Many of my first conversations with potential clients are about adding a new service to the practice. This usually means the need for equipment, training, possibly new staff, and marketing. Looking at the testing, services, and therapies that are being referred out is an excellent way to determine what ancillary services a practice that is interested in increasing revenue and patient satisfaction should consider. Many value-added services seem like a natural fit, but this does not mean they are guaranteed moneymakers. Any new service to an existing business carries many of the same risks as a new business, including the need for more capital than expected.

A recent client decided to add a comprehensive hearing center to his ENT and allergy practice in Northern Florida. He successfully integrated allergy testing and treatment into his practice a few years ago, and the hearing center seemed like the next obvious way to grow. He expected his patients to appreciate the convenience, gain new patients, and increase revenue.

Initial capital was needed to incorporate a small office space next to the existing office, purchase equipment, and hire a hearing specialist. The first difficulty was in finding a good hearing specialist. The hiring process took longer than expected while the initial rent and payments kicked in. In a follow-up call a few months later with the practice manager, I learned that sales were not coming in as expected. The doctor expected patients to purchase hearing aids and other devices. He did not expect to be competing with “big box” stores selling these items for much less. Several patients who had testing came back with hearing aids purchased elsewhere, asking for help in using them. Others had family members buy them online and asked to bring them into the practice for help when they weren’t satisfied.

I spoke with the doctor and discussed ways to ensure the hearing aid specialist educated the patient during the visit. It needed to be explained to the patient that these devices are programmed explicitly for their ears. Also, these devices are the ones the practice is trained to program and fix if something goes wrong. The hearing specialist was not trained as a salesperson but had to be comfortable educating the patient and discussing financial limitations.
Sales picked up moderately but were not close to the doctor’s projections. With a two-year commitment to the additional office space, breaking even on the hearing center made sense for the time being. Six months later, the doctor weighed the risk and potential benefit of replacing the hearing specialist with someone more able to complete the sale. It was clear that potential revenue was not being realized. As someone with experience in motivating a sales team, I suggested that the doctor offer an incentive to the hearing specialist to sell the devices. We came up with a possible commission structure for the practice manager to review.

The practice manager loved the idea of motivating staff through incentives and, within a short time, not only implemented an incentive structure for the hearing center but also for staff charged with appointment setting and re-engaging patients.

If your practice needs funding for a new service, contact me directly at 561-337-2290 or fill our one-minute application and receive approval within 24 hours.