Vet offers tips for establishing health care plans
Once staff are truly engaged with the plan, talking about it with clients becomes much easier.
A pet health care plan helps generate a regular income for your practice and provides added value for your customers. But some team members might feel uncomfortable ‘selling’ these plans and might be reluctant to promote them.
In an informative session at the CX Congress (16 June), Adam Tjolle - chief executive of Inglis Vets - shared learnings from his own practice about establishing and managing health care plans.
Adam explained that to get the whole team to buy into the idea of health care plans, they need to believe in it. Once staff are truly engaged with and understand the many benefits offered by the plan, talking about it with clients becomes much easier, he said.
One way to get the team on board with health care plans is to involve the team from the beginning. Adam explained that if everyone is involved in shaping, branding and promoting plans, they will feel real ownership and want it to succeed.
He also explained that everybody should be trained in the workings of the plan, to help them help clients overcome barriers. To enable your staff to become true advocates of the plan, he suggests offering staff discounts and incentivising performance with monthly prizes for the best sign-up rates.
Adam’s practice has two health care plans; ‘Active’ is the basic plan that includes flea and worm treatment, routine consultations, and nail clips. ‘Lifetime’ is the same plan but it includes dental care.
“Don’t complicate things by tailoring breeds or bronze, silver gold, platinum etc,” he explained. “People are far more likely to take up something that is clear cut and simple: A or B. In the owner’s eyes, their little chihuahua is no less value to a great dane, size is not important.”
RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence. 
