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In this episode, Barbara and Jessica:
- Strategic Focus for Practice Growth: Jessica emphasized the importance of evaluating daily problems to focus on high-level issues that drive practice growth, rather than getting caught up in minutiae.
- Common Marketing Mistakes: The discussion highlighted frequent marketing errors made by medical practices, such as switching marketing strategies too quickly, not following up on leads, and spreading themselves too thin across multiple platforms instead of focusing on what works best.
- Diversifying Revenue Streams and Financial Planning: Jessica discussed the need for practices to have multiple offerings (not relying on a single service or device), maintain at least six months of cash flow, and carefully evaluate investments in expensive equipment.
Key Takeaways:
“For medical practices to achieve sustainable growth, practitioners should focus on high-level strategic issues rather than getting bogged down in daily minutiae, diversify their revenue streams, and consistently evaluate both internal operations and external opportunities. Making time to step outside the business and observe broader trends is crucial for long-term success.” – Jessica Jones
Connect with Barbara Hales:
Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales
Facebook: facebook.com/theMedicalStrategist
Business website: www.TheMedicalStrategist.com
Show website: www.MarketingTipsForDoctors.com
Email: Barbara@TheMedicalStrategist.com
Books:
YouTube: TheMedicalStrategist
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/barbarahales
TRANSCRIPTION:
Dr. Barbara Hales 00:02
Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and today we have with us Jessica Jones. Jessica has assisted her clients open medical clinics and reach millionaire status using her unique ability to analyze challenges and consult on methods needed to start and scale a cash medical practice, this includes help to add revenue streams, scale back to grow, do a better job of converting calls to appointments and sales and review organizational structure and overall systems for the function of the practice. Jessica knows what it takes to open successful practices achieve your financial and growth goals, all while enjoying the ever meaningful work life balance her award winning work in advertising sales, as an advertising agency owner, medical clinic owner, and as the primary bread winner for her family, has prepared Jessica to be the greatest guide and accountability partner you could have Jessica to be, to be one with you, and as you leave frustrated and move towards a clinic, You can feel passionate about Jessica has more than 25 years of experience as both an entrepreneur and in the corporate world, leading teams of hundreds, and a master’s degree in communications With a focus on organizational development and conflict management. Welcome to the show, Jessica.
Jessica Jones 02:04
Thank you so much for having me. Wow, that’s quite an introduction. Thank you. I’m delighted to be here.
Dr. Barbara Hales 02:13
When you started in business, it was in organizational development and conflict management. How did you or why did you trans transition over to medical practices?
Jessica Jones 02:26
Sure. So actually, in my very young days, I worked in a large national marketing corporation where we represented media outlets, broadcast outlets, and by the time I was 24, I was their youngest executive vice president. They saw an entrepreneurial spirit, and when they when the owner, I was very lucky, when the owner of comp, the company, saw that in in an employee that he valued, he built ways to retain the employee. So I actually got that master’s degree while I was working in that area, conflict management, and organizational development. I was already by 24, I was leading the largest firm under an umbrella of seven, and then shortly thereafter, I became the manager over all of the seven divisions in the region. And so we were a company, it’s hard to understand, but we were a team, but we also competed with one another, so conflict management seemed reasonable, and organizational development is also imperative for really a number of reasons, but that’s why that focus was there, and it’s helped me throughout my life, and then later at that same organization, I was so lucky. They sent me to a program at the University of North Carolina with Dr Gerald Bell, and he’s a leadership expert, and he teaches leadership, and I attended a master’s round table with him, which was going every month for a year. And while I was there, the owner of Radio Flyer was in the mastermind, debating moving manufacturing to China and his family and everything else. And that’s a generational company. The owner of the Biltmore