Leverage Free Resources to
Build Your Practice

Regardless of whether you’re opening a new practice or developing an existing one, marketing is important to generating cash flow. Before you spend a ton of money, remember you can leverage free resources to build your practice. In this post, I’ll provide you with some of those simple tools and resources.

The Kentucky Psychological Association (KPA) is including this article in its October membership publication. Healthcare providers, attorneys and small business owners can struggle to maintain a consistent flow of new clients. Yet as a professional, you understand that it’ll be worth the effort if you hope to build your practice. Sometimes the hardest part is knowing where to start. This post will make that task much easier to complete.

There are many companies out there that want to entice you to spend money with them. At times, specific services are absolutely worth the money. For now, let’s concentrate on leveraging free resources to build your practice.

In the KPA’s August 2014 Newsletter, I discussed the power of focus and the importance of crafting an easy-to-deliver description of your practice. I recommended, “Before you worry about how to spread the word, spend time defining what those actual words are.” Assuming you’ve completed that, now let’s focus on getting the word out about you and your practice.

Where Should You Start?

There are a lot of options available to you, but you might find using the Internet is the most cost-effective place to start. You’ll be able to expand your reach to the broadest audience in a relatively short period of time. But remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It’ll take time to build your practice.

It’s helpful to break the cyberspace down into “channels.” I’m a fan of making the process manageable. Think of the channels as various resources on the web that have unique capabilities, uses, and purposes. Here’s a quick list to help you visualize some of those channels:

• Google Map Listings (also Yahoo, Bing and others)
• Various Online Directories (including yellow pages and healthcare specific versions)
• Social Media (including Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter)
• YouTube
• Your Website/Blog

For those of you who are relatively new to marketing on the web, understand that people search various ways to find information. They may use your name, the name of your practice, or even iterations of a general topic (e.g. Louisville mental health services). By making sure your online business information is valid, you have a better chance that your correct information will be one of the choices they are provided during an online search. It doesn’t help if an old listing shows up with an outdated phone number. It happens all the time.

Important Note:  Don’t confuse these listings with Pay-per-Click (PPC) ads. Those cost money. PPC ads (such as Google Ads or “sponsored listings”) can show up on the same page, but they are a different tool all together.

List Your Practice on Google

The first place I’d start is by claiming your Google Map (or Business) listing. Google is by far the largest search engine.  It’s difficult to build your practice without it these days. Making sure information about you and/or your practice shows up correctly is vital. Google has recently made it very easy to get your practice listed. Click on this link, then click on the blue GET on GOOGLE button. It’s a simple process.

You’ll want to set up your listings on Yahoo and Bing as well, but if your time is limited, Google will provide best use of it.

Claim Free Listings on Directories

The next step I recommend is to visit the various yellow page sites. They all provide free listings, so go ahead and take full advantage of them to build your practice. Be sure to search for your own name and the name of your practice. There may already be an established listing for you. If so, you’ll want to “claim” the listing, which will enable you to update the information and provide links to your other online properties (e.g. website/blog, LinkedIn profile, YouTube Channel, etc.). Here are links to the main yellow page directories:

• www.YP.com
• www.YellowBook.com
• www.Superpages.com
• www.DexKnows.com

Set Up Social Media Properties

Social media is a very robust channel for professionals who wish to promote their respective businesses. While many people already have personal Facebook pages and other properties, it’s important to establish a separate property for your business. Obviously, there are some things that you may want to keep out of the general public’s eyes, such as family photos and other items. Those are fine for people you’ve accepted as Facebook “friends,” but not necessarily okay for patients/clients. I set up a separate and distinct Facebook page for my business consultancy:  www.Facebook.com/JimRayConsultingServices.

There are always ethical issues surrounding the use of social media. One of the safeguards you could employ is to make sure you change your settings so that no comment can be posted to your page without your approval. I’ve found that to be very helpful to block spammers and other potentially inappropriate comments.

Another issue with Facebook is that people may inadvertently expose confidential information. Again, making sure you have the ability to moderate the comments can resolve this issue.

