Tricks of the Trade AD 3.2.222022-03-07T21:12:30-05:00

TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Our Experience for Your Use

This website was created created and co-founded by us – Sarah Breymeier and Ann Dosen.
Both of us have spent nearly ten years in the podiatry industry, attending dozens upon dozens of podiatric meetings and trade shows.

Therefore, we want to put our experience to good use!
Below are some helpful “tricks of the trade” from us to you… enjoy!

GOOD ADVICE – PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

No matter if you work in the podiatric profession as physician, vendor, or meeting organizer/planner, utilizing the tips and resources supplied below will serve you well!

Increase your Productivity and Without Getting Overwhelmed. 
I read this book cover to cover in just a couple of days. It’s been a few years since I read it, but it always stands out as one that I recommend to anyone that wants to continue to achieve. Whether you own a small business (like a podiatry practice or a device company), it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things you should be doing.
The Slight Edge provides practical/doable advice to help you set your goals and break down the activities that must take place to achieve those goals – step by step. By doing a little bit every single day, you will see big changes over time. There’s no need to do everything in one day, one week, one month, or even one year.
Do one action item every single day and the result will show itself!
-SARAH
Every day I listen to at least one podcast episode while I’m driving or working out to give me inspiration for the day. There are days when I wake up and don’t want to do a single thing other than catch up on episodes of Outlander, but after listening to one of these podcasts, I know I can take over the world! No matter what your daily life brings you, every single person on the planet will get something out of listening to these individuals.
John Maxwell Leadership Podcast – a weekly podcast from the leadership authority John Maxwell. This podcast focuses on the principles, practices, and process of becoming a transformational leader. Even if leadership is not one of your primary goals, the principles translate to any project or position you are in. I always come away with new motivation or a fresh outlook on a current project. Each episode comes with a downloadable resource to work through.
Online Marketing Made Easy with Amy Porterfield – Amy Porterfield is considered the GIANT in the online marketing space. She is so inspiring to listen to. Her episodes include expert interviews, mini execution plans, and secrets from her product and service launches; all tied together by her mission to make each episode as actionable and profitable as possible. Every episode I listen to of hers gets me thinking about the next big thing I want us to tackle. Her advice is tangible and for real life.
Rise Podcast with Rachel Hollis – hosted by the best-selling author of “Girl, Wash Your Face”, this podcast is a series of conversations with business powerhouses and personal development leaders where each episode provides listeners with tactical, valuable takeaways.
-ANN

Collateral Damage: Get Rid of Those Printed Materials

One of my favorite things to (teasingly) make fun of, especially at conferences / exhibit halls because it's so prevalent, are the individuals that freak out when they think they're going to waste their collateral materials. Oh no!!! I printed those materials for everyone to see, but I don't want you to take any!! If you're not familiar with "collateral", it's simply a marketing term for communication materials.... flyers, brochures, postcards, hand-outs, etc. GET IT OUT OF YOUR OFFICE AND INTO YOUR PATIENTS' HANDS!! I've seen physicians spend thousands of dollars on materials that they never want to let go [...]

February 29th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

Reruns Are a Good Thing

You Heard It Before... But Now It Means Something Else If you are a creature of habit (like we all are) you probably go to many of the same meetings each year. No agenda is ever copied & pasted from year to year, but when you continue to hit the same events, you will likely start to hear some recycled lectures. That's not always a bad thing! I was reminded of this when I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts (The Daily Stoic with Ryan Holliday) and he was discussing "Meditations" from Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius. "Meditations" [...]

February 28th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

Results with Rapport: The Art of “Mirroring” to Enhance Relationships and Revenue

REPORT TALK vs. RAPPORT TALK You've likely been a part of a practice management and/or marketing presentation discussing how to build a rapport with your patient base. The first time I had given any attention to rapport was in graduate school and understanding the communication theory presented by Dr. Debra Tannen, a professor at Georgetown University and focuses on a term called: genderlects. Ultimately Dr. Tannen describes how males tend to communicate with report talk (transactional and without the need to share anything other than information for the sake of gathering and giving information) and females communicate with rapport [...]

January 20th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

Become a Brand Champion

Having worked with various podiatric providers (from orthoses and lasers to AFOs and emollients), I've come to understand how certain products can become the basis of a thriving podiatry practice; products that the DPM relies on daily to provide optimal care. So, what I wonder is - do they know? Have you taken the time to let your provider(s) know just how critical their products and/or services are to your practice success? They may know simply by the recurring orders, right? But why not take it a step further? Consider becoming a BRAND CHAMPION. Ultimately what this means is taking [...]

