Why outsourcing your NDIS administration is good for your practice

How many times has your NDIS funded client told you that they have a meeting with their LAC in 2 days and they need a report from you ‘ASAP’, or you’ve finally set aside time to catch up on payment requests, but there’s no funding left for you to claim from? Or you’ve seen that large deposit from the NDIA and have no idea what invoices you need to receipt. Whether you work for yourself, or have a team of therapists working for you, keeping on top of the administration attached to your NDIS funded clients can get overwhelming. 

Many private practices consider hiring an in-house administrator to manage their NDIS work, but what about those practices that cannot justify an administrators’ salary? Or those savvy therapists who want to make the best use of their hard-earned profits? Engaging a Virtual Practice Manager is the answer.

A Virtual Practice Manager who is experienced in NDIS administration is an exciting and no-brainer option for many therapists running busy practices. I’ve listed three main reasons why a Virtual Practice Manager is good for your practice.

YOUR RETURN ON INVESTMENT

How many appointments do you need to make to cover the salary of a full-time administrator? According to Payscale.com the average Medical/ Health Receptionist annual salary is $51,953. Based on average NDIS service fees, that is 270 hours of therapy you need to deliver to break even. A Virtual Practice Manager that understands the ins and outs of the NDIS, and can apply best practice from years of experience can cost as little as $240 per week (Just 65 therapy hours per year!!).

BONUS: Your Virtual Practice Manager doesn’t take holidays and thus you’ve always got support.

SET UP FOR SUCCESS

Your Virtual Practice Manager brings experience and established systems and procedures to your practice. From onboarding to payment processing to issue resolution, your Practice Manager operates autonomously to ensure all the required documentation from your NDIS funded client is in place, and you are being paid for the services you deliver.

KEEPING YOU ORGANISED

It's easy to feel completely disoriented with all the extras that come with seeing NDIS funded clients. When you engage a Virtual Practice Manager, the aforementioned last-minute request for a report, or the payment request rejections become a thing of the past. Your Virtual Practice Manager solves these issues by notifying you 6 weeks out from a plan end date so you can write a report during work hours (as opposed to 2am), and tracks budgets and liaises with you and the Participant when funding gets low, so you and the client can make decisions about how best to spend their remaining budget if there is no more to draw down on.

If you are managing your NDIS administration on your own, reach out to us to explore your outsourcing options.

3 Easy Steps To Prepare Your PRACTICE For A Virtual Assistant

I can’t tell you how many clients I have worked with who have secretly shared (not long after we start working together) ‘why did I wait so long to get a Virtual Assistant?!’ – I smile and let them know that at least they have started.

It’s become such a common statement that I now warn my potential clients to expect this feeling and thought running through their head not long after we start.

But why is it so common? Why are people delaying hiring a VA to help them get on top of their workload? I decided to do a bit of research and come up with three easy steps to help you transition from ‘omg I have toooo much to do and not enough time in the day’ to ‘yay my weekends are mine again!!’.

Let It Go

In the words of the ever popular children’s movie, don’t think you have to get everything in order BEFORE you hire a Virtual Assistant. It’s like those people that clean the house before the cleaner comes – totally not necessary and is not a good use of your time.

Your new VA understands that things might be a bit messy and that’s okay. Trust me they probably have seen worse and they don’t judge. This is their jam. This is what they LOVE doing. Not only fixing the mess but maintaining order.

Let them do their magic, you won’t regret it!

Get In The Cloud

Now you’re VA isn’t going to be in the same room as you so it’s important that you give her what she needs to get the job done. Depending on what she will be helping you with she will need access to your logins, your diary and potentially your inbox.

So, if you’re still living in paper land with all of this info sitting on your desk under some left over toast and coffee ring stains, be sure to move everything into a cloud-based program so she (and YOU) can access it from anywhere.

If you need help setting up online diaries and remote access to emails, ask her for help – she will be glad to guide you.

Stop…And Listen

Sometimes we are SO involved in our overwhelm from our workload we can’t even see what we can outsource. We can’t see what we can move off our plate. So, take some time stop and listen (or watch) what you’re doing and make note of whether it’s a good use of your time.

