Chiropractic Practice Blogtag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//52013-05-24T13:01:22ZMovable Type 3.33Going Commandotag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7902013-05-24T13:00:13Z2013-05-24T13:01:22ZSince I seem to be mentioning this repeatedly in telephone consultations and elsewhere, it may be worth mentioning here: having a cash practice isn't merely about changing your financial policy and no longer taking assignment. Many chiropractors imagine the trauma...William Esteb
Since I seem to be mentioning this repeatedly in telephone consultations and elsewhere, it may be worth mentioning here: having a cash practice isn't merely about changing your financial policy and no longer taking assignment.
Many chiropractors imagine the trauma of announcing that he or she will no longer be accepting assignment. But that's actually the easy part. Far more difficult is the energy required to attract people who actually value their health and have the financial resources to pay for it.
Few patients who depend upon their insurance carrier are interested in true health. Most simply want to become symptom free and have their policy pay for it. It's an entirely different mindset than those who want to be healthy!
The headspace necessary to move from a practice of symptom treating to the promotion of optimum health, is far more complicated than no longer accepting assignment. Especially if you've acquired the reputation of being a back doctor or spine fixer over the years.]]>
Obamacare storm clouds threatening on the horizon, moving toward a fee-for-service model holds the promise of far greater freedom and security. Relying on hundreds of patients for your paycheck is far more secure than the whims of a half-dozen insurance carriers. Granted, it won't minimize your obligation to properly document your care, but it will provide a far greater predictable cash flow. Eventually.
Far more practical, step-by-step details are included in my Converting to Cash CD and DVD set, however here some basics to keep in mind:
1. You must have financial margin in your own life first. If you're as financially fragile as your patient base, you're not ready. When your only debt is your mortgage and you have three or four months of overhead stashed away in savings you'll be better prepared to weather the "dip." The dip is the two or three months in which your income decreases as you reinvent your practice and attract a new crowd of health-conscious practice members.
2. Disengaging from insurance carriers takes time. Chiropractors, famous for coming home from a weekend seminar and knocking down walls on Monday will want to take things more slowly. Once you decide that you're going commando, it's tempting to give a month's notice and bulldoze your way through it. Please don't. This is a surefire way to needlessly put your practice into shock. Be grown up about this. Spend six to nine months or more making the transition. You've practiced this long attempting to serve two masters (loving the one but hating the other), so take it easy and make the transition one carrier at a time.
3. You will have an all new marketing burden. This is what many chiropractors who contemplate a cash practice often overlook. Instead of depending upon being in network, on an approved list or simply servicing neck and back pain (and other complaints people rely on their insurance for), you'll want to become familiar to those in your community who actually value their health. Those who place a high priority on their health (or anything else) generally come up with a way to pay for it.
For chiropractors who have slipped into a social cocoon over the last decade or so, rarely encountering strangers, this can be a serious choke point. You must be prepared to introduce yourself to other practitioners, businesses, groups, clubs and organizations that currently serve the health-oriented tribe you want to serve.
That means conducting the screenings, the seminars, the community talks, the health care classes, social media, small talk and the general schmoozing necessary to get out "there" and become familiar. Since you're the product, this can't be effectively delegated or outsourced. Prospective patients are buying you. So you'll want to pursue ways that reveal your beliefs, values, opinions and likability.
Are you up for it?
Unfortunately for many chiropractors, getting their hands dirty and doing the things that previously only new chiropractors had to do, comes precisely at the wrong time in their career. After several decades of experience under their belt, many have assumed they'd paid their dues and wouldn't have to beat the bushes ever again.
But in many ways, you're starting over. You're reinventing your practice with the focus on attracting people who value their health. If you've been serving the "I-just-want-to-be-pain-free" crowd, and now want to help the "I-want-to-be-truly-healthy-and-perform-at-my-highest" crowd, then yes, you're basically starting over.
That means there are some groups and organizations you'll want to befriend, support and become involved with because they access the wellness tribe. Your local newspaper or chamber of commerce probably has a far more complete list:
Toastmasters – Start here. Until you conquer your ability to express yourself in front of others, you'll be working with one arm tied behind your back. Master the social skill of sharing yourself in front of groups.