Before you get too intimidated about social media, the positives can far outweigh the negatives. I use my social media properties as a way to distribute various articles, videos and other information. It’s important to remember that you can extend your reach by publishing quality information among the various properties. That’s something to consider if you want to build your practice. Someone may “follow” you on one site (e.g. LinkedIn), but not necessarily others (e.g. Facebook). If you only update one, you’ll miss many other people, some of who could turn out to be new clients or great referral sources.

Social media also provides people a way to receive updates from you, without having to visit your individual website/blog, etc. If they “follow” or “like” your page, theoretically, they’ll receive a notification each time you post something new.

Another social media resource is LinkedIn. Interestingly, I chose not to set up a business profile, but rather to simply establish a profile as an individual. LinkedIn can be an excellent referral source among professionals. Here’s a link to my profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimray4

One of the features I like best about LinkedIn is the ability to add “posts” to your profile. While LinkedIn gives you the ability to enter a quick status update (very similar to Facebook), those updates get pushed further and further down and will eventually get lost. By adding posts, the articles get “pinned” to the upper area of your profile in the Posts section.  Posts remain there so more people can see your useful information. Your viewers have the option of sharing/liking your posts to assist in further distribution. If people value your insights and information, they’ll gladly help you to build your practice.

You can add a post by slowly moving your mouse over the right corner of the “Status Update” window on the main page, after you’ve signed in. You’ll notice a pencil icon. Click on that icon and you’ll go to a larger window for your posts.

ProTip:  It’s always a good idea to ask people to “share” your article if they’ve found it helpful. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to incorporate a call to action. You can easily expand your reach with this simple request.

Launch a YouTube Channel

YouTube is an intimidating property for many professionals. However, we’re a media-driven society. Many people would prefer to watch rather than read information about a certain topic. YouTube is a great repository for all sorts of information. Here are a few facts to consider from a recent blog post I wrote about creating online video:

• YouTube is the 2^nd largest search engine.
• Google (the largest search engine) owns YouTube.
• Americans watched 52.4 billion online content videos in Dec 2013, alone.
• For more video stats:  Click on this link.

The best way to get manage your videos is to set up a YouTube Channel. I’d recommend you set up a channel for your practice, rather than your own name. If you’ve ever set up a Facebook or LinkedIn profile, it’ll seem very familiar.  You’ll need to sign in to YouTube.com. Normally, if you already have a Gmail account, you may be able to use this to login. The tool will give you the option of setting up a new channel. From there, you’ll be able to upload videos, write descriptions about the video and your services (take advantage of this section!), and even include a link back to your website/blog. Video adds credibility.  That’s a key factor if you want to build your practice.

ProTip:  Remember to use the http:// in front of your website address to make it a live link in your video’s description.

Once you upload a video to your channel, you’ll receive a small website link to that actual video. You can quickly copy and paste that link in your blog post, LinkedIn profile, Facebook page, etc. It makes disseminating your videos quick and easy.

One last thing about online videos:  It’s a good rule of thumb to limit your videos to 1-2 minutes in length. If you find the need to go longer, consider breaking the video into multiple segments. That gives you additional assets and you can distribute them over time (e.g. week 1, week 2, etc.).

If you’re interested in creating videos, you might want to read my post on creating professional videos using your iPhone.

In summary, there are many free tools available to help you build your practice. While a well-designed website/blog is a great idea, there are other free, online resources you can put to work with just a little sweat equity.

If you have questions about these resources, or would like help in setting them up, I’d be availale to assist you on an hourly basis. Feel free to contact me via my website or simply give me a call at:  (502) 208-9639. I’ll be happy to discuss your specific needs. As always, if you found this information helpful, I’d appreciate the favor of having you tell your friends and colleagues about it, by sharing this article.

Avoid Billing Errors by Performing Audits

When was the last time you audited your vendor invoices? I’m about to tell you how I recently uncovered thousands of dollars in billing errors by 2 major law firm vendors. I’m also going to give you 4 specific situations during which you need to proceed cautiously. There are steps you can take to minimize the time you waste dealing with billing errors and chasing down the credits you deserve.

