SPAM is a term used to describe unwanted e-mail. Sort of like junk mail is used for the unwanted paper mail.
When you communicate with your patients, clients, referral sources, and potential patients e-mail can be a very cost effective method of communication. However at some point we know desirable e-mail becomes SPAM which seems to really annoy certain people. So when does e-mail become SPAM?
The origin of the term SPAM as a name for generic unwanted "stuff" seems to have come from a program of "Monty Python's Flying Circus" when a group of restaurant patrons found everything on the menu included SPAM. Some users on early bulletin boards and online services started repeating the word SPAM over and over again as a way of disrupting other users; or transmitting large blocks of dialogue from the program. Over a period of time the term spamming became used to refer to any annoying large amount of useless text that was transmitted.
With the wide use of e-mail, and higher speed internet connections, SPAM quickly migrated onto the screens of every one of us. If I mail you something I must pay postage, if I e-mail you something I may only pay for the cost of an internet account, and perhaps buying a list of e-mail addresses that I can use over and over again.
So when does your e-mail message cross the line from e-mail to SPAM? It is sort of like pornography, we all may think a little differently about it. But we know it when we see it.
I am not as bothered by SPAM as some people are. My delete key works great and fast. SPAM doesn't fill up my mail box, trash can, or landfill. So I actually prefer to receive an e-mail, SPAM, as opposed to a catalogue or postcard. Therefore I obviously cannot speak for everyone, but here are some guidelines to consider.
Obviously SPAM:
Anything that pretends to be something it is not is SPAM. I don't care if you only send out a few. If the subject doesn't match the text then there is no question it is SPAM and not appreciated. So if it says urgent, your order status, reminder, or urgent reply needed, or my UPS package delivery is delayed, or my bank has a security problem, then these are the worst kind.
I am sure none of you would ever send out this kind of e-mail, but remember this is the stuff we all hate.
If it is sent out indiscriminately in bulk it is SPAM. In the last couple of hours I have received 18 messages telling me Nikki has sent me a message on Facebook. Seven indicating if a part of my anatomy was bigger you gals would find me popular, and about a dozen offering me pills to impact the same part of my anatomy. I have also received a half a dozen offering some sort of photos or images and nine from lonely "nice" girls. Three offering to get me out of debit, and another flock offering to help me lose weight and a few indicating I can retire on E-Bay. If you send me more than 2 messages in a short time period with the same message I will consider it SPAM.
Again, I am sure none of you would do this, but again, it is this stuff people really don't like.
I bring these up because we may shy away from sending useful e-mail because of a fear of being considered like these people, which we are not.
Not-so-obviously SPAM
I receive other e-mail that I am not so sure if it is really SPAM or not. Several of the companies I regularly buy things from, from Amazon, to REI, to Alaska Airlines, send me regular e-mails. These are bulk e-mails sent out apparently indiscriminately to large groups of e-mail addresses that somehow they have on file. So I would consider it SPAM, although it doesn't bother me as much. Perhaps I feel some affinity for the company, or feel as I have purchased from them it is somehow my fault. But I do find these annoying much of the time. An airline sending me specials that I cannot use from my area is really annoying. I think because I tend to feel the need to open them and read them. Obvious SPAM that gets a bulk delete in some cases isn't as annoying as these that I feel the need to read.
Most anything that comes from a "do not reply to" address is SPAM to me. If you don't think it is important enough to listen to my reply, then don't send it to me. I am amazed by the number of companies that send me notices from a do-not-reply e-mail address and then try to tell me they care about me as a customer.
The Key Difference:
If the information in the e-mail is of interest to me, even in a general sense, I will feel better about the company for having sent it to me. If the information is not of interest to me I will feel worse about the company. For example: If Northwest Airlines sent me notices about specials that I might use. I would be glad for the e-mail. However if they send me e-mail about specials I obviously could not use I feel worse about the company.
So the key criterion is the content. If it is interesting to me, even in a general sense, I will feel better about the company for having sent it to me. This includes even items I may not personally be interested in, but I may want to know about. A company in my industry sending me information about some new product or service they are offering will almost always be appreciated, even if I don't use it.
I like the fact that e-mail can be a quick link to more information. A short e-mail that relates to a topic I am interested in, and has links to more information is often appreciated.
Therefore don't always shy away from using e-mail; sure there will be a few complaints. Because it is easy to complain, they just hit reply and complain. The feedback you receive this way can be useful. But don't think just because you get complaints from e-mail that those same people don't think less about you when you snail mail them something. You just don't get the feedback from regular mail you get from e-mail. There are several companies I think much less of because of the regular mailers they send me. They just don't know it because I am not going to pay to mail it back.
Guidelines for Using E-Mail:
I hope this helps you,
Rick
I’ve got to go to work; bummer.
