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As a keynote speaker, author and coach, Laura is best known as the founder of Front Office Rocks, a virtual training platform for dental teams that offers training in all areas of the dental office and teaches exceptional customer service.

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Outline to A Great Voicemail Message

It is not our recommendation to let any patient reach your voicemail but of course, we do not expect your office phones to be answered 24 hours a day.  There are going to be times when people reach your message, whether they call at night or weekend.  It is important to have a great voice mail message to do your best to connect with them and hopefully get them to not hang up.  Your goal with the voicemail message is to give the person a good impression of the office and get them to leave a message.  

The following is a list of what you should consider and add to your voicemail message to make it as best as possible.

1. Make sure it sounds friendly.  If the voice on your voicemail sounds unfriendly or not nice, that gives that impression to people who hear it.

2. Talk slowly and clearly.  Remember that someone calling your office might not speak English as their first language or might be elderly so you want it to be clear for everyone.  

3. Start with a nice greeting.  The message should make the person feel happy that they called your office.  A thank you for calling the office will go a long way.

4. Watch the length of the message. Make it long enough to get necessary data to the caller but not so long that they hang up.  

5. Give clear directions.  Let the patient know that you will get back to them and give them clear directions of leaving you a message so you can call them back.

6. Finish with something about your office is always accepting new patients.  One of the regular questions new patients ask are if you are accepting new patients so why not just address that question now to entice them to leave the message.

7. Make sure the message sounds good and fresh.  Call back to listen to it and have other listen to it to make sure it is clear and hits all the points listed above.

Example Message:  

Thank you for a calling Dr. Smith’s dental office.  We are excited to hear from you and we are very sorry you missed your call.  Your call is very important to us.  Please leave your name, number and message after the beep and we will call you back as soon as receive your message.  We are definitely accepting new patients and have appointments available as soon as this week, so leave a message so we can call you back to get you scheduled.  Again, thank you for calling and we look forward to talking with you.