…and that’s why you need marketing! 😬

…and that’s why you need marketing! 😬👊🏼 lucy litman Lexicon Medical http://ow.ly/i/ryf2x

ACCOMPLISHING GOALS, REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS, HAPPY DANCES, and BELLS (& how they all go together)

It’s January 9th and I am still writing about goal setting.  In fact, I can let you in on a little secret.  I will be writing about goal setting all throughout the year.  One of the reasons I  write about setting goals is, I love setting goals.  You could actually call me a a goal-setting junkie.

But, I will also tell you this.  I love accomplishing my goals even more than I love setting them and I take every step necessary to make sure I achieve them along the way.

Let me map this out for you.

The first thing I do is write down everything I want to accomplish during the year.  The list is always way too long, so I prune it back as much as I can, making sure that the biggest and best goals survive the cut.

The easiest goals on my original list are usually the first ones to go and what I have learned about myself is that they go first because they are usually too boring to keep me interested.  Sure, it would be nice to accomplish things quickly and easily, but I want the goals on my list to hold my attention long enough to captivate my imagination.

So first, I make a list and then, I scrub it down, only leaving the best of the best goals.

The third thing I do is post my list in a place I will look at and reflect on daily.  For me, this is my prayer notebook.  My prayer notebook is a 2 1/2″, white, 3 ring binder that has all of my Prayer Requests and Answered Prayers written in them.  The binder is falling apart and has verses written all over it.  I keep saying that I need to mend the edges because they are ripping apart, but secretly I love how tattered and worn my prayer notebook has become because of how much it is held and used.

My goal sheet for the year holds a special place of real estate in my binder.  It sits in the left pocket so that every morning when I open my notebook, it is the first thing I see.

The forth thing I do with my goals is track my progress.  I’ve learned that I like to break down my goals into baby steps and that if I write down what I did each week to accomplish each goal, I will eventually end up at the destination I want to be.

As you can see, there isn’t much room to write, so I just write a few words beside each week of each month describing what I did to work towards that goal.

The final step in my goal setting process is the celebration.  At various times during the year, I will reflect on certain goals and realize that I made even greater strides towards goal completion than I thought I would.  And that is usually celebrated with a happy dance (yep, a literal happy dance in my office no matter who is there to witness it) and a ‘DING’ on the bell.  (yep, a real bell)

In fact, our whole administrative team at Kristin W. Parker & Company dings the bell when we move the needle towards our goals.  Then the whole office claps and cheers! (and breaks out the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and La Croix) We love celebrating how far each person has come on their project and that little celebration inspires that person to persevere the rest of the way to the finish line.

Whether you are a physician, an office manager, a director of marketing, or a physician liaison, take the time to set your goals for your practice growth.  January 9th is just as good as January 1st was for setting your goals, but don’t wait too much longer.

If you haven’t already, NOW is the right time to start!

Kristin W. Parker is the founder of Lexicon Medical, a medical marketing company and a Virtual Mentor and blogger at www.DosesofParker.com.

 

 

HOW 2 LITTLE WORDS CAN CHANGE YOUR MEDICAL PRACTICE IN 2017

Let’s see if this scenario resonates with you.  You are a high achiever. You like setting goals.  You start out every new year inspired and confident. You say, “This will be the best year ever!”

and then…

It’s January 2.  And life gets busy.  The kids are back in school.  Meetings take over your life.  The emails start flooding in.  Your voicemails are adding up and you wonder how you will ever get caught up on the old stuff long enough to accomplish any new stuff.

What if I told you that 2 little words could help you change your dynamics?

Try these words on for size.  “IF” and “THEN.”

These 2 little words can pack a punch when you use them to plan your day.  They can truly help reframe your mindset and give the perspective you need to focus on the things that really matter.

Most leaders of medical practices start the year by saying, “We will create and implement a marketing plan this year.”  What they should say is, “If we create and implement a marketing plan this year, we will grow our patient population and improve our bottom line.”

The statements are very similar, but one reminds you of your WHY.  The other just adds another thing to your To Do list.

