June 2007

Generate more referrals using your adjusting instrument

by Dr. Eric M. Osansky

As you know, referrals make the very best patients. If you use an instrument to adjust patients in your practice, then you have a greater ability to receive many referrals each month.

Your patients will undoubtedly have friends, relatives, and co‑workers who need and want your services but are uncomfortable about going to a chiropractor. While you could attract some of these "scared" prospects through external marketing, there will still be some people who need that extra nudge before calling to schedule an appointment.

For example, if you've been in practice long enough, I'm sure you've had at least a few patients who came to see you only because their spouses "talked them into it." If it wasn't for the encouragement of their significant other, they might never have called your practice. So, while using effective "instrument adjusting marketing" strategies could bring in some of these "fraidy cats," you will miss out on many new patients if you rely on external marketing alone and don't take the necessary steps to stimulate referrals from your patients.

Here are a few different ways you could generate more referrals with the help of your adjusting instrument:

1. Teach your patients how to convey the benefits of your instrument to others. There is an excellent chance you lose a decent number of referrals each month because your patients inject even more skepticism and apprehension into people they are trying to refer to you. Even though instrument adjusting techniques are extremely safe and gentle, some of the descriptions your patients give of them could intimidate and thereby deter people who might otherwise have called your office to schedule an appointment.

What you need to do is not only educate your patients about the function and benefits of your adjusting instrument, but you also need to show them how to properly explain this to people they know.

2. Give your patients handouts and/or videos to pass along to their friends and relatives. Rather than risk having a patient scare someone off by offering an intimidating description of your instrument adjusting technique, give the patient a brochure that "does the talking," so that he or she could simply hand this information to people who might be interested in your services.

Another option is to create a "demonstration DVD" where you would personally take a few minutes to explain the function and benefits of your adjusting instrument to the prospect, perform a demonstration with the instrument, and perhaps include a few patient testimonials to further convince the prospect to take action. While creating your own demonstration DVD might seem to be intimidating, doing so isn't too difficult, is cost effective, and all it takes is one additional new patient to make it worth the effort.

3. Use patient workshops as a way to demonstrate the function and benefits of your instrument. You could also conduct patient workshops and encourage your patients to bring people they know. In fact, if you currently conduct a spinal care class you could incorporate the demonstration into this presentation. Because this is a live event, guests who are attending will also have the opportunity to ask you questions should they remain anxious and/or skeptical after the workshop is through.

If you're not getting as many referrals as you think you should, then you should strongly consider following this advice. And if you have any doubt as to whether or not your patients are properly conveying the function and benefits of your adjusting instrument to people they know, all you need to do is ask them to explain this information to you. In fact, you might want to have them do this right after the report of findings, just to make sure they understand the function and benefits.

Another good time to "test" them is when they begin seeing results, because this is the time when they are the most likely to refer. And even if they're able to offer a good explanation immediately after the report of findings, chances are they will forget a lot of this information after a few days or weeks have passed. This, of course, is why it's important to continuously provide education to your patients.

So, never assume that your patients will give an adequate description of your "unique treatment methods." You need to take the time to educate them, teach them how to explain the function and benefits of your instrument adjusting technique to others, and if necessary, use additional material or workshops to properly educate people they know. By doing this, you're sure to create a ton of patient referrals each month!

(Dr. Eric M. Osansky, a Life University Graduate, is president of Instrument Adjusting Marketing Solutions, which has helped hundreds of chiropractors use their adjusting instrument to take their practice to the next level and beyond. Visit his website InstrumentAdjustingSuccess.com and subscribe to his FREE six‑part e‑mail mini‑course on how to promote your adjusting instrument, and to receive information about his new book, "Instrument Adjusting Riches." For more information, e‑mail Dr. Osansky at instrumentdc@aol.com.)