For many attorneys and other small business owners, cash flow is extremely important. However, the pressure of deadlines, preparing for trials, managing client requests, fielding new client inquiries, dealing with staff issues, and various other demands leaves little time for auditing invoices for contracts you’ve already negotiated. Nevertheless, neglecting this important activity can have a serious impact on your cash flow.

Earlier this month, I helped a small firm by reviewing a series of invoices.  I discovered FindLaw billing errors of over $8,200. Add to that amount the $8,700 the client would have been billed in the upcoming months because of the errant contract item.  Together, I actually uncovered what would have been close to a $17,000 loss for the law firm. It’s quite likely that the attorney would have never caught the billing errors.  The vendor would have continued to overbill the client and the mistake would have continued.

The challenge for solos, small firms and even larger firms is that extra time is the one thing no one seems to have. Consider the time you’ll spend actually trying to interpret the product descriptions listed, confirming that the prices match the contracted amounts and figuring out why the invoice may include charges from multiple time periods. I’m sure you’ll understand why firms just assume the bill is correct. Many of these billing errors can be overlooked because the discrepancy is diluted over a series of monthly invoices. They may not catch your attention because discrepancy doesn’t occur as an aberration on just a single invoice. But remember, even a slowly dripping pipe will eventually cause a flood.

4 Key Times to Review Your Invoices

When you work with large companies, like FindLaw and Martindale, the opportunity for billing errors can increase. I recommend you pay close attention to your invoices, particularly around these four occurrences:

1. During the first 2-3 months of any new contract. Your initial bill may be issued on a pro-rated basis. You’ll need to wait a month or two to make sure you’re able to see your billing for a full month. If you have questions, it’s always a good idea to contact your sales rep to have him/her answer them. Remember to ask questions until you’re confident you fully understand the issue(s).
2. Any time new products or services are added. This is especially true when you’re dealing with FindLaw and Martindale.  New products are actually added via stand-alone contracts, not simply as an addendum to the existing contract. The new contract term (e.g. 12 months, 24 months, etc.) will typically be different from the term of your primary services. This can cause issues if you ever need to cancel products/services. I’ll give you a tip for dealing with that situation in a minute.
3. When it’s time to renew a contract. Most vendors offer an incentive (usually a discount) to keep your business. For them, the view is “it’s always cheaper to retain a client, rather than trying to regain a client.” Remember, any items you’ve added have their own contract terms, even though they show up on the same invoice. The contract you’re about to renew may not contain all of the specific items you have with that vendor.  Make sure you confirm the specific items receiving the renewal discount. To avoid billing errors, you may want to begin working to align the terms. I advise clients to let an individual contract float on a month-to-month basis so it can be renewed at the same time as the addendum-based services. Over time, more of your component services can then exist on a single contract, or at least with a common expiration date. That’s easier to accomplish if the terms are only off by a couple months. If the gap is wider, you need to calculate the cost of the float to determine if it’s worth the convenience. It’s helpful to understand the specific calculation the vendor will use to determine the discount.  I can actually show you 2 different ways to calculate a percentage discount resulting in 2 different amounts.   Make sure you and the vendor are on the same page, before you sign your renewal agreement.
4. Whenever you change vendors. If you’re considering changing vendors, you should spend time understanding the various components of your current contact(s), including the remaining term of any individual contracts. If you have a website contract, but later added some additional items (see #2 above), you may still be liable for the additional items, even though the vendor is no longer handling your website. Watch over the next few months to see if any trailing invoices are billed.  It can throw off your budgeting.  It’s always better to know about this probability in advance.

Unfortunately for clients of large companies, sales reps face increasing pressure to focus on pitching and selling new products as their quotas increase and competition grows. There’s little time left to continue to work on the relationship with their clients. Sure, there are account managers (available via 1-800 numbers) who are tasked with handing change-requests and other issues, but monitoring your invoices isn’t something they typically do. An entirely different department processes your billing. This results in you, the client, having to identify these billing errors.

