August 2005

How to get your patients to commit

by Dr. Greg Loman

Have you ever wondered why your patients don't commit, pay, stay and refer?

If so, then you've yet to develop one consistent trait that all high volume chiropractors possess. All high volume DCs have the ability to communicate patients' needs ‑‑ and lead them to act.

The missing link in many situations is getting a patient to act. In the mid 1960s, a social psychologist Levanthal wanted to see if he could persuade a group of college seniors at Yale to get a tetanus shot. He divided them into several groups and gave them a seven‑page pamphlet explaining the dangers of tetanus and the fact that they were giving free shots at the school clinic.

One booklet described the dangers of tetanus with moderate language and no pictures. The second booklet was considered the "high fear" version, which described tetanus in dramatic terms, and included photographs of children with catheters and having tetanus seizures. Levanthal wanted to see what impact the different booklets would have on the student's attitude toward tetanus and getting shots.

The results were quite predictable. When questioned, the high fear version group had elevated knowledge of the dangers of tetanus and was more convinced of the importance of needing a shot. Members of this group were also more likely to say they were getting the free shot. After one month Levanthal evaluated how many students received the shots and found that just three percent had followed through. Both the high fear and low fear group had the same result. The results astonished the psychologist.

He went back to the drawing board and changed one aspect of the booklet. He added a map of the campus with the clinic and circled the hours. The results were astonishing, 28% of the students then went to get their free shot. They concluded the information was not the factor that caused them to act. It was the map. They literally gave them the map to act.

Are you directing your patients with a powerful map to act?

There are three things that develop a high volume practice:

1. A powerful message (subluxation is dangerous).

2. A specific process that can handle volume.

3. An education process that develops a clear map that causes the patient to act, commit, pay, stay and refer (don't forget get well).

Individual chiropractors and our profession have created a road block that's stopped the community from acting. We haven't properly given them a clear tool that communicates the message and the map.

This month, Dr. Ben Lerner and I will see our book, "One Minute Wellness," published by Nelson, hit book stores all over the world. This book clearly communicates the message of chiropractic with more than 70 research articles providing the science behind our message. We've set up a website that will create the map to "push" chiropractic patients into our offices. The book has 15 of our profession's leaders as co‑authors and is predicted to be the largest book on chiropractic in our history.

In order to get the planet to act on the message of chiropractic, we need to gather our resources, ideas and action steps to get the community to act. The above research was taken from a book titled, "The Tipping Point," by Malcolm Gladwell. It powerfully describes how to create that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire. Help chiropractic spread like wildfire and purchase 25, 50 or 100 books so we can gather and create a tipping point for chiropractic.

We'll be doing a free conference call to show you how you can help get chiropractic on the map and put 100 new patients in your office. Don't miss it.

(Dr. Greg Loman and Dr. Ben Lerner created Teach the World About Chiropractic ‑‑ a coaching, seminar, and product company ‑‑ and Body by God Intl in an effort to change our culture and move the world toward the power of chiropractic thinking. Dr. Lerner is author of the New York Times best‑selling book, "Body by God: The Owner's Manual For Maximized Living." Drs. Loman and Lerner, maintaining two of the highest‑volume clinics in chiropractic, have a new book coming out in August from Thomas Nelson Publishing, titled: "One Minute Wellness.")