008 - Damian Gough & The Virtual Podiatrist

Damian Gough is a UK graduate, but in 1995 he moved to Australia, and now lives on the Central Coast of NSW. Damian is the brains behind Virtual Podiatrist, which is an online program that creates evergreen podiatry content for websites.

If you're starting a new podiatry business, or you've been in business for some time, and you know your website needs quality content, this could be the fastest way to produce it, so you can get on with what you do best, which is seeing patients. 

On this episode we discuss:

• Moving to NSW and his Umina Podiatry business 
• Business mistakes

"You start out chasing money and the harder you chase it the further it gets away from you."

• Creating a memorable patient experience
• Why you need to give patients adequate time to tell their story so you can help them achieve their goals.
• Building trust
• Look at things from the patients perspective
• Thinking about the best customer service you've ever received and can you bring this into your business
• Website credibility
• The VIRTUAL PODIATRIST concept. 

Virtual Podiatrist is a web-based tool that is customised for the podiatrist's website to give diagnostic help to referrers and information for patients. 

• Using Virtual Podiatrist for your evergreen content will save you time and allow you to concentrate on blogs and other SEO elements.
• Patients are making decisions about your podiatry business while you're asleep.
• The importance of attending live events and the connections you make.
• Why you cannot continue work in a silo. 

Final Tip

Put yourself in your patient's shoes and look for one little thing you can do better. 

If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at tf@tysonfranklin.com  or connect with Damian at damian@virtualpodiatirst.com.au 

Podiatry Legends Facebook Page

Podiatry Legends now has a Facebook page, where I will be posting additional small business tips and information regarding podiatry events around the world. Check it out: Podiatry Legends Facebook Page. 

iTunes Reviews

If you enjoyed this podcast, it would put a massive smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes. Remember all iTunes podcasts are FREE.  

Most Recent Review from Australia

GREAT WORK ☆☆☆☆☆ “Tyson is an amazing interviewer, and his podcast flows very smoothly. The guests are podiatrists, but anyone who owns a business or is considering the medical field would enjoy this podcast. Tyson is bringing podiatrists together where we all can learn from one another. Great job Tyson.” Dr Peter Wishnie via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 01/30/19

If you're enjoying this podcast and want additional business, marketing, management and mindset tips you may also enjoy my other podcast, It's No Secret with Dr T.

Other Podcast Recommendations

 

Dr James Fedich - Path to Success Podcast

I was a guest on his podcast Episode 22, and he was a guest on my podcast Episode 53 - Fake Gurus and Patient Retention.

 

Check out this episode!

Top 6 Warning Signals For Identify Bad Customers

When Bad Means Bad

I'm a regular contributor to a website call SMALLVILLE and below is a link to my most recent article: TOP 6 WARNING SIGNALS FOR IDENTIFYING BAD CUSTOMERS.

http://smallville.com.au/top-6-warning-signals-identifying-bad-customers

Whether you call them customers, patients or clients...'Bad' means bad, and they all show the same traits of poor behaviour.

Please enjoy and I would love you feedback and comments on the Smallville website.

Tyson E. Franklin - "Helping Business Owners Think Differently"

www.tysonfranklin.com 

Marketing Hurdles

 
Does your business unknowingly have marketing hurdles in place that are stopping, or slowing down your patients from making purchasing decisions. 

Here are five I have identified:
1. Too few incoming phone lines
2. Untrained people answering the phone
3. No available appointments
4. Poor communication skills
5. Poor follow up protocols 
If you can eliminate these hurdles your marketing campaigns are going to be far more successful.

At the end of this recording I mention my new website www.podiatryadvisor.com which should be functioning fully by the end of July 2016. 

Standing Out - Putting An End To Blending In Forever

In February 2016 I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak to an enthusiastic group of business people at the Small Biz Big Future event held at the Cairns Hilton.

If you're a podiatry business owner you need to learn how to stand out from the crowd, otherwise you will simply blend in be missed, and this is the main message of my speech.

Please enjoy and I would love your feedback.

Tyson Franklin
www.tysonfranklin.com
TF EVENTS

Common Marketing Myths Webinar

This 55 minute webinar was recorded in March 2015 with Sam Harrop and it's worth watching if you want to learn more about the common marketing myths, which could be holding you back from greatness.

