CHIROPRACTIC EXCELLENCE

Many of us spend much of our thought life thinking about what we HAVE or what we would like to have; and even what we don’t have or don’t want to have.

Whether we are thinking about our finances (“If I was rich the things I could do…”), our material possessions (“I need that toy…”), our relationships (“If he/she paid me more attention I would be happy…”), our business (”If I saw more patients then I would enjoy practice…”), our health (“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired…”) etc.

When we are day dreaming about what we would like to have, or stressing about what we currently have , we forget that there is always something which precedes what we possess! And this is - what we DO!

It can be a depressing thought, but many personal development authors tell us that what we have and what we will have in the future are a direct result of what we have done previously and what we are going to do next! Action leads to results.

There is an even higher activity though, which precedes doing, and hence also having. And this is - BEING!

Have you ever thought about what you want to have and someone has advised you what to do. But, you just don’t seem to be able to break through and consistently DO a new behaviour. This is because you haven’t changed your BEING.

There’s times when we all wonder why two people can be taught the same procedures but get totally different results - This is because their BEING is different.

So - to make quantum leaps in our personal development, we need to make changes in our BEING! Our being is the roots of our character and personality: Our beliefs, our mission statements, our values, our visions, gifts and talents.

Who do you want to be? What will they say about you at your funeral? Are you here to serve or to receive?

Business management in the ‘80s taught people to plan what they wanted to HAVE - set goals - then work backwards to determine what they needed to DO - and this in turn would direct what the person needed to BE.

Sometimes Christian ethics teaches us that we just have to concentrate on our BEING, and God will provide for all our needs (our HAVES). This ignores the fact that whenever we get our BEING into true integrity we become inspired with things we can do - which leads to what we will HAVE, by “God’s Grace”!

Then there’s those of us that are so trapped in the DOING that we forget what we were BEING when we got inspired to DO! (read the last line again slowly!) And we can’t even remember what we are going to HAVE as a result of that DOING! We just keep on doing those things over and over into the future, because they are what we have been doing in the past.

The new business and personal development ethic is based on putting first things first - work out your “BEING”, and spend time regularly keeping in touch with that BEING. This will direct and keep your “DOING” on track. The “HAVING” will then just become a by-product of these processes, a symptom or fruit of our BEING!

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Whether a person chooses to continue or discontinue chiropractic care depends upon how much the person values the care when compared with how much they feel it is costing them.

If the value appears greater than the cost the patient will continue care. If the cost appears to become more than the value they will discontinue treatment. The more we can increase the perceived value the less we need to worry about the cost!

VALUE INCREASERS:

1) Experiencing benefits from chiropractic care. Especially if those benefits are over and above the initial complaint or the benefits expected.

2) Increased education and understanding about chiropractic.

3) Third parties (family and friends) experiencing benefits: Another great reason to stimulate referrals quickly.

4) A “paradigm shift”: Changing people’s attitudes from “don’t fix it till it’s broke”, to one of maintenance, prevention and/or preferably wellness. That is “getting the BIG idea”!

COST INCREASERS:

1) Financial constraints: The amazing thing about this factor is that the more you can increase perceived value the less important this becomes. If you want it then you will find a way to pay. However cost is one of the main reasons people discontinue.

2) Time constraints: The old saying is that “time is money”. If it takes a person more than 20 minutes to drive to your practice; then they sit in your waiting room for 20 minutes; then it takes 15 minutes to get adjusted; then it takes 5 minutes to pay and reschedule – that’s 80 minutes out of their life. And then you tell them you want to see them 3 times a week? Big cost.

VALUE DECREASERS:

1) No or slow perceived response to treatment.

2) A reaction to an adjustment.

3) ‘Chiropractic consultants’: Rumor, opinion and hearsay can always affect the attitude of a new member of the chiropractic “family”.

4) Our attitude towards chiropractic: It ‘rubs off’ you know!

5) “The law of diminishing intent”: Ever made a new year’s resolution; then a few weeks later it just doesn’t seem that important any more? Day to day stresses and commitments and the distractions of “life” seem to get in the way. That is – the original commitment gradually becomes diluted to the point of becoming unimportant:

If we constantly feed, reinforce and nurture our goals and resolutions there is less chance of them fading and getting lost in this way. It is never safe to think that a patient has got “the big idea” now, and will hence have it forever – they need constant feeding, reinforcement and nurturing of their goals and resolutions.