Does it generate you an income or if you’re a specialist is it dealing with clients? If not – then you probably don’t (and shouldn’t) have to do it.

This doesn’t mean you need to outsource everything in from day one. Start with one regular task to get the ball rolling BUT as I say to all my clients; eventually you will just send more and more over as you realise that it’s not an effective use of your time but an excellent use of my support.

At the end of the day the best insight I can give you is this – the best time to start using a VA is now, not in 6 months time when you will kick yourself for not starting earlier!

I'll be back! The Importance of Client Recalls

It's possibly one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's most famous lines "I'll be back". The famous phrase brings smiles to anyone when watching Arnie's movies, but when you hear your client cheerfully use this same line, only to never see them again, it can be pretty disheartening. Client recalls are one of those tasks some would prefer never to do. Often dubbed to be a slimey sales tactic, Client Recalls have got a bad rap, but the truth is, they so shouldn't be slimey! They should feel good for you and your client. 

As an Allied Health professional, or as a business that is closely related to promoting a healthy lifestyle, client recalls are about reminding clients of the importance of keeping up with their treatment plans and continuing their preventative care – but also that you care about them and that they aren’t just another contact in your practice management system.

Keep them coming back right from their first appointment

The objective of a recall is generally to have a client book another appointment with you, but not because you ask them to, but because they understand the need to. It is your responsibility to communicate the benefits of continuing their treatment or preventative care right from their first appointment. If you execute this correctly (and in a way that feels good to you), then the process of actually doing the recalls will be easy!

If you are setting up the plan for your client, then your recalls only really need to:

• Remind your client of the treatment, procedure or product you recommended to them (If they haven’t already booked/ purchased that service yet, of course!)
• Show you care about their wellbeing and/or their experience in your clinic by giving them a simple phone call to check-in and see how they are progressing.
• Follow up to see how they progressed with any homework, resources or products you gave to them, and offer additional support.

If you’re going to do it, do it right!

To recall effectively, you need a plan, discipline and data. If you’re a long-time follower, you’ll know I am a practice management system activist – I love them and I believe they are a vital business system for allied health professionals. If you have a half decent one (read my post on the systems I recommend over here), then your data is already there on a beautiful report. Here's the process to conduct client recalls.

1. Straight after every appointment of the client’s you want to recall in the future, make a recall note in their profile. Include things they mentioned during their visit (personal and treatment-related).
2. Contact the client via their preferred method of contact, which might be an SMS, phone call or email.
3. Use language that demonstrates your reason for getting in contact (that you care etc).
4. Give them an easy and direct way to make an appointment.

Harnessing the power of your existing client base by recalling them is a powerful and profitable activity and will directly impact your revenue.

Do you want assistance to recall your clients? Pro-Assist can help! Contact Karina to arrange a quotation at info@pro-assist.com.au.  

Lessons from the Coal Face

At the tender age of 19, I was looking for a ‘grown up job’. Having worked at the local Coles for a few years, I decided I was ready for my next challenge. If you can remember back to 2018/2019, the coal industry was in a tailspin. Mining projects were popping up everywhere and hideous amounts of money were being spent to keep up with domestic and international coal demand. As fate would have had it, a position with Rio Tinto came up as an Administrator on their newest $2.6 billion dollar mine construction project and I was their chosen candidate.

Being new to a ‘grown up job’ and being charged with setting up all the administrative systems, policies and processes on the site, I armed myself with common sense and a determined attitude (because that’s all I had!). Bunkered together in a Donga (something only Queenslanders might know), we were a lean project team. Although I was hired as an administrator, I was also the Travel Coordinator, HR Administrator, temporary training admin, stationery orderer, temporary document controller and Plant & Machinery administrator, but I wasn’t special in this area, everyone was taking on multiple full-time roles, and everyone was doing the same as me – ramping up quickly so we could get the job done. No one cared to give advice or guidance, we were all literally tasked to “just do it” (whatever the “it” was).

Now that I am a business owner, I can draw so many parallels between that time in my life and my business, as I am sure you can as well in your own private practice journey. You decide to ‘become a grown-up’ and start a business on your own, to live life on your own terms. But you shortly realise, there are no policies, procedures or systems in place to carry you along. There’s a limited support base around you that ‘gets’ what you are doing. You’ve got to “just do it” whatever “it” is!”. So today, I want to share with you some learnings that I picked up from working on a $2.6 billion dollar mine construction project.

