ROI - Yes Please!
“This is the best business investment for veterinary practices that I have seen in 20 years.”
Some thoughts on investing wisely for veterinary practices.
One of the highlights of my week is catching up and talking shop with my close friend and practice manager, Linda. On a sunny patio over an icy g&t, she commented, “Our practice is looking into sending a technician to that Mobilizing RVTs™ course you told us about, but $5000 is a big CE (continuing education) expense for a technician”.
“It’s business development, the CE is a perk.”.
If you’re thinking that training a technician to take wellness appointments in your practice is a
continuing education expense, you’re only thinking of part of your venture. You are doing
something much bigger than that for your practice. You are evolving your care delivery model.
As our industry progresses and RVTs are engaged in a broader scope, some practices have recognized the need to evolve and are making changes. Most practices already have RVTs performing blood draws, injections, and nutritional consults on their own, and expanding this scope to include wellness appointments is another step forward into our future.
As a leadership team, one of the most exciting things you can spend your money on is your business development. It’s where the magic happens. By changing the way your business runs, you make people happier, service your clients better, and grow your bottom line. The decision to expand your wellness care team to include technicians as primary caregivers involves training, but it also involves other expenses - travel, training, consulting, planning, and management time, team training, and marketing. Your total spend will likely be close to $15-20 thousand, This is not continuing education. It’s a business development decision, and a great one,
If you’re reeling from sticker shock, consider this: continuing education expenses are employee benefits with an indirect impact on your bottom line (at best). CE is a recurring employee cost which needs to be negotiated, tracked and tightly controlled to keep your overall salaries and benefits expenses in line. As a one-time business development spend, you only need to look at your return on investment to justify the cost.
“In practices I have worked with, implementing a technician taking wellness appointments, I have seen less than 60 days to reach ROI, and a twenty-fold ROI in the first year. It’s incredible!” I practically shouted, attracting some looks from nearby tables. “Considered as a business development expense, this is a no-brainer.”
Don’t get me wrong – there are a slew of valid reasons for investing in Mobilizing RVTs; reduction of DVM burnout, proactively serving your client demand, RVT job satisfaction and retention, solving problems with recruitment… all of these reasons don’t reflect directly on your bottom line. But here’s the beautiful thing: it doesn’t matter why you decide to mobilize your RVT. The ROI is still there. AND you get all these other benefits.
“I like the way you think”, Linda responded with her slightly sly, 100-watt smile. “That’s exactly
the framework I needed.”
“Business development expenses are all the costs associated with directly growing and
expanding a business, such as marketing, research, and training. They can also include
staff salaries and travel expenses that a business incurs while searching for new
opportunities and maintaining current relationships. Business development expenses
ensure that a firm is actively looking for ways to stay competitive and increase their
customer base.’ -oboloo
Dr. Amanda MacDonald
RVT Integration Services (coming SOON……)
