- Dr. Eric Rooker
Start Over-Delivering this Morning!
Want to begin creating positive thought today? Start by over delivering for your clients this morning!
Over-delivering can be mutually beneficial to you and your practice. The sense of accomplishment you will get from delivering something above and beyond can be immeasurable! This will then set you up for additional positive thoughts and actions throughout the day.
5 Easy Ways to Over-deliver:
Bring Doughnuts!
I have yet to meet the client that doesn't love getting doughnuts before an exam or herd check! Feed their sweet tooth and make them feel valued immediately upon interacting with them.
Bonus points for bringing quality coffee or milk too!
Create a Protocol Book BEFORE They Ask for It!
In today's day and age everyone has a SOP for everything. From puppy to elephant we need protocols to make sure things get done right!
Don't wait for a client to ask for a protocol book they need; make it before they ask and deliver it the next time you see them. Some of my most successful protocol documents have been ones that clients didn't even know they wanted or needed but I knew other clients loved having them.
You can create beautiful protocol documents in programs such as Microsoft Word or Canva for very little money. These protocols will make you look professional as well as on top of industry trends.
If you're struggling to come up with an idea for a protocol book, think about your clients work day, week or month and what you think needs to be done even on a basic vet-animal care level.
One of my most successful protocol books is a simple monthly reproductive duties calendar which shows my clients what they need to be doing each day of the month. This is clearly something they already know, BUT they really seem to appreciate the ease of having something to glance at to double check their duties for the day.
Seek Out Unrelated Problems or Observations WITHOUT Being Prompted Too!
Avoid being that storm that blows through your clients life and is gone before they realize it. By reducing the pound it out mentality and increasing client and operation interaction we will often expose problems or potential problems well before they occur.
Simply take a walk after herd check and checkout the fresh cow pen or walk around the calves every time you go to the dairy. Often this will be some great consulting time for your client where they are not forced to interact with you, run a list and give shots all at once.
Most of these "walk-throughs" prove to be a great financial investment for the client as well. I'm often able to identify previous untreated sick animals or provide valuable preventative care consulting advice for very little cost overall.
Create a New Positive Habit with Them!
Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to repeat things that we see and that others do around us. Creating or reinforcing positive behaviors with a client can be one of the most influential things we can do for them.
While science disagrees on how long it takes to form a habit, what we can agree on is we tend to adopt the habits of those we respect or look up too. This puts us as veterinarians in a unique spot to influence our clients and their employees habits.
Something as simple as pushing manure out of a stall as you walk past it, capping a just used needle, moving the vaccine off the top shelf of the fridge or washing your boots prior to going to the calf barn can create a profound impact on the person with you. Repeated exposures to such behaviors will ingrain them into that person and cause them to subconsciously adopt the behavior themselves.
Super-size Your Service: ALWAYS Ask "Is There Anything Else You Need or I Can Do for You?" I never leave a farm without the question, "Is there any additional products/services you need." This comes from the McDonald's supersize me research; when prompted if an individual would like more of something, they tend to always take want more.
Now obviously there is a positive financial benefit for me when I sell more products or services BUT I feel it is important to give the client one last opportunity to consider if they need anything else. You would be surprised how many take me up on needing a bottle of this drug, a new protocol for this or a simple discussion about a current problem they forgot about at herd check.
Asking this simple question means that I leave the client feeling valued and that I have provided them with all the knowledge, service and products they may have needed at this time.
If you begin to adopt this mentality of over-delivery to your daily medicine your clients will not only begin to notice a change in you but you will begin to notice a change in your mentality. Once you realize there is an abundance of ways to impact your clients and that you're positively impacting their lives, you will start to more readily identity other positive opportunities around you.
Find these opportunities and embrace them; they will begin to change who you are and the quality of medicine you provide!
Carry on OTO'ers!
Dr. Eric
Ps. If you’re struggling to find positive and creative content sources please checkout my knowledge HOTLIST!
Primer Websites:
Forbes.com - leadership tab
Journals/Publications:
Journal of Dairy Science
Hoards Dairyman
Dairy Herd Management
The last 5 books I’ve consumed and recommend:
The 4 Agreements
Make Today Count
How Successful People Think
The Coffee Bean
Make Your Bed
Reddits:
r/entrepreneur
r/EntrepreneurRideAlong
r/smallbusiness
r/staartups
Top 5 Podcasts:
The MFCEO Project
Entrepreneurs on Fire
The Brendon Show
The Gary Vee Audio Experience
The Marketing Secrets Show