I get to go to work; better!
It does make a difference how you say it! Because how you say it impacts how you think and feel, and perhaps more importantly how those around you think and feel. Think about how it sounds to your kids. I’ve got to go to work. Now is that is a way to have them enthusiastic about going to school so they can get a job like you have? Is that anyway to have them proud of what you do, knowing how important it is to you, them, and society?
I’ve got to go to work. Do you think your patients and customers want you to be saying and thinking about them? You are communicating: I’ve got to tolerate these employees. I’ve got to tolerate these patients. I’ve got to tolerate you.
Tomorrow morning stand in front of the mirror and say; “I’ve got to go to work.” Does your face end up in a smile? Or a frown. Or a who-knows-what expression.
Then stand in front of the mirror and say: “I get to go to work!” How does your face end up? Admit it, it does feel better. It always does.
Every minute of each day we have a chance to improve our attitude or lower our attitude. I get to go to work improves not only our attitude, but that attitude of those around us.
If you want your kids to look forward to a profession, then make sure they know you do also.
If you want to look forward to each day, knowing each day is filled with opportunities to help people, then tell yourself so!
Rick
An elderly couple are attending church services. About halfway through she writes a note and hands it to her husband.
The note said; "I just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?"
He writes back; "Put a new battery in your hearing aid."
Contributed by Pamela
A male patient is lying in a bed in the hospital still somewhat sedated from his surgical procedure.
A nurse enters the room to give him a partial sponge bath.
"Nurse," he says; "are my testicles black?"
A bit embarrassed, the nurse replies; "I don't know sir. I am only here to wash your upper body."
He repeats himself, obviously concerned: "Nurse, are my testicles black?"
Wanting to do her job well she overcomes her embarrassment and sheepishly pulls back the covers, raises his gown, and holding his penis in one hand and his testicles in the other moves them around carefully to check them out thoroughly. After a careful and full examination she returns them to their previous position.
Feeling somewhat proud of herself for overcoming her embarrassment she tells him there is nothing wrong with his testicles. While she notices a surprising smile on the man's face.
"Thank you very much." he says, "That was wonderful."
But I still need to know. "ARE MY TEST RESULTS BACK?"
Contributed by Peanut
They can steal your money, take away your car, steal your job, damage your integrity, and take away your house. They can even take your life and the life of those you love.
No one can ever take your attitude; except you.
No one can give you a poor, bad, disgusting, harmful, middling, good, great, excellent, or triumphant, attitude; other than you.
Your attitude is yours and yours alone. You control it completely.
Think about it; is there anything else you are completely in control of. Not your finances, not your health, friends can let you down, family can become a burden, you don’t even control the length of your life. Your heart could stop beating right now, and you could do nothing about it.
You can however control your attitude. You and you alone are in complete control. Absolute control!
If you aren’t confident you are in complete and absolute control then practice, or give me a call.
Rick
In each day we are given 1440 minutes on a use them or lose them basis.
Minutes are the ultimate perishable item. Once a minute is gone it can never be retrieved. If one is wasted it can never be regained.
Those minutes are given to us for free. We aren't charged for our minutes. The President of the United States gets the same number as the homeless unemployed person sitting under the bridge. The teacher the same number as the student. They are the ultimate equalizer. Everyone gets the same daily 1440 minute allotment.
Your minutes are also the most valuable thing we have. Without minutes nothing can be accomplished. Without minutes nothing can be enjoyed.What we do with our precious allotment makes all the difference.
What did you do with your minutes today?
When I first started thinking about how I used my minutes I was amazed at how many of my minutes were used in a manner as perishable as the time itself. If I spend 20 minutes in front of the TV, watching something of no value, the time has perished along with the opportunity to use it productively.
If I spend 5 minutes in frustration waiting for an appointment, the opportunity to use that time has perished. If I spend that time connecting with a friend on the phone, or going for a short walk, I regain that time.
This is why I no longer take a daily newspaper. I realized that while I loved to read the paper, there wasn't anything in any of them that benefited me. Ball game scores, standard crime reports, reporters writing about things assigned to them that they obviously know nothing about, and other things of no real value to me filled the columns. Most any story could be inserted into a different edition and with a change of a date fit right in. It was the same "news" over and over again.
I actually missed the papers; I used to actually read three daily papers, but I didn't miss them for long not for long. I now spend my reading time reading things of significance written by people who might actually have thought about what they are writing.
I always have a book with me. Something I want to read. Whenever I am anywhere, airport, Dr's office, or a few minutes early to pick up my kids I use the time to learn something new.
I keep a list of quick things to do. If I have 5 minutes I will have something useful to do with those 5 minutes. Update my web site, add another name to my database, toss a load of laundry into the washer, or connect with someone online.
