Volume 6 - Issue 4    |   December 2010
In This Issue
Brr, It's Cold Outside
How Are Your Telephone Skills?
Have You SEO-ed Yet?
Congratulations, Valley Cottage Animal Hospital
VMC School of Veterinary Practice Managment
Our Next Session is scheduled for
May 9-13, 2011
Attendance is limited.

Click for More Information
Upcoming Seminars
It's What's Up Front That Counts... And More!
  • 1/9/11 - Iselin, NJ
  • 1/23/11 - San Jose, CA
  • 2/6/11 - Chicago, IL
  • 2/27/11 - Lexington, KY
  • 3/20/11 - Monterey, CA
  • 3/27/11 - Charleston, SC
Dealing With Difficult Clients (& Team Members)
  • 1/12/11 - Houston, TX
  • 3/8/11 - Boston, MA
  • 4/10/11 - Columbus, OH
Principles of Veterinary Practice Management
  • 1/19/11 - Portland, OR
  • 2/9/11 - Kansas City, MO
HR Boot Camp
  • 3/17-18/11 - Birmingham, AL
  • 4/21-22/11 - Charlotte, NC
  • 5/19-20/11 - Detroit, MI
Financial Boot Camp
  • 3/14-15/11 - Orlando, FL
  • 4/18-19/11 - Princeton, NJ
  • 5/16-17/11 - Minneapolis, MN
  • 11/3-4/11 - San Francisco, CA
  • 11/7-8/11 - Scottsdale, AZ
To Contact Us:
VMC, Inc.
30792 Southview Drive
Suite 200
Evergreen, CO 80439

Phone: 303-674-8169
Fax: 303-670-3899
email:
vmc@vmc-inc.com

Website:
  www.vmc-inc.com
VMC logo
 
 News from VMC, Inc.

Mark 2008 Year End - Already

 

It's hard to believe we are coming to the end of December - each year seems to go faster than the last. OPB XXI was a smashing success and the Ritz Carlton did not fail to exceed our expectations. The weekend was charged with high energy talks, interactive discussions and lots of networking. My sincere thanks to everyone who made this weekend so successful! We have decided to plan another OPB in 2013, probably in the Phoenix area. We will let you know as soon as it is booked.

In November we rolled out a new VMC product. We now offer a package called Compensating Owners and Associates. The package has the three and four tier compensation models for owners, as well as ProSal for associates. Within the package are Excel spreadsheet calculators for both methods of compensation, written descriptions, total compensation statements, and a checklist to determine what constitutes production compensation. Check it out on our web site! It was a year in the making and should be a very useful tool to help you determine proper compensation for owners and associates within your practice.

This fall we also introduced our new Subscription Service. This subscription service is the source for updates to our Management Tools for Veterinary Practices book. We are constantly revising our Tools Book and wanted to come up with a way to keep you updated without having to buy a new Tools Book. If you purchased the Tools Book after May, 2007 (the date of our last major revision) you should sign up for the subscription service. There will be updates to specific sections every quarter. We are intending to update the entire Tools Book over the year to keep you on top of changes in HR or other regulatory issues. The updates will also include any revisions to existing forms and new forms that are added to the Tools Book.

I sincerely hope that everyone has a very happy holiday and a healthy and happy New Year.
Mark Opperman
President, VMC Inc.

Let us hear from you - tell us what you'd like to see in future issues. You can contact us at vmc@vmc-inc.com
Brr, It's Cold Outside...
by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT, PHR
... and if you're watching the energy bill climb, it's time to learn all the ways you can reduce your monthly energy bill. Get in touch with your energy provider and ask for their free audit tools. Click Here for PG&E savings tips.

How Are Your Telephone Skills? 
by Kate Corum, CVPM
 
VMC has recently launched a Telephone Skills Assessment Service, which entails an evaluation of your practice's communication skills and telephone customer service. In serving our clients with this new offering, I have experienced many excellent calls, many that lacked luster, and a few that were just plain bad. The calls have been very eye-opening for the managers and owners involved. Many opportunities to praise employees have been uncovered, and many areas for improvement have been noted. I find myself making three basic recommendations to most every practice.
  1. Ask for the caller's name and their pet's name and use it during the call in order to personalize the experience. A phone shopper who feels a personal connection to the practice is more likely to stop calling around and settle down as your client.
  2. Add value to your services so that you are set apart from other practices the phone shopper may be calling. For example, when asked for a price for a neuter, let them know that pre-operative blood work, anesthesia, the surgery, pain medications, and antibiotics are included in the price of $XX.XX. If you utilize a laser for surgical procedures, tell them! Tell them why your hospital is the best place for them and their pet!
  3. Finally, capture the phone shopper as a client by gathering their information and scheduling the appointment. If the caller will not commit to an appointment, offer to send them a practice brochure via mail or e-mail and direct them to your web site.
That first phone call may be the only first impression you get. Make it a great one!

Have You SEO-ed Yet? 
by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT
 
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a useful tool to increase the ability for potential clients to find your website on the Internet. Over 64% of people Googling on the Internet choose the top of the list of search results. If you're not close to the top of that page, you lose your chance. And, pet owners are making many of their decisions on what they find on the internet. Read More...

Are You on Facebook? 
Congratulations, Valley Cottage Animal Hospital !!
 
Facebook is an excellent way to connect your practice with clients and potential clients. Here's an exciting story we received from Andreas Pahl, CVPM. He is the Hospital Administrator at Valley Cottage Animal Hospital in Valley Cottage, NY:

"We used VetStreet to send the "We're on Facebook!" announcement e-mail to the 2100+ e-mail addresses we have in our Pet Portal system on a Wednesday. The large spike... shows the increase in "Likes" that occurred during the following days through Sunday. We added about 50 new fans to our Facebook page in half a week over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend."

Click Here to view the detailed instructions that Andreas has provided for you to use with your VetStreet account if you'd like to make a similar announcement. Thanks, Andreas!