7 habits - · pdf file7 proven habits of success to grow your ... new customer visits per...
TRANSCRIPT
10/10/2017
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THE SOLUTION
7 proven habits of success to grow your audiology practice in today’s market
Presented by Kevin St.Clergy, PartnerWritten by Charlie Cook, Partner
Howwe’llbeworkingtogethertoday…
• Can we start by agreeing this is a partnership?(show of hands)
• I‘ll share proven practice building ideas and you’ll share how you can make them work.
• No excuses, no telling me stuff doesn’t apply, or you don’t have the time.
• Even just for a the next few hours, let’s be partners, and come up with a plan to grow your practice. Okay?
Whatyoucandotogetthebiggestbenefit…
Can we agree, the more you put into it, the more you’ll get out of this workshop? (show of hands)
And you will:
•Take notes.
•List ways you can apply these money making concepts.
•Ask questions.
•Complete the worksheets.
•Talk to me afterwards if you want to schedule a one‐on‐one practice building consultation.
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Quickquestion.Whatcouldgowronginthenextfewyears?
Your3biggestconcerns…
Take a second and jot down three ways your practice revenue could erode or disappear in the next few years.
1.
2.
3.
Whatarethetop3reasonsyoucouldloseyouraudiologypractice?• Patients won’t pay for high end hearing aids
• The competition (low‐cost, online or big budget) could steal your patients
• Marketing flat out doesn’t work
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Commonmythsabouttheaudiologyindustry….
Myth1–Mostpatientsarecheapskates
Areallyourpatientscheap,andwantamate’sdiscount?The Facts
•The market for hearing aids is steadily growing each year as the boomer generation ages.
•The population of people who could benefit from hearing aids is just beginning to be tapped,
•75% of the people who could benefit have yet to even try hearing aids.
•People’s expectations are increasing and they are paying more and more each year for the latest technology.
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Mythbusted…
The Truth – Plenty of patients are willing to pay more for better technology and are already doing so.
•Pad of paper $2.62ipad $697‐$795 – 200 million sold
•Old phone $38Today smart phones selling like hotcakes at $260‐785
•Black and white “19” TV in 1980 $225Today 60” LG $1,050 and top selling Samsung $4,500
Truth…
People love to spend more for great technology.
Consumer spending isn't the problem but marketing.
Myth2– Competitioniskillingsales
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Stop!Askyourselfaquestion
• Why are so many people, getting into the hearing aid business?
• And it’s not just to annoy you…
• Blimey! It’s because…
There is TON of money to be made selling hearing aids!
Arelowcost,onlineretailersandbigbudgetplayerstakingyourpatientsandsales?Truth
• Low cost and online retailers are getting into the market because there is so much money to be made.
• They are successfully getting more first time buyers to try hearing aids than ever before.
• The strength of these retailers is also their Achilles heel.
• Yes, you could lose patients and sales if you do nothing but blame others.
OR ‐ If you know how, you can continue to succeed.
Myth3–Notenoughpatientstogoaround
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Notenoughpatients?
Truth
•The number of baby boomers who could benefit from hearing aids is EXPLODING.
•To be VERY successful you only need a small fraction of your local population to buy from your practice, unless you’re in a small town in the outback.
•Do nothing and it’s true, you’ll lose patients and sales.
Take action, use a proven marketing plan and you can attract all the patients you want.
Youjustneedtouse…the7HabitsofSuccess
Whatdoyouthinkarethehabitsofsuccess?
1. _______________
2. _______________
3. _______________
4. _______________
5. _______________
6. _______________
7. _______________
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The7habitsofaudiologypracticesuccess
• Focus
• Build Trust
• Attract Patients
• Market Consistently
• Get to Yes
• Measure
• Make Time
Bonus – Increase Profits
SuccessHabit1:Focus
Biggestmistake…
If you try to be everything to everybody, you’ll serve
no one in particular.
Instead if you identify and target the people you want to help, like working with and you’ll attract many more patients who will want to work with you and buy from you.
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Wheretofocusyourpractice?
No matter how smart you are, you can’t dominate every corner of the market. You can’t be tops in service, in quality, in high‐end hearing aids and in low‐cost better than a tin can hearing aids, all at the same time.
Small to mid‐sized audiology practices SUCCEED by…
Finding niches that are either unfilled or only partially filled, and filling them with excellence.
