Hello and welcome to Podiatry practice Mastery.
My name is Don Pelt. Oh, and I have a Lauren Andreas
here. Welcome Lauren.
Hi, how are you? Good.
Thank you for joining and I'm going to talk to you a little
bit about what you like to do. Which is helping practices,
Private Practice. Owners do better in their
practice before we kind of do a deep dive.
Tell me a little bit. How you got interested in?
This, this is always a good story.
Like it was your background. And how did you get into this?
So my background and what I studied in school was really
marketing and management. So I realized through even
personal experiences, and through another company, I work
for that. A lot of doctors, go to school
to be doctors. And then they go up in their own
practice and there's a lot of missing opportunity there where
they need some support and making helping them develop
people helping them develop process because they're
practicing and that's where they're going to make money.
It Is by seeing patients and if they're spending a lot of time
and energy on trying to run the practice and that's very
frustrating for them than they can get burnt out.
And so, I just saw that there's a big need and helping those
private practice, owners Market themselves, Market them their
practice. But then once those patients
start coming in and how do we make sure we give them a great
experience and help them as practice owners, be happy and
thriving, and efficient, and also that people work for them.
Because Happy? No, no Lauren.
What is the biggest? I guess.
I don't know if the word objection of the biggest like,
conversation that doctors have in their head.
The reason why they don't get help.
Is it is it that they're thinking they're, they're doing
okay? Or they don't know how much
they're missing. Like, what are you?
What is your impression? Yeah, that's such a great
question. I think there is a couple things
I hear one is they don't feel like they have time.
They're just trying to keep their head above.
Water. So thinking about taking time
for coaching or taking some time out of their production to train
their team, or have someone come in and work with their team,
they get a little bit nervous of all, that's a whole day out of
production or that's a couple hours of production, we're going
to be working on my business instead of in my business and
that gets them nervous. But at the end of the day, we
all know if you can work smarter and not harder that you'll get
that 10, 20 fold back in just a couple months that time that you
thought you were were not producing.
You're actually setting yourself up for higher production, the
future. So a lot of it is that I think
they're just trying to keep their head above water and they
feel like they don't have the time to carve out to get help.
And then, let's compare that to your like, let's say if you had
an imaginary client, that was like the number-one, like what?
What little things would they be doing that?
Every that are not really. Hard but that they're doing that
others aren't doing what are a couple of those things like
habitually that they would be doing that.
You'd be like well these guys going to be an All-Star in six
months. Yeah, I think one of the biggest
things is developing their leaders or developing key people
in their organization that they can lean on and delegate to a
lot of times, you know, they think they have to run
everything in the practice and the people the under them or
just executing whatever they say and it's their practice.
But when you can Elevate some of the people when your practice to
be leaders and have a take on roles and responsibilities and
not just tasks, then you can see those people thrive and so I can
see some doctors are good at letting go and saying, okay,
you're going to take over. How do we increase the number of
new patients coming in? That's going to be your number,
your statistic, you're accountable for that.
And when they can make that pass off and give someone else
Authority and autonomy, and the freedom to have a part in
ownership in the business. Literally ownership in the
business, but they feel accountable that they have a
responsibility. Like, this is my baby.
I can take care of them, whereas, I'll see, other doctors
who they very much rub this mindset.
This is my practice and that trickles down to their team.
Will, this is his practice. This is their practice.
So, they don't have the accountability.
They don't have any personal investment in wanting to improve
the practice. They don't feel part of
something, they feel like they're really a pond and in the
scheme and Instead of being a part of something that's growing
and getting excited about and passionate about it.
So, that's one thing. I think the doctors that can let
go and delegate, and give accountability to others and
give accountability to themselves really Thrive and
follow through on things that they assign themselves and
assign their team. Yeah, I think it's great.
I think a lot of times the delegation is like this, this
drive-by delegation, okay? You do that back that that and
they never check up. There's no You know, follow-up,
there's no weekly meetings to evaluate it, there's no, you
know, anything else like that. It's just I think we're all kind
of guilty of that and I think a lot of the doctors are very
perfectionistic, right? So they know they think they
know how to do everything and you might not.
So we're going to we're going to, I'd like to do a deep dive
talking about like maybe how some of the practices that are
listening here. Could be losing some money or
patients by the way that they're answering the phones.
