November 2005

Putting on a fourth‑quarter rally

by Dr. CJ Mertz

The last three months of the year represent an enormous opportunity for growth in your practice. Statistically, chiropractors post their biggest growth in the fourth quarter. I'm expecting my clients to grow at least 50 patient adjustments per week by following this fourth‑quarter rally plan:

***  Step One ‑‑ Make it a contest. You need to call a friend today and throw down the gauntlet. Set a goal and, between your two practices, see which gets there first. If the goal is net growth, then you can compete with another practice of any size! Decide on a reward for the winner to make it even more exciting. In this game, the loser still wins because everybody grows.

***  Step Two ‑‑ Rally your team. Take your team out to lunch together and give them a halftime pep talk about the importance of achieving this goal. Have each person come up with at least one reason why it will be worth working hard to reach the goal. Design a cool bonus for your team when they reach the goal, so that everybody's participation is 100 %.

***  Step Three ‑‑ Play to your strengths. Now is not the time to develop a new skill. Instead, evaluate your strengths as individuals and as a team. If you're awesome at screenings, go on a screening frenzy. If you know how to make radio or newspaper ads work, kick them into gear. If doing patient appreciation days or referral contests in‑office is a strength, get ready to party! Determine how many new patients you wish to attract in the next three months and watch your internal and external marketing campaign to achieve your goal! (If you're stuck in this area and aren't really sure what to do, call Tony at 877‑TEAM‑WLP and he'll give you our 90‑day, fool‑proof, new patient marketing formula.)

***  Step Four ‑‑ Plan your work, then work your plan. In order to win, you'll have to tighten up in a few key areas of your practice. You simply can't tolerate missed visits if you plan to grow quickly. I teach my clients to start a contest with their patients where people can win prizes for maintaining 100% of their scheduled visits over a given period of time (usually between 30 and 60 days). It keeps everyone focused on the purpose of their care so results improve significantly.

The next area to tighten up is your re‑exams. Make sure they happen every 12 visits for maximum effectiveness, and allow your patients the chance to share how their health and life has changed through their chiropractic care. When appropriate, have them write it down right then and there. This shows how important their progress is to you. Proper frequency of quality control and testimonial gathering can lead to a doubling of your referrals (as well as an office full of excited patients).

***  Step Five ‑‑ Ready, fire, aim! Did you call your partner yet to set up the contest? If not, put this column down and make the call ‑‑ then come back and finish reading. This is exactly how successful teams blow away goals...they take ACTION.

***  Step Six ‑‑ Practice at the speed of your goal, not your schedule book. So often, I see my clients growing, but they haven't improved their capacity to allow for the increase of patients. Check your check‑in and check‑out procedures. Check your adjustment time. Check your paperwork cycle and make sure it can work smoothly at the new level of growth. Change now and avoid the stress of trying to correct the problem in the middle of your growth.

***  Step Seven ‑‑ Review step five!

***  Step Eight ‑‑ Practice the gift of giving. This year, plan to have either a fantastic canned goods drive before Thanksgiving or an awesome toys‑for‑tots program before the holidays. Show your community spirit by helping those less fortunate, and your patients will reward you by telling everyone what you're doing. Imagine 50 new patients deciding to schedule with you for the exchange of canned goods or a toy that will go and help someone else. Everyone wins, it feels great, and you're on your way to reaching your goal.

***  Step Nine ‑‑ Success happens one day at a time. Meet with your team before you start each day and review the goal. Agree on what tasks, actions and changes you will accomplish today. This builds huge confidence as you move forward. Get together at the end of each day to see how everyone did. Regardless of the outcome, applaud the effort and prepare for a great day tomorrow. Winners can slip but they never quit. Never.

***  Step Ten ‑‑ Hold yourself accountable for taking the right actions at the right time. Nothing is more deflating to achieving a goal than making silly mistakes and missing easy opportunities. Hiring a coach will give you an unfair advantage for growth, because a good coaching program is going to help you make the right plan and stick to it. Our clients expect at least a five‑to‑one return on their coaching investment, which makes hitting goals that much sweeter.

(Dr. CJ Mertz is executive director of ChiroUSA, and founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice [WLP] chiropractic training organization. See the WLP 300 patient per week opportunity on the back page of this issue. For information on WLP coaching services, call Tony Shinn at 877‑TEAM‑WLP.)