Try these three statements as well:

• If I introduce myself to one new physician each week, I will have 52 new contacts this year in the medical community.

• If I hire a Physician Liaison in Q1, I will have new referral sources starting in Q2.

• If I participate in social media, I will engage a new population of prospective patients.

Whatever your action item may be, attach a positive outcome to it so you are instantly reminded of WHY you should spend time working on it.

IF you really want something, THEN go for it!

IF you need help with marketing your practice this year, THEN call Lexicon Medical.

Your marketing goals CAN be achieved this year!

www.lexiconmedical.com     www.dosesofparker.com     855.MED.REPS

 

 

 

What Kind of New Year’s Fireworks Show Does Your Medical Practice Produce?

I don’t know a lot about fireworks, but I do know which ones catch my attention and keep me engaged in the show. I also have a pretty good idea about the ones that are fun for about a split second and then they are done.

Take the sparkler, for instance. It’s an excellent choice for beginners. I’ve even seen little kids use them. They are bright and safe but they fizzle out quickly. They don’t leave much of a lasting impression.

Then you have the Black Cats. Those are cool. They are full of sound even making a really loud BOOM. But then they’re done.

Now the bottle rockets- these are special. These things take off! They fly out! And then they flame out. Oh well.

If you really want to put on a show, you’ll need to take a step up and go for the Roman Candles.  These bad boys will light up the night. They will catch and retain everyone’s attention throughout the show. And if you launch them frequently enough and long enough you’ll even make a lasting impression on your audience.

You could be a Master of Fireworksology! (made-up title)

Now think about your marketing program for your practice.

What kind of “fireworks show” are you putting on?

Do you take gift baskets around to all of your referral sources during the holidays in hopes that they will continue supporting your practice the following year?  That is a very nice gesture – after all, who doesn’t like receiving a gift basket?- but that’s kind of like the sparklers of the fireworks show. They are fun and safe, but they don’t make a lasting impression.

Do you have someone in your office assigned to market your practice “whenever they can?”  If so, good job! Your show is getting better. However, it might get the same results that the black cats and bottle rockets would get if they were the only fireworks being used in a show. You might get a quick surge in referrals from the sudden BOOM that your staff member’s visit generated but if they aren’t going back consistently and frequently enough, your audience will get bored. They will get distracted between the pops and bursts. That means they aren’t thinking about you enough. That means they aren’t consistently sending you patients.

Now… do you have a marketing rep designated to market your practice with the right delivery? Are they delivering the right message to the right audience? Are they visiting your target audience frequently enough to retain their attention between each exciting explosion?

If you do, then you have a marketing program that will light up your medical practice and create a lasting impression. You have armed yourself well. Let the show begin!

If you are still tinkering with sparklers and bottle rockets but desire to take your show to the next level, you can outsource your show to us. We have just the artillery you need!

Call our team today to find out how to get started. 855-MED-REPS.

Happy New Year!

Should you outsource your marketing efforts or is it better to keep them in-house?

The wisdom of Forrest Gump is streaming through my brain right now. Remember the famous line from the movie?  “I may not be a smart man, Jenny. But I know what love is.”

Well…

“I may not be a doctor, but I know how to market one.” And at work I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

The truth is, all of us are good at something, sometimes we’re good at many things. But it’s really hard to be perficient at everything. That’s why I’m a big believer in focusing on getting better at my strengths rather than constantly trying to improve on my deficiencies.

As a physician, it’s important to carefully consider who you will have running your marketing program. It’s natural, and sometimes a good idea, to look first within your own office to find a marketing liaison who can represent your business to potential referral sources. After all, they already know all about your practice and they are already on the payroll. That sounds like a no-brainer, right?

maybe so. but maybe not.

If you really want to use someone from your current talent pool, rather than outsourcing this part of your business, you may want to first consider these things.