was there trying to figure out how to get school districts in North Carolina to focus on serving food raised and grown in the state, to help the farmers, and also the health of the communities, and all of these other things. So it was a very diverse group of people, and also an education that, unfortunately, most people never get in their lives, and I was lucky to have it at that time in my life, because when people do get that leadership training, it’s usually, you know, you’re to get into the program you need to be a C level executive. So most people aren’t getting that education until they’re in their late 40s or early 50s. So I got it when I was 2829, so it was really special. And how. I am in all facets of my life, but that’s why that degree and then, you know, living in Philadelphia, I was working with pharmaceutical companies to help them fill clinical studies. The company I was working with went chapter seven, as many companies did in 2008, so I was there from 94 to 2008, and so when it went chapter seven, I was very lucky, because I had no problems. And so the I continued working for the pharmaceutical companies to fill these studies, but I was working directly with the clinical study sites, and it wasn’t just a lead generator I was hired for, like, to get patients into the study, but I was working with the study sites to determine, well, what is the issue? Because I could see the leads coming in. So then I started digging into why the leads aren’t enrolling. Like, what’s happening with these patients? And then I would start to solve problems within the practice that were outside of the role that I was playing doctors, started referring me to doctors, and I built a very strong business of helping struggling practices turn into a successful practice and scale. And so then in 2012, one of the physicians that I had helped grow from, again, he had a struggling practice, and grew to, you know, 15 locations, and he was starting a new venture, and he said, You’re the business side of things. I’m the medical side of things. I know I need you. Why don’t you be my partner in this next thing? So we grew our own chain of clinics. And so from 2012 to 2015, we built our own 15 locations across the country, and we sold those. And then after we sold those, I started six of my own practices. And in 2017, I said I never wanted to own practices, not you know, I’ve always wanted to help practitioners, and so I sold my practices and went back to consulting, and have been doing that ever since. Thank thankfully.
Dr. Barbara Hales 07:10
Do you have any medical experience or background at all? I don’t,
Jessica Jones 07:16
Of course, you know, as part of what I do, I need to have some level of expertise and knowledge in what the bulk of my clients are interested in. So I do do a lot of training, but I don’t have a medical degree, and I always defer to the practitioner, but I have been able to help. You know, from 2017 to 2020, it was, you know, diabetes reversal, weight loss, men’s sexual health, female sexual health wasn’t really yet the focus, IV therapy had just started. Then 2020 hit, and I helped practices that weren’t considered essential. Switch from brick and mortar to virtual and build virtual programs. And once things started freeing up, of course, in late 2020, is when I started working with GLP one practitioners, and I have helped many, many people implement GLP ones into their practice. And then also, you know, I’d say in 2021 late 2021, mobile wound care became a high focus. So I’ve studied that and have a significant expertise in helping people work within the mobile wound care space. And so what I do, like, for example, I attend weekly compliance calls with a compliance expert to talk about what’s changing in compliance. I’m, you know, get all of the puzzle pieces together that a practice would need so that I can introduce them to all the facets that they’ll need to add something to the practice, and then how to implement it, and I’ll work with the entire staff. And then, of course, how to market it, which varies based on what the offer is. But in addition to, you know, mobile wound care, the other thing is, you know, for example, for you know, I consistently get a lot of like chiropractors or mental health practitioners, and I’m willing I have the connection base at this point so that if, like, a mental health provider says to me, I want to add something, I take insurance, but I want to add something that can be cash pay, and I’ll, I’ll find The right revenue stream for them to add that fits their passion. One of the things I say to all of my clients is, if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it’s never going to work, because people will see that you don’t believe in what you’re trying to offer them. So you’ve I’ve got to always put people together with what they’re really going to you. I believe in
