john sheridan bvetmed cvpm dms mrcvs let’s find the hidden treasure in your practice – i’ve...

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John Sheridan BVetMed CVPM DMS MRCVS

Let’s Find the Hidden Treasure in Your Practice – I’ve got the map


What resources are available today in your practice – to help you achieve all your professional and

commercial objectives?

Some may be buried - hidden away in your own practice treasure chest

I’ve got the map – and X marks the spot


1.Your client database2.Your reception team3.Your numbers

Perhaps these are the three most under-utilised


Treasure Number 1 - Your Client Database

How many active clients per veterinarian FTE • what is an active client?• concern about downward trend but nothing new - has been

steady since 1960 to my knowledge• FDI – 980 - NCVEI 1,070• What about Hungary? • What are the numbers for your practice?• will continue to slide - the low-hanging fruit has been picked –

plenty more but just more difficult to find• essential to monitor every month


How many new clients did you register last month?• how many new clients per veterinarian FTE?• best to record as a proportion of the base• how many should you be aiming for?• probably need to aim for 25% of base every year • so if current database is 1,000 clients per vet FTE, they need to be generating 5 or 6

each week• do all your employees know how many new clients you need to register every month

How many active clients did you lose last month?• calculate from ‘active clients last month’ plus ‘new clients last month’ minus ‘active

clients this month’• how many lost clients per veterinarian FTE?• are they lost or are they simply ‘lapsed’ ?


• policies to attract new clients• policies to retain existing clients• policies to restore ‘lapsed’ clients

Here’s just one suggestion – Bayer Vet Care Usage Study – quoted by Tom Catanzaro – 26% of dog owners and 38% of cat owners reported that ‘thinking about visiting the vet was stressful. 58% of cat owners said that their cat ‘hates going to the vets’ – need for some innovative thinking here!

So you need to consider three quite different marketing policies:


Treasure Number 2. Your reception team – the communication hub in your practice

• Looking out – the link with clients and the veterinary marketplace

• Looking in – the link with management and the clinical team


So the reception team needs to have a clear understanding about:

• the marketplace in which the practice operates• the animal owners in the practice catchment area• what services, advice and products are they looking for?• what services and products are currently available from ‘their’

practice and from other veterinary practices and other sources?• what makes ‘their’ practice special?• what are clients and callers saying about ‘your’ practice and

other practices in the area• why choose this practice?


What are animal owners looking for?

• Vets think clients priorities are:– high standards of

diagnosis, medicine and surgery

– the latest and the best equipment and facilities

– highly trained and qualified staff

– competitive (low) prices

• Clients say their priorities are:– welcoming staff– people who like their pets

(and vice versa)– people who are interested in

them and their pets– people who understand their

business needs (B2B clients)– recognition of their needs– to feel special– time, respect, courtesy and

care


Now identify the other practices in the area, write them down and discuss with your team

• who are they?• where are they?• what are they offering that you don’t?• identify the strengths and weaknesses about their

premises, staff, services, prices etc (and compare with your own practice)

• what are they doing better than you?• what are you doing better than them?• what should you do about it?


Why do clients leave?• the moments of truth• when customer/client experience exceeds

expectations – satisfaction• when expectations exceed experience - dissatisfaction• the perceived attitude of every single member of the

practice team is crucial• the reception staff are always on show• must leave personal issues at home• do your reception staff acknowledge every new arrival,

welcome them by name and refer to their animals by name - always?


Client contact moments of truth

• on the telephone• at reception• admitting patients• discharging patients• some tricky issues


Who determines the consulting room occupancy level in your practice?• the clients or the practice?• where do they come from – UK sample

– new clients out of the blue- 6% – existing clients out of the blue – 38%– existing clients - some practice initiative 24%– existing clients - result of a recommendation from an

individual member of staff – 32%• that is why the reception role is so critical


Treasure Number 2. Your reception team – the communication hub in your practice

• Looking out – the link with clients and the veterinary marketplace

• Looking in – the link with management and the clinical team


Three Essential Components

1. communication with management and the clinical team

2. source of information for management and the clinical team

3. contribution to building the top line


That internal communication role requires an understanding of:

• the commercial reality of running a veterinary practice• why? – in part because your staff are your number 1 clients – help them

to understand the need for profit and realistic charges and you will have fewer client complaints.

• how? – requires in-house training – time consuming and costly – use a tool like ‘Pop Goes the Weazel’ – importance of profit– average spend– number of transactions– what about the costs – the 3 key cost headings– what is the margin?– required revenue per year, day, hour and minute!


Source of information about reception and operational issues

• how are we doing?• footfall trends – why?• service delivery issues – pressure points on reception –

telephone, appointments, admissions, discharges, what else? when? why?

• what was the consulting room occupancy level last month? variance from budget?

• let’s look at the accident book• have there been any H&S issues?• mini-client surveys for management – the importance of

client feedback


Information about the clients and patients

• the client database – how many new clients? how many lapsed clients ?

• how many complaints were recorded last month?• what were the top three complaints?• how were they dealt with?• how many thank you letters and calls?• who or what were they applauding?• what happened last week that made you proud to be

part of this practice team• on reflection, can you think of any specific way we

could have improved client service last week


The reception role in building the top line

• They must be:• kind, patient, polite and smart• sympathetic and in charge• tactful and understanding• gentle• confident• trustworthy• sincere and• helpful• AND – what else?


They must also do the business!• arrange appointments• ‘pull the record’• check the details / register a new client• ask for and take the money• give a receipt• arrange a new appointment• ensure all questions answered• maintain all clinical, client and financial


What else?• ‘own and implement’ credit control policies• follow up telephone calls• monitor and increase occupancy

– what is the consulting room occupancy in your practice?– what is the optimum level?– what can reception staff do to increase?

• convert enquiries into appointments• promote OTC sales


To sum up:

• reception – is the communication hub in your practice

• looking out – is the link with clients and the veterinary marketplace

• looking in – is the link with management and the clinical team


So what is the number one key role in your veterinary practice?

• Your Reception Team


Treasure Number 3. The numbers

We’ll look at the numbers in the next session


John Sheridan BVetMed CVPM DMS MRCVS

Thank you

john sheridan bvetmed cvpm dms mrcvs let’s find the hidden treasure in your practice – i’ve...

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