FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
The UVG is a concept that has not been done in the veterinary industry before. There are many questions vets like to have answered before they make the decision to try it out. I sat in front of a panel of 20 vets, and asked them this question…
What questions would a vet want answered before they decided to join the UVG?
I have put down every point that was raised and answered it. This will give you the information to answer most of your questions. If it isn’t answered here, please email or call so we can clear it up for you.
Cheers
Sam Bowden
What’s the catch? It sounds too good to be true. How can I know this is as good as it sounds? Some of our current UVG members walked up and offered their phone details to be put on here as proof. That’s how much they believe in it. So If you want to know…why not give them a ring yourself. They are busy vets in practice themselves, but offered without asking, to tell you their experience
You can call them. Chris and Amanda Gough, Riverbank Animal Hospital, Grafton 02 66423083
Rod Sharpin, Altona Vet Clinic, Melbourne 03 9398 3333
Jeanette Kessels, Springfield Animal Hospital, Brisbane 07 3288 1574
What history do you have, in order to show vets how to be successful? I have run 2 practices in an 8 year time frame. Both of these we grew quickly and profitably. The first one we tripled its profitability and the 2nd one we increased its turnover by 540% in 5.5 years. Majority of my time is spent in finding systems to increase profit, which can be implemented in a vet clinic just like yours.
Do I have to use the suppliers the UVG has deals with? No you can use as little or as much as you would like? You might want to just try ordering a little of your product range to start with, until you have full confidence that you are better off with more of your ordering through the UVG.
Am I tied into a contract to get the UVG deals? No there is no contracts at all. You have to agree to a confidentiality agreement where you do not use the UVG deals as leverage for your own negotiations, that is all.
How do I know that I will get a better deal than what I am currently on? The UVG does comparisons weekly to see what clinics are getting at other suppliers. We can do a direct invoice comparison for you if you like. Just fax me three of your most recent invoices, and I will get a comparison done for you so you can see how much you would have saved.
If I save 10%, how do I set my fees so I am benefitting from the savings? We recommend, you increase your mark-up by 20% off your buy price. If you are currently marking something up by 100% and you buy it 10% cheaper, you need to set your mark-up to 120% to sell it at the same price.
How are the rebates calculated and distributed? We have agreements with certain manufacturers. If you use their products (ordered through the UVG negotiated wholesaler), we get reports from wholesalers at the end of every quarter for these products. We calculated how much you have used, send the information to the manufacturer and then they give us the rebate amount. We collect this from each of the manufacturers and then put the money directly into any bank account you nominate.
This is done every quarter. The distribution is based on how much your clinic uses of that product. It has nothing to do with other member’s usage.
Do I order through the UVG? No, you place your order through the wholesaler. You are just tagged as getting the UVG prices.
How much would I expect to save from the wholesaler deal? This is dependent on which you currently use, what deals you have in place etc. On average, members save 6-10% of their drug bill. We have seen them as low as 2% and as high as 15% saving. Remember rebates are on top of this.
If I am really happy with my current wholesaler, and don’t want to leave them, can I still join the UVG for all its other benefits? Yes you can. We actually have 2 levels of membership for those that don’t want to take advantage of the wholesaler and manufacturer deals. See below the different membership levels.
What’s the service from the wholesaler like. I00% of those surveyed said they find that the service is fantastic. We actually work with the wholesaler to ensure UVG members get great treatment.
What if the UVG closes its doors? Firstly as a sign of total commitment, I sold my practice once we got to 100 members so I could do this with 100% of my focus. All our systems are automated so although I don’t have a bunch of staff sitting in an office with me, I have many virtual staff. The group will fully function whether I am in my office or not. The group has grown by 40% in just 5 months. The UVG is here to stay. We have a big mission to strive for, to increase the profitability of the entire profession, by increasing the profit of one practice at a time.
Does it matter where my practice is? No. Our suppliers can supply to all of Australia, and you will be contributing to local industry, as there it is all supplied locally.
How long has the UVG existed for? We have been growing in numbers since our first meeting in November 2006. We started with 6 practices. We are currently at 140 practices.
As it gets bigger, won’t it mean that every vet in Australia can join to get the benefits? Won’t it mean all my competitors can join as well? No not necessarily. We are only accepting 250 members across Australia at the Platinum Membership level.
Why can’t I get a representative to visit me in my practice? The reason is, there is a huge cost associated with doing that. In order to keep membership costs incredibly low, we achieve interaction with members by going to conferences, doing webinars, teleconferences, and using technology to help as many vets as possible, without it needing a vast amount of resources. If I was to travel around Australia seeing every vet, you would only hear from me once every 2 years! However, I can interact with hundreds of vets via webinars at a time.
Can I see what’s in it for me without any risk? Yes, you just go to www.unitedvetsgroup.com.au and trial it for a month for free. We just ask you to pay a small amount for postage of the Consult Room Sales Formula you will be sent. If you want to continue on, you don’t need to do anything. If you wish to change level of membership or pull out altogether, you just contact us and we will arrange it all for you.
What is the future of the UVG? The instant mission of the UVG is to give clinics low cost strategies to increase profit instantly.
The bigger picture of the UVG is to get vet practices unifying, to be able to correct the big issues in our industry of stress, low profit and the associated tolls these take. We aim to reshape the vet industry by changing the mindset of the industry. We do this by getting the right information to a large group of practices. It will become the norm to have a profitable practice, and this will slowly change the mindset in our industry.
How much will it cost me?
There are 2 membership levels.
Platinum Membership: Get all the benefits listed in the benefit section. Every part of the UVG from savings to rebates, to the proven ideas that work, to the fortnightly business building program, teleconferences etc., the whole lot
Cost: $239 a month (ink GST)
Gold Membership: You get everything in the platinum membership, EXCEPT for the wholesaler discount and manufacture rebates. This is for those who want to be part of the UVG and all the other savings, but cannot bring themselves to change wholesalers
Cost: $139/month (ink GST)
Our Iron Clad Guarantee: If you aren’t completely happy with the UVG at any stage, you can simply cancel your membership….no questions asked. In fact, you get to keep the training CD’s, all the techniques you’ve learnt, all the rebates you’ve been paid, no questions asked.
