Whether or not your patients are talking about you depends on the kind of office you run. If your mindset, office procedures and patient education create an environment for patients to talk about you they will. Excited and enthusiastic patients refer, not patients who have experienced "miracles."

If you want proof, ask yourself where are the one or two adjustment wonders who have walked through your doors over the years? They are very satisfied with your care (a few visits or a few weeks) and would return if their condition returned, but forget about talking about you on a continual basis. Another missed opportunity for referrals.

One fact that exists in society today is that upbringing or past history influences adult views and behaviors regarding health. If people hate doctors, and won't go unless they're dying, you're going to have problems with these patients from the outset.

"Why do I need x-rays, why do you have to perform an exam?" "Are you a real doctor?" "I can't afford it." "Three times a week are you crazy?" At Renaissance, we don't attract this patient profile. These kinds of patients seem to find offices that will foster their lack of self-responsibility and encourage them to continue this disempowering way of living.

The next category includes patients who find themselves hurt, sick, or chronically ill. Due to their upbringing they will participate in your office as a late or last resort.

Be honest with yourself and look at your case histories under doctors seen for this condition. You are always second, third or tenth on the list, never first. As soon as these patients sense some improvement they're gone.

They begin missing adjustments, and start saying things like, "I'm busy." "My insurance doesn't cover this." "I have to travel out of town." They are losing altitude for your recommendations, and there isn't a thing you can do. You can tell them of the consequences of discontinuing care, but because of their past history they will take that chance every time. This is how they live their lives.

There is a way out of this trap. You must know the secret of communicating to them that there is something above and beyond their stated complaint. If you know how, this communication is done automatically by your mindset, office procedures and patient education. If your procedures concentrate on symptoms, patients will continue their (erroneous) belief that health is how they feel. You must communicate that they have a hidden health hazard that is deadly to their expression of life and health.

If you communicate wellness from first contact with patients of this type, they will stay long enough to remove the latest layer of damage to their spine. When they fully comply with your recommendations, they feel a sense of accomplishment and will return in the future should their condition return, without any feelings of shame for not completing their care recommendations. For the average adult this amounts to three times a week for three months. The average for people with conditions, such as low back pain, is about 8-17 visits.

Then, there are the patients already into wellness as they know it. They drink bottled water (find the report that this does anything... it's a belief), they exercise, and are vitally interested in bringing out the best in their children. The only reason they are not in your office is because they think that chiropractic is for low back pain and car wrecks only.

Whose fault is this? The longer we as a profession cling to eating chickens for the short term meal instead of having eggs for life, society will pass us by in search of true wellness practitioners.

If you know the secret of communicating wellness to people who are already going your way, they start talking about you. They get very excited and enthusiastic about another member of the team who promotes greater expression for their family. The wonderful thing about this group of people is that they tend to refer in their parents as well as their children. In fact, a large motivating factor in their quest for wellness is the lack of health in their parents' generation.

Getting your patients to talk about you will save you large sums of money every year in unnecessary advertising costs. When "talkers" refer patients, they are just like them. They are proud of you, proud of your office, and proud of chiropractic. And they're not afraid to talk about it.