Pro Phone Skills: Avoiding Common Front Desk Pitfalls in Practices
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Release Date: 06/12/2024
Why Working Interviews Don't Work
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
In this episode, Sandy Pardue kicks off a powerful conversation about the most overlooked step in fixing front desk chaos: assessing your team’s current morale, mindset, and motivation. Before you implement new systems or pile on training, you’ve got to address the emotional temperature of your practice. Is your team ready for change? Or are they quietly resisting it? Sandy lays out practical ways to reframe, re-energize, and reset expectations—ensuring your next move is a lasting one. If you want real ROI from your front desk, start here. What You'll Learn: Why morale must be...
info_outline
RERUN: The Real Reason Your AR Is Out of Control (And It's Not Insurance)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
In this eye-opening episode, Sandy digs into one of the most overlooked contributors to rising accounts receivable (AR) in dental practices—abandoning mailed statements too soon. You may be emailing and texting patients about balances, but do you actually know how many patients you're reaching? Sandy breaks down the data and shares real stats from dental dashboards, showing that many practices have incomplete contact info for 20–40% of their patients—and it’s costing them tens of thousands. Whether your AR is creeping past $100,000 or you’re trying to build a smarter collection...
info_outline
The Truth About Dental Marketing
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
What if your marketing isn’t the problem—but your expectations are? In this episode, Dana and Sandy welcome Grace Rizza, the powerhouse behind Identity Dental Marketing, to break down why most dental campaigns fall flat—and what actually works. From unethical agencies to underfunded ad budgets, Grace unpacks the truth most marketers won’t say out loud. If you've ever felt burned by a marketing agency, overwhelmed as a startup, or scared to go fee-for-service—this one’s for you. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Spot the difference between strategic marketing and expensive guesswork ✅...
info_outline
Hiring or Hustling Backwards? (Part 2: Leadership, Metrics & the True Cost of Delay)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Hiring is never just about plugging a hole. It’s a strategic leadership move—and when rushed or mismanaged, it can quietly sabotage your entire practice. In Part 2 of the Hiring Series, Dana and Sandy dive deep into what happens between identifying a hiring need and getting the green light to bring someone on board. From pecking orders to prep work, leadership courage to legal compliance, they unpack everything you should have in place before you hit “post job ad.” They also share formulas and benchmarks to help you bring data—not just emotion—into your hiring decisions. Because...
info_outline
Hiring or Hustling Backwards?
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
A growing team sounds like success, but adding the wrong hire too soon can wreck morale, raise overhead, and increase chaos. In this kickoff to the Hiring Series, Dana and Sandy break down how to assess whether your practice truly needs to hire or if it’s time to get serious about systems, training, and communication first. They walk through real-world scenarios (yes, including a team walking out!) and offer tools to help you make strategic hiring decisions instead of emotional ones. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Recognize signs of burnout and bottlenecks ✅ Use patient flow (not just...
info_outline
Meetings That Matter: Turning Staff Time Into Practice Power
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
A dental team without effective meetings is like a GPS with no signal—lost, frustrated, and going in circles. In this episode, Dana and Sandy dive into the often-overlooked power of consistent, structured team meetings. From setting agendas and reviewing stats to celebrating birthdays and avoiding gum-chewing drama, they lay out the exact formula for turning “just another meeting” into a high-impact tool for team alignment, accountability, and growth. This episode is inspired by a post in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group (thanks, Heather!), and it answers all your questions about...
info_outline
Marketing Can't Save You From a Bad Phone Call
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
📣 Identity Dental Marketing – The industry’s go-to for branding, SEO, and growth. Discover how they can elevate your practice at 📲 Join the conversation! Drop your favorite phone call tip or share a “worst call ever” moment in the Dental Drill Bits Facebook Group—your post could inspire our next episode! Let me know if you’d like a shortened version for social, or if this episode will also be linked to a specific event or download!
info_outline
Scoreboard Success: 10 Front Desk KPIs That Drive Production
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
We’re diving into a topic that separates struggling practices from high-performing ones—your front desk metrics. Dana and Sandy break down the most important KPIs your admin team should be tracking daily, weekly, and monthly. Spoiler alert: if you’re not measuring it, you can’t manage it! Whether you're brand new to tracking stats or need a refresh to re-energize your team, this episode gives you simple, actionable ways to bring structure and accountability to your schedule, collections, and patient flow. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Track leading and lagging indicators ✅ Set realistic...
info_outline
Making Membership Work: Clearing Up some of the Myths and Why It’s Reshaping Dentistry
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
Membership Plans That Work: What Compliance Really Looks Like Dental membership plans aren’t new—but compliance around them is becoming more critical than ever. In this episode of Dental Drill Bits, Sandy and Dana are joined by Jane Levy, Co-founder and CEO of Plan Forward, to uncover how in-house dental plans can boost treatment acceptance, increase loyalty, and help practices navigate the complex world of legal compliance. They discuss real-world misconceptions, why membership plans aren’t just for fee-for-service practices, and how the right tools (and the right vendor) make all the...
info_outline
Lonely at the Top, Leading with Authority (Even When You’re Friends)
Dental Drill Bits with Sandy Pardue and Dana Salisbury
We’re diving into a topic many practice managers quietly struggle with—what happens when your team feels more like friends than employees? Dana and Sandy tackle a heartfelt listener question: “How do I manage a team I’ve been friends with for years?” Whether you were promoted from within, or made the mistake of hiring a friend, this episode will help you maintain professionalism without sacrificing connection. You’ll learn how to: Lead with warmth while keeping your edge Set clear boundaries and expectations Avoid favoritism and cliques Stay approachable without losing...
info_outlineHow can your front desk team transform every call into a positive patient experience? In this episode, Sandy draws from her recent speaking engagements at the Delivering WOW Summit to uncover key strategies for top-notch front office communication. She also previews her upcoming seminar, Front Desk Pro, set to take place in Boston on August 23rd, revealing the secrets to boosting front office performance. Michael and Sandy tackle real-world phone interactions, from handling insurance queries to managing cancellations, ensuring that your front desk makes a lasting impression.
But it’s not just about what you say; it's also about how you say it. This episode underscores the critical role of tone, verbal skills, and intuitive call handling. Sandy shares practical advice on avoiding the pitfalls of sounding robotic and burdening patients with unnecessary tasks. With actionable tips and relatable scenarios, this episode is a must-listen for any practice aiming to elevate their front desk etiquette and foster a welcoming, efficient environment for every caller.
What You'll Learn in This Episode:
- How to handle common phone interactions effectively in your practice.
- Techniques for making a positive first impression over the phone.
- The do's and don'ts of discussing insurance with patients.
- Strategies for dealing with appointment cancellations smoothly.
- The importance of tone and verbal skills in patient communication.
- How to implement a call-handling system to avoid common pitfalls.
- Ways to promote your practice during phone calls.
Ready to transform your front desk team's phone skills and enhance your dental practice's first impressions? Tune in to today's episode!
Sponsors: