Running on a skeletal crew in the wake of COVID-19 cuts down on costs and allows many of us to stay afloat, but it also presents some practice owners with new challenges. 

I cannot think of one dental business expert I’ve talked to who doesn’t agree that picking up the phone and knowing how to address potential patients is vital to the success of a practice at large. We invest money and time in getting our phones to ring yet on average 37% of our monthly calls occur after or before business hours. With COVID-19 hour reductions and skeletal crew answering phones, can you imagine how many potential appointments are lost? 

According to Michael Bonanno, CEO of Performance Partners and Virtual Support Solutions, the average dental office misses between 87 and 200 calls per month. Over 75% of those missed callers will not leave a voicemail. 

Dental practices lose several new patients per week because the phones are not being answered. One of his clients operating a relatively smaller practice has an estimated value of $774 per patient. Michael and his sixty-person team of 24-hour experts are like the second cord on a parachute. If the first one, your traditional front office team, cannot answer a call during or after business hours for any reason, Micheal’s crew picks it up no matter what. He calls it call-rollover. 

Virtual Support Solutions exceeded my expectations. After selling his practice in October of 2017, Micheal says he wanted to continue supporting dentists and went on to build a company with a 100% retention rate before COVID-19, based purely on referral. 

How it works is simple. When you’re after hours, on lunch, closed for the weekend, or just not answering after three rings, Virtual Support Solutions takes over. Michael’s background of dental practice ownership means that the phones aren’t answered by just anyone. Michael’s team is friendly, competent in dental procedures, and has been trained to exude exemplary customer care.  

We don’t have to take Michael’s word for it too. A free, ten-call trial of Virtual Support Solutions is full-service for everyone in our group. We get to listen in on recorded calls, have all of the software connected, and onboarding done for free with no contract. 

Virtual Support Solutions costs $6 per call between 7 am and 9 pm Monday through Friday, and $10 per call after hours or on weekends. If you think this is at all steep, think of the money you will lose when the phones go to voicemail and your patient calls your competitor instead. Not only can you avoid this, but you can also rest assured that Virtual Support Solutions only succeeds as you do. If callers are salespeople or they hang up, dentists will not be charged a dime. 

Along with their traditional services, I learned that Virtual Support Solutions is out to make a difference during COVID-19 outside of its regular duties. Michael and his team launched US Dental Triage to pair patients experiencing urgent dental needs with practices willing to take them during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a fully free service meant to make a difference in the dental community while keeping patients away from overrun hospitals. 

You can get on the list of dentists accepting US Dental Triage patients through Michael and his team. Any dentist can be a member of the network, and dentists already enrolled or looking to enroll in call-rollover with Virtual Support Solutions are given priority in taking emergencies nationwide.

Learn more about:

• How many new patients the average density misses out on per month and why 
• Why call-rollover could be key to surviving during reduced hours or while working with a skeletal crew 
• A fantastic resource to grow your emergency customer base for free
• How $6 can become a $774 or more opportunity

And for the Nifty Deal…

• No contract
• No onboarding fee
• No start-up fee

   

 

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