You take care of the pets We ll keep the figures healthy. With Pet Health Plans and Pet Health Loans

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1 You take care of the pets We ll keep the figures healthy With Plans and Loans

2 The way things are now Is it truly sustainable? The Practice Business Offering Plans with unbeatable support for you and your practice Telephone As a veterinary professional your first concern is, of course, caring for animals. Looking after your practice s future, however, remains an incredibly important part of your role and local or environmental developments could affect you. As pet ownership falls, the number of active clients and patients per vet is reducing significantly Leveraged sales are increasing their share of practice turnover but visit frequency, needed to leverage sales, is not increasing at the same rate Turnover growth is not sufficient to match inflationary costs in practice Sales of healthcare products such as wormers, flea products and lifestyle and prescription diets from veterinary practices are decreasing Almost a quarter of cats and dogs are not vaccinated or treated for fleas Is your practice fit for the future of pet care? Perhaps now is the time to give your practice a health check. Sources: Pfizer Practice Performance Index, YouGov, 2011 The Practice Business would like to introduce you to a service designed to help veterinary practices conduct business more effectively, easily and profitably. There are two products that The Practice Business can provide for you to offer to your clients and their pets: Plans Training More and more practices are offering health plans to lock in their clients, increase visit frequency and provide a regular income. We will help you design and price your own Plans to cover preventive healthcare for cats, dogs and rabbits, or other small animals if you wish. Your plans should include 6 monthly health checks and advice, vaccinations, boosters, flea, worm and parasite treatments, plus discounts and anything else you feel it is important to provide. We will look after the administration and customer Administration Communication Plans Business Management Teamwork Customer insight Loans service for you, as well as collecting monthly Direct Debits from your clients and forwarding payment to you, so you can enjoy a regular monthly income without administrative burden. Plans are designed to cover the things that insurance does not cover, so they will work well on their own, alongside insurance, or with Loans. Loans We can arrange interest-free loans for your clients (they don t have to have a Plan) to cover any veterinary treatment from your practice, for any animal, any time (once you have a Consumer Credit Licence, have been accepted by our credit provider to offer the facility and subject to your client s status and a credit check that we will do). Your client can borrow anything over 250 and we forward payment to you (the loan value minus an administration fee), up front, with no financial risk to you. You can even offer loans to clients who already owe you money, to reduce any bad debts you might have. Service makes the difference What makes The Practice Business so different is the total service and support you receive from the start. A dedicated team of people with customer service and veterinary backgrounds is on hand to help you, your practice team and your clients. Your Plans Consultant will help you design, price and set up your own plans to meet your practice objectives. It doesn t stop there though. We will provide you with a package of bespoke, high quality leaflets, posters, banners, client mailings and other support materials to help you promote your plans. Your Consultant will train and encourage your team from day one and keep coming back to keep up the momentum through business, training and practical support for the whole team and to celebrate your achievements. In addition, your dedicated Plans Advisor, along with the rest of the Plans team in our office in Winchester, will provide excellent customer service to you and your clients. Your clients can join over the phone with our team too, or let us know of any changes so we can keep admin to a minimum for you. The team is on hand on a free 0800 number to offer administration and marketing support, Monday to Friday. Marketing Consumer Credit Licensing Service 2 3

3 A dedicated support team by your side Specifically designed for veterinary practices Tailor-made training for your business The Practice Business offers proven tailor-made training to help your practice provide exceptional service to all your clients as well as implement Plans effectively. These useful, practical training sessions are customised to your precise needs, and provide an excellent opportunity for your whole team to build their skills and confidence together. Diagnostics and action planning The Practice Business will commission a confidential survey amongst your clients once you have reached a certain monthly income to help you identify areas where you and your staff are doing well in the eyes of your customers and areas where there s room for improvement. Your Consultant can then work with you to create an action plan for your team that could include training, marketing and practice development. We can also provide a Geographic and Lifestyle Profile giving insight into your existing and potential clients to help you develop your practice. Customer service and support The Practice Business will help you design and price your Plans, produce personalised promotional material, then train, motivate and assist your practice team in signing your clients onto your plans. Regular contact and team buy-in will keep your plans alive. No financial commitment from you The Practice Business provides all practice preparation, literature and support to you at no extra charge, to help you achieve your targets. So there s no consultancy or set up charge and no up front investment you have to make. Once you have clients on your plans and you are receiving monthly income from them, we will deduct a fee before we forward payment to you. (Please see Page 6 for details of The Practice Business fee). Plans can offer many benefits to your practice. How many of the following statements apply to you? I want to offer my clients the best customer service and the best preventive healthcare for their pets I think my clients sometimes put off coming in for their pets regular checks or boosters because they worry about what it might cost them I want to know my clients will be loyal to this practice I see a lot of cats and dogs when they are young and old, but not so often in the middle years, so I m losing potential income and the pet could be developing problems Some pets could live longer if they came in for regular checks so we could pick up problems earlier I need to sort out the team training or marketing I know we should be doing I know my team isn t always happy asking clients for money for routine checks or preventive advice, so I m probably losing income I d like to be able to sell food to clients more often My clients don t always realise the importance and value of the checks I do on their pets I want to help my clients be confident that they are looking after their pets in the best way A predictable monthly income would be useful to my practice I d like to be able to offer my clients some kind of financial solution for their pets treatment needs other than insurance I fear a new vet or a chain will move in to the area soon A distinguished pedigree in supporting practitioners The Practice Business is a part of Denplan, the UK s leading provider of dental care plans: Established in 1986 Working on behalf of over 6,500 UK dentists Distributing almost 650 million each year to practices for plan payments Approximately 1.8 million patients registered Over 350 award-winning customer service, management and administrative support staff in UK headquarters in Winchester Over 30,000 telephone calls and 35,000 items of post handled every month In-house direct mail facility, design studio and experienced finance department Member of the Simplyhealth group I sometimes allow clients to owe me or spread payments for treatment and I end up with bad debt or a more difficult relationship with the client If you can tick any of these boxes, ask your Consultant how offering Plans and Loans could address your particular priorities. As a member of The Practice Business, you have access to this mass of expertise and dedicated support, whilst retaining your independence. 4 5