December 30th, 2023|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

Make that Pre-Meeting Promise

Are you one of those people who is able to get up early in the morning before a work day and go to the gym??? Wow. I applaud you! I am 100% NOT that person - unless I promise someone I'll meet them at the gym. That commitment to another person locks me in. What does this have to do with meetings? Well, it's a bit of a comparison about how you can ensure you don't just go through the motions at a meeting. By committing to others and scheduling meetings and/or appointments during a conference, could be a way [...]

November 28th, 2023|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

Find Meetings with Focus

Have you been struggling to find meetings that really create energy, excitement, or reinvigorate your passion for your profession? It makes sense; there so many meetings to choose from and it's hard to know which one(s) will result in an experience that truly impacts your practice. With that, I challenge you to create a strategy that guides you on which meetings to choose. I've written about this subject a handful of times in different ways, so I don't want to beat a dead horse; however, for meetings to progress everyone needs to have more positive experiences. Part of that responsibility [...]

October 30th, 2023|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - DPMs|0 Comments

TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Ideas for Meeting Planners

Seminar Sites: Who’s Bringing It?

I'm not going to waste any time talking about the importance of a polished website - we all know this. We also all know that when you get a new website, it's great... and it doesn't take long for it to become a mess! Trust me - Ann and I know this pain with our own website(s). As time goes by and you have a completely new set of "things" within your organization that didn't exist when you initially launched, it's hard to keep it clean. Or, it may not be set up to highlight those new, awesome features [...]

February 29th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments

Two Brains, One Meeting: Getting It Done as a Team

Many of you know that Ann & Sarah come as a package deal, and while we may give the outward appearance that we are always 100% in sync with one another, there are several differences in the way that we work. I thought about writing this post after she and I were analyzing our Sponsor Advertising Calendar we have in a shared Google Drive. She had worked diligently to ensure it was clear which sponsors were advertising in which month's newsletter.... and I could understand it, but my eyes didn't like it.... so I changed it.... and I think [...]

February 28th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments

Surprising Real Estate: Toilet Talk

Several years ago I was exhibiting at the No Nonsense meeting in Ohio and I was, initially, none-to-pleased to be placed right by the bathroom. Until I realized just how amazing it is! In fact - here's a photo of me enjoying myself in that very spot (with the world's largest cup of coffee apparently). Sure, I had to block out the never-ending sound of constant flushing, but the foot traffic was epic. Last month I wrote a blog about how meetings should be set up so that DPMs are only in one of three spots: the lecture [...]

February 27th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments

More Traffic Please! Remove the Hallway Desk Escape Route

In life we know that two things are inevitable - death and taxes. As a meeting planner, you know one thing is inevitable - complaints about more exhibit hall traffic. This is ALWAYS top of the list when it comes to satisfying your exhibitors and there is no magic button, but hopefully you have discovered that Ann and I are consistently working on trying to help you find new ideas to overcome these challenges. So here goes... There should only be three places DPMs can be found once the exhibit hall is in motion: (1) Lecture Hall (2) Exhibit Hall [...]

January 20th, 2024|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments

Adapt and Evolve

Reflecting on the last three years, I feel that 2023 was as close to "the good 'ole days" (pre-Covid) as we've had in comparison to 2020, 2021 and 2022; meaning in-person meetings were not bombarded with heavy restrictions and the process/flow felt "normal" again. However, it's also safe to say that there has been an irreversible impact that we simply have to face and make necessary adjustments; not only to the meeting landscape, but to the makeup of the DPM. So what do we know? There are a lot of factors, but let's talk about a few biggies. Let's start [...]

December 20th, 2023|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments

A “Heads Up” Can Go A Long Way

A handful of our previous meeting planner tips has a central focus about competition and/or the perception of competition with other meetings. Check this out: https://podiatrymeetings.com/2022/08/30/what-are-you-competing-for/ With that in mind, it can really go a long way within the profession to give other meeting planners a heads up when it comes to scheduling your next event. We all know that most meetings run around the same timeframe each year, which is helpful, but here and there we see the meeting collision and someone ends up getting "miffed." Last year we had a colleague alert us about an upcoming event so [...]

November 20th, 2023|Categories: Tricks of the Trade - Meetings|0 Comments
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