That’s what you can do!
What’sthenichethat’staken…
Low cost and online retailers do a great job for patients whose biggest concern is:
•Low cost
•Ease of access with extended hours
•And…
Well that’s it!
What’sthemarketnicheyourpracticehastargetedtofillwithexcellence?
Take a minute and jot down your answers. And be ready to share. Remember no one, no company is good at everything.
• Who are the patients you want to appeal to?
• What are the weakness of low cost and online remailers? What do they do poorly that you could do better?
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Areasyoucaneasilybeatthelowcostandonlineretailersinclude…
• Local feel and personality
• Personal connection with clinicians
• Personal care
• Trust and confidence
• Quality and education of clinicians
• Privacy
• Longer trial periods
• Long‐term relationships
Wheretofocustogrowyourpractice?
Top3waystofocusyourpractice
Define your:
• Goals: written personal and practice
• Niche: a concise description of the people you serve and primary concerns you solve
• Uniqueness: ways your personality and interests make your practice different
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PersonalandPracticegoals…
For the next 12 months:
• What are your top 3 personal goals?
• What are your top 2 goals for your practice?
Yourniche,targetmarketis…
In 2‐3 sentences describe your target market and what’s different about them than who most practices serve.
Be as specific as you can. Describe salient moments that bring in patients. E.g. not just people with hearing loss but people who are frustrated about… and concerned about… who want help with…
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Uniqueness.Whatmakesyouandyourpractice,welldifferent…
• Note if everyone else says the same thing it’s not unique, not memorable and won’t help patients think of you when they have a question.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
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Focus:ActionPlan
What changes will you have made by the end of the next business day to improve the focus of your practice?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
SuccessHabit2:BuildTrust
Whytrust?
Take a second and jot down three reasons why trust is important to growing your practice.
1.
2.
3.
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It’sthebiggestbarriertosales
Without trust, it doesn’t matter what else you do or how much money you spend to market your practice, you’ll quickly go out of business.
It’sthefoundationofanyrelationship
Howcanyoubuildtrustonline?
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Assess+Solve
1. Determine the size of your reputation gap
2. Close the gap so your online reputation matches the quality of services your provide
Whatyouthinkyourreputationis?
Take a minute and jot down, given the level of knowledge of your staff and the service you provide:
On a scale of 1‐10, (10 being the highest) write down what your current practice reputation should be ______ (7, 8, 9, 10 right?)
Comparetoyouronlinereputation
Check your actual online reputation.
Go to www.MedPB.com/reputation‐report
Compare:A. What you think your reputation should be _____ B. What your actual online score is ______
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Whyisyouronlinereputationsolow?
• Lack of reviews
• Lack of positive reviews
• Presence of a few negative reviews
Howimportantarereviews?
72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as
recommendations from friends and family
Source: Anderson, M. “Local Consumer Review Survey.” 2012; Available from: http://searchengineland.com/study‐72‐of‐consumers‐trust‐online‐reviews‐as‐much‐as‐personal‐recommendations‐114152.
Reviewsinfluencedecisionmaking
Source: “Online Influence Trend Tracker.” Cone Communications, 2011; Available from: http://www.conecomm.com/2011coneonlineinfluencetrendtracker.
4 out of 5 consumers have reversed a purchase
decision based on negative online reviews.
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Howreviewshelp?
• With reviews you stand out in the search engines
• 10 or more easily found positive reviews can add 2-4 more new customer visits per week to your schedule, per location.
• The same is true for audiology and hearing aid practices.
• Reviews can add another $50,000 to $200,000 in revenue per year depending on your business.
Whybusinessdon’tusereviews?
You risk getting negative reviews – too few are positive.
Source: American Express® Global Customer Service Barometer. 2012; Available from: http://about.americanexpress.com/news/pr/2012/gcsb.aspx.
Unhappy customers tell an average of 24 people about their experience; happy ones tell 15 people.
It’stoocomplicatedandtedious
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Thebiggestbarriertousingreviewsis...
Lackofaneasytousesystem
Most business have TONS of happy clients – the problem is they are missing a simple and effective way to collect reviews.