Learn PowerPoint – Time to learn how to use this simple tool to visualize the key points of your presentation. Yes, you may feel disoriented for a while, but it's short-lived. Millions of mere mortals have learned how to use this program. You can too.
Yoga and Pilate Studios – My guess is that anyone who is paying someone to teach them these disciplines has an interest in better health. (Unlike gym memberships, which is often about weight loss or recovering from divorce.) Seems like you'd want to befriend every such instructor in your jurisdiction.
Runners – Many areas have running clubs that support individuals who run competitively, but more likely for health reasons. Perhaps you could take up running yourself. Maybe you can become the club's chiropractor. Join.
Birthing practitioners – Midwives, doulas, breastfeeding experts, natural childbirth teachers and similar resources can be a gold mine. Contribute to this network and you'll meet pediatric patients.
Health food stores – Befriend the proprietors of every Whole Foods, Sprouts, Vitamin Cottage, GNC and similar business in your area. Many have a regular lecture series. Discover what it takes to contribute.
Vitalistic practitioners – If you haven't yet, it's time to meet the nutritionists, acupuncturists, naturopaths and all the rest. Better yet, send a few referrals their way. Your mission is to become trusted and familiar.
Sports instructors – Golf and tennis pros encounter those with the financial resources who want a better swing or a more powerful serve. Might even be worth a club membership.
But you knew all this. So here's the kicker: if you show up at these gigs exuding even the slightest odor of trying to get new patients, you will be greeted by the sound of doors closing. Instead, you're there to share, connect and become familiar. Move to fast and those who might be interested will be turned off or frightened off.
Seem like too much work? Too risky? Unsure there's enough people in your community who value their health enough to support such a practice?
Then the insurance gig may not be so bad after all. No problem. Just get accustomed to putting every insurance check into escrow for a year or two, knowing that some day a commissioned auditor may demand the money back because your life-affirming, health-advancing, vitality-enhancing adjustments weren't "medically necessary."
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Monday Morning Motivation | Slave or Servant?tag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7862013-05-20T13:00:11Z2013-05-20T13:02:23ZDo you see yourself as a slave or a servant? The difference is profound and your choice makes practice a heavy burden or a glorious opportunity. Which is it? If you choose to be a slave, then you feel impeded...William Esteb
Do you see yourself as a slave or a servant?
The difference is profound and your choice makes practice a heavy burden or a glorious opportunity. Which is it?
If you choose to be a slave, then you feel impeded by your obligation to document your care, your imposed duty to get patients feeling better as soon as possible and the responsibility of doing all the heavy lifting.
If you choose to be a servant, you're thrilled by the opportunity to help others, you're humbled by the prospect of advancing the truth about the nature of real health and you're moved by the trust others place in you.
Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation.
Patient Homework
Do patients know what their job is to enhance the healing process? Or have you singlehandedly taken on the business of restoring their health?
If you have, no wonder you're tired!
Use our 10 Ways to Help Us Help You poster to quickly communicate what patients can do to enhance the recovery process. These 10 suggestions range from drinking more water to reducing emotional stress and everything in between.
Or present these 10 suggestions as part of your report of findings using the handy 8 1/2" by 11" tear off version. As a constant reminder, have each patient post their copy on their refrigerator or the inside of their medicine cabinet.
Chiropractic care, if it's anything, is a partnership. Make sure every patient knows his or her responsibilities. When you do, you'll turn the typical "Fix me!" attitude into a cooperative collaboration that will enhance the speed of their recovery while increasing patient satisfaction with your care.]]>
The Practice of Treating... Nothingtag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7852013-05-17T18:56:45Z2013-05-18T14:39:48ZIf there's one thing that has conspired to thwart some chiropractors from enjoying the practice success they deserve, it's their wrongheaded beliefs about what chiropractic is and what it isn't. Derailment here produces a variety of practice pathologies. Among them:Patients...William Esteb
If there's one thing that has conspired to thwart some chiropractors from enjoying the practice success they deserve, it's their wrongheaded beliefs about what chiropractic is and what it isn't. Derailment here produces a variety of practice pathologies. Among them:
Patients who consistently leave when they feel better
Dependency upon the generosity of insurance carriers
Chiropractors who become defensive when patients express discontent with the pace of their recovery
Chiropractors who take what patients do, personally
Chiropractors who are reluctant to take a vacation for fear their practice would lose too much momentum
These and other unhelpful aspects of chiropractic practice are the predictable result of obscuring, ignoring or willfully perverting what chiropractic is, or not effectively communicating its true nature to patients.
