By Eric S. Miller, RFC® Co-Owner & Chief Financial Advisor
ECONOLOGICS FINANCIAL ADVISORS, LLC
One of the most overlooked strategies for building real financial freedom as a practice owner is getting your associates to consistently and confidently produce. Let’s be clear: your ability to pay off debt, increase income streams, and secure the lifestyle you want is directly tied to the productivity of those around you—especially your associate professionals.
Whether you’re a veterinarian, physical therapist, dentist, or optometrist, profitability starts with production. And yet, far too many practice owners don’t have clear expectations, metrics, or incentive structures in place to drive associate performance. If you’re relying solely on your own production to carry the practice, you’re playing a losing game.
Here are five essential strategies every practice owner should implement to improve associate performance and boost bottom-line results:
1. Do the Math (and Share It with Your Associates). Most owners can’t answer a basic question: How much should your associate be producing each year?
If you’re guessing—or using a figure from 2015—it’s time to get real. The math isn’t complicated, and it should be done with your associate so they understand the expectations. Break annual production goals into weekly and daily targets. This removes overwhelm and replaces it with clarity.
Benchmarks by profession:
- Veterinarians: $800,000–$1M annually for experienced doctors (~12 patients/day @ $250/visit)
- Physical Therapists: $275,000–$300,000/year for full-time therapists
- Optometrists & Dentists: Often exceed $1M annually, depending on service mix and average transaction
Track “Revenue Per Employee” as a simple performance indicator: Total Revenue ÷ # of Employees = $ per employee. Aim for $250K–$300K+ minimum.
2. Build Confidence Through Mentorship & Training. When associates hesitate or lowball their targets, it’s often a sign of low confidence—not laziness. Owners must proactively address this with mentorship, shadowing, and clear expectations.
Ways to boost associate confidence:
- Sit in on patient visits or consultations
- Offer scripts, talking points, or training systems
- Help them improve communication, patient education, and case acceptance
- Train them on how to build trust and increase agreement—what we call “professional selling,” not pushy selling
A confident associate who knows how to communicate value is far more likely to hit—and exceed—production goals.
3. Train Them to Delegate Effectively. Too many associates slow themselves down by doing everything alone. Whether it’s charting, prep work, or patient follow-up, they need to utilize your team—assistants, techs, front desk staff—to stay in their production zone.
Your job as the owner is to create a culture of delegation and ensure systems are in place to support it. Train associates to trust their team and hand off non-clinical or non-billable tasks. This one shift alone can dramatically increase throughput without increasing stress.
4. Focus on Speed & Efficiency. Speed isn’t about rushing—it’s about flow.
If an associate is spending 45 minutes per appointment when they should be seeing 12–15 patients a day, you have an efficiency problem. Help them build speed by:
- Tracking daily and weekly output
- Reducing appointment durations where possible
- Creating workflows that reduce friction
- Training for rhythm and repetition
And yes, sometimes they just need to be held to a higher standard—even if they’re new. Don’t assume longer appointment times are necessary for less experienced providers. One of our clients gave a new grad the same 20-minute appointments he used—and she rose to the challenge.
Let your people stretch. Let them fail. Just don’t let them stay slow.
5. Tie Their Goals to a Personal Financial Plan. You want your associate to produce more? Show them what’s in it for them.
One of the most powerful ways to motivate associate performance is to tie it to their personal financial goals. Most associates don’t have a financial plan—and that’s a huge missed-opportunity. When they see that just one or two extra patients a day could fund a house down payment, pay off student loans faster (years faster), or build a retirement nest egg, they’re far more likely to get invested in their own productivity. For more financial strategies for practice owners, explore our dedicated resources.
Meet the Author
Eric Miller
Download my free book:
How to Become a Financial Beast
Love to Listen Instead of Read?
Check out this topic in Episode #75 on the Financial Beast Podcast Channel: 5 Ways to Skyrocket Associate Practitioner Productivity
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