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Women: Refine your roar
Differences in communication styles can mean women's messages don't carry the same weight. Here's how to give statements more oomph.
The economics of pain relief
You know that a comprehensive analgesic protocol is necessary for your patients. But these drugs have a noticeable side effect-a financially healthy practice.
Dust off your employee manual
Does your team manual look like an ancient relic? Get it up to date with the latest labor laws and team policies.
Yours isn't the first crisis
Think you're the first and only business owner to suffer a particular problem? In almost every case, someone worked through the misery before you. They might even have learned lessons that could help you.
Balancing benefit discounts
Q. I'm concerned about my hospital's liberal employee discount benefit. Are there any guidelines I can offer the owner to keep him and the rest of the team safe from tax liability?
Easy practice makeovers
If all you've got is a day or two, a super-limited budget, and elbow grease, these ideas are for you.
Success often depends on how well we manage times of peak activity
It finally happened.
Bird's-eye view
I used to be afraid of flying on commercial flights. I eventually overcame that fear, but I was still terrified of small planes. I beat that in the pilot's seat.
Keep track of behavioral changes in senior pets
As pets age, their brains can slow down, too. Intervene early to give dogs and cats the best chance of staying sharp-and you'll help keep clients happy.
An epitaph for Cotton
Local veterinary hospitals wouldn't treat a dying dog-and not because they didn't have the skills or the client wouldn't pay.
A million-dollar growth spurt
It wasn't an easy transition-half of the team quit, but profits went up.
Potty training made easy
To help our clients nail down potty training, we give them a chart. Here's how it works ...
Taking names
Whenever team members from Nassau Veterinary Clinic in Nassau, N.Y., set up a booth or table at a community event, they hold a raffle so they can gather potential clients' names and addresses.
Identity inspiration
Think about your practice's identity and how you want to connect with clients before embarking on a marketing campaign.
Case study: Tricks for your retail center from an in-clinic pet boutique
Metairie Small Animal Hospital in New Orleans has its own in-clinic pet shop: Silver Collar Pet Boutique.
Change maker series: Dr. Jack Stephens
After 25 years in the U.S. market, this leader talks about the potential for pet insurance.
The motivated staff: It's not an impossible dream
Each day provides an opportunity to offer some nuggets of education.
Who does what?
Q. Who determines veterinary team members' pay increases-the practice manager or the owner?
Links to helpful HR sites
The details you need to update your employee manual are just a click away.
Come-from-behind communication
Are your conversational skills lagging in the stretch? Use these tips to pull ahead by overcoming problems and winning clients' respect.
Four strikes, you're out
How to implement the "four strikes" method of enforcing safety rules in your practice.
Is the management upside down?
If you go on VIN, you will see dozens of posts and links trying to define what production pay is and how to pay it. Unfortunately, it is a constantly moving target. The current thinking is this:
Visual diagnostics aid client communication
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when it comes to diagnostics, sometimes it's worth a thousand dollars.
Playing the percentages
Let's return to our story that began in this column in the May issue.
Nothing is insignificant
The devil is in the details. So what are your clients noticing about your practice and team members?
Roundtable audio
Discussion from the experts on how to retain great staff members
Behavior questionnaire
A form for pinpointing age-related problems
Idea Exchange: Teach ideal weight by example
Clients often cannot comprehend what a cat or dog at a healthy weight looks like, so I give them a live demonstration with my own dog and cat, which are at ideal weights.
Opportunity's knocking
Opening your door to new profit centers can help take the bite out of remodeling and building expenses.
Brad Rabinowitz, AIA