Have you embraced all five of these simple truths about chiropractic?]]>
1. Chiropractic Is Founded On Tone
Many are quick to dismiss the early history of chiropractic, but D. D. Palmer had it right. And while he didn't know about DNA, antibiotics or gene splicing, his observation about a person's "tone" was spot on. As was his assertion that the purpose of chiropractic was to "connect man the physical with man the spiritual." Some are embarrassed by the metaphysics of chiropractic and see them as religious or cultish and something to be dismissed. They aren't. Palmer was merely a century ahead of the Deepak Chopra's, Andrew Weil's and Wayne Dyer's that we know today.
The body's attempt to adapt to physical, chemical or emotional stress, mediated by the nervous system, is the basis on which the chiropractic profession was founded. Walk through the exhibit area at any gathering of chiropractors and you'll see how far the profession has drifted away from its limited, yet effective roots!
Are you explaining tone and stress to patients?
2. Chiropractic Is Not Medicine
"If chiropractic were more like medicine it would enjoy greater acceptance," goes the thinking. Or, "If the chiropractic scope of practice were broadened, chiropractors would be more successful."
It's not true.
The privilege to practice chiropractic was originally obtained through the various state practice acts, at least in the United States, with the understanding that chiropractic was (and is) a separate, distinct, non-duplicative healing art and not medicine. Proponents of integrating chiropractic into medicine somehow see it as progressive or enlightened, but they ignore the fundamental philosophical differences that make both disciplines unique.
While medicine focuses on the problem in the person (helpful for life saving and other short-term heroic measures), chiropractic focuses on the person with the problem (essential if you want to advance true health). Each has its place.
Without being anti-medicine, are you explaining what distinguishes chiropractic from medicine?
3. Chiropractic Does Not Treat Anything
Headaches, back pain, cancer and other named and unnamed symptoms are just the body's creative way of adapting to physical, chemical or emotional stress. It's often the way the body communicates with its owner, alerting him or her that a limit has been reached and a change is needed.
Yet, in most chiropractic practices, patients believe that the chiropractic adjustments they receive are treating their symptom. Neck adjustments treat headaches. Mid-back adjustments treat mid-back pain. And adjustments administered to the lower back treat low back pain.
It's not true.
Chiropractic doesn't treat headaches or back pain or anything else. Not even (gulp!) subluxations. Instead, the intent of chiropractic is to revive a person's ability to self heal. When this capacity is restored, symptoms naturally resolve. If every patient who had ever sought care in your practice understood this simple distinction you'd be so busy you wouldn't have time to read this.
Are you making sure every new patient understands that their symptoms are not the problem and that your adjustments don't treat them?
4. The Patient Is Actually the Doctor
All healing, weight loss, addiction recovery and all the rest occur from the inside out. Thus, what a patient brings to your adjusting table is more important than what you do on the table. What do they bring? The ability to self heal—if there isn't any interference. This doesn't minimize the value of a precisely and artfully delivered adjustment. But it's them, not your intervention, that should be celebrated and revered.
Don't ignore what a patient does between adjustments and its profound implications on the pace of their recovery. Are they drinking more water? Exercising as they are able? Getting more rest? Reducing emotional stress? Eliminating the chemical load on their body? The list is endless. In fact, the list is so long that any chiropractor who feels a shred of defensiveness when patients complain about the speed of their recovery is hallucinating about his or her ability to control what a patient's body does with the energy added by the adjustment.
Does every patient understand that they control their recovery and it's not your three-times-a-week "dosage" of adjustments doing the healing?