MAKE YOUR PROCEDURES TANGIBLE

Running a successful business is about being consistent. Having procedures in place is an integral part of that. Even if you work on your own, one day you will introduce someone into your inner circle. Maybe that person is another therapist, perhaps its an admin assistant. Writing out your procedures (even in the most basic form), gets the ideas and processes out of your head and onto paper. It makes them tangible and easier to follow. They can also keep you on track when you are feeling lost and even add value to your business in the future if you decide to sell.

SYSTEMISE AND AUTOMATE WHAT YOU CAN

Your business has an hourly running rate. If you sell an hour-long session for $150, you have a GSuite account, business utilities, car expenses and maybe even office space expenses, your hourly running rate is somewhere up around $200 per hour. Now, if you are spending $200 an hour to navigate through manual processes, tend to menial tasks or have ‘complimentary consultations over the phone’, then you are seriously limiting your earning potential.

Once you have documented your procedures, AUTOMATE THEM! Get a Practice Management System, schedule out your social media posts, hire a VA to answer your calls and book your appointments, use a proper bookkeeping system.

DON’T LET PERFECTIONISM SLOW YOU DOWN

The reality is, you’ll never have a perfect set of procedures. You’ll never be totally organised. But the world doesn’t stop. Your clients need you, you need to find new clients to keep your books full. If you’re totally lost, use common sense, write up a Minimal Viable Procedure (the bare bones of a task, none of the fluffy stuff).

PRIORITISE WHAT MAKES YOU MONEY

You’ll always have too many things on your plate. Tackle the ones that make you money first. Whether its client work, business marketing activities or even stepping out systems that will make you more efficient, put them first over all the menial or ‘unbillable tasks’ on your plate.

Email Marketing: Do you need to do it?

By Elise

Email marketing presents more opportunities for your business and drives a better return on investment than more traditional marketing techniques. With email marketing, your business can create deeper relationships with a wider audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.

The most effective marketing methods focuses on cultivating relationships with your clients so they get to know, like and trust you to become their go-to provider.

Here are 4 reasons WHY you need to be utilising this method of creating, keeping and going above and beyond to satisfy your customers.

1) Return on Investment

One of the most appealing advantages of email marketing is the return on investment. For most small businesses, budgets for marketing are lean. This is why it is essential for a small business to build up connections with their clients through utilising email marketing.

There are no print costs, no postage fees, no advertising rates and according to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing brings in $40 for every $1 spent, outperforming search, display and social marketing. That is one incredible ROI!

Just like any kind of marketing campaign, it does take time. But if you dedicate some attention to it and provide real value for your client and potential clients, it is an incredibly savvy way to increase touch points with your clients and cultivate a deeper relationship so that you can cultivate a loyal following and have referrers for life.

2) Email Marketing is free and highly targeted

One of the biggest benefits of email marketing is that it is FREE and complexly targeted. You can segment lists to target particular clients, to ensure that your audience receives content specifically suited to their needs.

Email marketing makes it simple to customise your message for each individual fostering a higher conversion rate.

3) Email Marketing Increases Brand Awareness

With each email sent, consumers are exposed to your business and your brand. With strategic planning, smart design and targeted content, your business will consistently build value. In doing so, you stay top-of-mind with your audience so when a customer needs your service your business is the first that comes to mind!

4) Email Marketing is Measurable

Analytics are an indispensable insight to measure the success of your content and campaigns.

Most traditional marketing methods are incredibly ambiguous and generally estimate results. With email marketing, you get precise metrics, including delivery rates, open rates and click-through rates to help you gain insight into your customer behaviours and interests.

You can use your campaigns to monitor which information your customers are most responsive to. From there you can further target your marketing strategy towards more successful campaigns and to facilitate sales!

How to Bootstrap your Private Practice

What you really need to get set up and seeing those clients

When you’re just starting out (or starting to get serious about your business) it can be confusing to know what exactly to implement to get your business looking and operating like a genuine business. Depending on your circumstances, you might even have a limited budget and want to stretch your pennies as far as they will go.

