Part 1. Mastering The Initial Call in Private Practice

What’s the most undervalued position in private practice? What’s the most underleveraged? What’s the one that could generate the most ROI?

The front desk (your intake coordinator).

That front desk role is so vital since they are the first point of contact for your practice. 

Picture this...a person has seen your brand, been touched by your marketing, looked over your website, but the first point of actually directly speaking with your practice is the front desk person.

The front desk is the first human interaction someone has with your practice. They directly listening to the concerns this person has which is often the first time this person is discussing their vulnerabilities.

Then the admin makes a decision about which therapist would be the best fit for that person. 

This is huge. 

When the success of therapy depends so heavily on ensuring that the fit between therapist and client is right, and the front desk makes that decision, then they are directly responsible for the success of that client.

By making the right fit, this can ensure the client completes a plan of care and makes it to termination. 

This increased client retention means you can maximize what your marketing is already doing. If your marketing is generating a lot of calls, but your front desk isn’t turning them into clients, then you’re burning your marketing budget (as we’ve talked about previously). 

Just as important though, if they become a client but aren’t matched with the right therapist, then they leave before termination, hurting their care and their client retention.

So when it comes to that first call, it’s important that clients have a great experience, and also a consistent experience.

The people who become clients of your practice aren’t just judging the therapy itself, but the entire experience with your practice. That “client experience” starts with your marketing, then flows into the front desk, to the first session, recurring sessions, billing, termination and then referring your practice. We never just judge the “service” but the entire process. 

Because of that, it’s vital to nail down that first point of contact.

In the next article we’ll be going into the focus that first call should have (it’s not what you think).