 This morning I was invited to participate as a witness in an online legal proceeding.
The hearing was conducted virtually, and the participants-- including the judge, the lawyer, the lawyer's assistant, the plaintiff, the witnesses and court stenographer--all joined from their homes. I was struck by the high variation of the level of projected professionalism of the participants. Here are a few tips to help you look and sound your best when video-conferencing. Place your device so the camera lens at eye level. This often means placing your laptop on a stack of books. In this picture, the participant looks down to see the camera. People do not like the sense of being looked down upon. Look directly at the camera instead of at the images of the participants. Pay attention to the lighting. A quick tip is to sit in front of a window, and then place your laptop between you and the window. I use a halo ring light when I cannot rely on natural light. Pay attention to sound quality. The quality of sound impacts the quality of the experience with you when video-conferencing. Don't rely on the internal speakers on your device; instead, I highly recommend that you invest in a digital mic. I use a Blue Snowball mic. Do what you can to avoid background noise. Silence your phone. Make a plan for your kids and pets so they do not make audio appearances. You can even hang a sign over your doorbell "Please do not ring." Pay attention to your surroundings. You want the focus to be on you--and not on what's happening behind you. Is your video-conferencing environment uncluttered and tidy? Pay attention to what you wear. Solid color fabrics work best. I advise that you invest in a consult so you know what colors suit you best. Yes, that includes men! Avoid busy patterns. Keep jewelry simple. You want to maintain the highest professional standards in person and online. © 2020. Vicki Rackner MD. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line: Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.
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 Yesterday Medscape released its annual Physician Compensation Report for 2020. The data collected between October 2019 and February 2020 showed an optimistic picture of revenue growth since 2019.
However, life in the pre-COVID world feels like ancient history. In fact, the Medscape slide deck begins with a more sobering financial reality curated from other organizations, including data from the MGMA. Impacts of COVID-19 include:
What does this mean for you? These challenges represent unprecedented opportunities for you. Physicians want and need your help. If you have a lead generation/ nurture system for successfully engaging physicians, use it! Physicians will be open to your value in a way they have never been before. If you do NOT have a system that gives you reliable, repeatable results, I invite you to enroll in the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course that begins Monday May 18th, 2020. It's designed to help you set up proven systems to accelerate your practice growth by acquiring more doctor clients. Plus you can enjoy the added rewards of knowing that you are helping the physicians and dentists who are risking their lives to serve your community. If you have been on the fence about working with physicians, this is your time. Click here to learn more about the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course and reserve your spot.. How will physicians whose are not delivering "elective medical care" meet their ongoing expenses?
In addition to loans and advance payments through the SBA and CMS, there may be flexibility available through the Internal Revenue Service that could temporarily free operating capital or even offset prior years’ profits with losses caused by COVID-19. Here are some questions you and your doctor clients can explore ( from the American College of Surgeons):
 We're at another inflection point in the COVID pandemic. In many communities, physicians and dentists are gearing up to return to elective cases.
This is a great time to pick up the phone and see how your doctor prospects and clients are doing. Here are some questions you can bring to them: General Questions:
Professional Questions:
Networking Questions:
Listen empathically. Doctors' answers to these questions can guide your marketing efforts over the next few months. Stay safe and strong, Dr. Vicki PS Would you like to acquire more doctor clients? For the past decade we have offered our signature Cracking the Physician Code Course. Participants take away a soup-to-nuts blueprint to accelerate their growth by acquiring more doctor clients. We have completed updated the course content to reflect our current COVID world. We call it the Cracking the Physician Code Master Course. Whether you're a already working with doctor clients or you're just jumping into the medical market, you will take away actionable ideas to take your business to the next level of success. We will begin recording the new content Monday, May 18th, 2020. If you enroll this week, you get a bonus: you can join the daily live sessions and gain access to live coaching. Click here to learn more. © 2020. Vicki Rackner MD. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line: Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians run more successful practices. Contact her at (425) 451-3777.
Would you like to engage more doctor prospects through medical associations? This webinar offers you some tips.
Click here to download a PDF of the slides.  I collect stories, and piece them together to see a bigger picture.