There are a lot of companies vying for your attention to sign up to their systems, processes, products and services. Some of them can be really tempting (and really expensive), especially if they are promising to take away the confusion of launching your business. So, I wanted to write a quick post about what you need to be perceived as the incredible and expert allied health professional that you are.

COUNTING THOSE BEANS

When you operate a business, you get paid (YAY!), and it’s important to know where that money comes from and where its going. Employing a basic accounting system will help you navigate those first years of serious business.

Bootstrap your accounting by using a free or low-cost accounting system like WAVE. You can track your income and expenses, be ready for tax time and gather some good insights into your business using their reporting functions. WAVE also offers Invoicing as well, BONUS!

EMAIL

When you’re starting out, you can set up a free Gmail email that resembles your business name such as janethechiro@gmail.com. As soon as you can afford the hosting fee or Google $5/month fee, get your own business domain so your email becomes jane@thechiro.com.

APPOINTMENT MANAGEMENT

You will already know that I LOVE practice management systems, and my brain is screaming to me to write here “Get a practice management system”, but the reality is, they cost money (the good ones anyway), and right now, we’re bootstrapping, so I am going to suggest a very simple and FREE option: Acuity Scheduling.

With Acuity, you can offer different appointment types, offer online bookings and its all electronic. You can sync it up to the calendar on your phone as well.

** My brain is still screaming, so I want to put a note in. When you start progressing towards being able to afford $50 a month, invest in a Practice Management System (a good one, like Cliniko). A good system can do more than a calendar/ scheduler will ever be able to do.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR CLIENTS, VIRTUALLY ANYWHERE

I use Zoom for all my calls (most all people I know that operate online do). Its free and easy to use and it also allows for you to record sessions to send to your clients later (or store on file).

A FACEBOOK PAGE

As a society, we spend a lot of time on Social Media. Having a digital footprint as a modern-day business is important. Your potential clients want everything about you before they contact you, its that ‘Know, Like, Trust’ factor.

Facebook pages are free to create and can be done in an hour. Connect your booking system to it and you’ve established your business’ digital existence.

KEEPING CONNECTED WITH YOUR CLIENTS

We all know we should be sending useful, insightful and entertaining newsletters to our clients. Mailchimp is a free platform that allows you to create newsletters and set up automation, all quite easily.

Congratulations! You are now ready to burst into the world of operating your own private practice. If you’re overwhelmed, or still not sure of what you need to get your business operating smoothly, reach out! We’d love to help.

Spring Clean Your Clinic

Spring is here, and it’s both my favourite and hardest season to get through. Why? Well I adore the weather, but I have allergies to pollen so… you get the idea.

The colder months can be hard for clinics to navigate. Often clientele goes into hibernation, appointment numbers are down and morale can dip. But with the warmth comes new promise and an opportunity to dust away any cobwebs and get the clinic ready for the warm weather and swarm of clients.

Whilst everyone is getting back into the swing of singlets and integrating back into society, there are a couple of things you can focus on to be ready for when those clients walk through your door again.

Set some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your Clinic

Yuck! how corporate does that sound? I admit, it’s not the most joyful thing to work on, but setting up some targets and expectations for how your Clinic should be performing can give you and your team (if you have one) something to actually work towards.

• Do you want to see 25 new clients a month?
• Do you want to increase your revenue by 10% month on month?
• Do you want to reduce the Did Not Arrives (DNAs) and Cancellation rates?

Put some numbers on paper, on a vision board or in a suave program like Cliniq Apps and start tracking it! Use the trends to focus your marketing efforts.

Take Stock of the Admin you’re wasting your time on

Just like stocktake for products, you should also take time to do a stocktake on your efforts. If you’re spending 30 minutes a day raising invoices, and that makes you unhappy, make a note to outsource it to someone.

If you’re constantly returning phone calls because you can’t answer them during client sessions and that drives you bananas because most times, you find out you’ve lost money, then outsource it.

Yes, you could think of it as a cost, but let’s think about the future, and growth and what you can do today to invest in your own happiness and the smooth operation of your clinic.