1. Does this person have enough time, energy, talent, and skill to meet my expectations for new referral growth?

2. If I reassign this person as a physician liaison, will their current duties go unattended and left undone?

3. If I have to hit the pause button on this person’s marketing efforts because I need them back in the office to perform their original job function, will that impact my new patient referrals? (hint: yes. yes it will)

4. Can I take time out of my schedule to get this person started on the right track?

5. Will I have the proper resources with which to run a marketing program so I can be competitive in my field?

If, after answering these questions, you’ve concluded that you might not want to pull one of your best resources out of their current role in your organization, you should consider outsourcing your marketing program to an organization who’s core competency is marketing.

What you don’t want to do is delay starting your program and lose out on the impact you can make.

You should be able to pursue your goals with full confidence, anticipating the new business growth that is to come.

Lexicon Medical is a marketing company that specializes in putting marketing reps in place for medical practices. Contact us today to find out how we can help.

What Kind of Fireworks Show Does Your Practice Put On?

I don’t know a lot about fireworks, but I do know which ones catch my attention and keep me engaged in the show. I also have a pretty good idea about the ones that are fun for about a split second and then they are done.

Take the sparkler, for instance. It’s an excellent choice for beginners. I’ve even seen little kids use them. They are bright and safe but they fizzle out quickly. They don’t leave much of a lasting impression.

Then you have the Black Cats. Those are cool. They are full of sound even making a really loud BOOM. But then they’re done.

Now the bottle rockets- these are special. These things take off! They fly out! And then they flame out. Oh well.

If you really want to put on a show, you’ll need to take a step up and go for the Roman Candles.  These bad boys will light up the night. They will catch and retain everyone’s attention throughout the show. And if you launch them frequently enough and long enough you’ll even make a lasting impression on your audience.

You could be a Master of Fireworksology! (made-up title)

Now think about your marketing program for your practice.

What kind of “fireworks show” are you putting on?

Do you take gift baskets around to all of your referral sources during the holidays in hopes that they will continue supporting your practice the following year?  That is a very nice gesture – after all, who doesn’t like receiving a gift basket?- but that’s kind of like the sparklers of the fireworks show. They are fun and safe, but they don’t make a lasting impression.

Do you have someone in your office assigned to market your practice “whenever they can?”  If so, good job! Your show is getting better. However, it might get the same results that the black cats and bottle rockets would get if they were the only fireworks being used in a show. You might get a quick surge in referrals from the sudden BOOM that your staff member’s visit generated but if they aren’t going back consistently and frequently enough, your audience will get bored. They will get distracted between the pops and bursts. That means they aren’t thinking about you enough. That means they aren’t consistently sending you patients.

Now… do you have a marketing rep designated to market your practice with the right delivery? Are they delivering the right message to the right audience? Are they visiting your target audience frequently enough to retain their attention between each exciting explosion?

If you do, then you have a marketing program that will light up your medical practice and create a lasting impression. You have armed yourself well. Let the show begin!

If you are still tinkering with sparklers and bottle rockets but desire to take your show to the next level, you can outsource your show to us. We have just the artillery you need!

You can reach Kristy Parker at 512.699.0114 or email at kparker@lexiconmedical.com.

If You Only Do One Thing For Your Marketing Program This Summer, Do This!

My husband and I took our family of six on a week-long ski trip a couple of months ago for spring break.  We had planned the trip for months making sure that we had the perfect place to stay, the right gear for each family member, and we even created a menu for the week ensuring that each one of our kids would get their favorite meal during the vacation.

So how did the trip go?

Our kids LOVED it, my husband beamed with pride that each of our kids became better skiers, and I came home mad.

Everything had gone according to our plans.  The house we stayed in was fabulous, the ski gear was perfect, and the meals tasted even better in the mountains than they do at home.

So why would I have gotten upset about anything?

I was mad because I was exhausted.  In fact, I was more tired when we got back home than before we left for our vacation. When I had envisioned our ski trip, I had pictured myself relaxing in the lodge drinking Snugglers and reading at least 2 of the 3 books I brought with me on the trip. I’d planned on sleeping in until at least 8:00 each morning and then taking my time getting ready for about a half day of skiing.  However, that is not what my husband had envisioned.  He had envisioned every member of his family improving their ski skills enough to qualify for the winter Olympic games, which of course meant that we were the first family to arrive at the lodge every morning and the last family to leave every day. For five straight days.

