Laura Laaman & Associates Blog

The telephone is the conduit to success in every business–including pet care. It’s critical that the person answering the telephone be well-trained on exactly how to turn those calls into future clients and revenue for your business. The skill of the person answering the telephone needs to be evaluated by the conversion ratio of calls-to-reservations not whether or not they’re nice to the callers and answer their questions. Of course, they should be nice and polite and courteous to a fault, but the results must be measured.

Many facilities have changed the title of the person answering the phone to “Reservation Specialist.” Their first goal is to gather complete customer and pet information including the caller’s full name, address, phone numbers (note the plural here—always get more than one number), and e-mail address before giving out price and availability information. They should obtain the pet’s name, breed, sex, age, appropriate health and behavioral information so you can best care for their pet while in your facility. Only after the reservation specialist obtains this information should they deliver information on the superiorities of your facility in a concise, compelling and competitive manner.

It’s unfortunate but most people who answer the phone in business think their job is to answer, be polite, give information and move on—leaving a good impression of the facility. With a little bit of training, their understanding and behavior can be changed to “my job is to get a booking.” This is not an impossible task. Quite the opposite. With appropriate training the person answering the phone will take friendly control of every conversation, gather information and highlight the advantages of bringing their business to your facility before giving out any information about availability and pricing.

More importantly after training, a Reservation Specialist can positively promote extra services above and beyond standard lodging. Since it takes, on average, at least 50 marketing dollars to generate a new prospective client inquiry, the person answering the call should be well-trained in converting those calls into clients.

Most of the veterinary practices I’ve worked with are great at measuring statistics related to care of their clients and revenue. However, one of the common mistakes made by veterinary practices is a failure to set and measure important marketing goals.

The most successful veterinary practices track every statistic that is feasible to measure.

• Number of calls received per day/week/month
• Sources of the calls – advertising, drive-by, referral
• Types of calls received – new pet, existing client, health concern, well care visit
• Ratio of calls to confirmed appointments
• Number of appointments on the books versus cancellations or no-shows
• Reminder calls made for appointments versus actual appointments kept
• Follow up calls made
• Follow up appointments set

The tracking is compared to the goals for the practice. For example, how many new customer inquiries did you receive this month? Do you have a new client conversion goal? The difference between the number of new inquiries and the actual appointments made is your conversion ratio. Do you have a new customer monthly appointment goal? How about a puppy goal?

By setting these important benchmarks, watching and improving upon them with enhanced marketing and sales efforts, you are ensuring the continued growth and financial health of your veterinary practice.

One of the most common calls a veterinary practice will receive is from someone with a new puppy or kitten. Being loving pet owners, they want to take the best care of this new addition to the family. So, they get a referral from a friend to a veterinary practice or call the office of the vet clinic they drive by on their way to work. The initial call in a typical veterinary practice sounds a lot like this:

Caller: I just got a new puppy and I’m trying to figure out what I need to do for him.

ABC Veterinary Clinic: Once the puppy is 6-8 weeks old, bring him in for an exam. The puppy will receive a series of 3 – 4 vaccinations until the puppy is 15 weeks, then at 15 weeks the puppy will receive a rabies vaccination. The first visit is $XX and includes the exam fee, de-worming, vaccinations for the first visit and 1 month of heartworm prevention. Each additional vaccination is $XX
and the rabies vaccination is $XX. And we advise all our clients not allow the puppy’s feet to touch the floor anywhere public until they’re fully vaccinated. No dog park, pet store, or highly populated area for walking until then. Ok?

Caller: Ok. Well, I’ll get back to you about the shots (disconnect).

From a marketing, training and new client acquisition perspective, this could hardly get any worse. As you can see there were no compelling or competitive reasons given to come to this practice vs. another. No connection was made. There was no enthusiasm for this new furry addition.

Instead of being reactive to a prospective client, all telephone professionals should be trained to engage the client at their level of excitement and ask the questions necessary to create a file for the new client. Provide pricing information if that is what the caller requests, but train employees with a script that allows them to share the uniqueness and superiority of your practice. They should let the prospective caller know why you should be their vet before any money matters are discussed if at all possible.

I’m absolutely  fanatical about helping my lodging and veterinary practice clients make the best possible impressions on both potential and existing clients. A lot of this is done by paying attention to the words and phrases used in conversations. The very first impression of your business is made by the person who answers the telephone. How is your telephone answered? Have you listened in lately?

Basic greetings with clients should always be cheerful and positive.  If a customer asks “How are you today?” they should be answered with enthusiasm. Your receptionist or reservationist should say, “I’m great/terrific/excellent. I get to play with pets for a living!” Whoever answers the phone should not sound like they are having a bad day or that they can’t wait til Friday to get out of there. Who would want to leave their faithful friend in the care of someone who feels that way?

Never answer a question from a client with a bland “yes” or “no.” Use more interesting and captivating words such as, “I’d be happy to.” “My pleasure.” “Absolutely, “Certainly.” “Of course.” Every member of the staff should act as if they are providing concierge service at a fine hotel. That level of professional service will deliver a more powerful positive mental image that translates to more business.

For every veterinary practice or pet lodging facility, one of the most critical elements to success is getting new clients. This is a very emotionally-charged industry. Pet owners more often than not are very skittish about who to trust when taking their pet for care or lodging. One important step in securing new clients is building their confidence that their beloved pet will receive the best care possible at your facility. It’s not just about the building, prices and amenities. It’s about the clients’ perception of the attention their faithful friends will receive. When considering your facility the client is not thinking, “Do I want to bring my business to you?” They’re thinking, “Can I trust these people to take care of my baby—a member of my family?”

Consider your practice or facility. What does the business name say to the potential clients in your area? Do they drive by and see the word “kennel” on your sign? Some of my clients initially struggled with giving up a word they have been using for decades but now agree that it does have a negative impact on the perception of their potential clients. In the minds of existing and prospective clients the word “kennel” most likely creates a picture of sad eyes looking out through the bars of a cage. Wise and profitable pet care facilities have stopped using the word “kennel.”

Every word used both in print and verbally creates a mental image in the mind of your potential client. If Fluffy is a member of the family and sleeps on the furniture or in a family member’s bed, the mental image of putting him into a kennel may just send them running for another option besides using your services.

“Boarding” is another bad word to use with prospective clients. Consider using the terms “overnight care” or “overnight accommodations.” Those words generate images of a human hotel rather than a cold pen or cage. Some of the most successful facilities have changed their names, their images and revenues, by calling their businesses pet “inns”, “spas,” “hotels,” or “resorts.”