In tough economic times it becomes increasingly more important to put your attention and energy into strategies which are proven to work. There is less room for error and there can be a fine margin between success and failure. So, what has proven to work in times like these?
The most important thing for you to possess is knowledge. Not random knowledge but the specific knowledge required to succeed in practice.
In my experience, a successful practice in today’s environment requires knowledge in at least these key areas…
1. Service Delivery
2. Communication
3. Marketing
4. Management of Staff
5. Organization
6. Handling of Finances
Most doctors are competent with the service that they deliver. This is not to say that this area shouldn’t be improved, but for the purpose of this article, I shall move on to #2.
Every aspect of what you do in practice can be viewed as a communication. Whether you look at treatment, marketing, a Report of Findings, or billing an insurance company, it is all communication.
The Prescott Group has worked with thousands of doctors and staff over the years and discovered that most people are deficient in the basics of communication. A lack of these basics can result in the rote use of scripts in situations where they don’t really apply—or to some degree of failed communication.
If this occurs in marketing, it means less new patients; in the ROF, it means less patient compliance; in patient education it means less understanding; in billing, a lack of communication basics means less pay for your services.
To handle this problem, we train each of our clients on the basics of communication. With these basics understood and applied, every aspect of practice is easier.
Without marketing to create a consistent flow of new patients into the office, it is impossible to operate a viable business, and it is unlikely that you will achieve your purpose—to any great degree.
There are two aspects to the Marketing Training that we teach our clients. One aspect is training on all the successful actions of chiropractic marketing—some of which you’re familiar, and some which will be new to you. In either case you’ll be trained and drilled in proper procedures to maximize efficiency.
The second aspect that we teach is the key to marketing success—and is generally not known by most chiropractors. We teach all of our clients the fundamentals behind what makes any marketing activity succeed. It is the underlying basics of how your message is formulated, delivered, and then received by another person. Without this understanding a doctor is left doing the motions of marketing without an ability to control the outcome because he is doing something he does not understand.
With mastery of both aspects of the Marketing Training, our clients have plenty of new patients in need of chiropractic care.
The proper management of staff is the foundation for sustained growth and efficiency. Although every area of my practice has been improved over the years, the successful management of staff has been the breakthrough that has allowed me to achieve long term success in a stress free practice.
Having staff that are trained to competence and can produce at a very high level is the foundation on which to build a stable practice that thrives in any economy. At The Prescott Group, we assist our doctors by not only teaching them how to hire and train competent staff, but we also actually help train the staff, as well!
If you have to run around your practice and do almost everything to make sure it is done right or you have the revolving door syndrome of staff replacement, our training will help you handle these problems.
A system of standard organization is the hallmark of a well run efficient practice. It is also what gives a practice the ability to
survive in the long term. This is important for the long term survival of chiropractic, as well as provides you with a stable economic future.
We train our clients on the basic fundamentals of organization and help them to implement standard systems. That is why our clients can achieve long term success, take vacations, phase out of any aspect of practice they prefer not to do day to day, sell their practice for a significant price, or run multiple clinics.
In today’s economy the proper handling of finances is essential. We train our clients on proper strategies for creating a reserve fund, paying down debt, and expanding income. We teach our doctors to plan their income in advance rather than wait until the end of the month to see what is left over after practice expenses.
Maybe the best aspect of our training aside from the fact that it works, is that we guarantee your skills for life by allowing you to return at any time to retrain on your courses—at no additional cost. Every month we have former clients return to retrain on their courses and sharpen their skills.
The first step for you to learn more about what The Prescott Group can do for you is to call our office and schedule a free practice analysis. I look forward to working with you!
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