Don’t Coast Into Summer

There’s a subtle shift that happens this time of year. The schedule is full, the days are longer and your team starts to think about vacations, long weekends and getting through the day (as am I!). In the Northeast, it has been a long winter and early spring, and it can be tempting to coast into summer. On the surface, everything feels fine. That is usually the problem.

This is the time of year where practices don’t fall apart—they drift. Summer gets labeled as slower, less predictable, a time to just “ride it out.” We assume patients will be out of town, the schedule will thin and the team is daydreaming of the beach, so we all ease up just a little.

Once that mindset creeps in, it quietly starts to shape behavior. You let a few gaps slide. You don’t push as hard on the schedule—not filling that last spot is fine because it’s finally nice out, right? Training slips down the priority list—fall sounds like a better time to train, right? Nothing dramatic changes, but small decisions add up. And before you know it, you didn’t coast into a slower summer. You created one.

WHAT TO DO INSTEAD

So, how do we set stronger intentions when the weather warms and the days get longer?

Patients may have more flexibility in the summer. Families may be trying to get things done while there is less pressure from school and sports. This is also a great time to shore up your optical and capture more sunglass sales. Summer is a perfect time for new contact lens wearers too! There is plenty of demand if you are set up to recognize and capture it.

What do we have planned for June and beyond? Look New Canaan hosts an incredible Sidewalk Sale mid-June, and we participated for the first time last year. In addition to selling significantly more than we had anticipated, we also gained a lot of new patients from the exposure. Flash sales are also fun, easy and a great way to drive traffic in. Who doesn’t want a new pair of sunglasses at a great price?

It can be easy to have spring and summer fever now, but the difference between drifting through the summer and actually building momentum comes down to intention.

Don’t coast into summer. Decide how you want it to look and run your practice that way.

Yours in success,

Jennifer L. Stewart, OD

Read Dr. Stewart’s April insights here.