5. You Have a Huge Communication Burden
Based on the above, if you're not enjoying the benefits of a chiropractic practice, it may be because you're not practicing chiropractic. Instead, you may be delivering a knockoff; spinal adjustments designed to treat aches and pains or other symptoms that might be more accurately described as chiropractic medicine. It's either that, or you're not effectively communicating the distinctions above, or both.
Your enemy isn't the insurance carriers who don't "get" chiropractic (and never will). Your enemy isn't the medical profession that leaves an iatrogenic wake in its path. And it certainly isn't the chiropractor down the street. Your enemy is the beliefs and meanings that patients have attached to their symptoms and the priority they place on their health. These are formidable opponents and shouldn't be taken lightly.
If you wish to use your chiropractic practice license to do all manner of helpful procedures within the limit of your jurisdiction's practice act, go for it. Break the rules if you wish. But before you break the rules, it's helpful to know the rules. Just be mindful that if you choose to leave the reservation and use chiropractic for "off label" purposes, you're on your own. No whining or complaining!
* * *
Each year at one of the Colorado ski areas, someone makes headlines because they've ignored the boundary markers to enjoy the pristine powder of an area unmonitored by the ski patrol, and who, as a result, get lost, injured or buried beneath an avalanche. Skiers or snowboarders know these risks. Some who disregard the warnings and survive are emboldened by their choice.
Similarly, some chiropractors became emboldened during the era of easy third party reimbursement, neglecting their communication duties. Or, because of the chiropractic college they attended, never really knew the philosophy and distinctions that make chiropractic, chiropractic. Others fashioned chiropractic into their own image, rather than conforming their practice to its irrefutable founding principles.
The sad result is that all too many chiropractors who are amazing adjusters, with thousands of inactive patient files of delighted patients, are now gasping for new patient oxygen. Mostly because the people they helped over all those years are clueless about what chiropractic actually is.
Granted, you can't change the past. But resolve today to accept the truth about what chiropractic is and what it isn't and then use every tool at your disposal to persuasively communicate its gorgeous power and simplicity to as many people as possible. And then watch how quickly your practice magnifies and your passion returns!
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What I'm Readingtag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7842013-05-16T13:00:52Z2013-05-16T13:15:31ZDrunk Tank Pink by Adam Alter is the perfect airplane read. Which is where I read this fascinating book, which compiles many of the psychological studies that reveal how our environment shapes our thoughts, actions and behaviors. The title is...William EstebDrunk Tank Pink by Adam Alter is the perfect airplane read. Which is where I read this fascinating book, which compiles many of the psychological studies that reveal how our environment shapes our thoughts, actions and behaviors. The title is based on the late 1970 study showing how a particular shade of pink calmed those who tended to be aggressive. That's just one of dozens and dozens of studies showing how the weather affects the stock market, sunshine affects mood, what affects creativity, nonprofit giving and the image that prompts others to act more honestly when no one is watching. (I was particularly interested by the study on page 165 explaining what color you should avoid when designing a website!) Thanks Lisa!]]>
Monday Morning Motivation | Folly of Quick Fixestag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7812013-05-13T13:00:06Z2013-05-25T13:28:36Z"What's something I could do that would give my practice a shot in the arm?" When I'm asked a question like this I can't help but hear the medical reference to a treatment designed to produce a temporary, short-term improvement...William Esteb
Subscribe to Monday Morning Motivation.
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"Once You Got to a Chiropractor, You Have to Go..."tag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7912013-05-13T12:29:05Z2013-05-25T13:31:12ZVirtually every patient has heard the myth about getting sucked into some chiropractic cult or getting addicted to adjustments. Oh, they rarely speak it, but they filter your every word and action through this lens. Address it head on. "Have...William EstebVirtually every patient has heard the myth about getting sucked into some chiropractic cult or getting addicted to adjustments. Oh, they rarely speak it, but they filter your every word and action through this lens.
Address it head on.
