Audiology Mastery: How to Build Your Dream Practice Kevin St.Clergy | MedPB

Worried your small practice can’t keep up with the larger chains? The good news is as digital marketing rapidly evolves, automation and other cost-effective digital tools can level the playing field. Tucker Worster of HearWorks has successfully leveraged innovative marketing to drive substantial growth in the audiology industry. In this episode, he explains how strategic partnerships, savvy marketing investments, and a focus on patient retention can propel your practice ahead, ensuring you thrive in today’s dynamic market.

Tucker Worster is the co-founder of HearWorks, a company that provides marketing, automation, and coaching services for hearing healthcare clinics. He has extensive experience managing various aspects of the hearing healthcare market, including multiple buying groups and hearing aid clinics.

In this episode, Kevin and Tucker will discuss:
- The evolution of HearWorks and its impact on audiology practices
- Why transparency is crucial for building a loyal team
- Why practice owners must invest in patient retention
- Optimizing Google My Business to enhance patient walk-ins
- High-impact, low-cost marketing strategies.
- Enhancing the patient experience through automation
- Adapting to the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing
- How flexibility contributes to a positive work culture
- The benefits of audiology mastermind groups 
- Emerging trends in audiology marketing
- And other topics…

Tucker Worster is a co-founder of HearWorks, a company that revolutionizes marketing, automation, and coaching for hearing healthcare clinics. Under his leadership, HearWorks went from struggling to generating $10 million in revenue within three years. The company was recognized on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies in 2022 and 2023. Tucker serves on the Ambassador Board at Baylor University’s Center for Professional Selling. He has extensive experience managing various aspects of the hearing healthcare market, including multiple buying groups and hearing aid clinics. Currently, Tucker holds ownership stakes in several hearing aid-related enterprises.

Connect with Tucker:
Tucker’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuckerworster 
Tucker’s Email: tucker@hearworks.com 

Resources Mentioned:
HearWorks Website: https://hearworks.com

The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery. 

If patients seem to leave as quickly as they come through your door, the solution isn’t a fancier coffee machine. Many practice owners understand the value of an inviting reception area but often miss the crucial element that can turn their waiting room into a conversion machine. That’s Michele Ahlman’s expertise. She works with practices to transform their awkward waiting rooms into revenue centers using the power of video. In this episode, Michele will help us understand the value of the waiting room for helping practices keep the patients who walk through their doors. She will also share insights into practice branding and patient journey maps.

Michele Ahlman is the Founder & CEO of Citadel Holdings and ClearDigital Media. With over three decades of entrepreneurial experience, she has pioneered solutions in the digital signage software industry.
 
In this episode, Kevin and Michele will discuss:
- The importance of coaches and mentors
- How to enforce your brand ideals internally
- The biggest misconception about financial management
- Her lean approach to scaling 
- Why cash flow is king
- The importance of knowing your numbers
- Patient journey mapping for struggling practices
- The waiting room as the missing piece of the patient journey puzzle
- The right content to show patients in the waiting room
- How to serve the changing patient demographic
- The ‘impact of brand’ as an emerging trend in audiology
- The powerful impact of smell in your waiting room 
- And other topics…
 
Michele Ahlman is the founder and Chief Growth Officer of Citadel Holdings, a digital signage platform. She is also the CEO of Clear Digital Media, offering digital content development services for independent healthcare clinics. Michele got her start when she joined her mother’s company, HITEC Group, in 1990. She rose to become VP of Operations, and in 2023, they established Clear Sounds Communications, a women-owned business focused on bringing innovative solutions to the market. In 2014, Michele launched Clear Digital Media in partnership with her father to address the need to improve the patient experience in hearing care.

Connect with Michele:
Michele’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahlman/ 

The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery.

Hearing healthcare practitioners work hard to keep their practices busy. But more patients often equals less time for marketing, the very tool that brought them in. To avoid taking two steps back, practice owners must adopt smart marketing strategies instead of winging it. Having run and sold his successful practice, Brian Urban, President of CounselEAR, offers a unique perspective on the industry. In this episode, Brian will help us crack the code of sustainable practice growth. He delves deep into how to leverage marketing automation, tracking tools, and smart strategies to keep your practice growing, not scrambling.

