Practice Tip 06 - Fees

FEES… WHAT TO OR NOT TO CHARGE FOR

I had the luxury of buying a practice in the highest per capita income community of the nation and initially thought (and so did my colleagues) that fees will be no problem. I was very quickly awoken by the fact that this community, despite it’s material wealth, in many cases watched where it spent each & every dollar. I had to develop a fee guide that would not scare price-shopping clients away but would keep me profitable at the same time. Some of my best clients, that paid 10’s of thousands of dollars over the years, came in on a price shopping call. But remember this too: It’s hard to make up in volume when you charge below cost!

Here’s what works:
Make a list of your most commonly price-shopped items - vaccines, spays, neuters, Advantage etc… These are called your Front-end Items. (Do not include X-rays, lab work, major surgery etc… as clients rarely shop for these). Keep these prices low or a maximum of 10% above the pack (neighboring colleagues) so you don’t block the entrance to your practice. Also, don’t go too low as clients then question your safety and value.

Make a list or your remaining Back-end procedures and break each of these higher ticket items into smaller priced items. Make sure there is a fee for everything you do. If it’s not defined, you won’t charge for it. Charge for these back-end fees at a higher price point (profit).

When making estimates and bills up, bundle the back-end items together to make a larger profitable bill. Most veterinary management software systems allow for creating these bundled items.

When going over the estimate with the client make sure you explain every line, one at a time, checking for understanding with the client. If the client looks confused - then back up. Don’t go too fast. Get the clients agreement on every point.

Work out the payment after you have their agreement.

Questions? Give me a call.
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Practice Tip 05 - New Clients

NEW CLIENTS
THE LIFE BLOOD OF YOUR PRACTICE...

I spoke with a DVM practice owner that was following the “build it and they will come” external marketing program, and painfully waiting for new clients to arrive while his practice expense meter ticked away. A nail biter? You bet. A couple of things need correcting with this situation.

First is the viewpoint of the owner. It’s too passive. Fact: simply hanging out your shingle or just physically being there in most cases is not sufficient enough to attract the right amount of attention to your practice. New Clients are the life blood of your practice. Don’t ever forget this. (Note: If you have lots of new clients and are the only game in town, then just wait until you get some new hot shot moving in…). So don’t wait! You need to pro-actively market - I.e. do things to turn up the spotlight on your practice and drive new clients in. This is what your external marketing program should do.

Secondly, your marketing needs to be effective in bringing new people in. Effectiveness is the key word here. I am not against Yellow Pages or any other form of advertising or promotion if they are effective. So how do you know if your promotion is effective? Count the number of New Clients separately from your regular transactions. Track where they come from. Ask them “Where did you find our phone number to call us today?” You may be very surprised. A healthy practice should be bringing in between 15—20 new clients a week.

And thirdly know this, an effective marketing program creates a strong emotional response in potential clients by “pushing their button”. A button is something you push that produces a response. The response you want is obviously for new clients to chose you as their veterinarian. What is not so obvious is that to the degree you fail to properly align even one aspect of your marketing and presentation – your pricing, positioning, quality, presentation, design, support and so on - you won’t hit your clients’ button. These buttons can vary with different communities.

Interested in knowing more? Tally your New Client numbers over the last year and give me a call. I’d be happy to have a look at them with you.

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