Purchasing a practice brings along with it a ton of challenges. Was the previous owner maximizing its full potential? Is it time for a staffing change? Should I change the name of the practice? Will the current patients stay with me? Should I revamp the inventory? Should I change the pricing? How should I market the practice? The list goes on and on, but it all comes down to how do I maximize the potential of the practice I am purchasing?
The purchase of a practice is a huge investment, and it's an investment that needs to be nurtured properly in order to create the largest return on investment that is possible.
With that being said, allow us to 'cut to the chase' on how Practice Mentors can help you achieve your Dream Practice while also increasing your quality of life in the process.
INCORPORATION OPTIONS: "Should I incorporate…if so, when…and how"? "What advantages are there to incorporate myself"? Your attorney will give you one answer, but your accountant will usually give you a totally different answer. We'll sort through the details, as the decisions you make in the early stages can actually effect how you do business down the road.
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS: "How many staff do I really need? When should I hire the next staff member? What do I pay my staff? Should I include staff benefits? How many frames should I have? Should I stock an inventory of contact lenses? What additional equipment should I have to WOW my patients without going overboard? Do I need more telephone lines? How do I keep from pulling out all my hair"? We'll take ample time to go over all of these and many, many more of your concerns and take away the 'guesswork'.
BILLING & CODING: "How do I know that I am producing the maximum income for my level of expertise"? We have on‐board one of the industry's best coding & billing 'gurus', and you'll have the opportunity to utilize them for your needs as well as helping you price your medical procedures for maximum productivity. You won't be 'flying by the seat of your pants' ever again!
MARKETING: We can honestly say that most practices waste between 40 – 60% of their hard earned dollars on typical marketing efforts that simply don't work. We will help you create an effective marketing plan built on 'Trust' while lowering your marketing costs in the process.
REFERRALS: I like to call them 'Comfortable Referrals', as most doctors feel uncomfortable in asking for referrals, but it is a great practice‐builder. We'll show you an easy and very effective way without you feeling uncomfortable at all or by giving incentives, which in some states is actually illegal.
STAFF TRAINING: Just imagine if your staff knew more about the business‐side of operating a great optometric practice and actually gave input on how to make things even better! Starting them with the basics is the key here. As your practice continues to grow, your staff will become even more valuable in the business‐decision making process. Enjoy!
MULTIPLE‐PAIR SALES: Notice I didn't limit it to 'second‐pair sales'. We'll teach you the ethical strategies to make this happen in your new practice. Did you know that offering discounts can actually hinder your ability to sell more product? Imagine your multiple‐pair sales increasing to 25%…30%…HOW ABOUT 40% or higher? We'll show you how to do it without 'selling' a thing!
STAFF MANAGEMENT: "Do I have enough staff? Do I have the proper mix of staff? Do I have the proper Employee Manual to help the practice run smoothly"? These concerns along with many more, will be solved so you can concentrate on your patient care instead of always putting out fires!
TELEPHONE MANAGEMENT: Did you know that proper marketing doesn't necessarily direct patients through your door? Proper marketing makes the telephone ring in order for your future patients to learn more about you. If your staff is unable to convert a telephone shopper into a scheduled patient, then your marketing dollars will probably go right down the tubes! We'll show you great ways to convert the vast majority of callers!
DISPENSARY MANAGEMENT: "Do I have too many frames? Too few? The right mix of fashion and function"? Most existing practices we have worked with have over $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 in excess inventory. Imagine having that money in the bank account working for you to pay your accounts early in order to achieve their maximum discounts, updating the practice, buying that retinal camera you've always had your eyes on, or better yet… taking home a bigger paycheck!
VENDOR MANAGEMENT: With our Vendor Agreement, your vendors will be working in your best interest instead of theirs, while saving you over $2,000.00 per year! This will also free up your staff time so they can concentrate more on patient care. Sounds good, doesn't it?
PROPER PRODUCT PRICING: Most practices have a tough time pricing products for maximum profitability. We'll do a customized analysis that will add much more profitability to the practice while helping you stop giving things away!
PRE‐APPOINTING: If all patients came back to their eye doctor on a yearly basis, Glaucoma would not be the second leading cause of blindness today! It's important to get your patients back, but many methods of pre‐appointing only fill your schedule with no‐shows. Our fool‐proof method guarantees this not to happen! You'll love this!
PRACTICE STATISTICS: Imagine each staff member dedicating less than 1% of their time to help you manage, monitor and grow your newly purchased practice! Yes it can happen and it's easier than you think. We'll have you and your team focus only on the statistics that will help turn your practice into a gold‐mine! And best of all, it only takes minutes to do!
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES: Turn your aged accounts receivables into cash in the bank! We'll teach you the simple methods in order to get the job done. It's easier than you think!
SCHEDULING FOR PROFITABILITY: Per‐patient revenue can vary dramatically throughout every hour of every day, thus reducing your overall profitability. Our method keeps the per‐patient revenue strong all day long, and these are results that you can take to the bank! Proper scheduling also helps to reduce the 'feast or famine' scenario, so you may not need that extra staff person after all! This is just another method of working smarter…not harder!
WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS: Should I have a new website? Should I include social media? Would there be extra profitability? We'll step you through the process in order to make the best decisions to help turn your website into a 'patient‐magnet'.
STAFF MEETINGS: "What are the best ways of having scheduled staff meetings? How often should we meet? What should we talk about? What's to keep a staff meeting from turning into a gripe‐session"? We'll instruct you on the ways to make your staff meetings very efficient while focusing on business care issues to help grow your practice!
PROFIT & LOSS ANALYSIS: It's not uncommon to start receiving your P&L statements, but not fully understand what to do with them. Many of the colleagues you ask have no idea what the numbers really mean either. We'll teach you how to benchmark your practice properly, as some currently used benchmarks actually lead you down the wrong path.
TIME MANAGEMENT: "These are all great ideas, but how are we ever going to have the time to get them implemented?" Proper time management is essential when going through a consulting program. Remember the last great idea you had, but nobody had the time to implement it? Say "Goodbye" to this problem forever!
Did you also know that a certain 4‐second question addressed to someone who just scheduled an appointment can easily add an additional 12% of patients to your schedule book? You will soon!
Looking for ways to ease the burden of purchasing a new practice? How about a better quality of life? More time off? More profitability, along with methods that help you run your practice instead of your practice running you?
I think that you will agree that the vast majority of the above topics were never taught in optometry school, and please don't feel too overwhelmed, as with Practice Mentors, we'll take you through these and many, many more strategies step‐by‐step.
There's a lot to be said for starting your newly purchased practice properly right out of the gate.
Practice Mentors can get you there!
As a matter of fact, lenders love the concept of utilizing a consultant as assurance that you will be able to pay them back, and they will easily roll the consulting fee into the purchase loan, and all of this for less than the price of a retinal camera. Gotta love that!
There are many investments that you will make in your practice from equipment to staff, but few investments reap such a long‐lasting reward. Don't you owe it to yourself and your family? Give us a call…we're here to help!