This doesn't mean I am hectically or frantically busy. I have found if I treasure each minute and don't waste my minutes I have minutes for many things. I have minutes to enjoy the sunrise; to take a walk when it snows. To watch a football game, yes on TV. I have minutes to listen to my kids without thinking about anything other than them. I have the 10 minutes it takes each day to walk my kids into the school building, not just push them out the door of the car.
I find by treasuring my minutes I almost always have time when a client calls.
I have found that be deciding in advance what I will use my minutes to do, I have time for just about everything.
I like that.
Rick
We know there is no free lunch. As professionals we know free is never actually free.
Recently an Audiologist asked my why she should pay for my business assistance when her vendor provides it for "free". She asked it sort of apologetically. I didn't mind the question. If I cannot answer it I ought to find another line of business. But it shows me a basic lack of understanding on her part.
I told her it is because I provide different services than they do. My purpose is to help you become professionally successful. My job isn't selling hearing aids to you, or to anyone for that matter. I don't have a monthly quota of hearing aids to sell, and I don't need you or the office down the street to sell them for me. I do help you productively use all the "free" advice you have access to.
As is often the case, the Audiologist asks this question after spending time complaining about patients who expected "free" hearing evaluations. She tells me this is wrong because the "free" test was only being used to deceptively sell the patient hearing aids and wasn't really "free" at all. I don't think she saw the parallel.
The "free" business services are only offered as a way to allow your vendor to get into your business deeper to get you to buy more hearing aids. When your vendors sales people are justifying spending money to offer "free" business services do you think they tell the big boss it is to help the Audiologist meet their personal and professional goals and objectives? Do you think the vendor really cares if you achieve your professional and personal purpose?
The suppliers, your vendors, will sell to you and then just as quickly sell to the office across the street. They need to meet their sales goals. You are a means to their end. As a business person I don't see anything wrong with this. In most any industry the suppliers do their best to get the retailers to support them. What amazes me is that in the dispensing business how often it seems to work to the benefit of the suppliers.
This is why so many dispensing practices are unfortunately little more than commissioned sales offices for the vendors. I have seen offices where the Audiologist received all her promotional materials from her vendor, all her hearing aids from her vendor, and her vendor even set her prices and told her when to give away her services to sell their hearing aids. They also discouraged her from working with other vendors. The Audiologist has lots of work creating promotions, implementing calls to action, fitting the instruments, dealing with third party payers and following up with the patients. Often these Audiologists aren't making any money; even while they may be selling a lot of hearing aids. They often are just about burned out and now looking for an "exit strategy"; in some cases they are looking to the same vendor to provide the "exit strategy" that got them into their mess in the first place.
When I was in telecommunication that is how we treated our commissioned sales representatives.
I am not opposed to the "free" advice offered. You can use it to your great advantage. But don't let "free" distract you from your professional purpose. If your professional purpose is to create wealth for the manufacturers and distributors than you have no need for me. It is your choice. If you don't make it for yourself, they by default make it for you. That is how they do their job.
I hope this helps you,
Rick
We ask for something, or say thank you to someone and they answer: "No problem". We all hear it. Most of us have probably said it. However we ought not to hear it in customer service situations, in particular where a problem does not exist.
Today I thanked the person for making my sandwich. "No problem", he said. How would this be a problem? What else would he be doing? It is a sandwich shop. Sandwiches are all they do. It never occurred to me my ordering a sandwich in a sandwich shop would be a problem. Perhaps I should have gone to the fish and chips place next door.
When I asked if my room was ready the front desk person said; "No problem". Why would there be a problem was what I was thinking while she was doing whatever they do on the computer. Perhaps she couldn't find my reservation. Perhaps, I didn't know what. I felt a little nervous.
I asked if I could buy an annual membership at the aquarium, the nice person at the counter said; you guessed it, "No problem". I was wondering, why she would say that as she looked down at something below desk level. Her only purpose is to take money from people. What possible problem could I be causing? I felt a little guilty. If it was almost a problem to buy an annual membership perhaps I should have just bought a daily pass.
I called down to find out what time breakfast was in the morning, when I thanked her she said; "No problem". What? Perhaps I was making some social snafu by asking about breakfast. I didn't know I was close to causing a problem. But as I know I make social mistakes often I was uncertain.
I asked when the pool would re-open, when I thanked him for responding he said; "No problem". Did he think having the pool out of service when one of the reasons we were back at the motel was so the kids could use the pool was not a problem? I didn't argue with him, but I thought it was a problem.
No problem is one of those negative statements that I don't believe ever is appropriate in a customer service situation. Even when I know I am causing a problem I don't want to be told about it. And if I am not causing a problem then thank me for asking, or for my business, or for whatever.
