Getting Your First Patient

by William D. Esteb

Either larger than life, or at least in the back of the minds of all too many new graduates is how to get the first new patients and get their practice off the ground. While I've never had to start a practice from the get go, I get asked frequently at seminars conducted in cities near chiropractic colleges, how to launch a brand new practice. My explanation, that I'm much more interested in what it takes to keep patients returning for wellness care falls on deaf ears. Students want specifics. What should I do? What do I say? How do I get new patients into my new office so I can keep them? How do I convince the public of the value of consulting a brand new doctor? If I remember, I tell these students the story of the well in the desert.

Seems there was this famous trading route through the desert. Though long abandoned due to highways and airplane travel, old maps have shown the routes used by previous generations of spice and silk traders. Discovering one of these old maps, and interested in reliving these ancient caravans, a young entrepreneur set out follow one of these old, and long forgotten trails.

The hot sun, combined with underestimating the need for water, found this adventuresome spirit frantically searching for the fresh water of an oasis clearly identified on the map. Parched, dehydrated and having long ago sucked the moisture out of his thermos and knapsack, the young Indiana Jones came upon the marker identified on the map. Instead of the tall palm trees and crystal blue lagoon he was expecting, he found a large rock and a smaller one next to it.

Desperate for a drink of water, and on the doorstep of death itself, he found a small bottle and a message. The message read, "In the bottle you will find enough water to quench your thirst. Do not drink even a drop of it. You must use this valuable water to prime the pump to the well located under the larger rock. Pour the water down the pipe and pump briskly for several minutes and you will have more water than you will ever need. When you are through, fill the jar and return it with this message for the next thirsty traveler." Shaking, he removed the cork and paused.

What would you do?

Most of us, from a position of relative comfort, supplying the correct answer is easy. Delay gratification for just a few moments on the faith that enough water can be produced to fully satisfy us.

Yet, this rational, even-headed approach is difficult for those with the parched lips. And this is the challenge. From inside a problem, our perspectives get distorted. When we allow fear and doubt to obscure our path, we lose our way and become susceptible to the instant gratification, the quick fix, the short term outlook, and the inclination to treat the symptom, instead of the cause.

Same with getting patients into a new practice or one that has platueed and needs a jumpstart. There are only two basic approaches that really work. Either you get out of your office and entice potential patients to come see you, or you find others to do the same thing for you.

This needn't be as scary as you may think. If your job was to help a nonprofit organization raise a million dollars, you could either find a thousand people with a thousand dollars, or go hang out with people who have a million dollars. I'd go for the million dollar club, myself.

1. Conduct community lectures. Right this very minute, someone in charge of preparing next week's or next month's program at a local service club is pulling their hair out, wondering who they get to come speak. Why not you?

Oh, you're not a public speaker? No problem. Title your presentation something like, "The 10 Biggest Myths About Health." Open with a brief introduction about who you are, where you practice, and why people finally show up in a chiropractic office. List some of the common myths and misconceptions about chiropractic and then open it up for questions. Make it as interactive as possible (if the size of the group allows it) and have the participants do most of the talking. You simply facilitate a discussion about the concepts of cause and effect, the nature of true health, why disease treating wastes valuable time and money, etc.

If the thought of allowing the audience to shape the direction of your talk terrifies you, do a monologue instead, perhaps something that could become your spinal care class. The key point is to get out of your office.

2. Go door to door. I can almost sense your diaphragm tighten with the suggestion to walk your neighborhood. The only problem is, it works. The notion that the patients you want will somehow see your clinic sign as they drive by or will intuitively sense your healing presence and seek you out is just a fantasy.

Remember, you're not going door to door selling vacuum cleaners or doing a hard close for encyclopedias! You're simply introducing yourself, leaving a handout with your photograph, biography and health attitude, and perhaps asking them if they've ever tried chiropractic before. Record their experience with chiropractic on your clipboard and go to the next door. Like the million dollar contributors mentioned earlier, those with past chiropractic experience represent a promising opportunity for the future. Maybe follow up your visit with a thank you card and add their name to your newsletter mailing list.

Will people slam their door in your face? Of course. Will some denigrate the profession you've chosen? Sure. Get used to it. Remember, you've chosen chiropractic! Of course, you can always retreat to your office and wait for the phone to ring.

3. Identify people who need your service. If going door to door made you uncomfortable, tighten your seatbelt! Go to where prospective patients are. Why not spend one day a week visiting the parking lots surrounding hospitals, clinics, and medical buildings. Leave an informational brochure on their windshields. "If you're afraid of surgery or concerned about addictive pain medication, consider a safe, conservative approach first..." Explain the basic chiropractic approach to the proper functioning of the nervous system. Invite those who are interested to call anonymously with their questions. Create some low risk opportunities for them to investigate chiropractic.

4. Influence the influencers. In most cities, the real power isn't in the hands of the mayor or city council. It's in the whims and power ploys of building inspectors, utility permit grantors, and planning officials. These are the real influencers of your community. There are some other influencers you would be wise to nurture: those who sell shoes and those who cut hair.

If I was just starting out, I'd visit every shoe store in the vicinity of my office and I'd buy a pair of shoes. During the sizing and fitting process I'd explain what I do and how the effects of abnormal spinal function often show up in uneven shoe wear. I would equip as many shoe sellers as possible to recognize customers who could be potential chiropractic patients. Buying a series of shoes would be cheaper than printing and postage of direct mail pieces!

Same with people who cut hair. Not only are they on their feet all day, often bending over sinks shampooing hair, they also talk. In fact, they do a lot of talking. They have opinions on just about anything under the sun. I'd make sure that every place that cuts hair in the vicinity of my office was a supporter of chiropractic! They are overlooked influencers who, if treated with respect and care, could be powerful allies in motivating others to investigate chiropractic in your office. Again, frequent trims for an opportunity to inform and influence an influencer would be less expensive than a lot of the new patient gimmicks circulating around chiropractic colleges.

If these ideas make you uncomfortable, good. Because each one treats the symptom of a lack of new patients. Once you have a handful of patients receiving care in your office, you should be able to depend on the referral process. If the referral process isn't working, that's when you should feel real uncomfortable! Established offices that must depend upon techniques like these to continue enticing patients in, should be getting a clear warning that something's not right in the office. Uncover the cause, act on it, and your office make an incredible difference in your community. And isn't making a difference why you chose chiropractic in the first place?