June 2004

Increase your referrals immediately

by Dr. Eric Plasker

Ask any chiropractor what his or her favorite source of new patients is and they will probably say referrals. Referral patients are revered because they don't usually have to be "sold" on your services. They almost always come in already committed and trusting in you and the services your office provides. They are "lagniappe" from your loyal patients, but they don't have to be.

Referrals don't have to be an occasional extra bonus for services that were well provided to others. With the proper systems in place, your referral flow can go from a haphazard trickle to a steady stream of chiropractic patients and revenue.

Whenever patients tell you that they're getting great results or that they know someone who might benefit from your services, make sure you initiate this dialogue: "Why do you think they could benefit?" Then, let them tell you why.

When you do this, you are giving them the opportunity to express their feelings about chiropractic and why they think that person is a good candidate. When they have finished and you have listened very well, ask them what would be the best way for you to communicate with this person so that he or she understands the benefits of chiropractic.

They may suggest that you give the person an audiovisual tape or reading material to take to the referral. Or, they might ask if they can bring their friend to watch them get adjusted or attend one of your lectures. Whatever the response is, wouldn't it be advantageous for you to have all of these resources laid out in advance so that you or your staff could quickly go into your referral system and make them available?

To be effective, you should have dozens of audiotapes and videotapes on hand. These are a great way for people who can't ‑‑ or won't ‑‑ come to a live lecture to receive information about chiropractic.

Referral keys

Here are some solid ways to increase your referrals:

‑‑ Make moms a referral target. In the March 1997 issue of the Ladies Home Journal, a study revealed that women make more than 70% of all the health decisions for their families. They were also responsible for over two‑thirds of their family's visits to doctors and pharmacists. Mothers will speak passionately to people (and other mothers) about their doctors and health care choices. Give them a reason to speak with passion about you and your services.

‑‑ Create and post a special events calendar. It should promote your Raising a Healthy Drug Free Family, Human Potential, New Patient Orientation, Chiropractic Mother's Morning Out and/or other educational programs. Have them ready to handout to patients and potential referrals, and make sure that you update it each month.

‑‑ Share chiropractic testimonials with patients. If they've had a great experience at your office, bring it up, and get them feeling their results again and talking about it to others.

‑‑ Ask for their help. Spreading the word about chiropractic is a big job. Tell your patients that you can't do it all by yourself!

‑‑ Create referral or Raisin' packets and always have your referral material ready to hand deliver to anyone who's interested. If you have to scramble around at the last minute to assemble these things, your office will appear unprepared and disorganized. You'll block your capacity for self‑promotion and sabotage your own attempts to expand your practice patient volume.

Preparedness is the name of the game with referrals.

As I talked about previously regarding proactive referral strategies, there's a 10‑1 return ratio that you can expect from your Raisin' packets. In other words, for every 10 pre‑prepared packets you successfully hand out, you can expect to earn one new patient. If your aim is to enroll 10 new patients, your staff will need to prepare 100 of these packets in advance ‑‑ 250 for 25 new patients and 500 packets if you want to sign‑up 50 new patients.

Chiropractors are continually amazed at how these marketing statistics hold true. Don't hesitate to test the waters. Prepare yourself today and expect referrals, referrals, and more referrals tomorrow.

(Eric Plasker, DC, is the founder of The Family Practice Program where he is training chiropractors to build the practice of their dreams. For seminar, coaching, training, or product information call 770‑509‑9938, ext. 105. Or visit the Family Practice Program website at www.worldchiro.com)