"Have you heard the one about once you go to a chiropractor you have to go for the rest of your life? I just want you to know that that's not true. Now, some of our patients choose to see us on a regular basis to help stay well, but that's up to you. The fact is, there's five ways to use chiropractic care..."
And you point to the How Far wall chart or refer to the How Far handout, showing the five motives for seeking chiropractic care: relief, correction, maintenance, prevention and wellness.
Mission accomplished.]]>
Adjusting Your Sailstag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7832013-05-11T18:08:22Z2013-05-12T13:13:18ZOver the years, especially at speaking gigs, I've asserted that if you have any hope of attracting a tribe of wellness-oriented cash-paying practice members, you're actually in the belief-changing business. Not the pain relief business. Not the spine straightening business....William Esteb
Over the years, especially at speaking gigs, I've asserted that if you have any hope of attracting a tribe of wellness-oriented cash-paying practice members, you're actually in the belief-changing business. Not the pain relief business. Not the spine straightening business. Not the curve restoration business. And not in the chiropractic business.
Moving a patient (and ironically, some chiropractors!) from thinking of chiropractic as a treatment for various spinal conditions, in favor of seeing it as a discipline focused on whole-body health by optimizing nervous system function, is essential if you hope to interest patients in using chiropractic proactively as a long term health adjunct.
Yet, not a single course at chiropractic colleges is devoted to patient belief changing. Thus, even the most principle-oriented chiropractic colleges are unwitting accomplices to the medicalization of chiropractic, disgorging graduates who discover they must become new patient marketing machines to constantly replace patients who come in for a brief "diet" of symptomatic relief.]]>
1. Practice chiropractic rather than chiropractic medicine (using adjustments to treat neck and back pain), and
2. Master the ability to create a shift in the beliefs of patients, inspiring them to become practice members.
I'll reserve the first point for another time in favor of exploring some of the essential strategies of the second.
Software Controls Hardware
Many chiropractors get seduced into responding to what patients do. Their behaviors. Their health habits. Their visit follow-through. Again, this is classic symptom treating. What patients (or any of us) do is the result of our beliefs—even if we're not mindful of them. Virtually everything we do is largely an attempt to remaining congruent to our core beliefs. Even if, as they are for many people, they've never thought about what those beliefs are. So, if you want to know what someone believes, simply reverse engineer his or her behaviors!
But there's another layer. Turns out, our beliefs are merely the underlying "software" that help us operationalize our desires. Think of it this way:
Desires → Beliefs → Behaviors
If you have any hope of profoundly influencing patients, you'd be far better off acknowledging their underlying desires and beliefs, rather than creating procedures, policies and scripting designed to address their behaviors.
The First Right Answer
If this model isn't true, or if you have a better one, I'd sure like to know what it is. But if it is true that desires produce beliefs which lead to behaviors, then seems to me you'd want to uncover what patient's desire.
What do patients want?
This isn't a trick question. Turns out many simply want pain relief. And it's tempting to leave it at that. But dig deeper, beyond the first right answer, and you'll discover that the relief they seek is because their discomfort is preventing them from doing or being something far more dear to them. In other words, they're in your practice not because they want better health, but because their lack of it is interfering with something they value even higher than their health.
Do you know what it is?
Granted, there is the "thank-God-it's-Friday" crowd who desire little more than pain relief and surviving until the weekend. But the most promising practice members are those who have dreams. Seems to me you'd want to know what they are so you can help them achieve them.
"Over the years we've learned that many people consult our practice because they have an ache or pain. Their health challenge is interfering with something that they value even more than their health; their ability to be a good parent, their golf game, keeping up with their grandchildren, running a marathon or simply to be able to enjoy life to the full. I'm curious. Why do you want your health back?"
Chances are, some patients aren't present to these underlying motives. Others are. If you're greeted by a blank stare, encourage them to think about it and make a note to discuss it on a subsequent visit. Helping patients have this deeper awareness, or inspiring them to dream a bigger dream than mere survival, may be one of the most significant things you do.
What Doesn't Work
If you're hoping to cultivate long term relationships, inspiring patients to become practice members, your best shot is linking their deepest desires with the authentic true health that is only possible with an optimally functioning nervous system available from periodic chiropractic care. For life.
