Una Mas? A small question with profound impact.

I recently moved back to the UK from Australia and let’s say the timing could have been better from a seasonal perspective. Southern hemisphere winter + northern hemisphere winter = very cold toes for a long time. So a short break in the Catalan sunshine was just what was needed to warm up.

My wife and I and sitting in a street cafe enjoying a quiet drink watching our daughter get to grips with a climbing frame nearby.

The waitress walked past.

"Una mas?", she asked.

For a moment I wasn't sure, but my glass was empty and my wife was only halfway through her beer.

She saw my weak spot and pressed again.

"Una Mas?", she asked again, this time with a raised eyebrow.

Why not? I thought.

“Si, muchas gracias”, I replied.

And it was that easy for her to sell me another beer. One question and she’d doubled my spend.

If she hadn't of asked, I wouldn't have had one. But this is a demonstration of a well timed question. I had committed to one glass of beer, but had not considered anything beyond this.

Clients in front of your reception team are in a similar position. They have committed to buying something (let’s say a vaccine plus examination). But they are probably unaware of (or not thinking about) other purchase options.

So are your clinical and client care team working to ask the question? And what is the question? For the waitress is was about a beer. For your client care team it might be a few other things.

Una mas? = a dental?

Una mas? = some food?

Una mas? = some parasite control?

Una mas? = una mas? - as in, "hey do you want another of those while you are here?"

Whatever version of this you decide to focus on, it’s a big deal that this happens every time. It’s a big deal for the pets (who are not protected, or walk out in pain, or eat poor food). It’s a big deal for the pet parents (when they come back with a preventable problem 12 months later). And it’s a big deal for your bottom line.

"Una mas?”, could mean anywhere between £15-£500 ($25-750) per client increased spend in a visit. Let’s say it might average out at £50 ($75) /client and let’s say you have 900 active clients per full time vet.

That puts the value of “Una was?” at £45,000 ($ 68,000) /vet/year, with no extra marketing effort than one breath.

Not bad for a little, well timed question don't you think?

Until next week.

Dr D.

Little tweaks can make huge differences. So, If you’d like to discuss your thoughts on this or any aspect of growing your business through the power of people or marketing. Then I’m always happy to have a chat for free. The first 15 mins are on me. Go here to learn more.