starting out, you want them to stick to the script that you've done. also use feedback and coaching. So brainstorm different ways of saying things. be sure to highlight people that are doing a great job. And one thing to we're going to get into KPIs here in just a second, but make sure that you are looking at the conversion rates between CSRs, because they're going to be very different depending on how skilled somebody is, because truly, this is a skill. And if you were good at this skill, you're going to have much higher conversion.

Brandon Breshears 01:19:10  So I think in terms of using the calls as learning tools and the recordings that you're using, make sure that you make it as fun as possible. So gamify this training. Try to make people, look forward to these things. So have rewards for positive behavior. have different benchmarks that you can hit and and work on getting something so fun contests and, make it fun as possible. So gamify this and really give people something that they're going to look forward to. Really try to involve the whole staff too, because it's not just front desk stuff that you're going to improve only in using these types of trainings, but even people that are in the exam rooms are going to be able to use these sales principles and sales concepts to help get her help, get her help, get better compliance and outcomes for your clients. It can influence the whole team, and it's also making sure that CSR team knows what's going on in the exam rooms. Make sure the exam rooms knows what's going on at the front desk and that everybody is communicating.

Brandon Breshears 01:20:18  having your CSRs trained on what goes into everything so that they can convey that is really, really important. Also understanding like again, those stories, those case studies, those wins that they can use to in their stories when they're talking to clients for that social proof elements that we talked about. So how will you know if this is successful or not? I think that's really important. Everything needs to be measured, tested, revised and improved. There's always more constraints when it comes to growing your business. And so there's never ending process of improvement. So you want to make sure that this is paying off. I think the things that you need to be looking at call conversion rates, how many calls came in for new clients versus how many were appointments. And really setting up a baseline so that you can see if you're improving what's making a difference. But just log if it's a new client or an existing client calling and then how many new appointments came. So I would even break this down by CSR if possible, so that you can see which CSRs need more training or which CSRs are really good.

Brandon Breshears 01:21:20  And then you can understand exactly which aspects of your practice need growing. The other thing that I think is really important to be tracking is your new client numbers on a regular basis. So each month know how many new clients you have. What's your benchmark? And I'd say to that, as the economy is kind of shifting and going back to the seasonal regular swings, understanding like year over year changes on things are helpful. So February of 2024 should be compared to February of 2025. so go back as far as you can and as far as make sense, probably just a couple of years here. And then look at how many new clients you have. The next thing is call volume and missed calls. Missed calls are a curse to your practice. Don't let miss calls happen. So if you have a significant number of missed calls, make sure that you're know why that's happening and then come up with different ways to fix it. You need to have more CSR staff. Are they overwhelmed right now? Like if you're just giving them too many phone calls and they can't handle it, you can't expect that their conversion rate is going to be.

Brandon Breshears 01:22:24  So try to minimize missed calls and then also have callback systems for people that missed, and I have a few clients that are really busy and they do callbacks and the callbacks are really, really successful. So make sure that you have a script for that. It's basically just a variation of instead of, you know, hi, this is ABC Animal Hospital. How can we help you? It's. Hi. We just missed your call. This is ABC Animal Hospital. We're just calling back. Saw that. We missed your call. Is there any questions that we can answer for you? So just something, then you go into the rest of that seven point, call framework. The next thing that you need to be tracking and measuring is the average call handling time. So what is an average call length for your practice? Especially with Google Ads, we can do really cool things with our call detail reports to see how many phone calls we're getting, to see what the average time and the duration and the date of that call is, so that we're making sure that, if you have calls that are too long, that's also might not be good.

Brandon Breshears 01:23:27  You might be giving too much information out versus calls that are too short. conversion rate by CSR. I think that's really important. and then your no show or cancellation rate for appointments to. And then based on no shows that you have coming up, you can make adjustments in the script. But these benchmarks are very, very important. So just a quick reminder to you if you have any questions, comments or you need help with anything, please don't hesitate to reach out. We have on Vendor Marketing podcast in the show notes for episode 293. You can get my framework, some of my favorite conversions. closes and then also, some different ways to take informational type questions and change that into an actual appointment. Don't forget, this is not someplace that you're going to just end up at. It's also not something that might feel as flashy as like, surgical skills or like, you know, something that is more perceived to be like a high value thing in your practice. But I think that this is one of the most underrated skills.

Brandon Breshears 01:24:35  It is incredibly vital, and CSRs are really the front line of your practice. So make sure that you're actively working here using these strategies and actually implement some of this. So again, if you have any questions you need help with anything please don't hesitate to reach out. Help you able to serve more pets and help more pet owners, have happy, healthy lives with their pets for longer. So thank you so much for watching and we'll see you on the next episode.

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