4 Plans A different way to manage your income Plans Making Plans work for you Plans The concept of a monthly payment plan in return for regular preventive care is a simple one. Plans in practice Client Direct Debit Administrative correspondence The Practice Business 1. Your client enters into a contract with you. We will provide joining forms for your team to complete with the client. There are three copies one for you, one for the client and one to send to us. Or your client can call us and sign up over the phone. You can backdate membership too so you can provide treatment immediately. Preventive care through a Plan Veterinary Practice What is included in Plans? Monthly BACS payment and detailed report That s up to you we ll help you tailor the plans to work for your practice. You can tailor your plans to age groups, gender and weight categories. How much do clients pay for their Plan? That s up to you too we can help you to set monthly payments that reflect the level of service or discount you want to provide and to drive profitability. How you pay for the services of The Practice Business You don t pay The Practice Business a penny until you re up and running and collecting income from your Plans. The only cost to you is The Practice Business fee, which is a percentage of the money we collect from clients on your behalf each month, deducted before we forward payment to your bank account. This fee covers consultancy, administration, literature, training, mailings and customer services we provide. The percentage deducted is on a sliding scale, depending upon how much we collect for you that month, so the more we collect, the lower the percentage. It does not relate specifically to the number of cats or dogs or owners you have on Plans, but the total amount of money collected. Amount collected from clients monthly The Practice Business fee including VAT The Practice Business fee excluding VAT 0-1,500 12% 10% 1,500-3,000 11% 9.2% 3,000-4,500 10% 8.3% 4,500-6, % 7.9% 6,000-9,000 9% 7.5% 9,000-12,000 8% 6.7% 12,000-15,000 7% 5.8% 15,000+ 6% 5% 2. Clients who register their pets on a Plan pay a one-off lifetime membership fee of 10, which covers the administration involved when The Practice Business sets up a new pet owner. There is also a 5 joining fee per pet registered. We will collect this with the client s first Direct Debit payment. 3. The Practice Business will collect payments from your clients by Direct Debit on the first working day of each month. 4. The Practice Business forwards the payments collected from your clients (minus the The Practice Business fee) into your bank account on a monthly basis, with full reports of payments and charges. 5. You see the pet to administer whatever routine care, monitoring and advice you include in the plan, plus provide necessary preventive treatments. 6. The Practice Business will handle all financial correspondence with the client, administer all necessary banking details and tell you of any clients joining or leaving the plan on a monthly basis. Promoting your plans We will hold training sessions with your team so they are completely comfortable talking to clients about the practice s Plans before you launch. We will produce leaflets personalised to your practice and discuss other ways in which to promote your plans. You could write to your regular clients when you launch and you may wish to include a leaflet with your booster recall mailings. Either way, we can do these mailings for you whether they are included in your free package or subsidised by us. Your Plans Advisor will be on hand to work with your team, talking to clients and monitoring progress towards your own targets. Once you have some clients on the plans, we ve found news soon spreads by word of mouth and personal recommendation. You ll soon be enjoying a regular income and loyal clients. For your Plans launch and first year, you can choose to receive FREE: üübespoke Plan leaflets üülarge A2 size Plan poster üüpersonalised posters with your logo üüa personalised 8ft x 2ft outdoor PVC banner OR a 2m high indoor pull-up stand üüseasonal posters from a selection, on request üüclient incentive vouchers üüartwork of your personalised literature üüclient appointment reminder postcards for you to send out 6 7