Yesterday a shocking story came my way from a financial advisor whom I had coached. He began, "Dr. Rackner, do you remember that first physician client you helped me get? He was in his 60's and way behind in retirement planning? He's now 65 and the head of a hospital department. A few weeks ago he was furloughed. This week he was terminated. The hospital explained that they will no longer allow physicians over the age of 65 to see patients because of liability issues." The advisor and I discussed possible next steps for this physician. While the advisor helped this client move closer to the possibility of maintaining his current lifestyle in retirement, they are still few years away. Neither the advisor nor myself was present at the meeting in which the physician was terminated. Further, I am not privy to all of the considerations that might have contributed to this physician's termination. However, I have heard multiple stories of hospitals who are deciding to revoke the admitting privileges of physicians over 65. Will hospitals place age and health restrictions on physicians? If so, is this a violation of physicians' civil liberties? Is this restraint of trade? I will defer to legal experts to answer these questions. However, cases like these take a while to wind their ways through the courts. In the meanwhile, mature physicians like the one in this story are left with the question: "How do I maintain cash flow in the weeks, months and years to come?" This is another opportunity for you to deliver value. Click here to watch the webinar replay about how you can bring 10 revenue-generating ideas to physicians. Two decades ago, I pivoted from my career as a surgeon to a serial entrepreneur. I have personally executed all of these efforts except serving as a physician executive. All have the potential to replace and exceed a physician's clinical revenue. Remember, every problem that you solve is a way of proving your value. The bigger the problem, the higher your value. We have a saying in my home: For every problem, there is a solution. What ever challenges arise, we will find a way through! And we'll get through this together! Stay safe and strong, Dr. Vicki 
Here's the replay of the webinar "How Physicians Can Generate Revenue."
As of April 30, 2020 many physician specialists are not doing "elective cases." For many doctors, this means that incomes are dramatically reduced. In this video, you will: *Gain insights about physicians' current financial reality *See 10 ways doctor can generate revenue in the COVID climate and *Learn how to bring these ideas to doctors. Click here to download the PDF  One of physicians' most frequently-asked question is, "How will I replace my lost clinical income?" Here are some slides from my presentation 10 Ways Physicians Can Generate Income When They Hang Up the White Coat. I have been delivering this talk for the past two years to physicians who are burned out and want alternative careers. Now physicians whose elective cases are cancelled could benefit, too! Two decades ago, I pivoted from my career as a surgeon to a serial entrepreneur. I have personally executed all of these efforts except serving as a physician executive. All have the potential to replace and exceed a physician's clinical revenue.           Would you to see the presentation I deliver to physicians? Click here to join me Friday, May 1st, 2020 at Noon Eastern/ 9 AM Pacific. I will show you how you can bring these ideas to doctors in your community. I will also show you 3 ways physicians can ramp up their clinical income.
Stay safe and strong, © 2020. Vicki Rackner MD. All rights reserved. You may reproduce this blog post with the following by-line: Vicki Rackner MD is an author, speaker and consultant who offers a bridge between the world of medicine and the world of business. She helps financial advisors acquire physician clients, and she helps physicians thrive. 
Are you a financial advisor who would like to engage more doctor prospects and help more doctor clients? In this webinar, you will learn about doctors' current financial reality, learn about doctor and their relationship with money, and take away specific ideas about how to reach out to doctors TODAY.
Click here to download a PDF of the slides.  The Mayo Clinic--the largest private employer in the state of Minnesota--just announced a projected $3B loss for 2020.
It also announced plans for pay cuts and furloughs. I recognize that financial pain is not equitably distributed throughout our society. Physicians like me are very fortunate to get paid well to do the work we love. Further, healthcare is a sector that will be strong as we look at economic recovery. However, physicians and dentists will have significant financial pain. Retirement planning will not longer be a DIY job. As we will turn our attention to financial recovery, whom will you serve in 2020? if you have ever considered working with doctor clients, this is your time! If you would like to learn more about what it's like to engage, acquire and serve doctor clients, please join us for a webinar Tuesday, April 14th at Noon Eastern. You'll take away:
Click here to register. Stay safe and strong, Dr. Vicki |