A key conversation – perhaps the key conversation – to have with your practice manager (the primary support person in your practice) is how to prioritize their different tasks and projects.
I am very fortunate to have the amazing Emma in my world and we were recently talking about this … and I thought you might be interested in what we concluded.
Here’s where we ended up with what her priorities should be:
1. Protecting my brand. The most important thing in a practice is the brand, reputation and positioning of the thought leader. Your brand is where all your future revenue comes from, so protecting and promoting it should come before anything else. For Emma this means making sure any promises I make are kept. And anything that lets people down and would hurt my brand and my positioning is avoided (or if unavoidable, elegantly managed and communicated).
2. Bringing in cash. Anything that brings in money needs to happen straight away. If there’s a credit card on an application form, that needs to be processed straight away. If there’s an invoice that needs to be sent, it needs to be sent straight away. This is partly just good practice in any small business. Cashflow is the lifeblood of a small business and practice, so we need to have that mindset. It also solidifies a commitment, so when somebody says yes I want to do this, or yes I want to pay for it, the processing of the payment locks in the commitment and reduces the chance of anything else getting in the way.
3. Sales pipeline. Anything that isn’t cash, but is furthering a future sale. This may include sending out an info pack or replying to a LinkedIn message or email enquiry from a potential client. These need to happen in a timely manner. A good sales engagement process should look like a tennis match (ie a quick rally), as opposed to a chess match (where we ponder our next move for a week).
4. My mojo. Anything that supports my mojo or my energy is a priority. This is particularly the case for thought leaders that aren’t good at looking after themselves, setting their own boundaries, or prioritising the things that support their wellness and energy.
5. Anything else that needs to happen to keep the practice going.
Hope this helps. And even more I hope this sparks a conversation with your practice manager.