What’s needed is…
•A system that makes it easy for you to get reviews
•Provides an automated collection process from external review sites
•That automatically posts the positive reviews on your website
•That sends you the less than positive feedback so you can remedy the situation with individual customers
Howtogetmorepatientreviews…
• Use a proven online review building system, to make it easy to get feedback.
• Set the expectation from the start.
• Provide a link on a small business card before they leave. Ask us for a sample.
• Pick the right people to ask. Look for customers with a smart phone.)
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Monitorandrespondtoreviews
Review “stream” on website
Review alerts by email
Identifyunhappycustomersbefore theywriteanegativereviewHappy customer? Great…. Unhappy customer? Let’s talk….
BuildingTrust:ActionPlan
What’s the value to you of getting reviews, in revenue per year?Hint: 3 more patients a week X 50 X your asp = ____?
_________________________________
What review building program will you use?Hint: Ask Kevin
___________________________________
How will you ask and get reviews?
___________________________________
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SuccessHabit3:AttractPatients
1.Identifymarketinggoals
Specific Goals
# of visitors per month want to attract to website
# of patients per month calling your practice
# of referrals per month
# of appointments scheduled per month
# of units sold per month
$____ increase in annual revenue
2.Pickstrategiestofocuson
Online
•Replace branded style website with direct response site
•Consistent online marketing, not the typical plant the seed and walk away approach.
Offline
•Database print mailers – every other month
•Special events – quarterly
•Patient email marketing – consistently
•Ask for referrals
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Startwithreferrals
What are 3 things to like about patient and physician referrals?
• ____________________________________________
• ____________________________________________
• ____________________________________________
Howcanyougeneratemorereferrals?
A. Have a beer and wait for them to randomly show up?
B. Make a plan to get referrals using a proven patient and physician referral generating system. And get 20‐50 times more referrals?
AttractPatients:ActionPlan
What changes will you have made by the end of the next business day to define your patient attraction plan?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
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SuccessHabit4:MarketConsistently
What’sthemostcommonmarketingmistake?
Youhadagreatideabut…
Does any of this sound familiar?
•“I did a database mailer a couple of years ago and it worked great.”
•“I wrote a new educational tip for my website, hmm… 9 months ago.”
•“I had our front desk staff call patients to schedule a hearing checkup…. what 5 years ago.”
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Marketingislikealoafofbread
Ideasaregreatbutconsistencyiskeytokeepingitfreshsoitattractspatients…
Do you have a marketing calendar that details what to do:
• Everyday? (ask for referrals and testimonials)
• Each week (update your social media)
• Each month (add fresh expert articles to your website)
• Every other month (in‐house event or database mailer)
MarketConsistently:ActionPlan
What actions will you have taken to keep your marketing fresh so it works to consistently attract more patients?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
Hint: See One Page Marketing Plan handout atwww.medpb.com/marketingplan Just enter you name and email.
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SuccessHabit5:GettoYES
Thebigliesmostpracticeownerstellthemselves
• If I can get them in the door, patients take action and buy
• I’m closing 90‐100% of all new patients
Acceptancerates:thetruth
Most practice owners acceptance rates average around 50%, with many as low as 30‐40%!
It’s not a reflection on anyone, just a lack of using a proven acceptance system with the result
Most are leaving money on the table…
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Moneyonthetable…
Thetruthismostpracticeownerscouldbemakingmore…
With a proven acceptance system:• 30‐40% more patients could accept your recommendation.
• You could generate another $30‐50,000 each month in revenue or $480,000 per year.
What’sthekeytogettingtoYES?
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Focusonyourcompetitiveadvantage
• It’s not price, convenience or technology
• It’s the Experience you provide
• It’s creating a positive and memorable experience for the patient
• It’s being personable, demonstrating expertise, and providing a customized recommendation.
Useapatientfocusedcounselingprocess1. Pre‐Educate The Patient
2. Help Them Sell Themselves
3. Use a Proven Follow‐up Process
Gainacceptance
• Use the Hearing Index for the Elderly in the waiting room
• Get to know them, get them to tell you their concerns before testing
• Identify what matters to them, what made them decide to come in to see you.
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Focusonpatientconcerns
1. Emotional – buying motivators
2. Logical – how people rationalize purchases
Do you have a process for identifying each and using them to make your recommendation and get patients to accept your recommendation?
