Here are our recommendations for each of these conditions:

   1: Not worth the effort. In this economy, many parents want to help their children, but are financially unable. This is actually an argument for increasing your internal and external marketing--reach more parents.
    Although 10-15 percent of the public are unemployed, the majority still have jobs. The U.S. savings rate is presently at a two decade high.
    Reaching out to the community will connect you with parents who can and will enroll their children in therapy; IF your communication makes them certain the problem is vision and that you have the solution. And parents who have the will, but not the means at this moment, will enroll as their situation improves. Meanwhile, your extra effort will allow growth, or stay any decline in therapy load.

    2: Many doctors we work with had delightful educational and informative presentations that simply didn’t produce patients.
    Over nearly 3 decades of helping VT practitioners, this has been a common mistake. Understanding why eye movements create problems is not the same as leading a parent to see for themselves that the pain they and their child suffer is in fact a vision problem.
    In our view, the purpose of a presentation is to book exams and have parents enroll in therapy. The missing element is getting to the emotions surrounding the child’s behavior. That is exactly what we teach in our course and consultation.

    3: "I already know what to do…" This one is the bane of our existence as consultants. It usually means someone told the doctor the way to promote VT was to go visit non-VT docs, or school nurses, or pursue a school district or other professionals for referrals.
    Honestly, if these were such sure-fire ways to build practices, wouldn’t every child who needs VT be receiving it by now?
    There are numerous ways to develop a strong VT practice. The effective methods require careful development of communications and marketing skills of the doctor and support staff.
    In a practice with both primary care and therapy, a significant change in primary care case presentation will produce VT evaluations very quickly. And if the primary care side accepts many managed care plans, an entirely different patient flow and communication process is required.
    The structure that makes managed care reasonably profitable will suppress the higher yielding vision therapy caseload.
    Community outreach (PR) is important in a primary care environment, but for VT-only practices, it is critical.
    The number one method is doing community workshops in which your presentation touches the hearts and emotions of the people who attend. Few doctors devote the time and attention required to master this without individual coaching. As one of our favorite primary care/VT doctors counseled, get some help. "You don’t have to do this alone."

    4: Imperfect circumstances: Time, money, staffing issues and uncertainty stop doctors from taking action. Waiting for circumstances to change is one option, but another is to take action and change the circumstance.
    Time considerations differ. Some doctors stay late most evenings handling insurance paperwork, reports and bills. Others consider family time precious and sacrifice income to be at home.
    But several of our clients work less than 20 hours per week in VT practices that gross more than half a million dollars per year. Free time is a function of the structure of the practice and staff development. Getting help with developing that structure and top-notch staff is a wise investment.
    Money considerations are often closely intertwined with fear. "If I put this money out, will I lose it?" "I tried something like this before and it didn’t turn out so well."
    Maybe the real problem is that a little guidance and some new skills are sorely needed. Investing in stocks is considerably more risky than investing in yourself because with coaching, you have direct control over the outcome.
    Staff issues are as varied as the personalities the doctor hires. We are happy to provide any interested doctor with a staffing roles guide and reference on where to find great VT personnel. Click to request your guides or set up a free initial phone call. 
    One thing is certain, if you plan to grow; every staff member must understand and be committed to the process. If someone balks, the doctor needs to cause a change in attitude by taking a stronger leadership stand, retrain or replace that person.

    As you grow, it is necessary to lead growth with additional personnel. (A back issue of the journal of the COVD covers this topic.)  A major symptom of failure to lead growth with personnel is that the therapy load reaches a certain number, and then falls back. The numbers continually see-saw up and down because you get too busy to do the things that caused growth in the first place. Judiciously adding staff lets you keep up the effort that produces and sustains growth.
    Another sign is that you have trouble keeping therapists or other skilled staff. This usually happens when they feel under-trained or that they have more tasks than they can handle with integrity.

    Uncertainty. The leader’s role is to define the destination. Being hesitant to generate and share your vision of the future of the practice is common among conservative VT doctors. However, failing to do so leaves the staff adrift, trying to meet whatever they guess might be your intention. What if they guess wrong?
    Whether a doctor is new to practice or an old hand, the challenges of building, maintaining or growing a therapy centered practice can be daunting. That is why there are consultants and trainers. It is unreasonable to expect anyone to be an expert in all things. It is rare in sports, for example, for great players to become great coaches. One role is based on the ability to perform; the other is based on the ability to cause others to perform.
    Talk to doctors with strong VT practices and you will find that most got outside help at critical points in their career.
    Lecoq Practice Development provides many kinds of assistance, from our helpful free initial phone call, to courses, staff and therapist training, to full consultations that transform a practice and career.
    We enjoy helping. Contact us at idealvt1@verizon.net, or call 877-203-9100.
    Amee and Thomas Lecoq invite you to call, attend a course, get special training or choose our full consultation. Have the therapy practice you’ve always dreamed of. Help thousands more kids.

    NOW is a good time to start.                                                

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