Dr. Barbara Hales 10:01
What type of secondary incomes do the mental health physicians typically,
Jessica Jones 10:11
So it depends on the practice and where they are, but you can generate, you know, anywhere from an additional $8,000 a month to 10s of 1000s. It just depends on you, right? You know the truth? The truth is, you know, practitioners often really struggle with asking for money. It’s, I and I understand, and I think it’s great, but that’s one of the things we work on, which is really pricing and building packages and feeling good about your solving a big problem that isn’t being solved elsewhere in our insurance-based or healthcare universe in this country. So this is something that’s very much needed and very much desired, and can draw from a radius because it’s not available. It’s not widely available. So like, for example, there’s one device that’s very low, low cost that I really have found has been something that a lot of practitioners have found great success with. It’s called um, ISS micro, current neurofeedback. It’s different than than neurofeedback in that it requires fewer sessions to achieve success and things like that, but it’s a low cost of entry and a high value to patients, because most patients notice a difference in 1233 treatments. So it’s an immediate benefit that the patients notice, and it helps depression, ASD, and anxiety. It’s a brain-based system, so it really helps any issue that starts in the brain, such as insomnia, depression, PTSD, or suicidal ideation. So it’s a great it’s a great device. So if you’ve got patient revenues, if you’ve got a patient base, of course, you know who your patients are, and you know how to reach out to those patients to either reactivate them or explain what you now have available and why it would benefit them and have them come in for an offer. But, you know, sometimes I’m working with a practice that’s just brand new and just getting started, and in that case, you do need to do, you know, certainly some you know, pay per click so that people see you in searches. You need to do some, you know, other types of marketing. And it really, again, it depends on where you are. Certainly, social media is an important piece of the puzzle for most practices today. But don’t discount a lot of people just either forget about or they don’t like the boots on the ground, type of things where they’re out reaching to other practitioners that might have a patient who would benefit from the protocol, or other thing, you know, other types of boots on the ground outreach, like there’s a chiropractor that I work with, and they’re going out to golf, golf outings and pickleball courts and running stores and doing, you know, presentations, and, you know, I also recommended high schools, because it’s a great it’s a great way to reach out.
Dr. Barbara Hales 13:39
Well, that’s very good. When converting practices to a concierge model, are you primarily working with new practices or those that have not been operational for long?
Jessica Jones 13:57
It really, it really does vary. I genuinely have practices. I’m working with a practice right now that’s been around 35 years, and they’re implementing a new revenue stream, and that’s an insurance, but I know it. I know my company is called Build Your Crash Medical Practice, but it started as Practice Builder, and that term was patented. So, my name grew over time. But I also help insurance-based systems. So that practice is implementing wound care, which is, of course, a Medicare and insurance-based program, but it’ve been around for 35 years. I have a chiropractor I’m working with who has been around for several decades. And I have many, many startups. I also have, for example, a solo practitioner I’m working with who specializes in vein care. He’s been around for a long time, and I’m helping him learn how to add some of the additional wound care. Are protocols in his practice. So it does vary. And then, of course, you know, I also there’s another consultant that I work with, and we’re teaming up to do a med spa makeover, because so many nurse practitioners and functional medicine practitioners really brought in GLP ones, and unfortunately, they made it their sole focus, or they brought in these very high ticket devices six figures that they’re now like struggling to sell a package on Groupon. We’re hosting a med spa makeover event to help these practices see, as many are giving up and saying, “I don’t know what to do.” I can’t survive, and so we’re doing an event that’s virtual or in person for them to say, We can rebrand you and help you thrive.
Dr. Barbara Hales 15:52
Why do medical professionals struggle with business growth?
