Dentaltown May 2013 - (Page 38)

practice management message board Does Your Staff Ask for Referrals? » Dentaltown Message Boards > Marketing > Marketing > Does Your Staff Ask for Referrals? matt215 Member Since: 10/02/02 Post: 1 of 37 t A Townie asks for help with getting his staff to talk to patients about referrals. This is something I’ve struggled with over the years. How do you get your staff to ask patients for referrals? n JAN 8 2013 Mary Beth Bajornas Member Since: 08/23/10 Post: 2 of 37 Easiest way to ask for a referral, at least for me, was to always have a prop (referral card) and just ask, “Would you mind sharing our practice information with your family and friends?” No one ever took offense. I had a referral card that they could actually share and they never felt like I was putting them on the spot. Maybe start a reward system for those that ask. It’s a struggle that I see many offices go through and a lot of them have overcome it by having incentives/goals and they made it fun. n JAN 8 2013 LErwin Member Since: 06/20/05 Post: 3 of 37 t Interested in more ideas on drumming up new referral business for your practice? Visit our Dentaltown.com message boards. Internal Referrals for Pedo Search: Staff Referrals Referral Rewards Programs Search: New Patient Referrals I agree with Mary Beth here. Tying incentives to positive behavior will increase positive results with the team every time. Does it stink that you have to create incentives for what should be expected behavior? Yep. But it works. The referral cards work great. Create a referral contest for both the team and patients with a giveaway at the end of the month. Have a place for the team and the referring patient to put their name on the card. As the referrals cards come in, put them in a bowl and draw one name per month for a giveaway. Patients love Target, Walmart, Best Buy (you name it) gift cards, and the team loves cash. Draw one card each month and reward the referring patient and the team member. A $100 gift card for the patient and $100 in cash for the team member will generate great results. You can put a new patient offer on the referral card to entice new patients and add a QR code for your Facebook where you will announce the winner each month. This will generate patient awareness of your Facebook as they wait to have their name announced. Create a script: “Mrs. Patient, I always look forward to your visits. If you have friends or family that need a great dentist, we would love to have more patients like you. We do a monthly drawing for referrals and Dr. ____ gives away a $100 ____ gift card. We announce the winner monthly on our Facebook page. Would it be okay to give you a few cards for friends and family? I would love to see you win!” Have the team practice their scripts. Do a referral challenge a couple of times each week at your morning huddle. Call on two team members and have them each give the referral script. Have the team vote on the best script and place the winner’s name in a bowl. If they are both awesome, put both their names in. Do a monthly drawing for $50 cash or gift card at the last huddle of the month, as well as the referral drawing. You spend $250 a month for the cheapest new patient marketing ever, create awareness of your Facebook page and your team gets really good at asking for referrals. Plus, it makes them happy. Teams like opportunities to make more money, and they like games and fun. n Lisa JAN 8 2013 NextStepDental Member Since: 08/17/11 Post: 4 of 37 38 MAY 2013 » dentaltown.com These work great! We started doing this last year and actually decreased our marketing budget because it was working so well. The card is great because the patient walks away with http://www.Dentaltown.com http://www.towniecentral.com/MessageBoard/thread.aspx?a=11&s=2&f=136&t=200841&g=1 http://www.towniecentral.com/MessageBoard/thread.aspx?a=11&s=2&f=143&t=200000&g=1 http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown May 2013

Dentaltown.com Highlights
Howard Speaks: Is Dentistry Getting Too Easy?
Professional Courtesy: High Tide for High Tech
Continuing Education Update
Industry News
Second Opinion: The Stainless-Steel Crown for Primary Molars
Special Second Opinion: Prevent a Tulsa Repeat
Simple Two-implant CT Guided Case
Does Your Staff Ask for Referrals?
Your 2013 Website Optimization Starts Today
I Attended Your CE and All I Got Was This Crappy Notebook
Dentaltown Research: CAD/CAM
New Products
DIY Finance, Part VI: Red Flags and Scams
Employee Working Interviews: They’re Legal, Aren’t They?
The Sleeping Giant in Your Practice
What’s on My Tray? Prep and Impression, Crown and Bridge
Continuing Education: Articaine and Paresthesia in Dental Anesthesia: Neurotoxicity or Procedural Trauma?
Concentric Circles Dentaltown’s annual focus on the charitable side of dentistry
All the Things Money Can’t Buy
Taking on Pro-bono Cases
Doing Good and Doing Well
Global Dental Relief
Giving Thanks, One Smile at a Time
Big Help on a Local Level
Oral Health America
You Should Know: Climb for a Cause
In This Issue: Where Should Prevention Begin?
Perio Reports
Ad Index
Profile in Oral Health Prada or Prevention: A Look at Public Health and Oral Health
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown May 2013