With all of our prior planning, we had failed to do one very important thing.  We had not shared our VISION for the ski trip.

If there is only one thing we do before we take our next family vacation you can bet it will be sharing our VISION with each other. We will discuss whether our trip will be full of activity or relaxation and probably find a compromise that everyone will enjoy.

If you are a physician and there is only one thing you do for your marketing program this summer, take the time to develop your VISION for your practice.

I’ve been reading a book called “Visioneering” by Andy Stanley.  He makes so many good points in his book that I’ve nearly highlighted and taken notes on every page.  Mr. Stanley says, “Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the ones with VISION.”

What type of practice do you want? Do you want to be moderately busy or do you want to have your next available appointment two months out?  Do you want to add providers to your staff or do you want to see every patient yourself?  Do you want to focus on a very niche indication or do you want to treat all conditions in your specialty?

Think about the type of practice you want to have by the end of the year and write it down.

Think about the type of practice you want to have by the end of next year and write it down.

Think about the type of practice you want to have in five years and write it down.

This is what you daydream about. This is your VISION.  This is what will motivate you to perform even the most mundane tasks.  This is what will be the single most important factor in driving your marketing program in the right direction this fall.

As Andy Stanley puts it, “VISION is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.”

So what is your vision for your practice? 

How quickly do you want to make your vision become a reality?

Need help with putting together a marketing plan to help your VISION become a reality?  Lexicon Medical can help you do that. Visit our company website at www.LexiconMedical.com.

Oh, Snap! 3 Things I’d Change If I Got A Do-Over

How to Go for the “Big Ask!”

3 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting Other Physicians’ Offices

If you’re anything like most physicians I’ve worked with, your practice started small—and so did your referral marketing program. You probably had plenty of time on your hands to visit neighboring medical offices to introduce yourself and leave some of your literature.

But as your growing practice matures, adding new providers, new satellite locations, and new services, your approach to connecting with referral sources and telling your story needs to mature, too.

You’re probably already really good at telling your story about who you are and what you can offer, but I’ve got a suggestion that will help you convert more of those office visits into new patient referrals.

Embrace the “Big Ask!”

I’ll tell you all about the “Big Ask” in just a minute, but first I want to tell you about my 12 year old identical twin daughters, Sarah and Kate.

Sarah and Kate look alike, sound alike, and have very similar personalities.  If they each came into the room separately, had a conversation with you and left, you would probably have a hard time keeping up with which twin you had been talking to.

But as their mom, I can tell you… my identical twins are VERY different.  They have different likes and dislikes, different gifts and talents, and (this is important) different “closing skills.”

Let me give you an example.  Every week I sit at the kitchen counter and write out my grocery list before heading to the store.  My girls know what I’m doing when I’m sitting down at the counter with my recipes and THINGS TO BUY notepad.

Every week, without fail, Kate walks over to me and says, “Mom, can you please buy some dried fruit and Sour Cream and Onion Pringles for me when you’re at the store?”  Every week, without fail, I answer her with, “Sure thing, honey.  You got it.”

My other daughter, Sarah, never asks me for anything.  Ever.  She just keeps doing what she is doing, says bye to me when I leave for the store, and doesn’t think another thing about it.

That is, until I get back home.

When I get home both girls rush into the kitchen to look through the bags to see what snacks and treats I brought home from the store and Kate finds her chips and fruit and she is very happy.  Sarah looks through every bag until there’s nothing left to see and says, “Where’s the stuff I like?”

My reply to her is the same every week. “Sarah, you didn’t ask me for anything special so I got the same stuff I always get. Kate got specific things because she asked for them.”

The truth is, I’m not trying to show favoritism to one twin over the other.  I’m basically on autopilot when I’m at the store.  I can get in and out with everything we need for the week without really even having the think about it.  Unless, someone has made a special request.