Brian Urban, Au.D., is the President of CounselEAR, an all-in-one system for practice management, reporting, record-keeping, and counseling. He also ran an audiology practice in Evanston, Illinois, before selling it in 2014.

In this episode, Kevin and Brian will discuss:
- The challenges he faced in growing his practice
- The importance of building a strong professional network 
- The challenges of growing an audiology practice in 2024
- Extending a personal touch for patient retention
- Seamless online scheduling with customization
- How he stays on top of the latest audiology tech
- Marketing essentials for practice owners 
- CounselEAR’s time-saving marketing automation tools
- Tracking marketing efforts to ensure they’re converting to cash flow
- His unconventional friend network hiring method 
- Tools for managing a remote workflow
- The importance of working with trusted advisors when starting a practice
- The value of mastermind groups
- The impact of CounselEAR’s claims remittance feature
- The importance of recurring revenue and diversified income streams
- Starting a private practice with a clear value proposition
- And other topics…

Brian Urban, Au.D., is President of CounselEAR, an all-in-one system for practice management, reporting, record-keeping, and counseling. Previously owning an audiology practice in Evanston, Illinois, Brian has been active in the audiology field since 2000. He is a past president of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology and a distinguished fellow in the Audiology Academy of the National Academies of Practice. Brian has shared his expertise at many state and national conventions, covering topics such as patient counseling, documentation, HIPAA compliance, and physician marketing.

Connect with Brian:
Brian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbrianurban/ 

Resources Mentioned:
CounselEAR’s website: www.CounselEAR.com
Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA): https://www.audiologist.org/  

The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery.

Sometimes, you need to ask for help. Or just hire it. Nichole Kingham of Audiology Academy has developed a widely used audiology assistant training program, ensuring practice owners can capitalize on the growth benefits of getting help. In this episode, Nichole will explain her reliable processes and procedures for hiring and onboarding assistant audiologists. She will also share her playbook for practicing at the top of the profession and growing successful practices. 

Dr. Kingham is the owner of Eastside Audiology and Chief Education Officer of Audiology Academy. She is passionate about developing practices and protocols, improving efficiency, marketing strategies, and training audiology staff. 

In this episode, Kevin and Nichole will discuss:
- How her family history of hearing loss led her to audiology
- How burnout led her to start Audiology Academy
- Protocols for adding an audiology assistant to your practice
- Her transition from employee to practice owner
- The top three challenges she faced as a new practice owner
- Cultivating solid patient relationships following a practice takeover
- Why hiring an audiology assistant is a no-brainer for profitability
- What to look for in an audiology assistant
- The challenges of owning a practice 
- Her go-to marketing strategies 
- How leaning on experts can benefit practices of any size
- Going outside your comfort zone to grow your practice
- Talk tracks for effectively communicating with patients
- And other topics…

Nichole Kingham is the owner of Eastside Audiology and Chief Education Officer at Audiology Academy, an online audiology business training platform for practice owners. She is the past president of Washington State Audiology Academy and was a member of the 2012 James Jerger Future Leaders in Audiology class. Nichole has worked in private practice since 2003, where she hired the first audiology assistant in Washington State. She has trained and promoted audiology assistants since 2009.
 
Connect with Nichole:
Nichole Kingham’s Website: https://www.drkingham.com/ 
Nichole Kingham’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkingham/ 

Resources Mentioned:
Audiology Academy Website: https://www.audiologyacademy.com/   
 
The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery. 

If you’re stuck in a revenue rut, the culprit might be a need for better efficiency in your practice management. Office management software can simplify operations and enhance patient retention, yet the plethora of features may be daunting. Henrik Nielsen’s expertise and experience working with private practices make him an excellent guide for perplexed practice owners struggling to figure it out. In this episode, he shares solutions for optimizing practice operations and shares insights into the effective use of marketing automation for patient retention and revenue growth. 

