If you want to avoid the typical peak and valley type practice, you need to develop a marketing calendar that incorporates spinal screenings.

Most doctors think of spinal screening as attending the annual health fair. True, a health fair would be considered the model screening venue, but with the right system, spinal screening opportunities are endless.

Of course, spinal screenings are public service events that promote spinal education and offer the suffering individual help. Many screening venues can result in large numbers of new patients, but I'm going to focus on versatility and constant practice growth.

Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of spinal screening is that you can build a positive public image and become the "spinal expert" in your area.

Before I get into the many different types of screening opportunities, I would like to say that spinal screening works because it allows you an interactive face-to-face meeting with prospective patients.

I once read that the average American is "sold to" over a thousand times each day. You can't avoid TV, print ads, radio, and word of mouth unless you live in a cave. With so much exposure to selling, I think that we all become a bit skeptical, even when it comes to health care. Based on an advertisement, would you call a car dealer and buy a car over the phone? A lot of people are hesitant to make health care choices based on advertising. Think of spinal screening as a way of you taking your clinic out for people to test drive!

Screening opportunities vary from in-office to out-of-the-office events to public speaking events. That's right, public speaking. If done correctly, public speaking is perhaps the best kept secret in building and maintaining a practice. I prefer to call it "public interaction" and the right way to do it is to utilize a speaking program that limits your speaking and shifts the bulk of your time to interacting through spinal screening.

Think about any meeting you've attended as an audience member. Wouldn't it have been more interesting and even fun if you could have interacted and experienced the topic first hand? Public interaction would include safety talks at any business or place of industry, and health care classes for service clubs, government agencies, unions, etc.

The key to a result-oriented program is to combine useful information with visual feedback screening. When people are visually shown their posture and how it relates to their health, they understand the connection.

Even if you are a new doctor to your area, you will quickly become known as the "spinal expert." Think about what it would do for your public image and for your practice if you could go into one business, organization, or government agency per week and give everyone there some spinal education and an exam.

Returning to the marketing calendar, you must actually get a calendar and strategically determine how many new patients you want each week/month. Use the right screening system. You'll need it to be user-friendly, so you, your staff, or a part-time marketing director can implement it. You'll want it to be easy to explain and understand, as well as portable and versatile.

Contact your local Chamber of Commerce, the director of the local events center, and your local mall director, and ask each for a list of upcoming events. Develop a relationship (give a safety class for their employees) with several stores near your office such as Target or Wal-mart and hold periodic public screenings there.

Include public interaction screening classes at businesses and for community groups. Hold a biannual "Patient Appreciation Day" at your office in conjunction with a local charity such as the humane society. Make it a service day, contact and reactivate old patients, let your patients bring in their friends and family for a free screening.

As you can see, spinal screening can be much more than attending the annual health fair. Over time you will be able to fine tune your marketing calendar and maintain the practice you desire.