Please enjoy

Tyson E. Franklin
tysonfranklin.com.au 

Moving Out Of Your Comfort Zone

I'll Never Move

Honestly, if someone had told me when I was leaving University that I would be living in Cairns, and loving it, I never would have believed them. I was so comfortable on the Gold Coast...I'll never move, but I did and it was the best decision I've ever made.

At the time though I was not so confident. I was basically forced into moving from the Gold Coast to Cairns due to a hand injury. Long story short, I couldn't work and after two years of sitting on my bum, I thought it was time to do a bit of traveling.

This lead me to Cairns and once I got settled, I thought I would stay for 12 months and just see what I thought of the place...anyway 23 years later I'm still here and I have zero regrets.

Stagnent 

Staying were you feel comfortable could be holding you back from amazing things. I know it's hard to leave friends and family, but if that's what you have to do...then do it.

I moved to Cairns apprehensively, and initially business was great because there was only one other Podiatrist in town when I arrived, so it wasn't hard to make a living, but today, some 20 + years later there are 13 podiatry clinics.

I could be complaining that there's too many podiatrist and wasting mental energy on how I can beat them, but instead I don't give them a second thought and use all my mental energy on how I can make my business better.

Safety Net

Could I have achieved the same success if I didn't leave the Gold Coast? Maybe, but if things really went pear shaped, I always had the safety net of being able to move back home. I didn't have this luxury in Cairns.

Sometimes you need to burn your bridges, so there's no way of turning back, and this commitment to the cause will pay dividends long term.

If you love where you live and you have no complaints about your income and earning capacity, then there's no need to be looking elsewhere, however if you're not earning what you feel you should and you're not providing for your family adequately, then consider moving.

It's More Than A Location

But moving out of your comfort zone is not just about your location and where you live, it's also about pushing yourself in other areas. If you do not like public speaking, which use to scare me to death,  then you should do it. Speaking in public opens so many business opportunities.

If you don't think you're very good at writing, just start doing it and you will get better. The more you write, the more writing opportunities will arise.

When you move out of your comfort zone - amazing things happen. 

If you enjoyed this blog, please share with your friends and family on Google + and Facebook. 

Tyson E. Franklin

Author | Mentor | Speaker 

Invest In Yourself

The best investment you can ever make is in yourself

I recently returned from the United States where I attended a marketing summit in Denver, run by Rem Jackson from Top Practices, and then a second conference in Phoenix called 3-Days To Success run by Dave Frees.

Both events were awesome, but for completely different reasons.

Denver

The first event in Denver was all about marketing, which for any business is extremely important, and if you do not have a marketing plan in place you need to develop one.

Too often business owners only think about marketing when there's a downturn in business and as soon as their business numbers are looking good again they stop. This helicopter type marketing is not a good habit to fall into.

When it comes to marketing your business you need to look at all your marketing pillars, and if you've read my book, It's No Secret...There's Money In Podiatry', you'll know exactly what I mean.

The more marketing pillars you can have supporting your business, the more stable your business will be long-term.

For those of you unaware of my 6 Marketing Pillars, here they are:

1. Professional Referrals 
2. Non-Professional Referrals
3. Internal Marketing 
4. External Marketing
5. Verbal Marketing 
6. Web-Based Marketing

Every marketing pillar holds the same value and all marketing pillars should be worked on simultaneously.  

Phoenix

The second event I attended in Phoenix was not about marketing, but more about mindset. How you think and act will have a huge effect on your long-term business success. 

It's hard to go into specifics, but you need to understand that happiness, as well as success is a mental choice, and nothing happens by accident. 

Your thinking, or mindset, has a massive influence on how you behave and also how you react in certain situations. Why will one person run and hide, while another person will stand and fight when faced with the same adversity? 

It's how your brain responds and interprets certain stimuli. This is a very deep subject, and far more technical than I can go into right here, but this is why you need to invest in yourself, and you need to attend as many workshops and seminars as you can, because you are the most important person in your business, so you need to invest in yourself. 

Please share this blog with family and friends if you found it of interest. 

Tyson E. Franklin - Author | Mentor