​December 26th begins Insurance Week. 
 
What’s Insurance Week?  You know the answer.  Insurance Week is when people whose insurance benefits expire at the end of the year rush to see their eye care professional.  They want and need an eye exam, and they don’t want to waste their materials benefits.  If you can see them, then you can sell them glasses and contacts, and hence, make more money.
 
All good news, right?  It is if you can see as many of them as possible without making them angry and burning out your staff.  To help you accomplish these goals, ProSight Success offers these 3 tips:
 
Treat Your Staff Like Royalty – Be honest with yourself.  You are going to ask more of your staff this week than any other week of the year.  More than likely, you will see more patients, verify more insurance, and sell more glasses than usual.  Your staff will receive the same pay for all of this crazy work.  So, treat them like royalty.  Provide coffee, snacks, lunch, or whatever.  All in all, you might spend $150 a day on your staff, but you will make that up with just one pair of glasses sold.  Keeping your staff happy is going to give them the ability to care for your patients well over this long week.  They will appreciate it.
 
Treat Your Patients like Royalty – Do the same for your patients.  No matter how you try, your patients are going to have to wait around, and there will probably be some insurance hiccups.  Provide coffee for them.  Have a staff person walk around with a basket of chocolates.  Bring in extra chairs if you have room.  If you have a television, tune it something that might be interesting for your folks to watch.  Whatever you decide, just let your patients know that you are aware of the craziness of the week, and you want them to know how much you appreciate them. 
 
Communicate with Both – Let your staff know about taking lunches.  Let them know ahead of time that you have food for them.  And for your patients?  Be sure to tell them expected wait times.  Be honest about their expected time in your office.  No matter what, just communicate.
 
I hope you have a great Insurance Week.  Take care of those employees and patients, and the money will take care of itself.
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success. He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years. He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place. Typically, this resource costs $199. I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S. If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started. Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy
 

​What would you do if I called your office? 
 
It is the end of the year, and I often take time to call on my clients and even prospective clients.  Who knows?  You might receive a call from me in the next couple of weeks. 
 
I do this to express gratitude to the people who have entrusted their careers and business to me in the past twelve months.  I am honored to give advice, implement systems, and help find quality employees.  I also call upon potential new clients as prepping for the new year is essential for any business.  A consultant is a must and typically, a high yield investment. 
 
How about you?  Do you call customers and patients this time of year?  If not, you should.  Your consistent base of customers and patients should hear from you.  It will communicate gratitude and care.  They will be impressed.  They will know you care.  They will want to continue working with you.
 
Additionally, call a few random people.  Grab your list, and let a few more folks know you appreciate their entrusting you with their lives.  It will yield high returns.
 
And, like me, don’t forget to invest in the future.  Reach out to some potential folks and ask them to partner with you.  While everyone else is taking the end of the year off, you’ll gain an advantage by prepping for next year.
 
So, if I call or leave a message, let’s talk.  A conversation costs you nothing.  If we have worked together, please know how thankful I am for you.  And if you want to give me a yell, just call 919-412-8161.  I can’t wait to hear from you.
 
Gordon
919-412-8161
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success. He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years. He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place. Typically, this resource costs $199. I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S. If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started. Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy

Happy New Year!  I hope your holiday season was enjoyable for your family.  I also hope that the past week was profitable for you as a company. 
 
I imagine you hoped those things as well.  Did those hopes come to fruition?  Did you enjoy your time with your family?  Was your week (and year) profitable? 
 
The two are related.  When our personal life is healthy, we work more joyfully.  When our professional life is profitable, we enjoy our families more.
 
Knowing these things to be true, the real question for the New Year is, “What are you going to do to achieve the highest joy and the highest career satisfaction?”  We offer this encouragement:  Plan your days to align with your goals.
 
Take some time and design what you want your life and work to look like.  Then align your life around those goals.  Follow the “Streamlining” pattern.  Take time each day to:
 
Reduce – These are planned times when you focus on one singular, important task at a time.  You will get so much more done when you reduce distractions.
 
Reuse – These are planned times when you multi-task on things that you can do at the same time.  For example, meet your goals of exercising and listening to podcasts by doing them simultaneously.    
 
Rest – Even if it is for 15 mins, plan moments in your day where you can rest.  Remove all distractions, nap, walk, just do whatever it takes to find rest so you can be the best you.
 
Doing these things will transform your personal life and your practice. 
 