Whatever happened to "Thank You", or "You're Welcome"? Why not say; "Glad to be of service", or "Thank you for letting me be of assistance".
These statements would make me feel much more comfortable.
In particular when it comes to health care, where the customers are already a little uncertain at best and at times are downright nervous, using the phrase no problem doesn't help them or you.
I hope this helps you,
Rick
1. Purpose:
Clearly state your purpose: Why are you here? And how will you know you are successful. People like to win, enable them to win.
Clearly state what their role in achieving that purpose is. If you want them to be a productive member of the team, they must know what they are to do, and how it helps the team achieve success.
If they don’t believe the purpose is worthwhile, or don’t want their role. Make a transition plan.
2. Skills:
Ensure they have the skills to be successful. If they don’t provide training, practice, whatever.
If they aren’t capable of acquiring the skills, or don’t want to acquire the skills, or don’t want to use the skills. Make a transition plan.
3. Tasks:
Find out what they like to do, and then have them spend as much time as possible doing those things.
Find out what they don’t like to do, and then have them spend as little time as possible doing those things.
If you don’t know; ask.
If they don’t like to do any of the things you need done. Make a transition plan.
4. Compensation:
Set realistic expectations for them and yourself.
Pay appropriately for their skills in your market.
If they aren’t happy with realistic pay then make a transition plan.
Summary:
If an employee believes in your purpose and knows how their contribution helps then you are on the best possible track to start. Then; if they have the skills to perform the tasks required, and like doing those tasks, and believe their compensation is appropriate, you have created an environment for success.
If you have an employee who seems unhappy, or unproductive, take a look at these 4 areas and I bet you will find at least one of them will lead you to the root of the problem. Then you can either make it better, or know you need to make a change.
I hope this helps you.
Rick
It is often better to do something worthwhile poorly, than something of no value perfectly.
I find often we tend to drift to doing things we enjoy, or feel comfortable with, and avoid things that we are less confident in doing. I think this is a part of human nature. We tend to feel better when doing something we are comfortable with. When we aren’t confident, we tend to shy away.
I also know Audiologists are a group that likes perfection. You like to get A’s in class. You like to line up the graphs. This is a good thing; and a bad thing.
Many times you also tend to shy away from things that are out of your comfort zone. Therefore I find you doing something perfectly, that didn’t really need to be done at all.
Knowing your purpose is the key to unlocking success. Is what you did in the past 4 hours important to achieving your purpose? Was there a better use of your time?
You must know where you are going (purpose), then you must plot your trail (plan), then you must move down that trail (action), to achieve success. Then you can learn how to adjust your plan (evaluate and modify) as you go to ensure success.
Your life, business, professional, journey is not unlike a vacation. You must first decide where you want to go, make a plan to get there, and then actually go. If you start out and something gets in your way you modify and adjust.
Creating a plan, that is not perfect or even complete, that helps you achieve your purpose is really important, although the imprecise nature of it, and the fact you have never done it before, may cause you to drift to other tasks. You can find yourself doing other things that you are already comfortable doing.
I hope this helps you,
Rick
I read today that one of the runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport will close Monday.
Three concepts of importance jumped out that are important to you.
First: it is good to make internal problems invisible to your customers. Your customers don't really care if your equipment needs calibration, your vendor is on the phone, or your office expansion is on schedule or not. What they do care about is how you serve them. So if it doesn't create perceived value to your customer it is best kept invisible to them. If it does create perceived value then by all means make sure they know.
Second: Goals that aren't believable are harmful goals. A spokesman for the airport management tells reporters: "The aim is to have {the construction] be invisible to the traveler."
Now having a construction project invisible to the traveler sounds nice at some level, and I am sure the person says this to be reassuring, but when you read this, even if you don't think it out loud, something inside of you will automatically reduce your confidence in everything this organization says. Because you know there is no way rebuilding the biggest runway at a major airport and having the runway closed for a planned 4 months is going to be invisible to anyone in the area.
Setting this as an implied goal, by using the word aim, is a fundamental flaw making the statement worse than useless. It is actually harmful!
Why?
First as a goal it is not believable: A goal that isn't believable is almost always harmful. It means people involved will not really try to make it happen, it sets up false expectations, and it reduces overall credibility in the organization, and it means everyone will fail. It also means people will fail to take the time to set useful goals for the project.
In this case the goal is to reduce future delays by 10,500 hours per year (as stated in the article). This would be more valuable if they equated this to fuel saved, or average time saved per flight or something like that. 10,500 flight hours saved a year is a whole lot of aviation fuel!
When setting goals, yes even when they are implied, make them believable.
Third: Public Credibility and maintaining the value of your brand.