Clarifyvalue
• Focus on Benefits not Features
• Recommend one product at a time based on lifestyle/COSIHow to get quality COSI GoalsHow to match these to technologyExamples
• Take away benefits as you drop to a lower tier of technology
3StepstoYES
1. Focus on the benefits first.
2. Make one recommendation
3. Then once they’ve agreed on the benefits and solution ‐ you can talk about price.
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Positionpriceintermsofvalue
• Price is what they pay
• Value is the benefit they get over time
GettingtoYes:ActionPlan
What actions will you have taken to increase acceptance rates?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
SuccessHabit6:Measure
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Whymeasureanything?
Whatarethereasonstomeasureperformanceinyourpractice?1. _____________________________________
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
Measurementscan…
• Tell you what’s working and what’s not
• Show you where to focus your marketing
• How your front desk staff are doing in scheduling appointments
• How your clinicians are doing in increasing acceptances
• How you are doing at increasing your profit margins
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Measurementsarethebestwaytoholdyourselfandyourstaffaccountablefor…
• Lead generation
• Appointment setting
• Sales and repeat sales
• Profits
Whatshouldyoutrackandmeasure?
Leadgeneration‐measurements
• How many leads do you got from online marketing last week?
• How many leads do you got from patient referrals?
• How many leads do you got from physician referrals?
• How many leads do you got from database marketing?
• How many do you got from print marketing?
And use this information to improve the lead flow from each of the above.
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Callstoappointments‐measures
Do you use call tracking to identity the number of incoming new patient calls and number of scheduled appointments by each front desk staff member?
Do you calculate their weekly conversion rates?
Do you sit down and meet with your front desk staff weekly and show them how to increase these rates so you get more appointments?
Appointmentstosales‐measures
Do you track, per clinician and for your practice the # of appointments to sales (each clinician’s acceptance rate)?
And do you use this information to site down with each clinician weekly to improve their conversion (acceptance) rates?
Repeatsales‐measures
• What’s the average lifetime worth of a patient to your practice?
• What’s the average interval between purchases?
‐ Hearing aids
‐ Batteries
‐ ALDs‐ Hearing Tests‐ Accessories
• Do you know the lifetime value of a patient?
• How can you increase your average patient lifetime value?
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3questionstoaskyourselfeveryday
• What’s working?
• What’s not?
• What can I improve?
Measurements:ActionPlan
What actions will you have taken to increase your own and your staff accountability?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
SuccessHabit7:MakeTime
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Howcanyoumakemoretime?
We all have the same amount of time in a day. Why is it some people get so much more done in a day?Ideas…
•____________________________________________
•____________________________________________
•____________________________________________
Twooptions–whichisbest?
• Reactive time managementResponding to the most recent email or phone callTreating everything as equally important
• Proactive time managementBlocking out your time ensure you do the most important tasksSetting aside time to respond to emails and or calls
Top4waystomakemoretime
1. List your top 3 most important activities
2. Avoiding switch tasking
3. Delegate clerical tasks
4. Block out time for your most important asks
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Startbyprioritizingyourtasks
Wheredoyouaddthemostvalue…
How much time are you blocking out for each?
• Answering the phone
• Reviewing your growth strategy
• Doing your own bookkeeping
• Implementing your marketing plan
• Seeing patients
• Checking in hearing aids
• Asking for referrals
• Trips to the bank
• Report writing
Seriously,yourtop3MVAs
Things only you can do in your practice!And no, having morning tea isn’t one of them.
•______________________________________
•______________________________________
•______________________________________
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MakingTime:ActionPlan
What actions will you have taken to make more time?
Who __________________________
What __________________________
When __________________________
BonusSuccessHabit:IncreaseProfits
5morewaystoincreaseprofits
• Set aside time to review numbers
• Change your pricing
• Sell an optimal blend of low, medium and high end units
• Hire smarter and more competent staff
• Hire a bookkeeper to make sure you have the right numbers to review each month
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Usethe7habitsandyou’ll…
• Be more focused
• Build trust with potential patients
• Attract more patients
• Be the local go‐to hearing expert
• Send more patients home with new hearing aids
• Have more time
• Increase your revenue
Howtwosavvyaudiologypracticeownerswonandyoucantoo…
Nextsteps
• Find out which review building system works best
• Use your one page marketing plan
• Contact Kevin at kevin @medpb.com