Review your subscriptions – cancel most of them

A $5 per month subscription here and a $9.99 subscription to that other program can eat away at your profits. I liken these subscriptions to the lucrative deals gyms make. You go in there with the best intentions of making improvements and changes, but you end up living life and soon its 2 years later and you’re scratching your head wondering what is this subscription to ClinicABCs that keeps taking $12.99 from your account every month.

Make your life easier

For the clinics out there still managing their business on paper, I both shake my head and applaud you. You’ve got grit to stick in there and do the work (applauds), but you’re missing out on so many opportunities to make your life easier and spend more time doing what you want to do.

Systems don’t take away your freedom, they help to keep you and your clinic on track. Yes, systems sound scary and they certainly don’t sound like fun BUT getting paid, reducing time on managing your diary and getting beautiful reports that show you how much money you are making IS fun, so take the time to look at your options.

If you’re already using a Practice Management system review the setup.

• Are your templates still current?
• Is your team accurately reflecting the times they are available?
• Is your invoicing up to date?

Don’t make spring cleaning just about the boring stuff like sweeping cobwebs, get creative, get brave and get ready for that client stream.

Why a Virtual Receptionist is Good for Your Chiropractic clinic

Chiropractic clinics are busy places. The average chiropractor sees on average 70 patients per week, which likely results in a high inbound call volume. Clinics that are large enough often employ a Receptionist to manage their reception, which attracts a large annual liability in their salary, but enables their reception to run more efficiently. But what about those clinics that cannot justify a Receptionist’s full-time salary? Or those savvy clinicians who want to make the best use of their hard-earned profits? Engaging a Virtual Receptionist is the answer.

A Virtual Receptionist is an exciting and no-brainer option for many clinicians running busy clinics. I’ve listed three main reasons why a Virtual Receptionist is good for your clinic.

YOUR OVERHEADS ARE DIMINISHED

How many appointments do you need to make to cover the salary of a full-time Receptionist? According to Payscale.com the average Medical/ Health Receptionist annual salary is $50,192. Based on average Chiropractic service fees, that is 669 new patients or 947 follow-up appointments. A GOOD Virtual Receptionist that has medical and health administration experience can cost as little as $97 per week (Just 1.5 new clients per week!!).

BONUS: Your Virtual Receptionist doesn’t take holidays and thus you’ve always got support.

 

EVERY CALL THAT COMES INTO YOUR CLINIC IS ANSWERED

Have you ever been to the Doctors surgery where the Receptionist is trying to handle a client at the front-desk, and the phone lines are ringing hot? The best the Receptionist can do is answer the call with a polite ‘Do you mind holding, please?’. This isn’t the first impression you want of your clinic.  You want your calls answered in a timely manner, and you want a friendly and professional voice on the end of the line for your clients to talk to.

When engaging a Virtual Receptionist, you generally engage a small team. The benefit of this is multiple inbound calls will always be answered, no matter how busy you get.

VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS CAN GIVE YOU INSIGHTS INTO YOUR BUSINESS

Virtual Reception businesses use Systems and Procedures to track the call activity for the businesses they serve. This can be a great benefit to the client, as they can get information that a front-desk receptionist may not be able to collate as efficiently – such as Calls Volumes, reasons people call, cancellation and recall rates etc. This data can help you navigate the peaks and troughs of your business, and help you plan your marketing initiatives.

I’m curious, have you considered Virtual Reception before? Do you think it would help your business?

5 Things to do in the Next Hour to Keep Your Customers Smiling

Choice Australia recently published a study on Businesses that are hard to contact. They found that customer dissatisfaction rates rose when their calls went unanswered and their calls and emails weren’t returned.

As a small business, marketing for your business is sometimes not all that affordable, so when you manage to attract a client, you want to put your best foot forward and make them fall in love with your business. Let's explore 5 effortless ideas to not only make your business easy to contact, but to make sure your customers feel good about their interaction with your business as well (and you can implement these ideas in under an hour!)

1. Make sure every call is answered

As a small business owner, you may be acting as the Receptionist as well. Whilst in your start-up phase, it might not be such a terrible thing, but as your business gets busier, it is likely you’ll be missing more calls (and losing more business). Every missed call is a lost opportunity, so at the very least you need to make sure your calls are returned in a very efficient time-frame. This can be troublesome if you run a clinic and you’re always in consultations, so an easy and cost-effective option is to engage a Virtual Receptionist.