Doublethink: When I was a kid we were required to read a book that I thought at the time was just too farfetched to be believable; George Orwell's 1984. In this book the concept of doublethink is used. The concept is that a person can believe two things that are impossible to both be true, and even though the person knows they cannot both be true they are willing to believe them both. As a young person I thought this was just a dumb idea. Certainly if someone was told two things and the person knew both were not possible then they would reject one, the other, or most likely both. And the person telling them would be discredited.
The airport spokesperson says: "The aim is to have {the construction] be invisible to the traveler." Then he also says the biggest airline using the airport will voluntarily reduce flights by 10%. Now, if anyone actually uses those flights, or those flights were important, then by his own statement obviously the project won't be invisible.
The CNN reporter then follows his comments with a statement that one of the other major airlines isn't going ahead with planned flight increases for the summer, and the reporter also has a comment from an air traffic controller from the airport saying he the impact won't be minimal.
The airport spokesperson discredits themselves by those completely contradictory statements.
Then the reporter discredits themselves by reporting two contradictory positions as if both are somehow credible.
As I read this I think the airport management either is incompetent or deceitful, or perhaps both. I also think why waste my time with CNN.
As a business owner try never to have people in your organization say things to your customers that your customers know are not possible. Often people cannot or won't articulate why they have less trust in one organization or another, but little things like this will create discord and make it harder for your customers to really trust you and your business
Here is a link to the article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/02/26/jfk.runway.closing/index.html?hpt=T2
Your Invitation is here!
Learning can be fun, or a chore. Let's make it fun. If you are an Independent Audiologist, or want to be one, then this invitation is for you.
If it is fun, and also FREE, then why not? If it is fun, FREE, and worthwhile, then that is even better. One of my mottos is: "If it isn't going to be fun, then it has better be really really useful." I am so confident you will find this fun, free, and really really useful I am willing to be the person who invites you to the playground to play.
This will give you an opportunity to experientially learn about some financial concepts including things like active vs. passive income. Some team building concepts including the difference between, accidental team members, intentional team members, and detrimental team members.
And perhaps most importantly how you define your purpose and others define their purpose, as you see it played out on your screen.
You will learn how to use online tools, like Facebook, to improve your ability to achieve your personal and professional purposes.
It will give you a forum to meet some other Independent Audiologists in other parts of the country and add them to your support team network.
It will give you the opportunity to pick my brain on topics of interest to you without paying me! (Yes, my purpose is to help you succeed and this is like an invitation into my virtual office.)
It is completely self paced and you can participate or quit at any time.
We will use a Free online business building game called Farmville on Facebook.
Please send me a friend request using Facebook. (In you aren't sure how, and at one time we all weren't sure how, then send me an e-mail or call and I will walk you through the process rick@thrivingaudiology.com or 1-866-737-6243. If you aren't a Facebook user expect it to take about 5-10 minutes.)
Then start the online game Farmville by entering Farmville in the search box on the top of the page and most likely the top search result will be Farmville with a mini green headed duck on the box logo and some 80+ million monthly active users.
I will send you an invitation to a group on Facebook where we can interact and learn about Facebook groups.
All of this for perhaps 10-30 minutes a day, on the days when you can participate.
Rick
If you have any questions please give me a call or send an e-mail.
1-866-737-6243
Everyone keeps score. The question is how? All you need is two kids and two bowls of ice-cream to see this in action. Which is biggest?
If your staff is getting ready to leave on a Friday when you are wondering about the work getting done then they are just keeping score differently.
They are keeping score based on leaving on time, or perhaps they will "win" and leave a little early.
You are keeping score on sales, or patients served, or reports being completed, or …… who knows what.
Just as a plant will turn its leaves to the light, employees will turn their actions in the direction they are keeping score.
Rick
The phone rings, we pick it up, and someone interrupts our day with "Hi, is this Mr. Podalie?" OK, Poage isn't as easy to pronounce as Smith, but the problem is the same. By the time they have done this they have completely wasted their time and mine. Unless of course I am interested in annoying them back; which can be fun for me but probably still counts as a waste of time.
If they are initiating the all they ought to do the id first; the same for you and your office.
When someone is making outbound calls from your office have them treat the caller with respect and identify themselves first. Specific examples can be found on my Facebook Private Audiology Group.
Rick
If you have ever been to a Rotary function, or a wedding, or a pick up basketball game you have interacted with people you don't know well.
Some may have become long term good friends, some never pass your view again.
Online you can do the same.
Just as you don't post your credit card information on your forehead when at a wedding, you don't do so online.
However you might sit next to someone at your kids ballgame and talk to them enjoyably for an hour learning about kids, your community, school functions, or their business, or tell them about yours, without worry. Allow yourself to do the same online.
You are spending thousands of dollars to send messages to people who haven't told you they are interested, online you can send messages to people who have said they are interested for free. Don't let your fears get in the way!
