ALEX SHORTT

London independent eye surgeon DOUBLES his practice from one year to the next

This laser eye surgeon successfully transitioned out of the NHS to full-time private practice

ALEX SHORTT

London independent eye surgeon DOUBLES his practice from one year to the next

This laser eye surgeon successfully transitioned out of the NHS to full-time private practice

Client snapshot

Before and after

In his own words…

Case study: Alex Shortt

Alex Short was performing surgery at Optegra when he saw an opportunity to generate his own leads to supplement the cases Optegra was referring to him.

He saw consultations out of his rented private consulting rooms on Harley Street. At Optegra, he performed a mix of lens replacement, LASIK, SMILE, cataract surgery, ICLs, Presbyond and LASEK surgeries.

Alex engaged us for practice marketing implementation services in January 2018.

Client results: A successful transition to full-time private practice

With our help, Alex Shortt increased his billings by 103% Year over Year from 2018 to 2019.

In 2019, he had two lead generation channels – with the majority of his billings arising from Optegra’s marketing efforts and a sizable proportion (43%) of his revenue arising from his own efforts. This directly impacted his ability to double the size of his practice from one year to the next.

Annual sales grew by 103%

CLIENT PROBLEM

“I’d taken this as far as I could with my limited knowledge”

In Alex Shortt’s words: “I decided to leave the NHS and focus full-time a private practice. I needed a certain growth in my business, and I had tried various marketing activities and tried designing my website.

“I had a non-specialist company also design a website for me. What I found is I’d taken this as far as I could with my limited knowledge of business and marketing and with my almost amateur approach.

“What became apparent to me is that to to be competitive out there in private practice, you need a genuine set of very specific medical marketing skills.

“But even more specific than that, if you’re doing vision correction surgery, you need someone who fully understands the market. They need to know how someone like me – who is unique – and where I can position myself and how I can attract business.”

Before LiveseySolar

I’ve not only enjoyed working with Alex as a client but also come to value him as a friend. His personal charisma and dedication to patient service made it easy to amplify his brand in an overcrowded central London marketplace. I’ll always be grateful to Alex’s support as a surgeon while I worked with him at Optegra as well, we make a great team and I am keen to work with him wherever our paths cross.

— Rod Solar, Founder & Fractional CMO

Alex started this project with an amazing affability that was not getting across to patients in his marketing materials. Video was an obvious medium for him to communicate that, alongside the amplification of his patient’s voices who were eager to share their appreciation for his service. Alex is a real pleasure to work with – I appreciate his enthusiasm and also the fact that he not only made an effort to communicate with Rod and I but gave sincere kudos to some of our more junior team members for their individual pieces of work. 

— Laura Livesey, Founder & CEO

BEFORE LIVESEYSOLAR

“How much is this gonna cost me?”

Like many happy LiveseySolar customers, Alex’s initial concern was the cost.

“I suppose cost was one thing that concerned me.

“I was initially very apprehensive about approaching them. I wondered, “how much is this gonna cost me” because my understanding is that any form of marketing is expensive.

“But I have to say, they’ve helped me understand how marketing works. You need to realise that you’re investing in your business, and you can expect a return, and you know the process.”

To generate leads for Alex, we

  • redesigned his website
  • created an eye surgery self-test (the UK’s first)
  • drove paid traffic to his site with Google Adwords
  • drove organic traffic to his site with SEO
  • shot many FAQ videos for his Youtube channel
  • managed his social media channels (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn)

AFTER LIVESEYSOLAR

“They’ve been absolutely brilliant in helping me move my practice to the next level”

“It’s a particular set of talent skills. So they’ve been absolutely brilliant in helping me move my practice to the next level. When I had looked into marketing companies to work with, I was aware of LiveseySolar’s reputation. And that’s probably the first thing; they really do have a reputation amongst colleagues of mine where they’ve helped them grow their businesses.

“They’ve educated me about marketing in this space, and that’s been hugely beneficial.

“I did consider looking at general marketing companies, but what you soon find is that they have absolutely no grasp of the differences between different types of laser eye surgery.

“How can I market the fact that I can provide a specific set of exceptional skills when I know that the person designing the marketing doesn’t have the knowledge or skills to get that point?

“When Rod and Laura presented me with the marketing plan, that’s when I realised that I’d definitely made the right decision and that this was going to be absolutely the right thing to do.

“It all came together when I saw the marketing plan, and from then on, I mean I completely invested with both my confidence and financially. I fully believe in the approach and the plan that Rod and Laura put in place for me.

In late 2019, Alex joined Optegra’s executive board and thus put his personal marketing efforts on a maintenance plan. He’s now delighted doing as much surgery as his time allows while blending clinical work with leadership responsibilities for both Optegra’s London and Guildford hospitals.

After LiveseySolar

Find out what’s possible for your practice with an informal compatibility chat

The best way to answer that nagging question about practice growth/marketing/patient volume in the back of your mind is to book a free 15-minute compatibility call. Get some options and go away with a clear idea of what’s possible.

Meet our Co-Founders

We’re passionate about helping leaders of high-quality, growth-minded practice owners double their practice revenue

Rod Solar

Founder & Scalable Business Advisor

For over 20 years, I’ve helped ophthalmology entrepreneurs scale their private practices. I specialise in doubling revenue within three years by offering a proven framework, hands-on experience, and a team of experts who implement what works. We take the guesswork out of growth and scale, so you can focus on delivering exceptional patient care while maximising the value of your business.

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LiveseySolar completely transformed the way we were approaching this… We’ve gone from having just the dream of having a practice to having a practice up and running with people making inquiries and booking for procedures… It’s extremely pleasing. We feel lucky we connected with LiveseySolar.

— Dr Matthew Russell, MBChB, FRANZCO, specialist ophthalmic surgeon and founder of VSON and OKKO

Laura Livesey

Founder & CEO

I’m the co-founder & CEO of LiveseySolar. I’ve developed powerful eye surgery marketing systems that increase patient volumes and profits for doctors, clinics, and hospitals, since 1997.

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Rod and Laura know as much about marketing surgery to patients as I know about performing it. They are an expert in the field of laser eye surgery marketing. They know this industry inside out. I believe that they could help many companies in a variety of areas including marketing materials, sales training and marketing support for doctors.

— Prof. Dan Reinstein, MD MA FRSC DABO, founder of the London Vision Clinic, UK