Training Resources
Training Resources
A key to having a busy OWCP practice is a great marketing program. Fortunately, the cost of marketing in this program is significantly lower than for most other types of patients. Even better, much of the marketing is automatic and done for you.
Before going into detail about the marketing plan, it’s important to note that the best marketing plan is accepted claims. If you’re known to get claims approved, every patient in your area will want to go see you. So, the best marketing strategy is an accepted OWCP claim.
You must have a visible website. Many doctors who think they’re OWCP doctors make themselves invisible by not having a website or by not adequately promoting their site. Your website must be visible and searchable on Google and other search engines. A winning website was provided to you as part of your OWCP package. It’s important that you don’t allow it to be invisible. Make it #1 on Google. This is a winning strategy.
Federal Injury Centers hosts a weekly live social media broadcast on Facebook called Wednesday Night OWCP Chats. Tens of thousands of federal employees from all around the country watch each week to learn about OWCP and to have their individual questions answered. This free education often leads to patients wanting to visit doctors associated with Federal Injury Centers. You should always tell patients to tune in on Wednesday nights and to tell their friends about it. Also give them the Wednesday Night OWCP Chats brochures and cards to pass out to their coworkers. This education drives new patients to the practice.
The top officers at Federal Injury Centers are invited to state and national union conventions to teach OWCP to the members. Most classes last 90 minutes to 2 hours. These education sessions always lead to new patients. Patients want to go where the experts are. The point of conventions is to teach federal employees. These are not marketing events, but they generally lead to people wanting our help as patients. Doctors are never invited to these events because we keep it as strictly education. When we appear to be marketing and selling, they lose interest.
Word-of-Mouth should account for a large portion of all new patients. Asking for referrals is in every person’s job description. All patients know someone else who needs our help. It’s our responsibility to ask who those people are so we can help them. They need our help too. So, give patients our brochures, post cards, and business cards and tell them to give them to their coworkers who need our help.
Asking for referrals is easy. Here’s the dialogue: “Who else do you know that we can help?” Yep, that’s it. 9 easy words. Once you ask, wait for their answer. They always know someone. If they say they don’t know, probe further. “You’ve probably noticed someone limping or grimacing. Or you’ve heard about someone who has a denied claim. You probably know someone who’s complaining about not being able to work or about not getting paid. We can help them just like we’re helping you.”
When they give you a name(s), turn a brochure or a post card or business card over to the back and write, “_________________, we can help you.” Put the new person’s name in the blank. Then, ask your patient to give it to them: “Will you please do me a favor and give this to ____________ when you see him/her?” Your patients will always say yes.
These are the responsibility of every person in your practice.
Post Offices, VA Hospitals, TSA Employees, etc.
Visiting work sites is very important. The goal is to get the employees to post your brochures in their break rooms. Sometimes, you’ll be rejected. So, go again. Don’t speak to supervisors, post masters, HR, etc. All categories of management are likely to reject you. So, ask for a union steward / shop steward. Tell them what we’re doing. Ensure them that we’re not selling anything. We’re trying to solve their problems of too many denied claims. Leave a small number of brochures and then go back every 2 weeks and leave some more. Eventually, your practice will be booming with new patients and you’ll be able to drop down to visiting work sites 1 time per month or less often because your internal marketing plan and social media strategy will kick in.