This is one of the most heart-wrenching questions being asked by veterinary practice owners today.
Are you in this boat? Stuck trying to hire another DVM?
Have you been looking for months, or even years to find another associate veterinarian to help take some appointments off your plate?
And does it feel like an unsolvable problem?
I have bad news for you...there may be no solution to find that extra vet.
So what are you going to do?
Continue the search, yes, but we must have a different approach, and that is what I am going to share with you now.
If we accept the new reality that hiring another DVM associate is a longshot, then we must turn our attention to efficiency.
In fact, being forced to do this will make us a "better business" as it will drive up profit margins through increasing productivity within our given resources.
The #1 way to do this is to improve your Front Desk, as every call comes through your veterinary Front Desk before ending up in your appointment book (and this is why UPbook has become my favorite growth tool).
The #2 way, is to bring sanity to your schedule.
You see...almost every single dollar of revenue you receive comes through your appointment book, yet we in the veterinary industry leave it totally up to chance.
Our approach has historically been:
"Is today going to be a good day or a bad day in terms of productivity? Who knows, depends how many people show up..."
In order to solve this feast or famine daily grind, you need to assign a Scheduling Coordinator.
This is a new role within your practice (taken by a current team member), and it is their focus to fill the appointment book for TODAY, TOMORROW, and THE FOLLOWING DAY...in that order
In other words, if there are cancellations in TODAY's schedule, they will call future appointments and try to squeeze them in.
If there are gaps in your schedule TOMORROW or THE FOLLOWING DAY, they will call your waiting list or future appointments to fill these next two days.
The magic of this role, is that it maximizes each day's productivity and revenue generation while opening up prime spots in the future for appointments.
If you are able to take this to heart, and implement a Scheduling Coordinator in your practice, you will be able to see more appointments per day.
As the Practice Owner, you will be able to maintain and grow your practice without having to hire that extra veterinary associate.
Now keep those veterinary associate ads out there, but rather than holding your breath for something that may never come, you now have your growth path ahead of you through creating your new Scheduling Coordinator role.
I have seen this work and be adapted across many veterinary practices, and so now it is over to you to implement.
Talk soon,
Michael
P.S. Soon I will share with you an Advanced Technique for your Scheduling Coordinator, but first, pick the person within your clinic and get them started with their new responsibility (and there should only be ONE PERSON each day who has this responsibility, ideally the same person every day).
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Are you are a Practice Owner that wants MORE New Clients?
If your answer is YES! then book a demo of UPbook which is the fastest way to grow your practice.
With UPbook you are able to quickly and easily:
- Get state of the art phones INCLUDED FOR FREE
- See what type of client is calling your practice BEFORE you pick up
- Know which Front Desk members are booking vs blocking new clients
- Automate rewards to motivate scheduling more appointments
- Save THOUSANDS of $$$ on your current phone bill!
See how UPbook can turn more calls into appointments for your practice by booking a demo today!
