New Patient Season

by William D. Esteb

As the practice environment continues to go through the turmoil of reduced third party reimbursement, more and more chiropractors are watching their new patient statistics dwindle. As the lifeblood of most practices, a lack of new patients is a serious concern. It has resulted in a myriad of solutions, everything from diversification through some type of multi-level marketing plan to Internet home pages. While there are just enough successful examples of these techniques to seemingly validate them, the vast majority of practitioners appear lost and increasingly nervous.

Like patients who imagine their bodies as a mechanism, many chiropractors seem to believe that there is some single "thing" they can do, buy, or implement that can produce new patients. This mechanistic approach is doomed to failure because getting new patients isn't a matter of finding some hidden on/off switch. It is a process.

Process rarely offers the instant gratification that is needed when bill collectors come calling. Some of the most important events, even life itself is a process. Summer, fall, winter, and spring. Pupa, larva, adult. Beginning, middle, and end. Crawl, walk, and run. Preparation, sowing, and reaping. Full moon, quarter, half, three quarters, and new. Ignore the organic process of getting new patients; treat new patient acquisition as a simple act of cause and effect, and you're bound to be disappointed.

Most chiropractors enjoy reaping new patients. In fact, most chiropractors only consider the reaping event when thinking about new patients. The months and sometimes years that it takes for a patient to finally gather the gumption to call the office is all but ignored. Getting new patients is attributed to the final step used by some patients who claim they found out about the office from the yellow pages. While that may be true, there's much more to it. How did the notion of chiropractic enter their mind? What other ways have they tried to deal with their aches and pains? What has caused them to decide now, rather than last week or last month? What have they heard about chiropractic? What is their greatest concern or apprehension about trying chiropractic now? Most chiropractors are so interested in new patients they rarely consider the process leading up to the patient's decision. Failing to understand this process, especially the technique of sowing "new patient seeds" places many practices at risk.

Virtually every chiropractic office is well versed in harvesting new patients. When presented with a willing spine, every office is equipped to process the patient and lay the groundwork for what is usually a successful doctor/patient relationship. The key operative phrase is "when presented with a willing spine." Few offices know how to cultivate willing spines. Instead, most offices simply wait, hoping that they can glean enough new patients from the efforts of other doctors, or they expect the unpredictable winds of patient referrals to favor them with new converts. This largely passive role, depending upon superior results and some yellow page advertising, appeared to actually work in an era of abundant insurance money.

The offices that are continuing to thrive in these changing times are good at sowing. They are just as interested in planting as harvesting. As a result, they have no shortage of new patients because of the many years of seed planting.

They sow with abandonment. They know the law of averages will be with them if they sow enough seeds. Yes, some seeds will land on the rocky soil of the entrenched medical model. Others will wither in the sun of skepticism. But the most coveted are those in which the chiropractic principle makes sense and germinates into a full-fledged patient. While those lacking sufficient new patients may acknowledge this model, they often get derailed attempting to ignore the rocks and the weeds. With a lack of faith or in the name of efficiency they become too miserly with their seed and miss the 100-fold return on their investment of time and energy. Abundance is almost always rewarded with abundance.

There are many ways to sow the seeds that can germinate into new patients. With nothing new under the sun, you have probably heard these before. Their success in producing the coveted new patients that doctors want is in direct proportion to the risk that accompanies them. This risk may be time, energy, or money and may require patience, discipline, courage, or some other resource that may be in short supply.

If you find yourself in the stressful situation of lacking a sufficient number of new patients, here are some sowing techniques.

Business cards. Probably one of the least costly yet most powerful hybrid new patient seed is the one most taken for granted. I am constantly astounded by the number of chiropractors I meet, who when asked for their business card, fumble, pat their pockets, go through their wallets, and either come up empty-handed, or produce a dirty, dog-eared card that has been used as a note pad!

These new patients seeds are cheap. The idea is to get rid of as many of them as possible each day. This really means you need to be in contact with as many people you don't know as possible. It's no surprise that the chiropractors who lack new patients are the same chiropractors who rarely encounter strangers. Instead, they exist in their own self-made cocoon of acquaintances.

By the way, why not use the blank back side of your card to educate, share your philosophy, motivate, or remove the apprehensions that new patients have? Even better. Why not have a Monday business card, a Tuesday business card, etc.? "Hi, good to see you. Here, let me give you my card... already have a card? Oh, you probably got my Monday card. Here's my Friday card."

Aggressively friendly. This is the term used by the Disney organization to describe the personality trait of volunteering a "Hello!" when meeting a stranger, or, in some other way, taking the first step to start a conversation. At the grocery store, waiting in line at the movie theater, and hundreds of other situations, smile and introduce yourself. It costs nothing and the only risk is that some stranger may have had a negative chiropractic experience and berate you and your profession in public. Highly unlikely.

Reveal your identity. Become a walking billboard for chiropractic. I'm not talking about putting a magnetic sign on the side of your car. Yet, many chiropractors seem to prefer to be validated by wearing the Ralph Lauren or Nike logo on their shirts, rather than proclaim their involvement in chiropractic.

There is a lot of attractive and sophisticated looking clothing with chiropractic statements and graphics these days. Better yet. Take some of polo shirts or other non-branded clothing to the embroidery boutique at the mall and have them apply your own custom message. How about, "I know why chiropractic works!" Test it if you must, but if you simply have the name of your chiropractic clinic sewn on, curious, prospective new patients will simply expect the "company line" from you and not even approach to ask a question. The whole idea is to prompt questions. Avoid the temptation to harvest too quickly!

Public speaking. You've heard this a million times and there is a reason for that: it's effective. Of course, you'll have to face the risk of confronting one of the most commonly mentioned fears in the world, however the harvest is a high-octane new patient. These are the new patents that have had a chance to get acquainted with you, your philosophy, and have some of their questions answered before making the huge commitment of coming to your office.

Civic groups, social clubs, service organizations, and senior centers are logical starting places. Again, the key is not to attempt to harvest! Remain focused on the job of simply planting seeds. Do you trust the simplicity and common sense of the chiropractic principle or not? If your intention is to merely share information that the drug money-soaked media is unwilling to distribute, your presentation will be more powerful, more attractive, and more likely to produce a crop of new patients. Allowing it to degenerate into a sales session merely pollutes the waters.

Reactivations. Like a macho, womanizing singles bar patron looking for a new conquest, most chiropractors virtually ignore their trophy case of inactive patient files. If your patients discontinue care once they feel better like so many other chiropractors, they are likely to have a relapse. Are they going to feel comfortable calling your office to reactivate? Or will there be some residual unresolved conflict associated with how they repeatedly made and broke their appointments in an effort to extricate themselves from your office? Make sure that your inactive patients know that a relapse is common, why it is common, and how you and your staff have a particular fondness for reestablishing contact with inactive patients and that they will be welcomed back.

There are many offices reporting their best year ever. Offices that remain optimistic and excited about the future. Yes, they deliver excellent clinical service. Yes, they have engaging personalities and project an attitude of abundance. Yes, they are having fun and love their patients and their practices. Even more amazing, is that very few of them use any of the previously mentioned techniques! Instead, they are so focused on building a bridge; nurturing a relationship that patients find attractive and compelling, that the referral process serves all their new patient needs. No need to ask for referrals. No need to beg for referrals. By simply being profoundly humbled by the opportunity to serve and by regularly delighting their patients, the universe rewards them with a bumper crop of patients, even during a drought.

Excerpted from
Looking Up
Originally published in 1998
240 Pages
US $24.95

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