Charging patients for missed appointments won't do it.
Scolding patients to stop smoking or lose weight won't do it.
Bringing them to tears at the X-ray view box won't do it.
Ear raping them as they lie face down on your table won't do it.
Trying to sell them care they don't want won't do it.
Reducing your fees or demanding they agree to an annual care plan won't do it.
Making them feel ashamed or guilty when discontinuing care won't do it.
Attempting to install a new belief is far more difficult than linking what they already believe and value, with the chiropractic care you offer. That doesn't make it easier. It simply improves the odds.
Reminds me of a couple of sailing proverbs. "We can't change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the trim of our sails." And, "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts his sails."
Are you a pessimist, optimist or realist?
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"Ping" With Postcardstag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7892013-05-06T22:04:28Z2013-05-20T22:05:09ZPostcards are the perfect way to remind patients that you still think of them as part of your "tribe," even though they aren't under active care. We've turned the graphics of some of our most popular wall posters into reminder...William EstebPostcards are the perfect way to remind patients that you still think of them as part of your "tribe," even though they aren't under active care.
We've turned the graphics of some of our most popular wall posters into reminder postcards. No need to get heavy-handed. A sentence or two is all you need. Or offer a quick health tip. Such as...
"Remember to drink lots of water as it heats up this summer!"
"Hope your adjustments are still holding. If not, give us a call."
"We were thinking about you at a recent staff meeting. Hope all is well."
"How's your golf game? Time for a tune-up?"
You get the idea. Keep your message short. You're simply jogging their memory and letting them know you were thinking of them.]]>
Monday Morning Motivation | Playing Infinite Games?tag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7782013-05-06T13:00:34Z2013-05-20T22:04:19ZDo you tend to play finite games or infinite games? Finite games have a beginning, middle and end with winners and losers. But the objective of infinite games is to keep the game going. Keep this in mind as you...William Esteb
Monday Morning Motivation.
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Explains Chiropractic In 133 Wordstag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7882013-04-29T22:01:59Z2013-05-20T22:03:01ZChiropractic is a simple idea. Powerful, but simple. It's so tempting to add extraneous detail. Or include superfluous elements. But not this brochure! It's taken 30 years for Bill to simplify the explanation of chiropractic to its essential essence. The...William EstebChiropractic is a simple idea. Powerful, but simple.
It's so tempting to add extraneous detail. Or include superfluous elements.
But not this brochure!
It's taken 30 years for Bill to simplify the explanation of chiropractic to its essential essence. The result is 11 compelling images accompanied by a mere 133 words. (By way of contrast, the Monday Morning Motivation messages are 150 words.) In other words, short.
No bones. No spines. And not one reference to pain.
This brochure is sure to become your new favorite. It's the perfect outline for a spinal care class. It's an ideal way to facilitate referrals. It's a powerful tool that communicates chiropractic principles to today's visually-oriented patients with short attention spans.
Read the You & Chiropractic brochure online. US customers can buy online or call (800) 486-2337.]]>
Knowing, But Not Doingtag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7802013-04-29T13:41:21Z2013-04-29T13:45:01ZAsk most chiropractors to make a list of things they could do that would most likely grow their practice, and they can easily supply a half dozen ideas in a matter of minutes. In other words, practitioners who are not...William Esteb
Ask most chiropractors to make a list of things they could do that would most likely grow their practice, and they can easily supply a half dozen ideas in a matter of minutes. In other words, practitioners who are not enjoying the success they want, can supply numerous strategies that would.
But they won't do them.