ProSight Success offers two resources to help you accomplish these plans.  The first is our book “Streamlining” which, until now, has only been offered as part of the 7 part ProSight Success System.  But for the New Year, we are offering “Streamlining” in e-book format for $19.99.  Get your copy here.
 
Additionaly, we have created the “Streamlining” planner which enables you to plan your days with the Reduce, Reuse, Rest pattern.  This great planner is fully customizable and is also $19.99.  Grab your copy here.  Once you order yours, if you email us proof of purchase, we will email you a digital copy of the “Streamlining” book for free.
 
However you approach the New Year, we hope you find great joy with your family and with your profession.
 
--
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success.  He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years.  He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place.  Typically, this resource costs $199.  I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S.  If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started.  Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy
 
​

​The NFL seems to be bullet proof. Despite all of their controversies this year (anthem, concussions, poor play, etc), they are still growing.  In fact, just this week, they announced a 5-year deal with Verizon worth $2.5 billion to stream their games on that platform. 
 
The NFL has toyed with this with game streaming with Amazon Prime before, but this is a new level. It demonstrates that they are adapting to the new ways in which people consume content.  There is a powerful lesson here:  Growing businesses create new revenue streams.
 
For the eye care profession, one of the definitions of practice growth must be discovering new revenue streams.  If you aren’t growing, you are dying.  If your practice isn’t increasing in revenue and market share, that means someone else is. 
 
So, ask yourself these questions:
 
What are revenue streams you have not considered? 
 
Do you need to bring on a vision therapist? 
Do you need to expand your offerings of sunglasses?  
Are you offering Corneal Refractive Therapy to your patients? 
 
Plenty of practices offer these services.  If you aren’t, someone else is or will.
 
Are you training your staff to promote these services? 
 
Even the best of employees need help in offering new services.  So much of your employee’s day is rote.  They ask and answer the same questions.  Changing that up, and doing it well, is going to come down to you and your training.
 
How are you going to tell your patients and the community?
 
It won’t do you any good to implement new revenue streams if you aren’t letting the community know about it.  Implement a social media strategy.  Don’t just let an employee do it.  Actually, map out a plan to let your city know about.  Create and print signage for your office.  Make your offerings ubiquitous – everywhere.
 
Put together plans like this for 2018.  They will make a real difference.  ProSight would love to help you with that.  We are offering two amazing year-end deals to help you.
 
New Year’s Planning Sessions and Implementation Consult
An Entire Year’s Worth of Phone Consults – 63% off
 
Either way, don’t let new revenue streams pass you by.  They can make a huge difference for you and your practice.
 
--
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success.  He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years.  He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place.  Typically, this resource costs $199.  I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S.  If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started.  Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy
 

According to a litany of research, depression spikes during the holiday season.  Common causes are stress, fatigue, family-related issues, loneliness, unrealistic expectations, reduced sunlight, etc.* 
 
And while the holidays may be a causal factor for personal depression, they can also contribute to professional depression.  Professional depression, also known as Career Depression Syndrome or CDS**, is a prolonged unhappiness, moodiness, and worry about one’s career and its future.  The holidays contribute to this condition because the turn of the calendar brings so many concerns to mind.
 
Am I growing in my profession?
Is our business growing?
What are the end of year numbers going to look like?
Ugh, tax season is just around the corner.
And a host of other concerns.
 
So, what can you do to fight off these worries and concerns?  ProSight Success offers three tips to fight off you Career Depression Syndrome.  To best fend off Career Depression Syndrome,
 
Maximize Your Time at Work
Establish Concrete and Actionable Business and Career Goals
Find a Mentor
 
Maximize Your Time at Work – If your schedule is not full, fill it.  So many people love the holiday season because schedules lighten up.  People want to cruise into Christmas and sleep through the week until the New Year, and while many may be tired, this pattern is a recipe for disaster.  The solution is not just to work and work, but instead, make each moment meaningful.  If not actively working, then give reviews, clean up your office, train your staff, study for your own professional development.  Just know, mindless moments are never just that.  Your brain can’t shut off at work, and in the event of nothing to fill it, disappointment and depression often seep in.  Of course, one thing you can do with extra time is…
 
Establish Concrete and Actionable Business and Career Goals – Nothing will give you a sense of hope at the end of the year than setting concrete and actionable goals.  Doing so allows you to see the past year not as a failure, but instead, a launching point for the coming year.  Yes, this year may not have been as great as you wanted, but setting a big goal for the following year, that includes actionable steps, will give you hope.  Be sure, however, to make sure these goals have action steps and can be measured at the end of the year.  “Make more money” or “be happy” are not concrete and can hardly have actionable steps.  Amorphous goals only increase the likelihood of depression.  Perhaps you feel like you need some guidance to do these things.  Then tip three will help.
 