I know that's one area kind of low hanging fruit.
You help and talk to practice is about.
So why don't you start talking about?
Like, what are some of the common problems that you see
that practices are doing? Yeah.
So, absolutely. Well, like I said, my background
is in marketing, so I love marketing.
I understand marketing Roi, and investment, and getting
creative, and that's awesome. And usually, when a practice
wants to grow, the first thing that pops into their mind is,
let's spend money on marketing, right?
Let's go do all this marketing. Spend all this time, energy and
effort. Ting, which cost time and money
but what they forget is you're doing all this marketing and
most people aren't going to just walk in the door.
Once they see your marketing, they're going to pick up the
phone and call your practice. And so if we already have
marketing out there and we think oh it's not working, it really
could be the fact, it is driving phone calls into the practice
but those phone calls aren't getting converted into patients,
walking in the door and so really the awareness of that.
Some of the tracking of that. Are you missing calls during
prime time? I'm a lot of practices will not
answer the phones in the mornings and the afternoons, and
at lunch. And that is when most working
professionals are going to be calling you and research will
show that if I call your practice, and I'm a new patient.
And I have no referral toward your practice or I have no
reason to pick you. If you don't answer, I'm most
likely won't leave a voice message.
I'll hang up and pick the next person on the list.
So just the fact of answering, the phone is step one.
And if we're answering those phones are We making sure that
we're converting that patient into a booked appointment.
And a lot of times, I see, and I've listened to hundreds and
hundreds of calls and in how we answer questions, and how we
make the patient feel, is it a Welcome to our practice?
We're so excited to see you. You've called the right place.
It ends up. Being what's your what's your
name? What's your birthday?
It's an intake of information. And your this basically just
answering questions without the intention of getting the
patient. You are and that's Again, part
of that accountability, that staff member, my job is to get
patients, booked on the schedule.
And I should feel accountable for that verse.
My, my job is just to answer the phone and answer questions.
So I think that's the biggest thing is how we answer questions
and transition them. And just the mindset of getting
the patients in the door in this is something that there should
be training. Correct.
Like we have staff that this should be role-played and
trained and retrained and secret secret shopper type of stuff.
Absolutely. Absolutely.
So, actually, that's one of the things I do, is I go into
practices, I spent an entire day with them, just on how to answer
the phones and you might think what are you doing for 7 hours
about answering the phones but we're doing some of what you're
saying is what's the call Flow, what's the six-step process?
We should be following. How do we answer questions?
What are the common questions we're getting in?
Are we answering them away? That makes is basically
marketing so that one agree to that appointment.
How do we transition? Just scheduling how do we
schedule effectively and then how do we create data capture,
and follow-up and systems that are keeping us accountable for
getting patients in the door. So taking time out of the day
and in trainings I always ask the team.
I'm like, isn't it crazy that so many offices Just Wing It day to
day? Like this is hard like you could
get 10 different questions on the phone.
How are we answering that and how we converting those collars
and into patients? So it is a process of breaking
old It's and changing our mindset and getting those people
trained and confident to answer questions and moving that phone
call along. So that you're not spending 15,
20 minutes on a phone call. Then your front desk tops going
to be overwhelmed because they're just not understanding
how to effectively handle a call.
Mhm. Wow.
So let's let's let's go into it. So let's say we can we can do a
role-playing okay I can I can I do that.
So you're going to be the office.
Okay, I'm going to I'm going to ask.
Questions. Okay.
Just for fun.
Yeah, let's do it. So, I'll dial you up and you say
hello in the answer. My questions.
All right, and ring. All right, Podiatry, practice.
This is Lauren. How may I help you?
Hi, Lauren. I wanted to see if you take my
insurance. We do work with all insurance
companies. I'd be happy to do a benefit to
check for you. How did you hear about our
office? I heard of you.
I Googled you. That's why I Googled you, oh,
you Googled us. I'm so glad you found us.
Let's go ahead and get you scheduled.
Do you prefer morning's or afternoons?
Well, I just wanted to check. I have I have this this think
it's free care or health type of thing.
I just wanted to see if you guys some places don't carry take
that insurance. So in this role play so to pause
for a second and this role play the it would depend on if we
actually did take that insurance, right?