Is it simply being stubborn? Is it a sense of entitlement? Sure, there's some of that, but the reasons for not implementing known techniques for a more successful practice are far more basic. How many of the following reasons stop you from enjoying the success you claim you want?]]>
Laziness. Yes, there are actually lazy chiropractors. One of the reasons why they're lazy is because they're…
Complacent. For many us, once we attain a certain level of success, the tendency is to focus on being comfortable rather than claiming new ground. Others are more constrained by the possibility of…
Failure. The danger of trying something new is the possibility that it won't be successful. A convenient way to avoid failure is to maintain the status quo. Another reason may be because there is so much chaos in their life they are in…
Overwhelm. Adding one more task, even if it promises the success we seek, to a schedule that is already over extended, is not very appealing. Maybe it's just a case of pure…
Procrastination. Besides a lack of decisiveness, procrastination is often a sign of paralyzing perfectionism. The need to do something perfectly, that you've never done before, is a sure way of staying stuck. Or, maybe you lack…
Support. If you don't have a support team to which you can confidently delegate, then you have the wrong team, you've neglected essential training or both. Some will say they don't have enough time. But it's actually a case of…
Priorities. We all have 24 hours in a day—the same amount of time Da Vinci, Einstein and Michelangelo had. But if you're distracted by shiny objects or the path of least resistance you won't escape mediocrity.
These are not chiropractic problems. However, they all share one thing in common. Each is a symptom of not having a big enough "why."
If your why is big enough, important enough, significant enough, desirable enough or meaningful enough, you'll find a way. You'll get up 15 minutes earlier. You'll push yourself just a little harder. You'll do things others won't because you have a vision that's worth the temporary discomfort. You're willing to delay gratification.
What's your why?
I hope it's bigger than making loan payments. Or surviving. Or getting through your circumstances. Or being able to retire.
If you've never given much thought to this, I hope you will. Uncovering our purpose is one of the most important obligations we have. Once you discover it and pursue it, you'll discover untapped energy reserves, greater fulfillment and a sense of joy that surpasses all understanding. Oh, and since you'll probably be helping more people, your income will increase too.
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Monday Morning Motivation | Are Adjustments Strong Enough?tag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7772013-04-29T13:00:33Z2013-05-20T22:01:48ZMany so-called "compliance" problems are the result of neglecting to explain what chiropractic is and what it isn't at the very beginning of the relationship. Let's say a patient shows up with chronic headaches. After exhausting medical approaches they end...William Esteb
Monday Morning Motivation.
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Are Things a Mess?tag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7872013-04-22T21:57:13Z2013-05-20T22:00:27ZSuccess does not flow into disorder, chaos or uncertainty. If you're not experiencing the patient volume and follow through you'd like, chances are you have pockets of doubt, areas of confusion or certain aspects of your practice (or your life)...William EstebSuccess does not flow into disorder, chaos or uncertainty.
If you're not experiencing the patient volume and follow through you'd like, chances are you have pockets of doubt, areas of confusion or certain aspects of your practice (or your life) you don't want to look at.
This produces a lack of clarity, limits the performance of your practice and the joy you deserve to receive from it.
The Conversation changes that. This 30-day program isn't a seminar. It's not a rah-rah session. And it's not a touchy-feely chiropractic "experience!"
Instead, the journaling assignments, concluding with the intimate debrief with no more than 9 other growth-minded chiropractors that
Reveals scotomas and blind spotsUncovers unhelpful beliefsProduces "ah-has" and eurekasShows you ways to be more resourcefulCreates an action plan for growth
Get your head back into the game. (The game has changed.) Resolve the conflicting beliefs you have about practice. (You've done all the easy stuff.) Accept that your practice will grow only when you do. It doesn't happen any other way.
Denver Conversation #26 Enrollment closes May 3 (Call Leslyn (800) 486-2337)
London Conversation #27 Enrollment closes May 30 (Call Melissa 01752 658785)]]>
Monday Morning Motivation | Lies Patients Believetag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7762013-04-22T13:00:51Z2013-05-20T21:56:46ZThinking you can convince or "educate" patients into the importance of maintaining their health is a fool's errand. Whether or not someone attends to their "soul package" and invests in habits that advance their health is not because they don't...William Esteb
Monday Morning Motivation.
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Increase Your Influence and Authoritytag:www.patientmedia.com,2013:/blog//5.7822013-04-21T16:30:28Z2013-05-08T16:31:10ZIt's well known that patients make decisions emotionally, and attempt to back up their decision with the facts. Which is why maximizing case acceptance requires the proper packaging and reporting of your findings and care recommendations. Our VIP Report of...William Esteb
It's well known that patients make decisions emotionally, and attempt to back up their decision with the facts. Which is why maximizing case acceptance requires the proper packaging and reporting of your findings and care recommendations.
