Management and Business Academy

March 1, 2012

By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD
The best way to assess your practice’s profit potential is to measure the total money you have coming through the door, from all sources, for all reasons. In today’s marketplace, you have to have diversity of revenue streams in order to be successful. If you only have money coming in for eye exams and eyeglass and contact lens dispensing, you’re in trouble.

To be successful, you have to follow the percent of spending rule.

March 1, 2012

By Daniel Abramson, StaffDynamics

If you placed a tip jar at the front desk of your practice—and allowed your patients to tip your staff—would the jar be full at the end of the day? The front-desk person is arguably the most important hire a practice will make. These people aren’t receptionists; they are the practice’s “Director of First Impressions.”

March 1, 2011

The more you stock, the more you dispense. Sixty-eight percent of independent optometrists polled in a December 2011 MBA survey said that they inventory soft contact lenses, and that larger practices are more likely to carry inventory.

February 16, 2012

By Kelly Kerksick, OD

An orienting statement is a means of communication that informs the patient of what they can expect from their experience within your practice. It’s an extremely easy tool to use, and if you use it effectively you’ll find that your patients will be happier with the service they receive while in your care.

February 16, 2012

By Laurie L. Sorrenson, OD, FAAO

Most meetings are unproductive. That’s just a fact. Most of the time people aren’t paying attention, and a lot of the action items coming out of a meeting never get done because we usually forget to follow-up. 

February 16, 2012

By Dave Ziegler, OD, FAAO

Lifestyle prescribing is the recommending of specific optical and contact lens products that relate to a person’s occupation and avocational interests. All optometrists should be actively engaged in asking patients questions about their jobs and lifestyles to fully understand their vision needs.

Seventy-one percent of independent optometrists polled in a December 2011 MBA survey said that they increased usage of daily disposable contact lenses during the past year. In addition, 48 percent of these doctors increased usage of monthly lenses, while 64 percent reduced usage of two-week lenses. These changes in dispensing behavior are consistent with industry sales audits.

By Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD

As the manager of a business—and that’s exactly what your optometric practice is—it is important to keep staff happy, motivated and loyal while avoiding complacency. Obviously, a key to doing just that involves managing staff salaries appropriately.

By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD
As with most issues relating to practice management, the first thing I always hear from my consulting clients when I ask them to audit their practice for profit drains is, “I don’t have time.” Trust me, as a practicing optometrist, you don’t have time to not assess your practice for these key profit drains. Managing these issues successfully can make or break the success of your practice in the short term, and your dreams of a happy and comfortable retirement in the long term.

By Dave Ziegler, OD, FAAO

In recent years, optometrists have used eyeglass bundles or packages to effectively streamline and simplify the purchasing process for their patients. This is typically done with the good-better-best hierarchy that the patient is used to seeing with many other items that they buy. This approach works especially well in a field like eyecare where newer and better ophthalmic lenses are released to the market every year. It allows you to position the most advanced product as your high-end option while the second- and third-tier options still offer your patients quality vision. 

By Daniel Abramson

Founder, StaffDynamics

When we make staffing decisions, we tend to hire on skills and fire on personality. That is, during the hiring process, we tend to focus too much on what’s on someone’s resume—their skills and experience—and not enough on what kind of person they are. Someone could be the best technician or assistant out there, or have tons of experience, but they could also be terrible with patients or their coworkers on your staff.

By Kelly Kerksick, OD

Successful businesses—including optometric practices—understand that not all patients are 100 percent focused on price. There are some people (a lot, actually) who are willing to pay more for high-quality products and services. If there weren’t, high-end businesses like Apple, Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Disney theme parks wouldn’t survive.

By Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD

Your patients may love you, but if a staff member is disrespectful or poorly trained, the success of your practice may be in jeopardy. Your staff members are the first people your patients meet as they walk in the door, and the last people they see as they leave. Therefore, your staff should reflect your values as a professional, and they need to know that they represent you and your practice to your patients.

By Gary Gerber, OD

Many consumer companies have learned that it’s best to narrow the range of choices that are presented to customers to a few standard packages of features at set price points. This simplifies the discussion and avoids the problem of an add-on cost for each premium feature, which invites resistance. This same concept of bundling can be applied to the optical dispensary.