TWO WAYS TO GET PEOPLE TO DO THINGS:

1) Control and manipulate: This is like trying to get a donkey to move by putting a carrot in front of its nose or hitting it from behind with a big stick. The problem with these techniques is that the reward or the punishments need to be continually increased to receive the same response over a long period of time.

In our health care setting this would take claiming bigger and bigger benefits to our patients as they feel better (the carrot), or convincing people that if they don’t continue to see us something terrible will happen to them (the stick). At some point in time the carrot and the stick will not be big enough!

2) Build relationships and teach by example: This is not about getting people to do what we want them to do: It is about showing people how they can get what they want – by following our example!

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In order to go through the step by step process of building your dream practice, it is necessary to start at the beginning: That is; WHOM DO YOU WANT TO SERVE?

There are three main reasons why you need to define your “ideal patient“.

1) To make you aware of the people presently using your services, that you enjoy serving. By identifying who they are you can better understand how to best serve, reward and encourage these people.

2) So that you know how to attract these people to your practice by better understanding their needs and values.

3) To help you determine what systems and procedures you need to put in place to help the rest of your patients to grow into being an ‘ideal patient’.

DESIGNING THE IDEAL PATIENT:

Think of the patients you presently enjoy serving in the practice; the ones you look forward to seeing and when you see their name on the appointment book it brings a smile to your face. Why do you like them?

Some of the characteristics we might need to consider include: Age, gender, occupation, socioeconomic group, culture, health status, attitude, sense of humor, marriage status, hobbies, interests, values, understanding of health care and chiropractic, with or without kids, appearance etc…

AN EXAMPLE: MY ‘IDEAL PATIENT’:

• Communicative.
• Obedient.
• Positive attitude and outlook.
• Inquisitive.
• Health conscious.
• Believe in chiropractic.
• Value chiropractic care.
• Honest.
• Any age, gender, culture etc.
• Families.
• Pays for care.
• Refers others.
• Gives recognition for the care they receive.
• Smile!
• Doers.
• Reliable.
• Enthusiastic.
• Responsible.

Sit down with your TEAM and brainstorm the different attributes of your practice’s ‘ideal patient’ and come up with your own description…

I can remember paying good money to attend a practice management seminar that promised me I’d be able to see more people, charge more for my services, work less hours, convert everyone to lifetime care, and attract hundreds of new patients. The crux of the seminar was rehearsing, memorising and then regurgitating powerful “scripts” which if said in the correct manner, guaranteed that everyone would do anything you told them to do. I must say they did work well, but here’s the glitch: When you’ve been in practice for a little while, and you start to see the same people over an extended period of time; and you also see their family members, and friends and colleagues, and reactivated patients; and if your CAs and associates are also using those same power scripts - eventually you are all going to be “found out”. You see this technique is based on “Disney” systems - BUT; how many times have you visited Disneyland? Once, maybe twice, to go to the bits that you missed the first time? And guess what - you only have to listen to the script once! If YOU are going to be a wellness DC with people seeing you 12 or more times a year, for many years, then you’d better have something different to say… Here’s the best way to develop dialogue processes that evolve and adapt to where you practice members are at…

Ask better questions!

Here’s a really simple strategy that doesn’t take long; builds rapport, intimacy and relationship; and produces numerous opportunities for generating referrals: Get to know the practice member’s family, friends and colleagues by asking a simple series of questions… My CA even knows their Dog’s name/s!

It goes something like this:

Q: “What does your husband/wife/partner do for a living?” A: ……..

Q: “Wow, does he/she enjoy that?” A: ………

Q: “Has your husband/wife/partner seen a chiropractor before?” A: ……..

This is where the brief conversation can take a number of turns, but regardless of the answer, your questions should search for a reason for you to recommend that they bring their partner in to be checked to see if you can help.

On subsequent visits I’ll take some brief moments to get to know their kids, and then their friends, and then their colleagues…

I know this sounds really simple, but I have got to tell you that the conversations are much more interesting than listening to the sound of your own voice saying the same thing over and over again?

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