Our VIP Report of Findings System is quick to prepare, easy to use and communicates trust on several key levels:
Organizes Your Findings - It's a coordinated communication system that reassures patients, increases confidence and presents irrefutable evidence for the needed care.
Makes Your Recommendations Tangible - In many ways you're actually selling the promise of hope that your care recommendations will achieve. These documents say, "Trust me."
Persuades Skeptical Spouses - Don't overlook the decision maker who isn't at your report! Equip patients with what they need to recreate your explanations and get approval to begin care.
Listen to an actual report using these tools and see examples of how each form increases your influence and authority.]]>
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Do patients know what their job is to enhance the healing process? Or have you singlehandedly taken on the business of restoring their health?
If you have, no wonder you're tired!
Use our 10 Ways to Help Us Help You poster to quickly communicate what patients can do to enhance the recovery process. These 10 suggestions range from drinking more water to reducing emotional stress and everything in between.
Or present these 10 suggestions as part of your report of findings using the handy 8 1/2" by 11" tear off version. As a constant reminder, have each patient post their copy on their refrigerator or the inside of their medicine cabinet.
Chiropractic care, if it's anything, is a partnership. Make sure every patient knows his or her responsibilities. When you do, you'll turn the typical "Fix me!" attitude into a cooperative collaboration that will enhance the speed of their recovery while increasing patient satisfaction with your care.]]>
Virtually every patient has heard the myth about getting sucked into some chiropractic cult or getting addicted to adjustments. Oh, they rarely speak it, but they filter your every word and action through this lens.
Address it head on.
"Have you heard the one about once you go to a chiropractor you have to go for the rest of your life? I just want you to know that that's not true. Now, some of our patients choose to see us on a regular basis to help stay well, but that's up to you. The fact is, there's five ways to use chiropractic care..."
And you point to the How Far wall chart or refer to the How Far handout, showing the five motives for seeking chiropractic care: relief, correction, maintenance, prevention and wellness.
Mission accomplished.]]>
Postcards are the perfect way to remind patients that you still think of them as part of your "tribe," even though they aren't under active care.
We've turned the graphics of some of our most popular wall posters into reminder postcards. No need to get heavy-handed. A sentence or two is all you need. Or offer a quick health tip. Such as...
"Remember to drink lots of water as it heats up this summer!"
"Hope your adjustments are still holding. If not, give us a call."
"We were thinking about you at a recent staff meeting. Hope all is well."
"How's your golf game? Time for a tune-up?"
You get the idea. Keep your message short. You're simply jogging their memory and letting them know you were thinking of them.]]>
Chiropractic is a simple idea. Powerful, but simple.
It's so tempting to add extraneous detail. Or include superfluous elements.
But not this brochure!
It's taken 30 years for Bill to simplify the explanation of chiropractic to its essential essence. The result is 11 compelling images accompanied by a mere 133 words. (By way of contrast, the Monday Morning Motivation messages are 150 words.) In other words, short.
No bones. No spines. And not one reference to pain.
This brochure is sure to become your new favorite. It's the perfect outline for a spinal care class. It's an ideal way to facilitate referrals. It's a powerful tool that communicates chiropractic principles to today's visually-oriented patients with short attention spans.
Read the You & Chiropractic brochure online. US customers can buy online or call (800) 486-2337.]]>
Success does not flow into disorder, chaos or uncertainty.
If you're not experiencing the patient volume and follow through you'd like, chances are you have pockets of doubt, areas of confusion or certain aspects of your practice (or your life) you don't want to look at.
This produces a lack of clarity, limits the performance of your practice and the joy you deserve to receive from it.
The Conversation changes that. This 30-day program isn't a seminar. It's not a rah-rah session. And it's not a touchy-feely chiropractic "experience!"
Instead, the journaling assignments, concluding with the intimate debrief with no more than 9 other growth-minded chiropractors that