Jessica Jones 15:57
I think a lot of the reason they struggle with business growth, some of the common mistakes I made, say, say, we have them doing marketing in either pay per click or social media, they don’t see immediate results, and they abandon ship and go to another company, and then they go to another company, and then they Go to another company. Well, these things take time to grow. There are algorithms involved they and it takes time for the systems to trust you as an advertiser and trust that you’re real, because there are actually fake advertisers out there. So there are algorithms that take time. So every time you’re switching, you’re really harming your potential, because you’ve got to give something at least three months, in my opinion, as it pertains to pay-per-click and social media. But it’s on the ground, same thing. I see a lot of people say, Oh, well, I went and dropped off business cards, and I dropped off one sheet, and nothing’s happening. I said, Well, did you follow up? Have you called them? Just like advertising to the consumer? You know, it can take eight times, 10 times, or 12 times for someone to hear your message and respond. Just because you knocked on the door and dropped off some pamphlets doesn’t mean that you’ll suddenly get a call and all these referrals from that business. So excuse me, you’ve got to be tenacious, and you’ve got to stick with what you’re doing for a bit. Excuse me, I’m sorry. And then, of course, we can develop specific ways to evaluate if something’s working and when to abandon it. Certainly, there are ROI calculations with everything you’re doing based on what the cost-benefit is, and when we genuinely don’t see progress. The other thing is, we know statistically that when somebody reaches out to your practice, if you don’t answer the the call, respond to the text right away, get in contact with them, and even, like, less than five minutes, you’re, like, very unlikely to reach that person, because they’ve kind of like everybody wants immediate response these days, right? So certainly, automation and AI have come so far, and a lot of practices are using this and thriving. But depending on what you’re doing, it’s still very important to have that personal communication and touch to connect with people. There are definitely virtual programs that are making it, but I see a lot of high-touch one-on-one practices that offer that connection, having patients come over to them because, at the end of the day, when it comes to your health, people want to know they’re in good hands. They’re in the hands of somebody who cares about them, is listening to them, and can help them.
Dr. Barbara Hales 19:10
Yeah, absolutely. What are? What are some marketing mistakes that you see medical practices making
Jessica Jones 19:17
Sure, so I re-took on switching, switching marketing every month is a big one, not following up on the leads. And also, I see a lot of people doing too much, if that makes sense. They’re trying to be everywhere. They’re doing these videos and these stories and these TikToks and Facebook and Instagram, and they’re spending so much time doing all the things that they’re not focusing on the work of building the patient list and working with the patients; they’re too busy doing all the things. So I strongly recommend that when somebody’s doing. Doing too much. I call it scaling back to grow. You can do less. Focus on what’s working best, get a handle on it, master that, and then expand. Ideally, this expansion happens when you’re ready to hire a trusted team to support you. Because the other, I mean, this isn’t so this is and is not marketing. So many practices are built on one person, like everybody wants to see the doctor, everybody wants to see the practitioner, everybody wants to see the chiropractor. That you can’t expand because you are the business, and you are everything. So you’re running the business, you’re seeing all the patients. So you’ve gotta build a practice that’s not solely based around you in order to be able to scale
Dr. Barbara Hales 20:52
What is it that you wish practices knew about that would help grow their practice?
Jessica Jones 20:59
So what do I wish practices knew about? Oh, that’s a really good one.
Jessica Jones 21:11
I would say I wish practices knew how to get into it. Number one, you cannot build a strong practice around the latest greatest thing, and not have multiple offerings for patients in the path to the wellness that you’re trying to build. You’ve gotta have a lot of things in your bag, so to speak. So I see a lot of practices that build a business on just one thing, another thing I wish practices knew, and I work with really strongly, is that you should have at least six months of cash flow available, because you’re going to have ups and downs. And a lot of practices fail to thrive because they just don’t have the funding to get through in the startup period, lot of medical practices, unlike other businesses, can be profitable almost immediately, but you’ve gotta have the money to put into the practice to build it, and you’ve gotta have a comfort level so that you’re not afraid to spend money on marketing and hiring and learning. I’ll always be learning, going to conferences, what’s new, what’s happening. Hire a consultant to help you. Hire a consultant that you click with, who you can work well with, as you know, I also talk to a lot of practices that start working with me. They’re like, Oh, I was working with this other consultant for years. I hated them. I never did anything they told me to do, because they only did it one way. So find the consultant that matches your personality and what you want for your practice, and