If you don't if you don't, if I don't, then I would say
something along the lines of we are not in network without
insurance. But we have plenty of patients
that come here because the quality of care we provide.
How did you hear about us? And I consistently go to making
the urns. It's not the sole focus of the
conversation and it's true because MassHealth is like, not
free care, but we don't take it. But we see tons of patients that
they just either can't get in or they don't get the quality of
care or they've just want to see someone else.
Exactly. And so that's and that's where
we kind of get caught up or the people on the phone, get cut up
and say, oh, they just would answer that question.
Say no, we don't take that. That sounds to me as a patient.
We don't see you, we can't I feel instead of leaving that
door open. You still want to answer the
question? Honestly, we aren't in that
group without insurance, but we do have plenty of patients who
come here. So, the quality of care, we
provide and we'd be happy to welcome you as a patient, our
practice. And they also do have some
practices offer a complimentary benefits check because sometimes
there is some coverage that those patients can get.
And it's just the unknown that scares them.
It's not necessarily that they are going to owe thousands and
thousands of dollars or it's going to be Different than that
and network. Yeah yeah I like that even the
benefits check of like just in what.
Okay so it's not it's not covered but then what is it was
$150 well that's not that bad or $200 you know yeah.
Like what's the estimated fee schedule for whatever and we
have that all kind of we don't put it on the website but we
have it up there and it's not it's not that much really and I
think a lot of them and I can say this because I'm married to
a Brazilian that's why I moved here.
There's a lot of and they don't have insurance.
And they tend to see them, but they're used to paying, they
just don't have insurance, but they used to paying for it.
And so I find a lot of people are just used to it, right?
And so it's good to break down the barriers that the person may
have or the preconceived notions and the often the staff members
all. Listen to tons of calls where
staff members just say, no, we're not in network, but you
know who you could try is blah. Blah blah, blah.
Blah down the street. Yeah, 100% people say that
because they are thinking I'm being helpful when they're
forgetting. You like your job is to get the
patient a door and if they believe you're the best doctor
for that patient to see them, give them the option to come in
because we all know we pay for what we find more valuable.
So when you do answer questions and how your first impression
will make your practice see more valuable, which makes that
hundred and fifty dollars worth it rather than zero dollars that
maybe I would have to pay somewhere else.
Yeah. How do you let's let's talk
switching because I'm interested in this stuff.
This is funny and a lot of it. Let's talk about money.
That's always kind of a thing that no one likes to talk about.
We do a lot of, like, I don't know, kind of expensive.
Probably not like Dental though. If you've been helping, dentist,
ours is nothing to compare it. So, we have some treatment
called, like, amniotic stem. Cell injections are like 1,500.
Shockwave might be like, 1,200 for the package.
Do you recommend prepaying for packages of treatment?
You recommend one at a time? Do how do you talk about it?
As the doctor talk about it. Do you have staff?
You know what are your thoughts on that?
Yeah. And there's so another one of my
training days is all about, how do you get treatment
presentation once they're in the office?
The it's a different conversation than on the phone,
right? Because if I'm on the phone I am
not a doctor answering the phone, most likely.
So even if I quote, you a price, we don't even know if that's the
best fit for you. If that's the best treatment for
you. Yep, right.
So, if I say this is what I think you need, or what you're
asking about. Then I'm giving irrelevant a
good advice. Yes, exactly.
And so, I think you always want to give options to your patients
and I love packages. I think that's just eliminates
decision fatigue. It helps people.
If you say, here's a package of three treatments or package of
these three services. This is the one price.
I just make the decision based on that one price.
I don't have to make three separate decisions.
Does that make sense it does? Like, for example, we would do,
let's say an ultrasound not covered Shockwave and then amnio
that package is 1500 active, a just want the shock wave.
It's like 900 or something like that ugly.
So bundling it together and I also think another really smart
way to present treatment is to have a couple options to kind of
anchor the cost. And what I mean by not to tell,
Dina guys if you're here, if you guys haven't read Robert Cal
Dina, you anchored to a higher price.
So tell me about that. Yeah, so here's option one, and
let's call this this is going to be $2000 or here's option two
which is 1500 dollars. Now, all the sudden, I think I'm
getting a deal or I'm like well at least it's not the two
thousand dollars but fifteen hundred dollars and I lead happy
thinking I didn't pay full price.
