The Veterinary Business Management Association
COMMUNITY
Mr. Jeff Sanford
Athens, GA
UGA CVM
Mr. Sanford teaches Practice Management at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine and consults with veterinarians in Georgia and across the country. He teaches specialized business education programs for veterinarians and has developed industry assessment tools including the Practice Mapping Growth Tool, Practice Performance Health Check, Strategic Marketing Assessment for Veterinary Practices, Activity Based Costing Analysis for Understanding Fees Structures and the Practice Valuation Assessment. Mr. Sanford piloted practice management rotations in 2007 at the UGA CVM and has expanded the program to University of Florida, Auburn, North Carolina State, Michigan State, UC Davis and Washington State. Today over 400 students and 300 practices have participated in the rotations. Many participating practices have had recorded revenue growth in excess of 30% a year and profits above 30% of gross. Overall, he has evaluated over 800 practices. His accomplishments include assisting veterinarians to start, buy or sell practices with a capital formation of over $470 million. Mr. Sanford was the 2014 recipient of the Walter Barnard Hill Fellow Award which is UGA's highest award for teaching and contributions to improving the quality of life in Georgia or elsewhere. He is currently working on his PhD in Adult Education.
Topics Covered
Topic #1: Top Ten Performance Problems in Veterinary Practices Hurting Culture, Care, and Your Pay
Performance heavily relies on the culture of a practice. In visiting over 800 practices, many with a team of veterinary students, we have found that a positive practice culture toward care creates the most profitable and “happy” practices. Alternatively, culture can defeat the best intentions and strategy, creating an environment of apathy, poor standards, and lower earnings. Three core “practice pillars” have been found to greatly affect the culture at veterinary practices: Leadership, People and Systems. If any of these three pillars is deficient, a practice will never be able to achieve its best. During this presentation, real life examples will illuminate the truth to the importance of practice culture on operations. Ten practice barriers have been identified to be the most problematic toward cultivating an appropriate culture and toward high performance.
Topic #2: Game On! Competing with Chewy and Corporate: Priming Your Practice for Ideal Care and Better Performance, Resulting in Stronger Culture and Values
The veterinary landscape is changing! Chewy, Walmart, Amazon and others are looking at ways to capitalize on this industry. The United States is due for another economic adjustment or recession. Shortages of veterinarians and technicians are driving up wages. Most veterinarians will expect a 6 figure income in 2020. Furthermore, there is a fervor of consolidating in the marketplace with suppliers and veterinary practices. How are you preparing practice? Is your practice ready for these changes? Working with over 800 practices (400 with DVM students), we found that most practices are operating in a “path of least resistance” and are not capitalizing on the opportunities available to them. This culture can defeat the best intentions and create an environment of apathy, poor standards, resulting in lower earnings. Alternatively, we have found that a growth culture creates an environment where standards are high, staff enjoy coming to work, and the practice grows profitably. When practices gain traction with a clear direction, we have seen hospitals nearly double revenues and tripling profits in a relatively short period of time. Because of this, practice values also went through the roof. It is time to put your game face on! The time is now to get your practice ready!
Topic #3: Understanding the Maze of Compensation and Contract Negotiations
Topic #4: Understanding Practice Performance In Context of Assessing Your First Job
Topic #5: Client Connectivity: Creating Ideal Appointment Resulting in Greater Care and Your Earnings
Speaker Fees: $1,000-$3,500 + travel. Zoetis, BofA, Weave are sponsors.
Email: jeffrsanford1@gmail.com
Phone: 7062558116