As Facebook seems to be the dominant player it would be a good place to go, a good tool to use.
Don't be afraid to give it a try!
Rick
Product names provide many advantages for both the consumer and the business owner.
If you aren't sure if a name is important then think about bird feeders. There are a zillion and most of you probably cannot think of one brand name; until now. I am told it uses a little battery powered motor so when the squirrel grabs on it does it's thing.....
Twirl a Squirrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocRG3r2zBw&feature=fvw
It has been a great week as I have been reviewing numbers from clients.
Several have managed to decrease their cost per patient significantly and the funds have migrated to the bottom line.
What a wonderful progression!
Less dollars spent on advertizing and more dollars to pay taxes on.
In this case paying taxes is a good thing!
Rick
Financial Accounting is what your book keeper and accountant do. It is to compute your tax liability. It is first and foremost for others. It is based upon standards (GAAP) and it is important to get the math right down to the dollar. It is based on what happened in the past and is calculated after what has happened has happened. Items like net income and book value are financial accounting concepts.
Managerial Accounting is what you (or your book keeper) do for you to assist in managing your business. There are no industry or national standards, you set your own. Often managerial accounting is most important when calculated in round numbers. Cost per new patient, overhead per hearing aid sold, sales and expense projections are managerial accounting concepts.
CPA's live in a world of financial accounting. This is a good thing as our government requires us to keep these records and report them in a standard way.
I know this will cause many of you to think.
Rick
Sunk Costs can Float Your Boat!
A sunk cost is an accounting term for funds already expended or committed. It may sound like wasted money when they call it sunk, but that is just accountant talk. Sunk costs are probably around your office right now ready to help you. They may now be assets!
I am continually amazed at the number of Audiologists throwing new money at old problems. I am not surprised that there are sales people attempting to get you to do so.
It is their business to get you to spend more money on their products. It doesn't make them bad people. In reality they often don't know what resources you already have so they offer what they have.
If you are feeling the weight of the economic news and are hesitant to spend new money on the problem look around and see what you have.
Do you have a database of patients you have already paid to acquire? Do you have some of last year's brochures in a box? Perhaps you don't need to buy a mailing list, pay for new printing, and then mail to people who don't know you. Perhaps by mailing existing printed material to people you already know you will have a greater impact. But there is no salesperson suggesting this to you, you must think for yourself!
Do you have a published list of names and addresses available to you? Do you have a computer and printer in your office? Those could be combined to initiate contact with people who are in your target market. Many tax records are online and it is easy to collect addresses from likely people to add to your database.
If you have 100 e-mail addresses that people have given you this might be a good time to connect. If not you might want to start collecting them as a regular part of your patient information.
Is everyone in your office spending all their time on their highest and best use? Perhaps the person who has been answering the phone for the past year is now knowledgeable enough to make outbound calls. A phone survey of past patients can be a great way to connect.
If you are already paying higher rent to be in a visible location are you maximizing that value? Are your signs fresh and interesting or worn? I know one practice on a main road that managed to get noticed by putting up some Christmas lights. Often it is a change that gets noticed. If you have a window visible to those passing buy leave the light on some nights, perhaps with something interesting visible.
Often before you say yes to a new expense it is worthwhile looking around to see what you already have!
I know this will help some of you, who only look.
Rick
I am often asked this question, but people who cannot tell me exactly what they wanted their advertizing to do.
Brand awareness? Business awareness? Professional Improvement? Value message penetration? Phone calls to the office? Tests performed?
But that is a question for another day.
Example:
You want your advertizing to generate calls to the office that lead to new patient appointments. (This is common.)
The answer: Take the number of calls that result in new patient appointments and divide it into your advertizing dollars.
This requires two things:
Most offices don't track either usefully.
Business owners don't know how many calls actually resulted in appointments over time. Do you know how many calls resulted in new patient appointments in the second quarter of last year?
Business owners also often don't collect advertizing dollars in one easy to locate place. I was just reviewing one clients advertizing dollars and some were in advertizing, but the yellow pages (significant for them) were on the cash flow statement under phone, some were in general and administrative (postage) and others here and there.
Fortunately it isn't hard to track either.
Know how to get the report from your scheduling system for new patient appointments.
Collect your advertizing dollars on one place in your bookkeeping system.
Then when you want the number it can easily appear.
This is a basic managerial accounting function, as opposed to financial accounting as performed by your bookkeeper and CPA.
Rick
There is a line in a Sheryl Crow song that I love about success: "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got." I have no idea if this is actually what she meant when she wrote it. But it resonates with me this way.
There is a lesson here for all professionals in business:
Success often isn't about having all the resources, patients, staff, materials, vendor support, that you might have, or that someone else has.