If you just come at me with the $1500 in my you let whatever was
in my head, be my anchor or where I think the price should
start. So I thought maybe call in
thinking, this is going to be the five hundred dollar
procedure. You say 1500, I'm going to be
like whoa, I need to think about that.
But if you say, hey here are three options.
Here's price. One price to price three.
All In Instant always start with the highest.
Then most of the time, your patients will pick the middle
package. So I like to give three options
and you'll notice this when you're Googling or a big
marketing companies, they usually have three options
because scientifically proven people, they don't want the
least and they don't want the biggest so they usually go with
the middle. So whatever your most popular
packages I make your middle, make some VIP bigger package
that anchors them at a higher price and then have a lower
package. So I think that that is is
bundling things together and then giving that anchoring of
price, I think are really good strategies, but I would always
offer payment options like your credit or a different vision is
great. Different ways for me to pay
because of cost is truly a barrier and it's just I can't
produce that money right now, but I really want it then give
me options and that makes me feel like you care about me as a
person and you're working with me as your patient.
It's need um, how about Dude, you ever do any like shock and I
work in terms of like a shotgun all packaged with your
practices. So that's kind of like Dan
Kennedy talks. Like sending these big box or
PDFs or things like that. To present patient makes an
appointment, you send them all the stuff to kind of pre-frame
them before they come in saying, okay, we do expect like a
orthodontist, will put them on the same day.
It'll be eight grand this in that.
Do you have any tips for that or any thoughts?
Yeah, so I think when you're doing marketing and And any time
you can do something that's different from everybody else.
I think that's where we're going to win, right?
Like if for example a lot of doctors offices will do a
postcard in the mail if I'm going through the mail, nine
times out of ten, we all did this right.
What where are my Christmas cards, where the handwritten
letters? Where my bills?
Let me throw everything else out.
But if you can do something kind of to what you're speaking of is
a male or that has something in it, I will not throw that away.
I will open it. So I've had practice.
This puts, it doesn't have to be big, it could be just a small
puff email or with something in it that just makes you go.
Hmm, what's this? I'm going to open it and now
you've caught my attention versus being just a postcard.
I throw in the mail or through the trash.
So, any type of package or pink one female or something like
that? Yeah, lovely mailer is great.
The other thing is I really am a big fan of new patient.
Welcome gifts. So is the patient comes having
some Reciprocity guys, child. Exactly prosity.
Yes exactly what it is. Before I ask you before, you ask
me for anything, you give me a gift and there's a lot of
science behind that. If you give me something first,
I'm way more likely to comply with whatever you ask me to do
after funny. Funny question, I just thinking
about it now. Like we give socks and a water
bottle because we're podiatrist, right?
So they're athletes. We give it when they leave.
Like when they buy the Orthotics then they so you actually would
give it when they come in like first patient entry.
This is for you. Yeah, before I before because at
that point, they're like, okay, well I gave you my time my
money. And now I get a pair of socks
like that's their thought process, right?
Whereas if I walk in, I have done nothing for you and you
hand me a gift even if it's a socks and water bottle, like oh
wow, this is a surprise, this is a delight verse at the end which
is still great that you're doing that.
But if you can just flip them, I think you'll notice a really big
bump in your compliance. And yeah, some people will still
just I'll take the bottle and walk out, maybe not do whatever
treatment suggest, but nine times out of ten, I guarantee
it's going to make them more likely to cooperate with you and
want to do treatment with you. You have Goodwill.
That's awesome. I think I think that's that's
something great for just for just simple things, just
switching the order order things.
Let's talk a little bit about your thoughts on, like, in terms
of direct response marketing, the whole idea of of staying in
front Of your actual customers and building your list.
Are you still a believer in regular newsletters?
You do email newsletters, how often, how much is too much
things like that. What is your recommendation?
So my biggest recommendation right now is for practices to do
video and not even if they're doing a newsletter, put a video
in it and it doesn't have to be a long video.
It can be, you know like the length of an Instagram real Or a
tick tock and make it fun and the personality to practice.
I think a lot of times we try video and if it's boring, people
are going to watch that. But people we know are drawn to
content through video. And if we can do content through
video and some intriguing things that I'm like, oh my gosh, this
is funny. Let me share it, then that's
going to also double your marketing because now I'm
sharing it with my friends, right?
