PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
But Goodman Lee says she and her team coach vet-
erinary practice managers to make calls and send out
customized emails, like Dr. Salzsieder's, that spell out
not just the date of the end of the plan, but exact-
ly which services (free with the paid plan!) the client
hasn't taken advantage of.
"The goal is to build the plans around bi-annual ex-
ams and preschedule every exam before they leave
the practice," Goodman Lee says. That's twice-a-year
visits, at least, as well as forward booking. (Do what
dentists do, you won't be sorry.)
Still, Dr. Salzsieder says, after letters and calls (and
maybe some emails), some clients still don't make it
in. "We have around 30 percent of clients that don't
use all of the medical procedures that are part of the
plan," he says. But that doesn't infuriate these custom-
ers. According to Dr. Salzsieder, the vast majority of
pet owners feel they were warned but just didn't get
around to it. And they still sign up for the plan again.
"We have an estimated 85 to 90 percent renewal year
over year," Dr. Salzsieder says. "Once they're on the
plans, they love them and know that their pet gets
more veterinary attention and a savings at the hos-
pital for the plan savings and for the extra 5 percent
discount for things that are not included with the plan
that their pet needs during the wellness plan year."
Note: Don't freak, you antidiscounters. YOU don't
have to offer a discount. Plans at some practices do
well just with the client convenience of knowing what
wellness plan services are needed for a healthy pet
and offering monthly installments to pay for it.
Another Note: Don't freak, you people pleasers. YOU
don't have to cancel services a client didn't use. Want
to honour a service they paid for in 2017 first thing
in January 2018? The company you work with might
have a code for that.
Editor's Note: The wellness plans mentioned
above are not available in South Africa. I encour-
age you however to visit their websites and see
what products they offer to adapt for your own
use.
Harnass The Power of the Pack
The Institute of
Veterinary Practice Development
The Institute of Practice Management Development
(IVPD) was started in 2002 by like-minded practice
owners with the aim of sharing and selecting ideas for
the benefit of vets and their staff. It has now grown
to become South Africa’s leading veterinary business
institution.
The Institute commenced operations with just 15 member practices and as veter-
inary practices realised the importance of sound business management, grew by
2017 to 173 member practices. Partnering with Nedbank to bring the lowest credit
card and banking rates to its members saw bottom line profits increase substantially.
Staff have also been well looked after with a top class Provident Fund and education-
al courses available to a wide range of staff from Practice Managers through to
Kennel Assistants. Major alliance partners offer investment opportunities through
a private IVPD investment fund, financial planning, debt collection and short term
insurance to name but a few.
The Annual IVPD Business Workshops
The annual IVPD business workshops have brought many outstanding experts to
South Africa to share their knowledge on practice management and leadership. We
are excited to advise the veterinary industry that once again we are proud to bring
another international veterinary business speaker to present in all 3 centres in the
first quarter of 2018: 9 April - Durban, 11 April - Cape Town and 12 & 13 April -
Johannesburg. Make sure you don’t miss the 2018 IVPD Business Workshop.
Visit the IVPD website for more information: www.ivpd.co.za
Benefits of membership
Tangible benefits are offered to members and include:
■ Discount for IVPD members at the IVPD Annual Business
Workshop (Cape Town, Durban & Johannesburg)
and other Business Events (Visit www.ivpd.co.za for info).
■ The IVPD Provident Fund
■ Personal Estate Planning
■ The IVPD Private Client Investment Portfolio
■ IVPD Vetsure – short term insurances
■ Educational courses for all levels of veterinary staff
• Practice managers
• Veterinary nurses
• Kennel assistants
■ Connectnet – Multi Sim G-Pad to reduce operating costs for bank card terminals,
speed up transactions and improve Network connectivity or availability by using 2
GPRS Networks
■ Nedbanks preferential credit card fees on Visa and Master Card, Cash deposit fees,
account maintenance fees, cheque and deposit fees, Cash advance facilities and EFT
fees saving members substantial money.
The IVPD is a dynamic and innovative organisation constantly striving to introduce new
ideas and savings to its members and currently has exciting new benefits in the pipeline.
There is a once-off joining fee of R4 845,00 (incl vat) which includes the annual subscrip-
tion for the year of joining. Thereafter an annual subscription fee of R1 425,00 (incl vat)
entitles members to all the benefits secured on their behalf by the IVPD.
Apply now for membership: www.ivpd.co.za
Issue 06 | DECEMBER 2017 | 7