EyeCare Professional Magazine prints pound for pound the
best ideas for achieving practice profitability of any
Optical publication out there. Read it cover to cover for
confirmation of the wisdom of some of your own profitable
practices, and use it as a source for other ideas to test
how they might work for you.
In last month’s issue, Bob Fesmire advised how to
differentiate your practice from those around you with
specific suggestions of what to do, Anthony Record asked us
to focus on the work place advantages that come with the
territory of being one of the 3-O’s, Judy Canty suggested
that ‘saying the same old things in a new way” can
enhance our interest in our daily interactions, and Carrie
Wilson advised specific ways of networking that improve
practice profitability.
Bob Fesmire advises each of us to “work smarter,” and
then rattles off suggestions, each of which is worth an
article of its own:
While the economics of the United States are grim, here
is another idea to add to the ones Anthony Record suggested
last month. We live in a part of the world considered “flat,”
as we seek markets and supplies all over the globe. Just
think of where the frames we sell come from, and the markets
served by the frame and lens manufacturers whose products we
dispense daily. For 90% of the world’s population, the
world is very round indeed: most people earn daily and
monthly salaries measured in dollars, not in hundreds or
thousands of dollars. Many people live and die within miles
of their home, while Americans travel the globe, and even in
these recessionary times, the Tiffany catalog advertises
solitaire diamond rings for millions of dollars.
As Carrie Wilson wrote in the November Issue, pick the
brains of your sales reps. Each one of your reps has a
vested interest in helping you grow your business. Listen to
their ideas for practice development. Try the growth ideas
that intrigue you. Then support those reps with your
business. Reward them for helping you grow your volume,
improve your cash flow, and increase your profits.
I read a post on www.ecpmag.com’s new blog feature
about my October article, “Your Lab IQ.” The blogger
wrote, “One lab after another fails to meet my needs, and
my optical manager friends’ expectations.”
Who doesn’t want the Rx’s from the lab to be right
the first time and every time? And what lab, since each is
run by humans, can achieve that level of performance? Before
you jump to yet another lab, find someone in your current
lab who is interested in making each report of a problem
into an opportunity to “make the problem go away by making
you satisfied with the solution.” That has been my mantra
for the past thirteen years with my lab, Optogenics. Our
President, Eric Brion, says the same thing a little
differently. “Every complaint is an opportunity to make a
satisfied customer.” Complaints and observations from
customers are the lifeblood of any well run business. Find a
lab that acts on your observations, and stick with them.
Another optician, faced with a quandary of how to handle
a difficult practice/patient interaction, was heartened by
my observation: “If you ask others for advice, and the
actions that are recommended ‘just don’t feel right,’
take another look before you act. Your gut feeling is
probably the correct one.”
So I challenge each of us to “just do it.” Speak up
and get the results you want, and then praise those who
helped make what you wanted happen. Let’s take this season
to be thankful for all the blessings derived from the work
we do, and for our ability to learn from our successes and
failures, to make 2009 a better year for ourselves, our
families, and all members of our profession.