Internal billing audits by the vendor are rarely, pro-actively performed. If you don’t catch it early, the problem grows and you may have to spend precious hours or days trying to resolve the issue which can often involve multiple invoices, several phone calls to your sales rep, emails to account managers, calls to the credit department, tracking applied credits and of course, the loss of time you should have been spending generating revenue.

Fortunately for the attorney mentioned above, the vendor responded favorably to the questions I asked the attorney to present. I also provided the attorney with a spreadsheet including the specific information the vendor would need (invoice numbers, dates, product subscription numbers, amounts, etc.). A credit is being issued and the line item in question should be removed. The issue remains that if we hadn’t reviewed the invoicing, the billing errors would have continued for quite some time.

It’s easy to assume that these types of errors don’t occur that often. However, I audited the invoices and contracts for different law firm in Lexington, KY earlier this year.  I determined that they had 3 vendors billing them for website services. My audit uncovered a Martindale $8,000+ billing error. I provided the firm with an outline of the specific issues and recommended a communication plan to help them secure credits from the vendors.

In this particular case, the partner was concerned about the billing issue affecting their legal research. When a firm uses a vendor for both legal marketing as well as research, it may have to tread more lightly during the dispute resolution. If a firm decides to stop paying it’s website charges as a tactic to get the vendor’s attention, the vendor may decide to punch back by denying access to much needed online legal research tools.

Consider an Audit by a Consultant

Many firms can’t afford a full-time office manager or marketing team.  I launched my consulting firm to offer my services as an “outsource-resource.”  Over the past 20+ years, I’ve executed hundreds of sales contracts. I’ve sold products and services as a sales representative and director of sales. I’ve worked directly for Fortune 500 manufacturers and downstream distributors. I’ve contracted products and services on behalf of law firms in my former position as the director of a law firm.  I’ve negotiated contracts with vendors from multiple industries.

The value I bring to a small law firm, healthcare provider and others is that I can help you to manage your vendor relationships and contracts to ensure you receive the best value for the money you’re spending.

When was the last time you audited your vendor invoices, analyzed your cell phone plans, put your office supplies out for bid, or renegotiated your copier contracts?  

There are many areas you can monitor to achieve cost savings and increase your profitability.  Remember, at the end of the year, it’s not only about your top-line revenue.  It’s about the money you actually keep as net margin.

If you’d like to discuss your current vendor contracts, I’d be happy to meet with you. I work on an hourly basis and “percentage of realized savings” basis. Both of the above-mentioned law firms were surprised at what I discovered.  As a result, they were able to recover thousands of dollars from FindLaw and Martindale billing errors. An audit can help you to save money, manage your invoicing more effectively and determine if specific products and services are performing as intended.  To schedule a meeting, call me at (502) 208-9639. 

Check Your Telephone Tracking Numbers to Avoid Missing Valuable Calls

Warning: If you’ve ever switched website vendors, this post may cause your eye to nervously twitch. Many businesses use “tracking numbers” to help them identify the source of new client leads. These numbers are placed on websites, billboards, in newspaper ads and other media. When a prospective client dials that number, it rings into your normal switchboard. The advantage is the firm or practitioner can later track calls back to a specific ad, listing or source.

Generally speaking, I’m a proponent of using tracking numbers to help determine the return on investment (ROI) for marketing and advertising tools. But you’ve got to remember to keep track of your tracking numbers. Upon request, the phone company (or a vendor) assigns the numbers from a random series. When they are no longer being used, the tracking numbers are recycled and eventually get reassigned to other businesses.

I had to deliver some horrible news to a client this week. His firm moved his website from a large marketing company to a smaller boutique firm. The boutique firm simply copied the content to the new website format, updated the phone number at the top of the page and launched it. This happened almost a year ago. You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you?

The client used tracking numbers on his original website, some of which were integrated into the content on the site, not just listed at the top of the site. Once the client left the large marketing company, he lost the use of those tracking numbers (one local and one toll-free). Those were also the numbers on his Contact Us page.