somebody that you can listen to and work with. Well, that’s important. And then the other thing I wish they knew is before you buy a very high-priced machine, because there’s always going to be people knocking on your door saying, Oh, look, you can buy this. And with just two patients a month, you’ll pay for the mortgage. That is this device. I want you to really evaluate how many people are offering it in your area. What’s the likelihood that you’ll be able to sell packages at the price you’re being quoted, and go to Groupon? Are people selling it cheaply on Groupon? Probably not what you want to be buying a six figure device if people are trying to bargain it out, right? That’s a big one. I see so many practices that were thriving, and they come to me because they’ve hit a turmoil, because they’ve brought in this device, and it’s sucking, sucking all the profit out of their business. And so then I’m helping them to offload a device. And another thing is, if you see people selling the device on eBay, I would say, Run, you know. But if you are going
Dr. Barbara Hales 23:59
It’s a surprise to hear this. I have never heard of doctors selling equipment on eBay. Oh
Jessica Jones 24:05
My gosh, yes, they do. Just look up used whatever, and you’ll see it’s there are medical device reselling sites. But if you know, people do sell these things on eBay, it’s kind of interesting. But if you see that, I would say run. If you’re really set on having that device, consider buying a used one, but ensure it’s in full working condition and that you have access to all necessary features. But, you know, yeah, I recommend run. But some people are really set, and in that instance, I say, don’t, don’t, don’t pay the full price for it, because look at all of these red flags. And then the other thing you know I really talk to people about is they’ll bring in this device that they’re excited about without considering, how does this affect my space? How. Does it affect my how does it affect my workflow? Right? So like, now you’ve got a GOP one clinic that’s humming along like this, and you bring in this sculpting device, or red light therapy, or whatever it is, that’s now a 60 minute thing where you’re going in, you’re setting it up, you’re getting the patient set up, then you’re coming out, then you’re going back in, and you’re cleaning it for the next patient. And there’s a lot of time deficit involved, in addition to the space that’s taking up, where you are no longer able to see, see patients, or have somebody waiting in the room. And so that’s, you know, that’s a big that’s a big thing that a lot of people just don’t think about before they take the leap. And so yeah,
Dr. Barbara Hales 25:48
At this point, what I would like to ask is, what is one tip that you could give our listeners that they could implement right away?
Jessica Jones 25:57
So I’m going to say my tip, and actually, you and I discussed this, that every single person has 100 problems a day, and so when you own a business, it is designed to keep you down in the minutia. And I want to encourage everybody to look at everything that’s happening and evaluate it. Is this a high-level problem that I’ve got to focus on right now that’s going to help my business grow, or is this something that’s not a problem at all? I can let the staff handle it. I can let this deal handle itself, so I can focus on the bigger things that will help my patients grow my practice and give me more time in my schedule. So when you look at it that way, and you start to think about, you know, even my family jokes around with me, they’re like, you know, if I’m usually saying to them, is that really going to be one of your 100 problems? So I love it when they turn it around on me, when I’m talking about something silly, and they’re like, Mom, is that one of your 100 problems today? I’m like, You’re right. It’s not a good point. Thank you for straightening me out, you know. But it really does. When you start to reframe the way you look at everything happening around you and realize, like, this is really just me being caught up in the day-to-day. You want to get out of that and get into the big picture. And I also know this is two things, but I strongly recommend you make an appointment to be outside of your business and just be away from it and spend some time focusing on it when you’re not in the actual space. And the reason I say that is because, again, getting caught up in the minutia, but also, when you’re only in your business, there’s a lot of external things that impact your business that you might be missing, not just regulatory, things happening with foot traffic, things being built around you, changes to retail spaces and other things in your area, changes to things coming in and leaving the area. And a lot of times, I find practitioners being so caught up in their business, they haven’t stepped outside and seen Oh, whoa. This is something I could take advantage of. This is somebody I could go to and we could do like an open house together that would merge our patients and benefit one another. Those types of things get missed if you’re not looking around outside of the business so
Dr. Barbara Hales 28:28
well, you have brought about some very interesting ideas, and I’m sure that it’s food for thought for a lot of people that I’ve been listening today. Uh, thank you so much for being with us on our show today. Jessica, thank
Jessica Jones 28:43
You so much for having me. It’s really been an honor and a pleasure. I appreciate it. This
Dr. Barbara Hales 28:47
has been another episode of marketing tips for doctors with your host, Dr Barbara Hales, and we’ll speak to you next time. Have a great day. You
