Before you purchase a podiatry business, the revenue and profits of the business are essential; however, they are not as important as understanding the dynamics of the neighbourhood, traffic patterns, and the psychology of the patients in that area, and this is why large corporates buying up podiatry businesses fail; they fail to look beyond the numbers.

Dr Patrick McEneaney owns Northern Illinois Foot & Ankle Specialists, which has 14 locations in the Northern Illinois/Chicago area, and he has mastered the art of understanding patient and clinic dynamics; he has developed what he calls the Good Bag Approach.

In this episode, we discuss the following:

• Fostering relationships within the podiatry profession.
• Not every podiatry practice is run well, and the more clinics you own, the more overheads you'll have; therefore, consolidating overheads should be a priority, but you need to know a lot about the clinic and the patients before you consolidate. For several unknown reasons, some patients won't travel in a particular direction or go to a specific town.
• Continually evaluate all aspects of the business, town and patients before you expand.
• Being prepared: If you expand, what if someone leaves? Could you still cope with more than one business?
• When possible, cross-train your team.
• Why you should always be interviewing for new team members.
• If you're not a good communicator, go and do some courses to get better because it is a skill you need.
• The key numbers you should look at each month and the importance of having appointments available for NEW PATIENTS. Your business won't grow if you only rely upon existing patients.
• The Per Visit Value number is crucial to measure because it shows the communication skills of the podiatrist. A patient will never say yes to an additional product or service if it is never offered or communicated to them correctly.
• Why being booked out too far ahead is costing your business a lot of money.
• Change your marketing for the seasons, don't run the same ad every month for twelve months and expect it to work. Look at your numbers; they will tell you whether your marketing is working.
• What is The Goodie Bag Approach?

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

This question should be asked at the end of every consultation because it will let you know if you've met the patient's expectations and allows them to say what's on their mind. For example, they may be looking at purchasing new running shoes, and they want your expert advice.

If the patient doesn't ask you now, they will surely ring your receptionist later, meaning you will be interrupted or be required to call them back at some stage. In the end, it will cost you more time.

Final Tip

To be a good doctor, you've got to learn to develop and train your team. The time you take training your team will save you more time long-term, and they will value it as well.

If you have any questions about this episode, please email me at [email protected]

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