Practice Management

Discover Two “Overlooked” Practice-Building Resources

By Agustin Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, ABCMO

April 26, 2017

Every day we have opportunities to grow our practices and profitability. Sometimes the resources to capture those opportunities are right under our noses, and we still overlook them.

My son is a culinary-trained expert, and he judges a restaurant’s business performance by many things that I would never consciously note. The expediency of the wait staff is what first comes to his attention when visiting new restaurants. He can evaluate the management efficiency by what he calls “missed opportunities.”

In the competitive restaurant business, service performed in an ordinary way does not make the dining experience memorable; it is when simple things are performed in an extraordinary way that people are then introduced and spoiled with a superior experience. Similarly, in the eyecare business, simple and overlooked details can be the start of a disaster.

The good news is that we can get the details right in our own businesses–our practices. The means to do that are utilizing advanced, quality products and efficient, thorough service. The following are key partnerships that can help us capture two often-missed opportunities.

Dr. Gonzalez says the sign in the window of his practice listing his services helps promote his medical eyecare services, letting patients know the full scope of what he does. He added the sign on the recommendation of a sales rep.

Use Sales Reps as Business Consultants
In an era of threats from online refractions and mass retailers, as individual ODs, we have no other option than to minimize the amount of “missed opportunities” that we have.

For example, think about the value conversations you could have with your sales reps. These individuals are, perhaps, the biggest missed opportunities to grow your business. They have tremendous experience in first impressions, and often see your staff before they see you. They have visited many other offices in your region, and can quickly identify the products and marketing that will work best for you, and they have dealt with many different personalities and management styles.

In addition, they are a valuable resource for a 10-minute practice consultation. They have seen what works, and what doesn’t, and can help your office tap into unseen opportunities ranging from how best to greet your patients to how best to educate your staff about their products, and how best to reach out to other local healthcare providers for co-management opportunities.

I often ask reps what they have noticed in other offices that have caught their attention. From burned coffee pots, to office signage, and staff management, many changes have started as a conversation with a sales rep. For example, after receiving guidance from one of our reps, we started printing our warranty policy on our receipts, rather than paying extra to have it printed on a special pamphlet. This streamlined the materials we give to patients, and saved us in printing and production costs. The warranty policy pamphlets cost us about $800 dollars a year, so the savings were significant.

One time, a rep mentioned that another practice he worked with had a list of services in the window next to the entrance door. So, we did the same, and now our patients, and any passersby, immediately understand that we do much more than just glasses and contact lenses.

Following the advice of another rep, we recruited a high school student from a nearby science program. His part-time job was to do the in-house optical finishing lab services. We taught him the skill of lensometry, and with our automated finishing lab, this allowed our optician to be able to concentrate more on her sales role, and less on her lens finishing responsibilities.

Join an Optometric Alliance to Gain Business Knowledge
Optometric alliances offer volume-based discounts on inventory for your practice, but the expertise you can gain from other ODs is the most valuable resource these organizations offer. The greatest value of buying groups is the collective sharing of knowledge and experience. I believe that even if you do not have your own office, joining an OD alliance is one of the best opportunities to grow your business and kick-start your career.

Alliances have tremendous resources that can guide your practice and professional experience. Whether for independent, or corporate, optometry, these groups value optometry, and have the collective experience of handling and guiding practitioners through most, if not all, the situations that you will encounter. These same arguments could be made for state and national organizations, like the American Optometric Association.

The camaraderie and brainstorming atmosphere of these professional meetings allows for many conversations on office protocol and patient management, advertising and office pricing strategies.

In a conversation with one OD at an association meeting, he explained that he creates a monthly budget for the optical area (frames lab services and lenses) of his practice to be managed by the optician. He places X amount of money in a pre-paid credit card at the beginning of the month, and the optician manages the expenses from it. If there is money left on the card at the end of the month, he splits is with the optical staff as a bonus for controlling the budget.

The knowledge you gain from fellow OD practice owners, like what you gain through consultations with sales reps, allows you to compete more successfully with mass merchandisers and online retailers. You can take advantage of the opportunity to get the details right that many of them are still neglecting.

What new opportunities to provide improved products and services to patients have you learned from your sales reps and optometric alliances or associations?

 

Agustin Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, ABCMO, is the owner of Eye & Vision in Richardson, Texas. To contact him: gonzalez.agu@gmail.com

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