Last week I missed a podcast due to a temporary move, so today I’m giving you a bonus. First, when I mention brands, websites or companies offering services, I’m doing so from my perspective. I have not been paid by any of these companies to mention their names, nor do I have a vested interest in any of these companies, or anything like that. So when I mention a brand, that is just my experience. If I don’t mention a brand, and you would like me to include your brand in my podcast, contact me at [email protected].

Cases are practical and can add value to your practice if one wants to market them. Other items such as readers and sunglasses can be viewed the same way. Consider how you promote your optical department, then consider a marketing budget for that that compliments your goals for that department. Think of accessories as the ‘would you like to supersize your order?’

Trunk shows are another avenue that adds profits from the optical department to the eyecare practice. A well-coordinated and executed event is also fun. This podcast lays out ways to create and orchestrate a profitable event for everyone involved. The value it adds to your patients in the form of purchasing frames they love, plus the free gifts, adds profits to your Ophthalmic practice.

In this episode, I drop some huge tips on opportunities to bring in more revenue and value to the practice and value to your patients. Similar to the last episode of introducing frame board management based on the NOSE factor, this episode takes a twist on accessories and security.

Optical Dispensary – How optical focused and directed are your demographics? This episode introduces different ways of looking at frame board management, bridging the exam and the frame inventory. Have you run the numbers lately?

During an interview with Robert Nunziato and Esti Ross from Sunbit, they share a point of sale service that offers credit to patients in an easy, non-invasive, and friendly format. They describe how this is a win-win scenario, where the patient proudly pays for upsells, allowing instant profits into the doctor’s practice.

This episode explores the value to Ophthalmologist and Optometrist of dispensing eyewear. It includes the role the optician(s) have in that value ladder too.

Episode 6 is the last of the introductory episodes. This episode addresses 7 insights to increasing profits in an Ophthalmology Practice from the analogy of the eyeball:

·  Sclera – The structure of your business. How do patient customers find you?

·  Cornea – What do your patient customers see once they open the door for the first time?

·  Anterior & Posterior Chambers – How are patients received by the receptionist as they flow from checking in to the waiting room to the exam chair?

·  Iris/Pupil – What is the process or flow from the time the assistant, technician or Optometrist enters the room, performs initial testing, refraction, and dilation to waiting for the Ophthalmologist?

·  Crystalline lens – Is the refraction done by an assistant who learned it on a YouTube video, a certified assistant, technician, technologist, or an Optometrist? Does it include all the required elements as stated by the patient’s insurance provider?

·  Vitreous Humor – Does your staff work together promoting the different services within the practice, working in cooperation with each other?

·  Retina – Where are the blind spots in your practice? 

I call it the Visual Field Office Assessment.

How is your money working for you? Do you know what your staff does? Do you know this because they tell you in a staff meeting? Great. You also know because there is a profit and loss statement indicating where the money is or isn’t flowing. Right? Maybe not. This Podcast episode explores scenarios where if one watches their employees for 15 minutes, much could be learned how their time is being leveraged by that employee. Remember: Time is an asset.

I was given an assignment à Publish. I could choose between a few different Platforms. I chose Podcasting. I watched the Podcast lessons, I read the hand-outs, I listened to the webinar Q&A’s and I sat frozen in my chair. This inability to take action cost me time and money. May you learn from this lesson, take action, and accept the failure as correct and continue.