How We Made Online Booking Work

Quick note: I’m doing a short business session at the World Massage Conference this Sunday. The conference is an amazing way to do some phenomenal continuing ed for a low price, all from the comfort of home. Hope to see you there! – Dan The Challenge of Online Booking Not having online booking has been […]

Tips for Starting Your First Dispensary

On November 1, 2012, in office management, startup, by Dan

Early fall is startup time for many new practitioners, including new ND’s in our area. As a result, we’ve been fielding a lot more questions lately, covering just about everything from leases to associate agreements and websites. One topic of interest is how to start up a dispensary. We started ours when the clinic already […]

Ten Practice Commandments

Thou Shalt Not Manage Other People’s Money Your clients decide what they can afford. If they can’t afford your treatment plan, then there may be other options, but stop deciding on their behalf what’s affordable. Thou Shalt Not Trash Talk Thyself Yes you can be realistic about where you need to learn and grow. No […]

3 Rules For Better Scheduling

On July 5, 2012, in office management, by Dan

Scheduling seems to be the challenge that never quite goes away. From holes that can’t be filled, to finding flow and keeping life balance, your appointment book can make the difference between a happy day doing what you love, and a day spent in frustration. Here are three rules you can use yourself, or as […]

3 Ways to Keep Chatty Clients on Time

On May 14, 2012, in office management, your patients, by Dan

Reader D. asks: “What are your most successful tips for closing the appointment on time with verbose patients?” For those of you with “talk-heavy” consultative practices, a talkative client (or a series of them) can either throw a busy schedule completely off-kilter, or turn a not-so-busy schedule into a day of chatter that you don’t […]

6 Good Reasons to Offer Shorter Appointment Times

On March 6, 2012, in office management, pricing, work-life balance, by Dan

The more I speak to practitioners, the more I’ve come to believe visit/treatment length tends to be a legacy issue. It’s not something we’re giving a lot of conscious thought to. You open your doors and do what you did in school, or copy another practice, and it pretty much stays that way. Most consultative […]

The Horse’s Name is Tony: The Magic in a Sticky Note

On January 30, 2012, in office management, service quality, staff, by Dan

Our friend Raza Shah, ND has a large Mennonite patient base–so large, in fact, that he actually has a place to shelter horses while patients have their appointments. So cool. In The Practitioner’s Journey, we wrote about how my dentist used to amaze me by thanking me in person for each referral over the past […]

5 (More) Things to Do in Your Practice From Day One

Back in 2006 (wow) we listed five things we wished we would have done in practice right from day one. Since the New Year is almost upon us, it seems like the right time to pass on a few more. Even if you started your practice long ago, you can still pretend like the new […]

How to Pick The Low Hanging Fruit in Your Practice

On July 6, 2010, in inspiration, office management, practice growth tools, by Dan

One of the ideas in The Practitioner’s Journey is that complexity is what gets us bogged down. We often know what to do in practice. We just don’t know what to do next. You’ve probably been there. You take a look at the pile on your desk, or the to-do list, or you scroll through […]

How To Use a Waiting List in Your Practice – No Matter How Busy You Are

On October 1, 2009, in office management, practice metrics, service quality, staff, by Dan

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be booked solid to have a waiting list. It’s a tool that works wonders at any point in practice. The challenge is that waiting lists are harder to use than they seem. Here’s how you can make one work for you and your clients with no cost […]

How to Design the Ultimate Patient Booking Strategy

On April 8, 2008, in office management, by Dan

A couple of years ago we noticed that although we’d had a great year as far as new patients were concerned, our return visits seemed to have flattened out. Patients seemed pleased with the service, success rates were high, but it still felt like we were gaining new patients but not growing. The problem, of […]

How to Reduce Cancellations, Reschedules and No-Shows: Our Strategy

On March 25, 2008, in office management, staff, by Dan

We’ve discussed scheduling problems in the past, pointing you to a few resources here and there, but we’ve never really provided a comprehensive approach for those scheduled appointments that go off the rails due to patients canceling, rescheduling, or simply not showing up at all. Here are the exact strategies we’ve put in place over […]

Patient Poaching in Multi-Practioner Clinics

On October 2, 2007, in office management, strategy and philosophy, by Dan

Reader B. writes in to ask about dealing with patients in multi-practitioner settings: You decide to take a 2 week vacation…now, the client doesn’t want to see you as their primary practitioner anymore and has requested to switch to the other [practitioner]. What is the etiquette? How should the client be accommodated? How can this […]

Reducing No-Shows White Paper

On June 19, 2007, in office management, online resources, by Dan

SpectraSoft has a free white paper on reducing no-shows and cancellations. While their specialty is software for physiotherapists and other health care pros, some of the tips are quite good, and applicable to any CAM/holistic practice. “No-Show” White Paper (You’ll have to register, but it’s just a four-liner.)

5 Things To Do In Your Practice From Day One

On November 22, 2006, in office management, startup, by Dan

There are a million conceivable things to do when you start your practice, but what’s really important in the big picture? What’s going to lead to increased referrals and practice growth? Here’s a few seemingly innocent but critical things to do from day one. And if you’re already well past day one, fear not – […]

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