Attendance at last month’s DPC Nuts & Bolts 2.0 conference in Dallas hit a record high with more doctors than ever interested in the increasingly popular DPC and Concierge practice models. If you’re one of those tempted by the idea of a better way to practice medicine, you’ll find there are many options to consider.
Right from the start, there are countless decisions to make.
Which model is right for you?
How do you design your practice for success?
What kind of help do you need and how much?
One of the most important questions to ask is whether you prefer to do-it-yourself or seek help from a trusted advisor. While some recommend avoiding the cost of using an advisor, this choice can make the difference between being profitable early on or struggling for years before covering expenses and bringing home a salary.
There are many well-meaning and generous colleagues who have gone before you and are happy to share their experience and advice. While it’s wonderful to have such support, it doesn’t mean they’ll know what’s best for you and your practice. What will be most successful for you encompasses a multitude of factors: your personal goals, values, and income needs; your practice demographics and complexity of patient needs; your approach to practicing medicine; whether you would do best with a high or low volume practice; and much, much more. Sorting through everyone else’s experiences and what did or did not work for them and applying it to your own situation can be incredibly challenging!
Here’s how a trusted, expert advisor can help you…
Avoid mistakes – do it well the first time, because you don’t get the chance for a do-over.
Reduce stress – it’s hard to work full time while starting up a new business on the side and on your own.
Stay on track – with guidance and support from someone who will protect your interests and give you useful feedback and direction.
Save time – with an action plan and timeline in hand and specific guidance along the way, everything moves along more smoothly and efficiently.
Cover expenses sooner and minimize lost income each month – there’s no need to struggle for years to become profitable when you can do it in a matter of months.
Gain additional monthly revenue – faster membership growth means getting financially solid quicker, even within the first year.
As an example:
The graphic below shows how our clients typically benefit from our coaching / consulting conversion program – in this case study, double the conversion rate of a do-it-yourselfer within months of transitioning the practice. Without customized coaching and consulting a practice could take years to get to the same point.
So let’s say having a trusted expert by your side sounds like a good idea. What kind of advisor might you need and want?
Coach or Consultant?
Here’s how I think of the difference between the two. You’ll see why my preference is a combination of both.
A consultant draws on their expertise to give you the plan, outline the action steps – and bring you relevant solutions. If you want, they can do some of the work for you too.
Since it’s the first time creating a membership practice you’d be banking on getting it right on the first try. Not only does this mean climbing a steep learning curve, but taking a do-it-yourself approach can put the practice and your income at great risk. A consultant can walk you through a successful DPC or Concierge conversion process – one that works for you – step-by-step.
A coach helps you figure out what you really want, what your goals are, and then teaches you how to do things, and how to do those things better. A coach supports and empowers you to meet your goals. Coaching is highly personalized and customized to your unique situation.
The longer it takes to learn how to design, market and sell a membership style practice, the greater the struggle and lost opportunity for more patients and income. Physicians are on the front line with patients and have the most credibility, so those who quickly learn how to be their own best marketer and sales person are most successful. Having a good coach facilitates your success.
A coach AND consultant, however, is the best of both worlds. The consultant brings you solutions; the coach helps you uncover and implement your solutions. The coach/consultant helps you purposely create and build the business you want.
At Latady Physician Strategies, the coach/consultant approach for our membership practice conversion program is what we find works best for our clients. If you’re interested in having help, let’s talk. Call me at 781-275-1415 or email me, and we can explore your unique situation and needs.
