Dear Physical Therapist,
Just two days ago I received the news that my hometown of Hartlepool was to be placed on the Government's Coronavirus “watch list.”
Coronavirus is spiking in Hartlepool and that means the town where one of my most popular physio clinics is located, that is just getting back on its feet since the national lockdown, is likely to be significantly affected if not closed completely by the end of the month.
It is clear that coronavirus is nowhere near over and as such our physio businesses are once again at the mercy of the government, the “scientists” and the hope that people follow the rules enough to avoid a second wave.
The Challenges I Foresee My Clinic Facing In the Coming Winter Months
Even if my clinic isn’t forced to close down again, I know I am going to have to deal with the constant cancelling of appointments… a lack of commitment when it comes to booking out a full plan of care… reduced referrals from past patients who are socially distanced from their colleagues and family… not to mention the big staffing decisions we have to make over bringing people back, whether or not we should be adding to our team and trying to grow, or if we should just hope to make it through the winter with what we already have.
On top of that I still have to think about making enough money to pay wages, invest in marketing and ensure that customer service levels remain high and patients get their outcomes.
All of these challenges will require NEW, IMPROVED and radically DIFFERENT solutions to acquiring new patients and managing staff than we were using before the coronavirus situation kicked off.
Is This Just the Beginning of the Real Challenges You and I Face?
If you thought that the coronavirus pandemic and the global financial crisis would be well on its way to being over by now – you’re not alone.
I know of many business owners who failed to prepare for the sheer size and scale of this virus and as such are beginning to pay the price. Some have already paid the ultimate price and their business is closed for good.
The governments have done a wonderful job of giving anyone who wants it access to money – but now that is drying up, you’re beginning to see the REAL impact of the pandemic on businesses. The bounce back loans, the furlough scheme and other grants have helped many businesses remain open for a few months giving us a little “bubble.”
But, as politicians continue to use COVID as a means to moving their own agendas forward, furthering lock downs and imposing more restrictions, we are going to see continued economic suffering, more business closing, mass unemployment (it has already rose by 600,000 in the UK in the last few months) and money being “parked” by those who have it until this all blows over… but just WHEN is that going to happen?
Surely you don’t believe that a vaccine is going to magically appear in time for Christmas and life and your patients will instantly spring back to 2019, do you???
Anyone can handle a few months upheaval… but what if this lasts for two or three years?
What if 20% of your patients continue to stay away?
What if your best patients lose their jobs and with it their Health Insurance policy that covers the cost of their treatment at your clinic?
That has happened to a dozen or so of my top patients already and we’re now having to convince them to pay out of their own pocket for a service that for years was paid for by BUPA or AXA.
Are you ready and able to replace those patients?
And, are you ready and able to have the hard conversations about paying for the treatment out of their own pocket?
Really, the big question is: what will YOU do to preserve and protect your business NOW?
We each have a choice about what we will do from here.
Many clinic owners will cower and hesitate . . . act like a deer in headlights, frozen from fear and uncertainty.
Many will just roll over and accept the losses, convinced “there’s nothing that can be done” talking to other physios (mostly NHS) in their online forums who think that the whole world should stop.
It’s funny how the physios who work for the NHS – the ones who will be on full salary regardless – are the same physios who are shouting for all physio treatments to be suspended because “it’s not safe”. I wonder what their view would be if they weren’t getting any income coming in this winter…
Other clinic owners will sit idly by, hoping for things to turn around as they watch their private practice – and their income – quickly dwindle.
What will you do?
My Focus This Winter:
“More Profit from Less Patients”
I’ve spent the best part of the summer back at my clinic in the UK (I live most of the year in Florida) and all I’ve done is work hard on implementing new and improved strategies and advancing systems with the goal of bringing in more profit – even if we get 20% less patients over the next 6 months.
Me and my team have been laser focused on getting everything we can from our external marketing (Google, Facebook, etc) and we are putting more effort than ever into our internal marketing (referral promotions etc).
We’ve developed new scorecards for our staff (game changers for anyone who’s business is stuck or lack lustre in its growth), clearly defined existing job roles, identified new roles we need to hire for and we even worked out a process for ensuring that every new patient comes back to us within 12 months AND refers another to us within 30 days. It’s our Maximum Value and Bounce Back process.
It’s all part of my strategy to make more money even though we might end up seeing less patients.
It’s a much better strategy that pursuing risk or aggressive growth and spending £1000’s with Facebook like many owners are going to try and do.
Thanks to the chaos, I’ve never been more focused on growing my physio business and it’s at the next Mastermind Meeting I am hosting on Sept 29-30th (fully virtual) that I’ll be sharing many of the things me and my team will be doing to survive and prosper in the coming winter months – no matter what the government or coronavirus does.
Plus, I am going to be inviting some other very successful business owners from the UK and USA to speak to share their own stories of success in 2020 so that you can learn from.
Schedule
Day 1 – Sept 29th
Session 1: 3:00pm BST
Marketing: How To Make 20% More Revenue From 20% Less Patients
BREAK: 4:30pm BST
Session 2: 4.45pm BST
Strategy Planning: How To Identify Your Most Important Tasks Through Covid-19
DINNER: 6:15pm BST
Session 3: 7:00pm BST
Performance Management: Scorecard Conversations To Boost Staff Performance
BREAK: 8:00pm BST
Session 4: 8:15pm BST
How To Get Past £500,000 And All The Way To £1,000,000 – With Top USA Physio Carrie Jose
Day 2 – Sept 30th
Session 1: 3:00pm BST
Disruptive Entrepreneurship. Money And Investing – With Rob Moore Of Progressive Property
BREAK: 4:30pm BST
Session 2: 4.45pm BST
Scaling A Chain Of Health Clinics From Zero To £5,000,000 – With Chris Matthews, Founder Of Silver Link Weight Loss Clinics
DINNER: 6:15pm BST
Session 3: 7:00pm BST
Success Panel
BREAK: 8:00pm BST
Session 4: 8:15pm
BST Hot Seats / Open Q&A
WORKSHOP WRAP: 9:00pm BST
Do you want to join us?
We start at 3pm BST on Tuesday 29th and 30th of Sept, and here’s just some of what you will discover during the eight sessions, two day, fully virtual event:
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How to get 20% more profit – even if you see 20% less patients
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The 10 step checklist we’ve created at my clinic to ensure that every patient comes back within 12 months and refers at least one more within 30 days
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Recession Immunisation – 5 essential protections you must put in place now
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Scorecard conversions: how to manage your team for improved productivity and performance
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Boosting cashflow in a downturn – how to get more cash, fast
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Low/Zero cost Marketing to increase new patient acquisition
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Online advancements – how to use Google/Facebook and your website to generate the patients you need 24/7, regardless of the economy
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What changes you should be making to your marketing message, your sales process and your prices in a recession
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How to market and sell in a recession (this is my second recession – I learned a lot from the 2008 crisis)
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Leadership: How to manage your team and what standards to hold them to during the recession
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Financial Control: how to make sure you never run out of money in the next 12 months
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And much moreacross the two days that you can access online including special guests from the United States that I will be bringing the sessions.