Issue #11 - Feb. 2009

Published by Dr. Timothy Gay, DC
Produced by Gunther Allen

This Issue Covers: Building Your Chiropractic Business and Relationships

The Relationship Driven Practice

by Dr. Timothy J. Gay, DC

Dr. Timothy Gay

You have many varieties of patients that come to your office for your services. Some may come in because they saw one of your external promotions or advertisements. Others may come to your clinic due to a discount program they heard about or saw in an advertising piece you ran in a newspaper.

Where ever your patients are drawn from in your area, there is only one type of patient that stays with you for the long haul, and that is the patient you built a bond or relationship with.

Many doctors have a tendency to take the path of least resistance to gain new patients with the use of marketing and advertising gimmicks. Some of those gimmicks include a type of discounting to attract patients, or outrageous advertising touting a new machine or practice protocol that will build their practice.

Doctors have forgotten the lost art of providing extraordinary service and value that patients are expecting. Relationship building starts with what you give patients before they come to your office. It starts with the front desk chiropractic assistant that has them on the phone assuring them they have made the right decision to come to your clinic. The business side of practice is obviously important, but not nearly as important as building the patient and service relationship. Service is what everyone expects when they go to a restaurant or department store.

This is the most important part of building your relationship with the patient in front of you right now. Patients that are attracted due to external marketing are not the same as those that come from a direct referral. I know that is not genius but if you are basing your practice predominantly on external advertising, your practice foundation is like an inverted pyramid. Patients coming in are like a leaky bucket - they are leaving and not coming back. Relationship building does not mean you need a new friend, it means that you want to develop a doctor patient bond based on their health needs, not your companionship.

Relationship is association or an affiliation with someone based on a common connection. Some of these common connections are due to the atmosphere in your office. What kind of music is playing? Is everyone in the office excited about the practice and truly happy to be working there? Your practice is built on the staff and the doctor being on the same page for the patient or a morale issue may develop. Relationships between the doctor and his team are equally as important as the relationships created with the patient. Patients can sense when there is something wrong in the office and they will discontinue their care because of it.

Do you do the little extras that show you genuinely care about your patients? Such as: fresh flowers, limited waiting time, water dispenser, giving them the benefit of the doubt, remembering them on their birthdays or holidays, creating newsletters, delivering something to their home, nice pens, giveaways that are inexpensive but something they can use. Any special gift that will remind them why they have selected you as their chiropractor.

If you want to keep your patients, get to know them as a person. In the consultation, go over the points necessary for you to understand your patient as more than just a bag of symptoms. Doctors that know how to communicate know that listening is far better in the beginning than over- selling chiropractic. To build a higher level of trust with your patient, you must truly listen to their needs. The patient will give you several cues that will give you the insight you need to build the relationship. Make it all about them and stay focused on their condition and getting a result.

The relationship driven practice will eliminate the need to discount services, look for special attention-grabbers that might stimulate your practice on a short-term basis. You may find the need to increase your external advertising budget. Patients want your undivided attention, and in order to maintain the relationship, there should be no distraction during the time spent with that patient. In all aspects of your life, you should be building strong relationships with as many influential people as you possibly can. Building relationships with other like-minded chiropractors in your area and reaching out to the masses that need our services is an important part of a practice building network.

Our potential and ability depends on each and every one of us contributing to the improvement, wellness, and health of humanity. You never know whose hand you may shake that could be a potential new patient or someone who will help shape or change your life.

Dr. Gay can be reached at
1(866) 797-8366, or e-mail us at ultimatepractice@ultimatepractice.com. For more information on Ultimate Practice, visit their website at www.ultimatepractice.com

The End Cup

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.

—Confucius

House Blend

Creating a Business Plan
for A Company/Practice that is just starting out, or has been around for years

by Gunther Allen

Does your company or practice have a business plan? A business plan is typically required when starting a company or practice. It is also important when trying to procure a line of credit to help grow your business. This plan should clearly identify your goals.

A good business plan includes a balance sheet, an income statement, and a cash flow analysis. Having such a plan will help you make sound decisions and can help your company or practice to correctly allocate resources.
It can also help prevent your business from failing.