The boutique firm never bothered to look for other phone numbers on the site.  No one realized the need to verify all of the numbers on its new client’s site. Had that been done, the firm would have quickly realized that it needed to update the tracking numbers, or simply use the client’s main number.

There’s no way to estimate the lost revenue sustained by the client.

When I first engaged with him, he stated emphatically that his call volume was down significantly and he couldn’t figure it out. In one of those “don’t shoot the messenger situations,” I had to tell him one of his website’s contact numbers has been helping prospective clients to inadvertently call an air-conditioning repair company in an adjacent county. The toll-free number simply wasn’t in service.  Did you just get a chill down your spine?

I’m proud to say that my team did in fact catch his previous vendor’s mistake. And yes, we’re also happy to be working with him as a new client.

Don’t be afraid to implement tracking numbers into your marketing and advertising campaigns. The benefits and insights far outweigh any risks. Just remember to keep track of the numbers and where they appear.

If you’ve recently changed any of your vendors or plan to use previous ad copy in a new advertisement, take a few minutes to test the phone numbers. I’d recommend you also send test emails from the new contact links.  It’s helpful to note which contact link you’re using by listing it in the body of the test email.  For instance:  “This email is being sent from the website contact us form.”  You should alter it to identify test emails sent from a specific online profile (which is different from your contact us form).  After you’ve sent the emails, you’ll be able to identify any missing versions, which may indicate an incorrect email address in the contact link.

I know what you’re thinking, but these kinds of issues do happen. Don’t assume your vendor is handling it. Take a few minutes to audit all of the phone numbers on your website. Ignoring this simple task can have a devastating impact on your business.

If you’d like to discuss your business challenges, I’d be happy to meet with you. I consult with clients about marketing & sales, business development, vendor issues, internal-process improvement and related topics. My correct phone number is (502) 208-9639.

Creating Content Doesn’t Have to be Difficult

I’ve recently had a number of client discussions about creating content for websites and blogs.  The below information is adapted from an article I wrote for the KY Dental Association’s membership publication in 2012.  It provides several tips to remember if you’re goal is creating content that works.

When it comes to the Internet, there’s a saying that rings true, “Content is king.” However, what exactly does that mean and how can you make it work for you?  Before we jump into this, let’s consider a few issues:

• Content provides information for the search engines (e.g. Google) to review and stash in their “memory banks.”
• When writing effective website content, it is important to understand the goal for the site (e.g. informative, educational, persuasive, etc.).
• Content still needs to be written in a way that attracts the viewer’s attention.
• Most people forget the previous point.

So let’s focus briefly on content creation.

Google and other search engines continue to place emphasis on quality content. The key is to have a consistent trickle of new content over time.

As you consider topics, try laying them out on an editorial calendar.  This exercise helps you to make sure that you have pages/post addressing the various practice areas of your firm.  It’s not uncommon to have a single individual, or small group, assigned to creating content.  The problem is that people tend to write about subjects they themselves are interested in or have a certain level of expertise.

Make sure you have a diversity of topics so you appeal to a broader range of potential clients.

If your firm handles a number of types of cases, contributing articles for one subject is great for that single practice area.  However, it can lead to an over-emphasis and leave the reader with the impression that the other areas really aren’t that important to you. Focus on achieving balance when you’re creating content.

Using an editorial calendar enables you to visualize specifically what topics are being covered. You can also use it to identify which channel(s) you’re going to use to disseminate the information (e.g. web page, blog post, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, trade publications and even YouTube).

In business, the acronym WIIFM (pronounced wiff-em) stands for What’s In It For Me. It’s a key question I try to answer any time I’m creating content for a website or writing a blog post. Ultimately, to keep the reader engaged, you’ve got to remember that to some extent we’re all selfish.

Time is our most precious asset.  In most cases, people are willing to give you some of their time if you can provide something useful or valuable.  When you’re drafting your article, pick out a few key points, but instead of simply dumping a bunch of facts and figures, consider how and/or why this information is important to the reader.  Then, write from that perspective.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Fact #1:  Our business uses complex accounting software and has invested hundreds of hours in developing ways to sell our services to more and more clients.