Henrik Nielsen is the president of Blueprint Solutions, a software services company providing clinic management solutions for hearing healthcare professionals. 
 
In this episode, Kevin and Henrik will discuss:
- Current challenges for the hearing healthcare industry
- The rise of managed care
- Managing the patient lifecycle with automation
- Marketing automation for patient retention and increased revenue
- The cost of no-shows
- Effective marketing strategies that have worked for Blueprint’s clients
- How practice owners can gain control of online scheduling
- Strategies for growth and sustainability in 2024 and beyond 
- How Blueprint Solutions is exploring AI
- Efficient practice operations
- And other topics…

Henrik Nielsen is the president of Blueprint Solutions, a software services company providing clinic management solutions for hearing healthcare professionals. Originally from Denmark, he spent most of his career in the hearing healthcare industry, starting with Oticon where he managed IT and operations for five years. He has also worked at Bernafon, GN ReSound US, Resound Marketing, and Unitron Hearing.

Connect with Henrik:
Henrik’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrik-nielsen-2b49762/ 

Resources Mentioned:
Blueprint Solutions Website: https://blueprintsolutions.us/ 

The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery.

Some hearing care providers struggle to take the first step in starting their dream private practice, while others feel stuck, unable to grow their practices to achieve the balanced life they desire. The common problem? Difficulty in committing. This isn't a flaw but points to the need for a better understanding of effective commitment strategies. This is where Erik Sorenson, author of Commit First, comes into play. As a coach with experience working with over 1,500 businesses and a former practice owner, he knows firsthand how to leverage commitment for practice growth. In this episode, Erik shares his frameworks for achieving big goals and breaks down how commitment is the key to achieving extraordinary practice growth.

Erik Sorenson is a former practice owner, human performance coach, and bestselling author of Commit First. As the co-founder of HearWorks and Platinum Partners, he is also involved in leadership summits, masterminds, and more to help practice owners cross the finish line of their growth goals.

In this episode, Kevin and Erik will discuss:
- Erik's journey of commitment to his book
- Why asking “how” can lead to short-term tactics and setbacks
- The importance of clarity in a practice owner's vision
- The concept of creating your ‘possible impossible’
- Leveraging focus for growth
- How failure can lead to success
- The necessity of 'uncommitting' to small tasks
- The fear of success vs. the fear of failure
- The impact of wrong commitments on growth
- The ‘gift’ of procrastination
- Erik’s framework for deciding what aspects of practice management to focus on
- Strategies for hiring people who will commit
- How a long-term mindset leads to success
- Why masterminds work
- And other topics…
 
Erik Sorenson is a former practice owner, human performance coach, and bestselling author of Commit First. He is also the co-founder of HearWorks, a hearing healthcare marketing, automation, and coaching company listed among the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America for 2022. In 2021, HearWorks launched Platinum Partners, a program offering leadership summits, masterminds, and more to help practice owners cross the finish line of their growth goals. With a background in advertising, Erik has spent his entire career building businesses.

Connect with Erik:
Erik’s Website: https://www.eriksorenson.com 
Erik’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriklsorenson/ 

Resources Mentioned:
Erik’s Book, Commit First: The Key to Unlock Potential, Break Through Obstacles, and Gain Unlimited Power: https://www.amazon.com/Commit-First-potential-obstacles-unlimited/dp/B0C2RRQDS8 
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey: https://www.amazon.com/Habits-Highly-Effective-People-Powerful/dp/0743269519 
How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman: https://www.amazon.com/How-Change-Science-Getting-Where/dp/059308375X 
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299 

The Only Thing:
If you’re an audiologist and want to grow your practice – we’ve got a FREE, expert guide to help you achieve your goals. It’s called The Only Thing. 

This expert guide will show you how to increase new patient calls by 5 to 57 a month, schedule more new patients each week, help more people, and increase revenue.

It’s the best resource I know for growing your audiology practice.

Get your copy for free at http://medpb.com/mastery.