Below are some key points to remember when putting together a business plan taken from the Ultimate Practice Business Plan Power Point:

“FAIL TO PLAN, AND YOU PLAN TO FAIL!”

Before you put a pen to paper, find out how to assess your business’s goals and objectives.

You may be held accountable for the projections and proposals in your plan.

Thinking about important decisions now is an important way to minimize the time you spend planning your business later and maximizes the time you spend generating income now.Throughout the writing of your business plan you want to keep in mind your intended audience and why you are writing the plan.
If you are trying to attract investors you will want to emphasize the big upside profit potential.

...Continue
Gunther Allen's article here

Espresso Shots

The Super Service Strategy - Don't Make Sales, Build Relationships

Scott McQuarrie

It doesn't take an economic downturn to get sharp and motivated business people thinking about better sales strategies. On the other hand, it seems to take the prospect of hard times to get other, less "leading edge" thinkers to take a look at how they are marketing their products or services. With the worldwide financial doom and gloom settling in for what looks like a good long while, all of a sudden there's all kinds of talk about mere survival, rather than growth.

On just a basic psychological level, fighting to stand still while others slide back into business failures and bankruptcies may seem a reasonable approach. It isn't. No matter what the economic environment, success only comes from positive, forward-thinking, persistent application of effort, grounded in reality. Business owners need to get the facts, of course, but not let their attitudes be controlled by them, or any other external matters. Simple as it sounds, and hard as it is to manage consistently, keeping a positive mindset is critically important to success in any endeavor.

Customers are assets There's an old saying you don't hear much anymore, that bears repeating and reviving in this day and age. "People don't do business with businesses, people do business with other people." This is just a slightly convoluted way of saying that relationships matter in commerce as much as anywhere else. The truism may not apply to every quick purchase online or lunch from a drive-thru, but it applies quite broadly and is especially prevalent in "B2B" (business to business) transactions.

...Continue
Scott Mc Quarrie's article here

Coffee Grinds

A rich collection of brewed articles written by Dr. Timothy Gay, which have appeared in Chiropractic newspapers and magazines...

...Continue here

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Practice Caffeine Hearts

Webinar and Seminar Schedule

2009 Ultimate Practice Schedule

Seminars

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Fill out your complimentary Practice Analysis

If you would like an opportunity to sponsor a seminar and reach our seminar audience, or would like to organize a seminar of your own - contact Wendy at 866.797.8366 or
e-mail her at the link below:

wendy@ultimatepractice.com

Tip of the Month

10 Tips on how to Market your Practice or Company

by Gunther Allen

The following tips are meant to help build your practice/company, give inspiration or provide a different perspective on what you are doing now.

Don't Think that Your Practice or Company will Market Itself -
Many small business owners think their product or business is so great that they don't need to do any marketing at all - people will flock to you. That's just not true.
Learn More about Your Patients and Customers Needs and Ask for the Referrals! -
Surveys are an inexpensive and easy way to find out what your patients/customers want and need. If you haven't already, create an email list and give out small gifts and awards to people who refer new customers!
Be Positive - Showing any form of negativity may scare people into taking action but will leave a stigma with your business. Don't use the recession or any other negative tactic to get patients or customers to come and see you.
Be Creative and Relevant - What makes you unique from every other practice/company? Your marketing materials should grab attention and stand out from the noise of other advertisers.
Make your Ads Pop and Easy To Find - Don't make customers read or think too much. Patient and customers lose attention easily due to the massive amounts of daily information, so don't overload your ads with too much information. Keep it simple!
Consider Pricing an Initial Visit Low - But, don't get caught up in give aways. Gaining new patients/customers for future sales is worth making the price of the first visit attractive. Give them a discount, but show them the value.
Make Sure to Place an Expiration Date - Create a sense of urgency. If patients/customers see a great promotion but don't feel pressure to act now they'll just put it off until another time.
Use Testimonials - A printed testimonial has a greater perceived level of credibility and makes your services have more value.
Show Solutions your Services Give - You don't have to be a pain clinic, but to increase your value, let the public know what it is that you do to significantly help customers relate to why they should take action.
Don't Play "Monkey-see, Monkey-Do" With Your Competitors -
You should know what your competitors are doing, but you shouldn't copy it just because it works for them.

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