How to Create an Effective Occupational Medicine Phone Script

April 6, 2012dave
Marketing Strategy

Unlike urgent care patients, new occupational medicine clients don’t just walk in the door. Most employers already have a provider, and although they may be unhappy with their current provider (poor service, long wait times, poor communication), the path of least resistance is to stay the course.  Therefore, the best method of gaining new occupational medicine clients is to reach out to area employers and let them know that your practice will improve on their existing situation.

Let’s face it: Most people aren’t particularly fond of phone interruptions by a stranger–until they are being offered a service they truly need. That is why it’s so important to take advantage of the small window of opportunity you’re given when a prospective client picks up the phone. For occupational medicine providers like you, having an effective, well-organized script at your disposal might be the difference between a lucrative new client and a quick click on the other line.

Why Do I Need a Script?

 We all know that reading directly from a script is not ideal; in fact, it very often leads to an unsuccessful result. However, sounding jumbled, disorganized and unsure is no better. A script can help keep your pitch on track, providing a basic framework that allows you to maintain focus, be succinct and stay grounded.

In addition, your script should include a list of specific questions to ask your prospects, so that you can extract as much valuable information as possible and tactfully introduce the idea of changing occupational medicine providers. These questions should determine their business’ priorities and gauge their satisfaction with their current provider. What does your current provider do well? Where do they come up short?

It’s also helpful to incorporate sample voicemails in your telephone script. Know ahead of time exactly what you want to say and get right to the point. Keep your tone professional, include industry terminology to demonstrate your expertise in the field and be inquisitive. Let the prospect know that you are very interested in their business and how you can help it to succeed. If you wait for the beep to figure out what to say, you run the risk of rambling.

Remember, you might not always be the one making these kinds of sales calls, so take as much uncertainty as you can out of the equation for your caller. Have all the necessary detail information–hours, location, services–at their fingertips.

 

WebForDoctors also provides outsourced services for occupational medicine sales.