I share this story because, like my identical twins, most physicians appear the same to referral coordinators.  To them, all physicians are super-smart people who went to medical school.  Unless they get to spend time developing a referral relationship with these practices, there won’t seem like there is much of a difference between them when it comes time to make the decision for where to refer patients.

Like a busy mom on autopilot at the grocery store, referral coordinators are busy during the day and want to get their jobs done quickly, but if they are presented with useful information about a physician and asked to refer patients to him or her, they often will.

Some physicians have become very good at distinguishing themselves from their competitors and asking for the business, while others still take Sarah’s approach and just hope for the best but ask for nothing. That second group of physicians is often disappointed in the results. At Lexicon Medical, we teach our physicians to do what Kate does so naturally.

Enter the “Big Ask.”

In its most basic form, the “Big Ask” is a request that you are making for someone else to do something for you.  It may sound easy, but a lot of physicians do the hard part of the work by going around town introducing themselves to other providers without ever asking for the business.

Most physicians tell me that they dread that final moment of the meet and greet when the time comes to go for the “Big Ask,” so they skip this part all together.

This is like performing a surgery and not suturing the place of incision.   If you have made the effort to introduce yourself and your services to others, you have earned the right to ask for their business.

Your first step in conquering the “Big Ask” is to identify what it is you want to ask for.  The second step is deciding how you want to ask.

Most physicians prefer a soft close, such as, “I will take great care of your patients.  Please consider referring your patients to my practice.” You could also try an assumptive close such as, “When you send your patients to me, I will take great care of them.” If you want to get really aggressive you could try a hard close such as, “Please send all of your patients to my practice.”  None of these closes are fancy, but they will all work. Use whichever “Big Ask” fits your personality, but as a general rule remember, “Say your best, then request.”

So, with all of that being said, here are the 3 things you need to know before you visit another physician’s practice.

1. Go in and tell your story.  Tell your audience who you are and how you can help their patients.  What makes you different from your “identical twin” competitors?
2. Explain what types of patients you can treat.  Describe a positive patient outcome and let them know that their patients can have the same positive experience.  Then…
3. Go for the “Big Ask” and ask them to send you their patients!

You don’t have to get it just right on the first try, either. (I certainly didn’t.) But it’s easy to tweak your “Big Asks” as you figure out what makes the most sense for you. It may seem uncomfortable at first, but the more you do it, the better you will get at it and the more natural it will feel.  Give it some thought, practice saying a few “Big Asks” out loud, and if you need some help, I am only an email away.

What result do you want?

Who will your “Big Asks” be directed to?  

What will your “Big Asks” be?

What Lessons Did You Learn From the Teams Who Played in the Super Bowl?

Use the Lessons We Learned to Improve Your Marketing Game Plan!

 

Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos was the game to watch to determine the champion of the National Football League’s 2015 season.  All eyes were on superstar Cam Newton also known as “Superman”.

With the football on the ground and the Carolina Panthers’ season hanging in the balance, Newton, the NFL’s newly crowned MVP and most physically imposing quarterback, needed to prevent the Denver Broncos from seizing control of Super Bowl 50.

So what does all of this have to do with your referral marketing program?

Well, if you’re like me and as obsessed with referral marketing programs as the rest of America is with football, then it’s obvious!  Considering that almost no one is as obsessed with referral marketing programs as I am, I should probably go ahead and lay it out.

Here goes…

LET’S START BY TAKING A LOOK AT THE OFFENSIVE PLAYBOOK.

After the game, Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib said “They really have a simple offense. They come out in a bunch of different formations that they shift around, and they run one or two plays out of them. If you can figure out the formations, what they do is really simple.”

That’s an awful lot like the gameplan we use to market our physicians.  There aren’t really a lot of technical plays involved in what we do.  We follow a simple plan to acheive our results.

What’s the key to our game winning play?

We visit the RIGHT people, and deliver the RIGHT message, the RIGHT number of times.  That’s a pretty simple play, right?

