Are You Forward Booking?March 24, 2016Dentists are experts at forward booking patients’ next exams. Veterinary receptionists should embrace this proven business strategy. Tell clients at checkout, “Just as your dentist has you schedule your next appointment at checkout, we do the same so we can proactively manage your pet’s health. Dr. <Name> can see you on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. or Friday, Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. for your pet’s next checkup. Which choice fits your schedule? We will remind you two weeks in advance in case you need to make changes.” The 2013 AAHA State of the Industry report estimated that moving the percent of forward booked appointments from 5 percent to 10 percent could generate $40,000 in additional revenue for a typical veterinary clinic (about 3 percent more in revenue growth) and a total of $350 million dollars in additional preventive care revenue for the profession as a whole. For tips on forward booking, watch a 5-minute video tip below: For more tips, go to my YouTube channel, CSVets, here.
SPONSORED CONTENTThe Case for Year-Round Heartworm Prevention and Affordable OptionsVeterinarians are often more than just clinicians - they’re advisors, educators, and, increasingly, financial counselors. In today’s economy, pet owners may hesitate to invest in year-round prevention due to budget constraints; but, skipping even a few months of heartworm protection can have serious consequences. + Learn More
7 Habits of the Most Successful Veterinary Practice LeadersMarch 23, 2016Want to lead your practice to its full potential? Successful veterinary practices don’t just happen. They develop over time under strong leadership. Here are 7 strong habits for leaders who want to build successful practices. Habit No 1: Know your priorities and communicate them clearly. People (i.e., your veterinary practice team) need a firm foundation, much like buildings need one. Without a “square” foundation, a building will never be stable. Priorities serve as a foundation for a business. You, the leader, may know your general priorities, but those who follow you need to know what they are too. If priorities are the blocks in the foundation, then clear communication is the cement that holds them together. How to you clearly communicate your priorities? Step No. 1 is to write down your list of priorities. Why? Here are some reasons: The list will help make it official to you and your team. As you work together, you can point out times when your priorities made a difference. You can incorporate your priorities into your mission statement. Once you have your written list of priorities, make them come alive. How do you that? Here are some examples: Acknowledge when a team member …
How to Have ‘The Talk’ on End-of-Life CareMarch 21, 2016One of the most difficult conversations to have in the veterinary industry is “the talk”—the end-of-life and euthanasia discussion. How does one approach clients to tell them their beloved companion must cross the rainbow bridge after 15 or more years together? How does a veterinary practitioner discuss options or bring up memorial keepsakes? What do you do if euthanizing is the only ethical and humane option but the client doesn’t want to let go? Veterinarians experience these scenarios every day, but no one ever warns them. Rarely is a practitioner given a heads-up on what to expect when she walks into the exam room—the client’s mindset, whether the owner has come to terms with the decision, the chance that Doctor Google was wrong. All these drastically affect the conversation a veterinarian is about to have with the individual. Weighing the Decision Ultimately, the final decision rests with the client. However, it’s up to the professionals to guide the client to the appropriate and humane decision. Clients may do whatever they can if there’s hope the pet’s quality of life can be maintained through medical care, surgery or ongoing therapy. …
How to Talk to Your Veterinary ClientsMarch 18, 2016You may be up-to-date on the latest medical research and have excellent skills with animals, but that won't help you if you struggle to communicate with your clients. Veterinarians rely on clients to carry out long-term treatment plans, to explain their pet’s health to other members of the household and to help understand the pet’s symptoms. If the client doesn’t understand what you’re saying or what information is relevant, you’re going to be unable to provide high-quality care. Fortunately, there are more tools than ever to help clients get the most out of their office visits. Avoid Jargon It may seem self-explanatory, but using medical jargon is one of the fastest ways to lose your clients. Jargon can make clients shut down and avoid asking questions because they feel self-conscious. That’s a problem because getting clear answers to questions ensures clients understand their pet’s health and what steps they need to take to ensure their pets’ healthy lives. One thing Wendy Myers, founder of Communications Solutions for Veterinarians suggests to help clarify any jargon that’s found its way into a conversation with a client is to ask, …
Bored Stiff? Why You Should Start Calling Vet ClientsMarch 15, 2016You finish surgery Wednesday morning, call clients with updates and eat lunch at your desk while finishing medical records from today’s procedures. You glance at the afternoon schedule and see only two exams. You’ve got four employees working until 6 p.m. Should you cut your losses and send half of the staff home early? Absolutely not! Veterinary technicians, assistants, receptionists and doctors need to start dialing. Call clients about necessary follow-up care. Besides improving patient care, callbacks generate immediate revenue. Here are four callbacks designed for every position: What Veterinarians Should Do Call about patients with chronic conditions. Search your practice-management software for patients with diabetes, arthritis, cardiomyopathy, thyroid disease, cancer, kidney disease and other chronic ailments. Scan electronic medical records before you dial to see which reminders are coming due. Even if no services are due, simply call to let clients know that you care about their pets. Goodwill can guarantee future visits. Say, “This is Dr. <name> calling from <your veterinary hospital>. I was just thinking of Oliver and wanted to see how he is feeling. I want to help …
