If you're going to be successful in private practice, you'll have to acquire skills your medical school may have overlooked. Operating in this fashion makes you the de facto CEO of a business. Yes, that business looks after the health and well-being of your patients, but its administrative aspects will need care too. Just as business insurance for medical professionals should be an integral aspect of your operations, so too should bargaining skills. Here's why contact negotiating is an important skill for medical professionals.
You could be the best doctor to ever earn the M.D. certificate, but if your office staff is less than optimal, your practice will suffer. People come from a lot of different backgrounds and with varying levels of experience. If your business is going to thrive, you'll have to pay people according to their capabilities. This means you'll be negotiating employment contracts.
When all is said and done and the person comes on board, you want them to feel adequately compensated. However, you have a fiduciary duty to ensure they're paid what they're worth and no more. This means some back and forth over salary and benefits is likely to ensue. You'll need them to feel valued and appreciated at the end of the process. Your negotiating style will have a definite impact on this.
Your office will need office and medical equipment and supplies, as well as access to managed care networks. As a consequence, every person on the other side of the table is going to see you as potential income. Their goal is going to be to get you to pay as much as possible for what they have to offer.
Therefore, the first price they quote will be higher than is necessary for their company to make a fair profit. It is your responsibility to be aware of this and respond accordingly. Your goal should be to get those items at the most favorable price available. The only way to get there is to negotiate.
Every business deal is a product of negotiation. Paramount to your success in this area is the understanding that negotiating should be about finding a mutually agreeable point. Avoid treating the process as a zero sum game, in which there must be a winner and a loser. The goal of a negotiation should be to find the point at which both parties are winners. To be successful at it, you have to be capable of controlling your emotions. If you appear over eager, your position will weaken.
You have every right to ask for a better price. In fact, you're actually expected to do so. This is why contract negotiating is an important tool for medical professionals. Business insurance for medical professionals is another essential implement. CoverHound can help you find the best coverage for your practice at rates you won't need to negotiate. Best of all, the service is free.
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