Live Chat Lead Best Practices: Connection

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In the last blog in our ApexChat lead best practices series, we went over how to follow up a live chat lead with timing and urgency. The 2nd best practices strategy that your practice needs for handling leads is high-quality connections over the phone. Associates handling leads have to engage prospects. No one likes to be sold or pressured. These days people are more resistant than ever to traditional sales tactics.  

Starting With a ‘No’

Leads can tell they’re being sold something when the conversation starts with questions that have an obvious “YES” as an answer. Instead, when first connecting with a live chat lead over the phone -especially if they weren’t expecting a call back so promptly – start by getting a “NO” response. This ingenious and incredibly easy approach makes connecting easier, and will help you build a rapport with your prospective new patients. It makes them feel safer to interact with you too. After introducing yourself over the phone or via mobile messaging, say:

“I’m sure you’re very busy, is now a bad time to speak for a couple minutes to see if our practice is a fit for what you’re looking for, and if we’re not, to recommend who is right for you?”

That’s a perfect question for getting a “NO.” People won’t want to say “YES, now is a bad time … ” Even if it is, typically they’ll make time because they feel bad declining your generous invitation. There’s more to that question than a no, though. It also demonstrates un-neediness: A necessity in any relationship for selling. You’re building trust by letting them know you might not offer the service they’re looking for, and pointing them toward a practice that does. The prospect will appreciate that you’re not being aggressive or pushy. They’ll also be appreciative of you offering help for free with a referral over the phone. When you begin the connection from that stance, you’re far more likely to convince a live chat lead to give you the few minutes you need. Then you can start building a rapport and trust without interruption.

The Live Chat Head Start

After you connect the conversation should proceed no differently than if the prospect had called you inquiring about a new patient appointment or service, even though you called them. The difference is you already know what procedure the lead is interested in based on the chat dialogue you were provided by ApexChat. You should have a precise, scripted set of questions and statements that a trained associate or live chat agent has mastered. This will help your representative lead every prospective new patient inquiry to a scheduled consult appointment. The script and call flow should eliminate no-shows and cancellations, and have your new prospects excited to show up and meet you and the doctor.

Playing ‘Hard to Get’

Part of this script should include strategies such as scarcity, urgency and savings. People want what is harder to get and moving away from them. By letting the patient know there’s only a couple spots available this week for a consult, it shows you’re busy. Patients will understand if they don’t act now those spots will likely be gone. You can also instill urgency by letting a live chat lead know about a savings special this week for new patient consults. More often than not this incentivizes prospects – even if they don’t need the savings.

Lastly, the three essentials in all new patient communication must be applied, catering to the goals and needs of your patient. The three essentials will be discussed in part three of the ApexChat Best Practices blog series. Before getting to that, make sure your dedicated staff member or live chat agent masters getting a “NO” response to begin the conversation and then uses urgency, scarcity and savings strategies. This approach will net a higher percentage of leads for your practice and help you convert them into lifelong happily paying, referring patients.

Feature Image credit: Daniel Sone/National Cancer Institute 

By Dr. Josh Wagner, Aesthetic Practice Strategies 

Similar Posts:

• Live Chat Lead Best Practices: Timing and Urgency
• Live Chat Lead Best Practices: Follow Up
• Track Every Chat Lead With ApexChat + WhatConverts