Find a Mentor – Whether you think you need a mentor or not, you do.  Everyone needs trusted coaches and advisors because the moment we stop learning is the moment we stop growing, and stunted personal and professional growth always leads to despair.  Take this time at the end of the year to look for a mentor.  Interview them.  Ask for references.  Find someone who can mentor, tutor, coach, and even disciple you.  It will get your year started out on the right foot and protect you from despairing at year end.
 
My hope for you this year is that you can take steps to protect yourself from Career Depression Syndrome.  If you have chronic depression, know that you are not alone.  Many folks struggle, and there is no shame.  Don’t suffer alone.  Reach out.  If you are feeling suicidal, please ask for help now.  The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Phone Number is 1-800-273-8255.
 
We hope the next year is your best year yet.
 
--
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success.  He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years.  He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place.  Typically, this resource costs $199.  I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S.  If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started.  Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy
 
* https://www.symptomfind.com/health/causes-of-holiday-depression/
** http://mypages.iit.edu/~marcus/index.html?cardep.html
​

​As an eye doctor, owning your identity will net positive results for your practice.  Being ashamed, or shying away from who you are, confuses patients and ultimately hurts revenue.  Let me explain.
 
Whether practices like it or not, their identity is often attached to their location.  For simplicity’s sake, there are typically three eye care identities:  Corporate, Big Box, and Sole Practitioner.  Let’s talk about the characteristics of each, and how owning them can make your practice more profitable.
 
Corporate – Who are the corporate practices?  You know them by name.  These are the MyEyeDrs, America’s Best Contacts, LensCrafters, etc.  These practices are corporately owned (hence the name), provide good discounts on eyewear, and have streamlined services because their internal systems are centrally configured.    
 
Those very characteristics are their strengths.  Tout them.  Brag on them.  If you are LensCrafters, don’t pretend you are a boutique.  Yes, you may have a few high-end frames, but your strength is you can get those glasses done in an hour-ish.  Brag on that.  No one else in town can.  Let your patients know that your insurance services are streamlined.  Patients shouldn’t struggle because you have an entire staff of extremely well-trained experts who not only know how to file, they love to do it. 
 
Big Box – Who are the Big Box practices?  These are the Costco’s, Wal-mart’s, etc.  They are part of some of the largest companies in America.  Their prices on eyewear cannot be matched, and patients can accomplish so many other things while they wait.  Insurance?  No problem.  You take every insurance legally possible.
 
For the Big Box practice, you have got to own the offerings.  Don’t apologize for being a Wal-Mart OD or optician. You have the most affordable frames on the planet.  You have the back-end to process everything quickly, and you are connected to one of the world’s largest retailers.  You are more convenient than any other practice.
 
Sole Practitioner– Who are the Sole Practitioners?  You own your own practice.  You might even have 2 or 3, but you are locally managed and can give a measure of care and attention that other practices cannot.  You know your patients’ names.  If your patients have a follow up appointment, they are going to see the same doctor that they did prior.  You don’t have every frame possible, but what you do have is quality. 
 
Key to Sole Practitioner is to avoid confusion.  Budgeting your optical like a Big Box only makes patients realize that the Big Box’ers do it better.  Impersonal care just tempts patients to get that same care while they are shopping for toilet paper.  Own the care and attention that only you can give.
 
So, who are you?  Whatever your identity, own it, brag about it, tout it…just don’t confuse it.  Every patient that walks through your door is a privilege.  Owning your identity and maximizing your characteristics let’s patients know that you recognize that fact.
 
--
 
Gordon Duncan is the CEO/Consultant of ProSight Success.  He has worked in the eye care industry for nearly 20 years.  He has consulted in the medical field, manufacturing, accounting, and many other disciplines. 
 
ProSight offers resources to put you back in control of your practice. 
 
P.S. ProSight Success has a 7-volume playbook to put all of these things in place.  Typically, this resource costs $199.  I have cut its cost 50%.   From now until the end of the year, you can purchase the ProSight Success System in paperback for $100. 
 
P.S.S.  If you can’t afford these investments, ProSight offers a free e-book to get you started.  Just go to www.profitableeyecare.com to get your copy