Did They Just Say That?!March 10, 2016As a traveling surgeon, I spend a lot of time calling multiple veterinary clinics. So I've heard everything from the best to the worst in the area of phone etiquette. Most times, it's the most helpful, prompt and professional service I could ask for. My call is handled with efficiency and the reason I'm calling for is addressed quickly. But a few times, the things I hear make me shake my head in disbelief. Yet it is so critical to sound professional when answering the phone. Clients will prejudge the quality of medicine you practice based on what they hear on the phone. And they haven’t even met you yet! Here are some of the most offending situations I’ve encountered. First Words Heard Calling some hospitals can be frustrating. The line might be constantly busy, or the phone might ring endlessly, both of which are probably not good ways to manage a service-oriented business. Others clinics are reachable, but you are obligated to leave a message without talking to a human being. Sometimes, “Messages are checked hourly” or “Messages are checked at the end of each day” or “Calls will …
Why You Need to be Great at Telling Clients What’s NewMarch 2, 2016Are you sure your veterinary clients are aware that your practice now offers digital radiography, laser therapy and a new medication for their itchy dog? Even if they do, are you sure they know why it matters to them? You’d think veterinary practices would naturally tell clients about a new service or piece of equipment. And, we often think we’re doing a good job of spreading the news. But a lot of what’s obvious to us remains unknown to our clients. Far too many veterinary practices miss significant revenue because their clients don’t know about new services they offer. Information creates interest in the minds of pet parents who want the best care for their pets. Plus, imagine the time and stress you could save if a client already understood the value of digital radiography before their pet needed it. Clients who understand the value of your equipment and services before they need them, are likely to accept your recommendations with enthusiasm. The fact that you have up-to-date equipment shows your high level of concern for patient care. But those resources have a cost attached to them. And, …
5 Improvements Any Veterinary Practice Can MakeFebruary 24, 2016Every day, there are hundreds of tasks that must be completed to keep a veterinary hospital operating smoothly. These tasks are shared amongst all the team members and departments. Keeping everything going smoothly and cohesively can be a challenge, even for the most well run hospital. Despite that challenge, you and your team are doing an overall great job! However, there is always room for improvement. As a veterinary practice management consultant, I regularly observe a number of factors that still need some TLC. Sometimes practices are not even aware of these factors as it is hard to see the forest for the trees when you are so tangled up in the day-to-day activities. So what can you improve? Check out these 5 areas. Improvement No. 1: Enhance Staff Training and Support One of the biggest areas for improvement is related to your veterinary staff. While unfortunate, it is common practice in this industry to hire someone, toss them in with little training and expect them to swim. Then, when they sink, the hospital leaders are frustrated. When the new employee fails, it has negatively impacted them, the hospital and …
5 Things We Love and Sometimes Hate in the Veterinary PracticeFebruary 11, 2016Love is in the air. Lots of it. But you wouldn’t know it by following the news. Presidential primaries, Syrian refugees, Parisian atrocities, Putin’s posturing, domestic xenophobia. It’s enough to make you question whether there’s any room in our frigid human hearts for snow cones and bunny rabbits, much less Valentine’s Day. Thankfully, though, I’ve amassed plenty of evidence to the contrary. After a tumultuous first year in my own veterinay practice, I’ve learned a lot of tough lessons the hard way. I’ve also managed to be excited, uplifted and even awed by the many ways in which practice ownership, and veterinary practice in general, can inspire the best in us. Unfortunately, it also can awaken the worst. But just because we want to strangle the occasional human doesn’t mean we have to behave like serial killers. I’m finally beginning to understand that becoming a veterinary professional doesn’t automatically mean that the world will bend to my will. Nor does buying the practice increase my control of the world around me; ironically, quite the opposite in my case. We still have to deal with people who …
8 Ways to Improve the Dental Discharge ExperienceFebruary 4, 2016Originally published in the February 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! A client arrives at 6 p.m. to pick up her dog, who had a dental treatment today. The veterinary technician who performed the procedure has gone home, and the doctor who extracted five teeth is running 30 minutes late for evening exams. After waiting 25 minutes in the lobby, the client speaks with the doctor for five minutes before he rushes off to his last appointment. A veterinary assistant brings the dog to the checkout desk and hands the client her dog’s medication and home-care instructions. This poor experience could influence the client’s decision to accept professional dental care in the future. Here’s how to create a five-star discharge experience. 1) Schedule the dental procedure on the day of diagnosis. Most dental disease is diagnosed during preventive checkups. If you have computers in exam rooms, the technician can book the dental procedure now. If the client will check out at the front desk, the receptionist should schedule the procedure first, and then collect payment for today’s services. Today’s bill …