Your Virtual Receptionist is the voice of your business and answers every call, makes bookings, manages your diary, takes messages, rebooks cancellations and provides a positive experience for your customer. Check out Pro-Assists Virtual Reception Packages.

2. Have amazing form

Embedding a contact form onto your website is one thing, but to give your customers an amazing experience, there are some small initiatives you can take to take it up a notch.

• When your customer submits the contact form, display a message acknowledging their contact. Give them a timeframe they can expect to hear back from you.
• Remind your customer of the other forms of contact available. Giving them options helps if they are feeling a little lost.
• This should go unsaid but actually RESPOND in the time frame you promised (or quicker).

3. Don’t play Hide and Go Seek

Games are for kids, so don’t be like those big businesses that make it impossible to find their contact number. Embrace your customers contacting you in their preferred fashion, and publish your contact details loud and proud. Remember, after you’ve hired your Virtual Receptionist, you’ll be able to take all those calls, so go ahead, PUBLISH THAT NUMBER!

4. Get Chatty

More and more people are preferring to contact businesses through instant chat. Keep these customers happy by installing a Website Chat app (We recommend Smartsupp) and promote Facebook Messenger on your Business Facebook Page.

5. Automate your booking process

Consider offering Online Bookings. It is a convenient way for your customers to make time with you. General programs like Acuity Scheduling are perfect for Coaches and more studio/clinic specific programs like Cliniko and Mindbody Online are perfect in supporting online bookings.

That’s it! 5 very easy things you can implement in under an hour to make your business the most contactable and pleasant business to deal with.

4 Facts About Virtual Clinics That Will Annoy Your Competitors

Running a small wellness business on your own is tough work, and it can seem impossible to ever compete with those super clinics with a never-ending stream of clients, a fancy receptionist, and big budgets, right? In this post, I’m going to show you how you can annoy your competitors by transforming your business into a Virtual Clinic.

Let's get started.

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Annoy your competitors with a #Virtualclinic #smallbusiness - TWEET THAT!

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FACT ONE: A Virtual Clinic reduces your overheads

So your competitor has that fancy receptionist, great! And for $42,000 per year the receptionist usually answer the phones, arranges the appointments and keeps the clinic in order; but here’s where your competitor will get annoyed. With a Virtual Clinic, you get the exact same service but you only pay for the time your Receptionist actually works for you. If there are only 10 calls answered this week, that’s all you pay for. There’s no leave entitlements, equipment or standby time you have to pay for.

FACT TWO: Virtual Clinic Receptionists don’t go on holidays

How annoyed would your competitor be to hear that not only do you not pay leave entitlements, but you are never (ever) left without reception coverage? Sick days? Not a problem for you. A patient calls after hours? Your personalised Voicemail system takes your patient’s message and delivers it to your receptionist to take care of.  

FACT THREE: A Virtual Clinic allows you to step away from the front-end of your business

Considering small wellness businesses just like you that have to manage every aspect of their business, transforming your wellness business into a Virtual Clinic means everyday admin tasks are either done automatically or carried out by your Virtual Clinic Receptionist. Appointment reminders are sent on your behalf, monthly newsletters are prepared and sent, emails are read, responded to and filed and phones are answered. Any admin task you dread is done in the background for you.

FACT FOUR: A Virtual Clinic is flexible and without boundaries.

Operating a virtual clinic opens avenues to grow your business and increase your profits. Unlike your competitors that need to offer extended hours and see bulk people to turn a profit, you can offer services online, such as Group Facebook Challenges, Skype Consultations, selling e-books and products online and even allowing your patients to book their appointment online.  

A Virtual Clinic is the best of both worlds

So there you go, 4 brilliant facts about Virtual Clinics that will annoy your competitors and put your wellness business worlds in-front. I am running a Webinar on January 17, 2017 about how to transform your wellness business into a virtual clinic, I’d love to see you there. Follow this link to register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3820853863142598915

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A Virtual Clinic is like your competitor, but better! #VirtualClinic -  TWEET THAT!

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