When people ask where we go dove hunting for opening weekend every year, I tell them Abilene. It’s a small city about 150 miles west of Fort Worth.
But truthfully, we hunt in a tiny town outside of a small town outside of Abilene… called Noodle.
My dad’s friend from med school owns a big ranch there, and we get together every year at the beginning of dove hunting season to hunt, swim, and hear their wild med school stories.
In case you aren’t a big hunter, dove hunting in Texas has been mediocre the last 5 or so years. But this season, Texas Parks and Wildlife reports the numbers are fantastic.
The solid rainfall in the spring and summer created ideal nesting conditions for the birds to populate. Having just returned from our annual hunting excursion, I can confirm. The doves are everywhere.
It’s also the start to a time of year we commonly dub “cataract season” around here. Folks have met deductibles, and they’re looking to get their eyes fixed. Let’s take a look at those conditions.
While the current economy is meh, and the contentious election cycle isn’t helping anything, cataract season is still a huge opportunity for your practice.
Just look at the numbers:
- Baby Boomers control half the wealth in the United States. That’s $76 trillion. Trillion with a TRILL.
- That’s not all. They also have 70% of the disposable income in the country. And not surprisingly, data shows they spend more than any other generation.
- Baby Boomers also retiring in record numbers, and want to spend their money enjoying life.
These three data points alone point to a big opportunity for maximum premium conversions this cataract season (and going hard on your RLE marketing, which is another email entirely).
The conditions are right.
Back to our dove hunt – my 10-year-old went with us for the first time this season. And he’s still learning to shoot a gun.
As I said, the doves were everywhere. And he shot plenty. But how successful was he? Not very.
(He had a blast mind you, just didn’t bag too many birds).
So consider this as you prep for cataract season. The patients are in your market. They need your solutions. They have the money to pay for them.
But if your team isn’t maximized on their skillsets – to build value, to connect with patients, to provide a top-tier patient experience, to overcome objections, to lead patients and empower them to make the right decisions – you won’t be as successful as you’d like.
Which is why we’re launching our cATaract Conversions Masterclass next week in our private coaching community for refractive and cataract surgery teams, The Green Room.
It’s an 8-week course presented LIVE on everything you need to attract, connect with and convert more cataract patients into Advanced Technology cases (hence the capital AT in the name).
Each week is a different theme, with Q&A time built in to get all your questions answered.
It’s designed to give you actionable tools you can use immediately to maximize your cataract conversions and the % of folks who choose to go with your advanced technology packages.
All of our private coaching clients will go through this, and we’re opening it to 5 additional practices who are interested in having an epic cataract season.
If that’s you, reply to this email and I’ll get you more details. We’ll see if you’re a good fit and go from there.
To a successful season,
Troy “Dead Eye” Cole
PS – Yes, that’s one of my nicknames. My dad dubbed me “Dead Eye” on my first bird hunt when I was 10, after I missed a bird on a point-blank shot. Thankfully I’m a bit better with a shotgun these days.
PPS – If you know another practice who may benefit from this, I have a small favor to ask – could you please forward this email to them? Just a quick forward with a “you might find this interesting” note would be much appreciated. I’m always looking to connect with new folks in the industry, whether we end up working together or not. Thank you! 🙏