Chiropractors are always looking for simple, ethical and upfront ways to grow their practices. As we move through the "dog days" of summer, it's more important than ever to exercise these strategies so that your practice don't experience the unsettling seasonal dips and declines that can be so customary at this time of the year.

Here are two proven, high integrity processes you can utilize to grow your practice now and throughout the rest of the year without ever having to increase your overhead:

1. Make lifetime care recommendations. Extend your patient recommendations so that they are more in line with your chiropractic truth. You should be making care recommendations to your patients that mirror your own beliefs and participation in chiropractic.

For example, if you've been recommending three months of care to your patients that will only cover the basics, then why not consider recommending six months to a year's worth of care to get them way beyond their symptoms and into wellness and optimum health?

Imagine how your practice would grow even if you went through the entire summer without one new patient, but you decided to increase the current length of your patients' recommendations by 50%. Your practice would still grow by 50% without any increase in overhead. When 50% of your patients decide to stay twice as long, just think of what it could do for your practice and for your patients!

I'm not suggesting you make recommendations that aren't right for your patients. I am saying, don't cut them short either just because you think that their insurance might not pay for it or because you're trying to give them a quick fix for whatever ails them.

Don't be afraid to make the recommendations that you know will support your patients over the long-term and throughout their lives, and then let them choose the level of commitment that they are willing to make to their health.

The beauty of making lifetime recommendations is that not only are you doing the right thing for the patient, but you will double your practice without ever having to spend a nickel to market your services to a new patient. In fact, chiropractors who extend their recommendations in this manner, typically find that at least 50% of their patients accept the care plans they recommend.

Here is a simple dialogue you can use to invite your current patients to extend their recommendations:

"Mary, you seem to be really happy with your chiropractic care. Are you? Well, let me ask you this. If there were some other ways that chiropractic could help you to improve your health and your quality of life, would you want me to share them with you?" When she says "yes," invite her and her family to your Human Potential Program or set up a special consultation time to explain the big picture and just how affordable and accessible chiropractic care can be for everyone in the family under your family fee system.

2. Specialize in adjusting whole families instead of just individuals. Make your new motto to fill your practice "one family at a time," instead of one patient at a time. Give your patients the option and encourage them to bring their family members in with them when they come in for an adjustment. Make sure that all of your marketing, communications and referral mechanisms target families rather than individuals.

Just think of the impact this strategy could have on your practice. It's a fact that D.C.s who have invested the time and energy in educating their patients about the lifetime benefits of chiropractic care for all ages, report having a 50% acceptance rate when they do.

Start making the offer to your patients, who you already know are happy with the care and the results they have received. Remember, if just 50% of your patients brought in one additional family member, your practice would grow by 50% with no increase in overhead.

This is a plan that you can put into place today, without even changing your recommendations, that will result in a 50% increase in your volume. This means that if your current new patient load is 20 per month, it will increase to 30 per month overnight!

Now, if you really want to accelerate the growth of your practice, consider combining both of these growth strategies at the same time. Extend your recommendations and invite people to enroll with their families. If you grew by 50% in each of these areas, then your practice would grow by a total of 100%, which means that you could double your practice with no increase in overhead, and no gimmicks or games.