Why does such a simple play work? Because the key to change is more of the same. If you resist the monotonous, then you’ll miss the winning results that you could have had. The ROUTINE is what produces the results.

SO WHAT ABOUT DEFENSE?

After the game, cornerback Chris Harris said, ”We’re that good. We’re that dominant. People were saying this team would roll over us. I don’t know what film they watched. We said we were one of the best teams in a long time, and we backed it up. Defense wins championships.”

You heard the man.  His team won and he said that defense wins Super Bowl championships.  So what role does defense play in a referral marketing program?

You have to defend the referral trends that are in your favor.  You have to protect your referral relationships.  Send thank you notes to your referring offices with your marketing rep.  Make sure you have a persistent, consistent presence in those offices BECAUSE… your competitor wants those referrals too.  And they are their’s for the taking.  Be proactive and defend them and don’t let them have them.  Don’t let your opponents get that ball!

What do you do once you have your offensive and defensive plays figured out?

SCOUT OUT THE COMPETITION

You face your opponents everyday even though you probably don’t actually see them. Right?  You have to set your mind to compete in the referral marketing business and you have to know WHO and WHAT you are up against.

Don’t take my word for it though.  Listen to cornerback Chris Harris again.

After the game, Chris Harris said, ”They thought they were going to come in and run the football and throw it all over the place — what?” They hadn’t watched us live.  And it’s a shock to the system.” He added, “Cam was scared to throw it. He looked blind. He couldn’t figure out where to throw. That’s what pressure does, man.”

Football teams spend countless hours scouting out their opponents so they know what they are up against.

Do your homework and learn your competitive information, too.

How do you learn competitive information about your opponents?  You have to do your homework and send someone from your office into the referring offices and ask them who they refer to and why.

At Lexicon Medical, we train our reps to conduct a mini-interview during our first visit to the office of a new potential referral source.  The basic questioning sounds something like this:

“Do you typically refer out for these conditions?”

“How many times a week do you generally refer out for these conditions?”

“Do you have one specific specialist that you like to send all of these patients to?

“Is there a reason why you like sending these patients to this specialist?”

“Can we add another physician to your list of specialists you normally refer to for these conditions?”

You may feel uncomfortable asking these questions, and if I were a physician, I would feel the same way.  That’s why I don’t recommend you being the one doing the questioning.

As a physician, you are our MVP and we aren’t going to send you around doing the scouting.  That role is reserved for your marketing rep.

Once you have your offense, defense, and scouting figured out, you’ve gotta have a plan.  I’ll say that again, a little differently.

GO FORWARD WITH A PLAN, NOT JUST A HOPE.

Have you ever heard the saying, “God is in the details?”  Make sure that your marketing plan has details, too!  If you are going to do something, set a plan of HOW you are going to do it.  When you have a plan, you don’t have to be worried.

Winging it is scary.

After the Super Bowl we learned that the Broncos had a plan.

“If Cam Newton would have touched that ball, I was gonna hit him right in his face, and I wasn’t the only one,” Ward said. ”We were hungry for that one. We saw that ball and it was like hyenas on an antelope.”

Okay, so that’s not a very nice plan and we’re going to leave that one out of your referral marketing program.

Let’s try this one instead:

You need to know WHO you are going to be calling on and WHY.  

You need to know WHAT you are going to say.

You need to ANTICIPATE what they are going to say.

You need to know WHERE they usually refer their patients and WHY.

And you need to know WHAT’s next.

AND FINALLY, YOU JUST GOTTA KICK BUT!

Do any of these sound familiar?

“I would start my referral marketing program BUT I just don’t have the time.”

“I would start visiting other physicians’ practices BUT I just don’t feel like going.”

“I would say thank you to my best referral sources BUT I want to do something special for them and I just don’t know what I want to do yet.”

We all have excuses for why we think we can’t get our marketing program off and running.  But no more excuses, Player!

It’s time to get out there and kick some BUTT!

What will you add to your offensive playbook?  How’s your defense for the referrals you’ve come to rely on?  How well do you know your opponents?  Do you have a plan to “kick but?”