EYE OWN A BUSINESS

3 Surprising Reasons Patients Don’t Buy from You

Resistance to a sale is often countered with additional patient education, assuming that more information will lower the barrier to a sale. In reality, many of our purchase decisions are not driven by what we KNOW about something, they’re driven by what we FEEL about something.  

Fear, excitement, anticipation, trust, safety, confusion, curiosity, and certainty are some examples of emotions that influence our purchase decisions. Research shows the overwhelming majority of our decisions are primarily driven by emotions, not logic. 

In this episode we explore some of the not so obvious reasons people resist making a purchase, along with strategies to counter these situations. 

Current Trends in Eyewear Fashion and Design

In this episode, Selin Olmsted (founder of Selin Olmsted Studio) shares her expertise on a topic many ODs marginalize. Eyewear fashion and design! 

A few things we discuss are insights on the latest eyewear trends, factors to consider when selecting frames, options for implementing private label, and adapting to future trends. 

Doctors know a lot about the clinical side of eye care. Patients want great vision and healthy eyes, but don’t neglect something that is also very important to your patients… Looking good! 

More about Selin and her company https://www.selinolmsted.com/ 

Take Your Practice to the Next Level

In this episode, Sharon Carter shares her strategies for getting “unstuck” and taking your practice to the next level.  

We cover a lot of reasons practices fail to reach their full potential and how to put strategies in place to maintain growth. Spoiler alert! You can’t do this alone. After a certain point, designating a leadership team is necessary. However, those efforts can be sabotaged by putting the wrong people in these roles. It’s also possible that you have the right people with the right attributes, but your approach to promotion and development sets them up for failure. 

What’s the best way to track success? Numbers! In Sharon’s words, “The numbers don’t lie.” In this interview we cover the importance of KPI’s (key performance indicators), which KPI’s to track, and how to hold employees accountable for outcomes. 

Sharon is the owner of ECOC Optometric Consulting. Learn more about her company here: https://ecoc.biz/ 

Hiring for Success: A Systematic Approach to Building Your Team

In this episode, Dr. Mike Neal shares how he transformed his practice by removing many of the obstacles that prevent practice owners from building a great team.  

A few things we discuss are taking emotion out of the interview process, the importance of focusing on talents and strengths rather than just experience, what we can learn from companies like Disney to ensure better hires, and how to get clear on which applicants to reject and which to call in for an interview. 

If you're ready to change the game and set yourself up for hiring success, you’ll love this episode! 

Dr. Mike Neal is the owner and CEO of Build My Team. Learn more about his company here: https://www.buildmyteam.com/ 

From Mundane to Meaningful: A Blueprint for Productive Staff Meetings

In this episode, we explore the key elements of a successful staff meeting that leaves a lasting impact. The planning phase takes center stage, emphasizing the importance of identifying the need, purpose, and intention of the meeting. The episode highlights the perpetual nature of issues to address and emphasizes the value of delivering a clear and focused message, recognizing that less is more when it comes to information absorption. 

Collaboration is introduced as a powerful tool during staff meetings, illustrating how discussions among attendees can enhance information retention. The "So what?" test is discussed as a practical tool for filtering information, ensuring that only essential and impactful content is included in meetings. Authenticity in delivery is emphasized, covering gestures, tone, and conviction. Tune in to discover actionable insights for transforming your staff meetings into engaging and effective sessions. 

More about Erin at https://erinmomalley.com/ 

Get More Patient Referrals from Local Physicians

In this episode, Dr. Aaron Neufeld shares his strategies for leveraging referrals from other doctors to grow his practice.  

When it comes to marketing your practice, many ODs think of traditional marketing strategies such as social media, online or print marketing, and having a great website. These are all important to grow a practice, but in this technological world we often marginalize face to face marketing. 

In this interview, we focus on Dr. Neufeld’s strategies for securing more referrals, what to expect when you begin this process, which doctors to target, how to sustain a very productive relationship, and how to overcome some of the obstacles you will likely face. 

Stop Talking So Much! Listening is the Key to Better Outcomes

In this episode, Stanford lecturer Matt Abrahams shares valuable insights about listening and communication from his book, Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot  

Doctors are tasked with solving problems for their patients, but as Matt points out, it’s not hard to solve problems, it’s hard to find the right problems to solve.  

In this interview, we focus on asking better questions and sharpening our listening skills. Matt says that questions get the other person more invested in the problem itself and the desire to solve it. “When it comes to communication, we over index on the speaking part and we need to balance that out with the listening part,” he says. When it comes to establishing connections, building trust, and uncovering problems (all vital to patient care), we need to do more listening than talking. 

More about Matt at Mattabrahams.com 

Creating Motivational Systems in Your Practice

The best practices are NOT constantly trying to motivate people, they just have better systems in place, and they manage the systems. That's much easier than constantly managing (and motivating) people. 

Do you agree or disagree with the above? In this episode, I take on the interviewee role as Erich Mattei, President of Akrinos, interviews me on this topic for his podcast. We attempt to answer the question, “Which is more effective when it comes to managing employees, motivation or systems?”