It is often about "using what you've got" to the fullest.
I was recently discussing with an Audiologist opportunities he had. There were lots of things he said he wanted to do, or wished to do, but all required resources he didn't think he had, or wasn't comfortable in this economy spending in that way. He started out discouraged.
When we stepped back and changed his focus from things other people were doing that he would like to do, to things he actually could do with resources he already had at his disposal.
We quickly identified significant things he could actually do, using existing resources (accountants call these sunk costs) that will more than likely be better for him than the things he couldn't do.
When in doubt, look around, ask someone who knows you what is there that you don't see, and then use what you've got!
Rick
If the government controls our health care dollars then politicians will control the procedures that we have available to us. Example: Medicare hasn't been good for hearing aid funding.
I know Sarah Palin has been criticized for her "Death Squad" comment. It probably won't have that official title. In fact I expect the politicians will manage to make it difficult to determine who is making the decisions. But the decisions will be being made.
But if the government is paying for it politian's (in committee format) will be deciding how much will be paid. And someone in an administrative capacity (in committee format) will be allocating that money as they see fit.
A firing squad isn't made up of many men because one couldn't make the shot. It is made up of many men so none of them actually know if they did the killing. It is made up of many men so that no one person must know they did it. No one person must feel responsible. No one person must feel the blame.
Politicians are masters at making the process confusing so no one must take the blame.
Those responsible for making the decisions on who lives and dies will be like the third person from the right in the firing squad.
We won't know who really did it or not. But we will still end up at the stopping point of the bullet.
Rick
ASHA, AAA, and ADA, all have code of ethics that include sections that discourage, or prohibit, depending upon how one reads them participation in activities that constitute a conflict of interest. Most third party payers have items in their contracts prohibiting kickbacks, bribes, or other similar inducements.
Medicare has career limiting penalties for violations.
Free trips, marketing allowances, advertizing placement and mailing services, business services, and other "free" stuff offered by some of the companies selling you hearing aids most likely fall into this prohibited category. If you are caught, the price you may pay for the "free" stuff will be very high for you. They will be onto the next sale.
When a buying group is taking you and your spouse to a resort destination in Mexico for a long winter weekend as a way of influencing your choice of supplier I think it is an obvious violation.
Imagine sitting on a hot seat in an ethics hearing and explaining you started buying from company X after your third "free" resort trip to an examiner! Would it feel good explaining this to a patient? Was it Florida, Mexico, or Las Vegas, that made your decision?
It is important to remember none of these companies are majority owned or run by Audiologists. None of them are governed by, or probably care much about, your Professional Code of Ethics. You are the one who is in violation, not them. If you get caught you will suffer, not them.
At a recent conference I was talking to a sales person from a company with a name I am sure you would recognize. He openly wondered why any Audiologist would ever accept what he was offering; but he explained it wasn't his problem. He sort of laughed it off; he had a job to do.
The key point is the difference between illegal and unethical. It is not illegal for them to make offers that it is unethical for you to accept. They are not the ones with your code of Professional Ethics. It is their job to make the sale; it is not their job to monitor your professional activities or standing.
Many of these tactics are being transferred from other groups. HIS and Dispensers have different codes of ethics than you as an Audiologist have. What might be appropriate for them may not be for you.
Rick
ASHA http://www.asha.org/docs/html/ET2003-00166.html
AAA: http://dev.aaa.susqtech.com/publications/documents/ethics/default.htm
ADA: http://www.audiologist.org/resources/documents/professionals/Code_of_Ethics.pdf
This was a section grabbed from a published job opportunity for a hearing aid company sales representative. You know, the people who sell hearing aids to your business. These are the people that want you to believe they are on your team first. They want you to think they are really focused on getting you the best deal possible for you and your patients.
Notice the first thing they are responsible to do.
"Increase the percent of contribution margin". What does that mean to you? It means their first responsibility is to increase the average sales price you pay for hearing aids and to reduce discounts you may be able to get. I am not pointing this out as if it is a bad thing. It is a reasonable request from their employer.
So when they are acting as if they are on your team first you need to always realize that they may have, in fact probably have, a higher responsibility to their employer. The employer is their one and only customer, you are one of many accounts. They must please their employer and they want you to help them. So don't be surprised when they somehow fail to let you know about better prices you may be able to achieve.
It is part of your job to give them a plausible reason why they must give you the best pricing and service their company can provide.
Reference Excerpt:
Specifics:
This position is responsible for increasing the percent of contribution margin, digital product mix percent, and the total number of units purchased by each account over the previous year. Grow the territory market share percent, and increase the net sales revenue. This position will also be responsible for troubleshooting problem fittings.
Requirements:
Doctor of Audiology highly preferred. 4 year degree preferred
What does it cost to bring in a new patient? If you want your business to grow this might be the single most important number for you to know.