5 Loans 0% APR Representative Interest-free loans make it easy for clients to pay for unexpected care Loans Making interest-free credit work for you Loans Sometimes pet owners have to make difficult decisions when their pet falls ill or needs treatment, especially when they are not insured. Or perhaps you re concerned about the risk of bad debt. No-one wants financial considerations to stand in the way of the pet s best treatment options. Once you offer Plans in your practice, you can also offer interest-free Loans to any client, to spread the cost of care legally and with no financial risk to you (once you have a Consumer Credit Licence and have been accepted by our credit provider to offer the facility based on your company s Accounts). On the spot decisions over the phone and completed paperwork instantly ed to you for client signature, mean you can be confident that nothing will get in the way of putting the pet first. Your clients will appreciate the assistance you give at such a difficult time and their pet may live a longer, happier life. Loans Allow you to offer interest-free loans from 250, over 6 to 24 months, to cover the cost of treatment at your practice* Make many treatments more accessible to more clients Complement Plans and can be used for any animal, including uninsured conditions or pets We will undertake necessary credit checks and process the loan on the spot Funds will be forwarded to your bank account within 14 working days of receipt of the signed Loan Agreement form We work directly with an accredited loan provider who administers the collection and chasing of payments from the client, removing financial risk and hassle from the practice We will train your team on how to offer Loans An administration charge is paid by you on each loan a small price to pay for securing extra treatment and receiving the money up front You can offer Loans to any client, for any animal (they don t have to be a cat or a dog, or on a Plan). You will pay a slightly higher administration charge for non Plan holders We can also offer the Loan facility to any referral practice you nominate, so clients can apply for a loan for referred treatments Once you have your Consumer Credit Licence, have been accepted to offer loans by the credit provider and are ready to offer your clients Loans, the process couldn t be simpler. Step 1: Talk to your client Discuss and agree the treatment plan and loan with your client. Step 2: Collect information and complete a short form Fill in the Customer Information Form on behalf of your client and gain their signature. Check proof of residency (utility bills must be dated within the last 6 weeks). Step 3: Call The Practice Business The Practice Business will complete the loan application and credit check for you whilst you are on the phone. Once accepted, the completed, approved Loan Agreement will be ed or posted to you immediately. Step 4: Return the signed Agreement The client must sign both copies of the Agreement and Direct Debit details. You return one copy to The Practice Business in the pre-paid envelope provided. The client retains the customer copy and you might like to take a photocopy for your files. Step 5: Payment The loan will be registered and processed by The Practice Business and the third party credit provider. You should receive payment within fourteen working days of The Practice Business s receipt of the signed agreement. Interest-free loans for clients when trouble comes out of the blue *Credit subject to status to UK residents aged 18 years or over. Not available in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. There is an administration charge to practices. This is a percentage of the loan value. Please contact us for further information regarding charges. Computer generated image. No cats were harmed producing this picture. 8 9

6 Supporting Plans A selection of what we offer to help you and your team Getting started with Plans and Loans Waiting room posters Practice specific Plan leaflets Dog, cat and rabbit record books for clients Practice promotional displays The first step is for us to: Meet you and your team Work to understand your client base and goals Give you a detailed explanation of Plans and demonstrate how they can benefit you Discuss, plan, design and agree monthly prices based on your current charging, plan inclusions, local competition, etc. Discuss ways of introducing your plans, e.g. through personalised leaflets, recall mailings, client mailings Once you have confirmed you wish to go ahead, we will: Confirm your plans and prices and prepare your practice s literature, posters, etc. Help complete your membership application Allocate practice membership number and details Suggest and agree a launch letter to send your clients on your letterhead (if you wish) Train and encourage members of practice staff (vets, nurses, receptionists) and ensure team buy-in Deliver literature and display materials When you are ready to launch, we will: Be with you in practice for your launch to encourage and help your team join clients Send out your mailing to your most active 1000 clients (if you wish) Notify you daily (by phone or by ) of clients who join Once you are up and running, we will: Aid pet owner recruitment with continuing in-practice and telephone support Do, or help you with, regular mailings to clients Deliver and explain your income and monthly reports Hold regular review meetings to monitor progress towards target and provide feedback On target and beyond: Ongoing visits from your Consultant Once your initial target numbers are reached, you can access extra benefits such as a Client Survey, ACORN Profiling, calling clients who miss payments and bespoke team training Change plan prices after an annual review Discuss retraining and repeat mailings as required Client application pack Client appointment reminder postcards 10 11

7 Preventive care Customer service Plans and Loans Protection and planning for your future Improved practice income TPB The Practice Business, Victoria Road, Winchester SO23 7RG The Practice Business is a trading name of Denplan Limited, incorporated in England and Wales with registered number , whose registered office is at Hambleden House, Waterloo Court, Andover, Hampshire SP10 1LQ.