I'm actually open it because it looks interesting.
So what I say video, don't just mean any.
It's going to work but it's these intriguing videos that get
my attention and make me open your email and some offices.
I work with they do very professional videos, even for
recruiting for retention, for welcoming new patients that are
very nice and I think that's great for a first impression.
But then also those touch points where they're doing more fun
videos. Let's show you the personality
of the practice. We're not just like everybody
else. How do we stand out again?
Like if marketing, if you can stand out, Who the noise you're
going to win when you're marketing?
That's great. And then is it is, it is.
So I kind of know the answer with some worker to say is, is
weekly too much. Is it once a month?
Is it daily, you know, in terms of what are your thoughts?
Yeah, I think it's all about tracking.
It's all about tracking. If your emails aren't getting
getting opened up then something's wrong, right?
I don't like to have like a blanket statement of like this
is the right answer because you'll hear anything from you
should. Three times a day on social
media manager truck, right? This has.
Yeah. It's like the that's seems like
so much but, but my question is always about tracking the
marketing is about tracking. What are if you're sending these
communication emails, what Roi are you getting at the interval?
You're currently doing it? If we add more?
Is that going to improve or diminish?
If no one's open are emails and sending more is probably not
going to make them open or emails.
I would look back and say, what's our subject line?
Because that's going to make me open it or not.
I think that's the most important.
Orton part of the entire email. And then the first impression,
if you can do an email with a video in it, I click it.
That's going to help your click rate.
That's going to help me realize. Oh I enjoy opening these emails.
The next one that comes through. I'm more likely to open versus
just like one that looks exactly like a template in email that
probably your but I have it to you know, that a marketing
service email, provider creates, but as consumers, we know what
those look like and we just think oh, it's just another
email easy, trash, trash trash. So I think it's all tracking.
See what's working? Have a great subject line and
then have content. That makes me want to open it
again. You're so evil.
Awesome. So Lauren I'm gonna ask you one
more question, it's going to be about online reviews, but before
we do that, if people are listening they maybe want to
learn more about you and your company in terms of marketing
and chat with you. What's the best website that
they can go to and I'll put that underneath the video as well.
Oh thank you very much for doing.
That so it's just www.the practice potential.com.
Okay. And on there you can request and
set up a console call with me and we can chat about ways to
help will be kind of like this. You tried for half hour.
See if it's a good fit. So the practice potential,
great. And I think you guys will enjoy
chatting and you know, I think that's I think it's good.
The more people you meet the more ideas you get, I just got
some great ideas right now and hope it if it's a good fit, you
know? That's that's how you make your
practice Grosso. The last question is, I how do
you? What's the best type of reviews
is it video, is it Google reviews?
And do you have any great tips at getting them?
So, a lot of parts of that question.
So I said the first thing is, I think video reviews are great.
Always, I'm always gonna be an advocate of videos have those
but also still have your Google reviews.
And so, both all is the answer. All of the above get as many
reviews as possible. I do think it makes it easy when
you have a QR code or something at checkout and you have it easy
to where I just scan the QR code and I go go right into their but
above anything else. Any other tip I can give you
about getting more reviews, ask for reviews, which sounds so
simple. And most people will say, oh, I
do that. I do that.
Okay, tell me what you say, how much you say and they'll say
something like that. Don't forget to review us or
send us a review. That is not a question that is
not asking that's a suggestion. So I always say change your
verbiage and get a verbal commitment from them that way
when they leave, they actually felt that principle of
commitment. I agreed.
Do this review. I'm more likely to do the
review. So for example you could say
something like how was your visit a oh my gosh, it was so
great. Oh, we love to hear that.
Do you mind going ahead and scan that QR code, and leaving us a
review, pause. Wait for the answer, they say,
yes, and you've LED that in. So there's ways to do it without
feeling pushy, but a lot of times we shy so much away from
asking that it's almost, you know, if you feel like it kind
of sort of, maybe Leave a review, maybe but you don't have
to that it comes out very much like a suggestion.
So above anything else, ask wait for them to say yes, and you'll
see a huge increase in the number of reviews you get, you
know, that's great. Great, great.
Great. Well, thank you so much Lauren
that was very helpful. Lot of great ideas.
Check out Lauren's website. I appreciate your time.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you too.