Why? Because if you want to sell an additional 20 hearing aids per month you will typically need to attract an additional 10-40 new patients depending upon the kind of patients you attract.
Multiply the cost per patient by the number you need to attract and you can estimate your business development and advertizing for the period.
To get your cost per new patients you simply divide your promotional expenses (business development, marketing, advertizing, etc.) by the number of new patients for the period.
If you want to realistically increase your sales this is a number you need to know.
Rick
The man heard the attractive woman on TV offering casual sex in front of a nice couch. He was ready to run right down there until his wife told him the furniture store was advertizing "casual sets" and not "casual sex".
Contributed by Andrew
Perception of Value is more important than actual value. Because perceived value is what people actually use when making their buying decisions.
You can have the most valuable product on the market. It can do great things and any hearing aid engineer, hearing scientist, or Audiologist knows it. However the customer may not; and miss out on the value.
As a professional it is important to realize most of your patients, customers, really cannot evaluate the choices available to them.
We realize often people buy their first hearing aids based upon price, and then the next ones based more on the value provided. Most of the time this is because as uneducated consumers they know how to evaluate price, but not the real value of the product to them. Once they have worn hearing aids and become more knowledgeable they will make a different decision.
They are buying perceived value and not actual value.
What is the difference?
Actual Value is the analytical assessment of value.
Perceived Value is what the buyer imagines they are receiving.
Perception of Value is why you dress professionally. In reality you could provide just as accurate an assessment of a person's hearing status while wearing your swim suit. And once the hearing aids leave your office they will work just as well if you fit them dressed professionally, or fit them while dressed in your gardening clothes with dirt on your fingers, grass stains on your shoes, and a trickle of sweat about to drip from your nose. The hearing aids and sound waves don't know the difference.
The less the consumer is actually able to evaluate the product or service the more likely they will be influenced by things that make absolutely no sense to the analytical clinician. Because the clinician is focused on actual value, while the patient is focused on - well it can sometimes be hard to tell. Unless you are paying attention and looking!
This is why really great highly trained clinicians sometimes don't get the business that a less trained less capable clinician may get. And they don't understand why.
It is why often the higher priced instrument sells, when the lower priced one does not. It is all in perception.
Highly trained clinicians often have a hard time remembering that things obvious to them are not to others. And consumers buy based upon what is obvious to them; what they can perceive.
Rick
Your Value Message: Why is your profession valuable? Why does the world need Audiologists?
Your value message answers the question: Why is the world a better place because of what you do?
People have a lot of choices when it comes to spending their time and money.
If they are going to spend money on hearing health care they must believe that not will they get more perceived value from what they buy from an Audiologist than they will get from buying something else. They also must believe spending their money on hearing health care is a better use of the money than saving it for a future need.
Is it better to have a hearing evaluation or to buy a new golf club?
Is it better to have new hearing aids or to have new tires for the car?
These are the questions your patients are considering.
If the guy selling travel plans is better at explaining why a trip is more important than hearing then the money will be spent on travel, and not hearing aids.
Therefore it is important that Audiologists know why the world needs Audiologists.
Government Spending makes a difference:
This will become more important as the government becomes more aggressive in setting health care priorities for us.
When a committee of individuals is trying to figure out how to allocate limited health care funds they will be deciding if hearing aids for a few dozen people are more important than a liver transplant on a 97 year old alcoholic.
This is something that AAA and ADA will help you pay attention to, but you do it a little every day. Is there anything posted in your office that reminds people? Or do they read last month's gossip magazines? Is there a hint of value message in your promotional materials? Or is it Audiology services are free.
The message you send to those in your sphere of influence does make a difference.
Rick
AAA
April 14-17, 2010 San Diego, CA
http://www.audiology.org/development/meetings/Pages/default.aspx
ADA
November 4-6, 2010 San Antonio, TX
http://www.audiologist.org/events.html
ASHA
November 18-20, 2010 Philadelphia, PA
http://www.asha.org/events/convention/
This blog is now a year old. I do want to thank the people who have commented and helped me make it better. I also wish to thank those people who have let me know how it has helped them.
This is for Independent Private Practice Audiologists and their teams.
I set it up and made a test post on January 20th, 2009 while sitting in a condo in Florida wondering if the crocodile, or alligator, outside my room would actually move. I decided to use the blog format as a way of making information provided to one person available to more than one person, in this case you.
It is a way of recording some of the most interesting items that come up in client discussions so other clients can benefit, and so people who are not yet clients can benefit.
Information here may not apply to any specific situation, so don't hesitate to contact me if you are interested in how to apply it to your specific situation.
Thank you for being a reader. I do hope this blog will be of help to you.
Rick
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