Consider the WIIFM approach:  Our firm can help you to work thought complicated accounting issues by utilizing the latest accounting systems and our first-hand experience.

Fact #2:  I have established a suburban office so I can get home quicker.

Consider the WIIFM approach:  Our convenient suburban location means that you don’t have to fight downtown traffic just to meet with us.

To be clear, I’m not saying you should manipulate the readers/prospective clients.  If they see value in what you’re providing, you’re much more likely to have piqued their interest and possibly convinced them to engage with you.

Once you’ve finalized your draft, make sure you’ve inserted a few on-page links to other pages within your website or blog.  Doing so enables your readers, and the search engines, to easily access related topics on other pages.  This is an omission I see fairly often.

Creating content that works takes effort, but you’ll get better with it each time you do it. Plan the topics for the month, make sure you’re writing with the prospective client in mind, link the new content to some existing pages, then broadcast the content across a variety of channels.

The next time you are about to upload a bunch of information, remember to ask yourself an important question, “If I’m the reader, WIIFM?”

If you found this post helpful, please share it with your colleagues and friends.  I’m available to consult with you about practice management and business development issues.  You can contact me at:  (502) 208-9639.

Reach Consensus by Using
Fist to Five

I recently had a conversation with a healthcare professional about a simple system she uses to save a ton of time.  We were discussing a meeting in which she used a modified “Fist to Five” technique to help her team to reach consensus more quickly.  This is also known as “Fist of Five.”  Relax; it has nothing to do with the beat down she threatened just to get them to the conference room on time.

We’ve all been in meetings that seemed to drag on because the group couldn’t reach consensus.  Sometimes teams spend an inordinate amount of time just trying to get past “go.”  The fist to five technique is a simple way to rank points by how critical they are to the overall success of the project.  It can also be used to gauge your team’s support of a decision point.  The result is clarity and focus for the entire team as it works though complicated issues.

The team needed to rank a series of facts to determine which ones were more critical than others.  These would then be applied to the project.  The “facts” are similar to what we used to call the critical to quality (CTQs) issues, when I was at GE.  We tried to identify the CTQs when addressing what the client perceived to be their most important benefits or needs.  By focusing on the CTQs, we could be sure that we were addressing the most important issues.  It also helped us to avoid getting lost in the weeds (which is always a risk when you have a team or committee involved in a complex issue).

Here’s how it works.  The leader assigns the following ranking criteria:  a fist equals not very important, 3 equals moderately important, and 5 equals critically important.  Now attempt to establish a relative value for each of the facts by canvasing the group.  For the first fact, read it out loud and ask everyone in the room to rank it by holding up a fist, 3 or 5 fingers.  Quickly count the number of votes for each value.  Then ask the members of each group who feel strongly about their votes to explain why they applied that particular value.  This is extremely insightful when you’re working with a cross-functional team.

You may find that some fists are willing to change to 3’s and so on.  Ideally, once different perspectives are voiced, the group may be willing to move toward a common ranking.  Consensus is achieved.  Ultimately, you can decide to apply a final ranking by simple majority, but only after you’ve given the chance to for the team to consider other perspectives.  Once you’ve achieved this for the first fact, move on to the next and continue until your team agrees on the final ranking.

A quick word of caution: It’s important that the leader get people to voice their individual perspectives.  Remember, silence isn’t always a sign of agreement.

By engaging your team in this foundational work, you may find that you have greater buy-in from each member of the team.  The common ranking will enable you to reach consensus on important points and move more efficiently through the rest of the process.  If you do it correctly, you might be able to escape the conference room and make it home for dinner!

I described the technique used by this professional as a “modified” fist to five.  If you’d like to read other ways you could use the technique, I’ve provided links to 3 other blog articles, for your convenience.  I wish you the best of luck as attempt to work through your team’s complicated issues.

Other resources:

1)  http://thecriticalpath.info/2012/06/06/what-is-fist-of-five/

2) http://chrissteeleagile.com/fist-of-five/

3) http://www.kristinrunyan.com/fist-of-five/