May 2007

Lack of trust is keeping kids from your office

by Dr. Ogi Ressel

Let me be emphatic: Chiropractic is heading in the direction of seeing lots of children and having a family practice ‑‑ much to the chagrin of the medical‑pharmaceutical cartel (a subject for another time).

However, I've talked with a number of doctors lately who feel that the reason they are not seeing children in their practices is because they are not marketing for them ‑‑ they are not marketing for kids.

You're probably thinking, "You know, Dr. Ogi, you're right, I do need to market more to kids." Or, "I need a splashier ad to attract more kids." Or, "I'll have a 'Fun‑Day' in the office. That'll surely bring them in." Or, "I'll run another 'Patient Appreciation Day.' Maybe some parents will bring in their kids." Or, "I know! I'll have some sort of a 'Circus Day.' We'll see tons of kids that way." Or, "I'll try the cookies with each adjustment." Or...

I'm certain you can come up with your own very clever and entertaining ploy to capture these kids you aren't seeing.

But, here's the thing. Why aren't you seeing children in your practice? Think about it. Why is the DC just down the street from you seeing tons of children and families in his or her practice and you aren't? Why is that? What makes that chiropractor's practice different from yours? You've graduated in the same class and from the same school even ‑‑ and you really are good at what you do. You can heal 'em in no time flat! You get amazing results! But... still, no kids. Why IS that?

You've done all the things the practice consultants told you to do. You've watched "The Secret," envisioned kids in your office, had a vision board with kids on it, heard all the CDs and the motivational tapes, read all the motivational books, had a Plan, worked the Plan, tried to sell patients on the idea of seeing children, even pressured them, all to no avail. Still no kids. You're frustrated and just can't figure this out.

Okay. You need to understand two things clearly.

First, you cannot market for children. It doesn't work. Why? Because children don't make health care decisions. Guess who does? Mainly moms! So, everything you do must focus on moms, not children.

Having said that, you really need to get this: Your whole office, AND what you do, needs to appeal to moms. That's the first step ‑‑ and a big one. Think of this for a moment: Would you take your children to a doctor you found as a result of a brilliant marketing campaign?

And here's the main reason doctors don't see children in their practices. It's called TRUST. That's right, TRUST!

Pure and simple, it's a trust issue. As brutal as it sounds, your patients do not trust what you do. End of story. Anyway you slice and dice this, the result is the same ‑‑ trust.

Think of your own family situation.Would your spouse ever take your children to a doctor she or he didn't trust? The answer's obvious, hell would freeze over first. So, why are you surprised? The painful answer is that your patients do not trust what you do. And no amount of marketing will "fix" this.

I've pushed tons of buttons so far, but I plan to push many more because it's my purpose! My purpose is to have you overflowing with tons of children and their parents. I want you to call me and tell me that you simply have no room for all those people who want to see you. Then we'll really get to work!

Look, we have the greatest profession on the planet and yet we're squandering it in the public arena with gimmicks, freebies, high pressure sales pitches, glitzy and sleazy marketing schemes, and tacky salesmanship. Pretty well sums it up, doesn't it?

And if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem (more cards and letters!). We, as chiropractors, have somehow assumed the position of second‑class citizen. We have bowed down. We have accepted the role of the marginal practitioner ‑‑ fringe doctor ‑‑ on the outskirts of mainstream health care. We have accepted the fact that we are just chiropractors. We've been relegated to feeling that all we do is SMT (whatever that is), we crack backs, and we "unpinch" nerves.

We provide relief to those who need it and that's what we feel our role is. If you even remotely agree with any of this, we're all in trouble!

I want you to look at your hands for a moment. Take a good look at those amazing instruments of healing. Why do you think they're on both sides of you? You think this is coincidence? Listen, you have so much power in your hands that if you were ever to put them together, you'd probably electrocute yourself, so please don't try this at home!

Some of you are probably feeling slightly uncomfortable. This is actually good. It means your conscience is bothering you a bit ‑‑ I've hit the mark! Alright, let's turn this around.

The way I see it, the end of their first visit with you, your new patients should leave your office absolutely and totally amazed by you. They should be flabbergasted by your level of humanity, empathy, ability to be "there" ‑‑ to listen to their heart, their words, and to what is not being said. They should be blown away by your level of clinical expertise and communication.

And they should leave your office on their first visit and say this to your CA: "I have to tell you, I've seen many chiropractors in my life, but, I have never, ever, seen a doctor like Dr. (fill in your name). I mean, he was simply amazing! How in the world did he know all these things about me? I didn't have to say a word to him. Do you practice magic in this office or voodoo on weekends? Do you think that he'd have some time to check my family and my children? And I have a neighbor with a bad hip."

The vast majority of you are not "hearing" these words ‑‑ but you should be! These comments should be commonplace in every office.

A doctor stood up at the back of the room at one of my seminars and said this to the group:

"I didn't think this was possible, but having patients refer on their first visit is awesome! On Monday and Tuesday, we had two new patients, and they referred 15 others to me on their first visit!"

Some of you may think this is simply a dream, just too fantastic to be true. Well, people will only do this when they're completely blown away by you! When this happens, their trust in you and what you do grows exponentially. And here is the really cool thing: This is the type of practice all doctors want. When you have this type of practice, you need very little marketing ‑‑ you're too damn busy! Dr. Joe Stucky from Eau Claire, WI, used to say: "Too busy deliverin', no time to sell."

While there are simply too many people wanting to see you, marketing takes on a huge role in your office when there's an issue of trust, for now you need to sell people on what you do. This becomes a hassle and generally makes doctors feel they're at the mercy of patients ‑‑ and they are.

Indicators that trust is an issue in your office: The percentage of children in your practice is small. Your referrals suck (there's no nice way of putting it). You make excuses that there are no children in your office because none of your patients have children (I like that one ‑‑ almost sounds plausible). Patients take their children to another doctor. Members of your staff see another chiropractor. Patients leave your office "when they're done." Your patient volume is low. Your patients find it a bother to travel across town to see you. Your patients leave you when their insurance is gone. You have a "back door" in your office ‑‑ most people leave. "Let's‑make‑a‑deal" is not a reality game show but your office procedure. Lots of people missing their appointments. Lots of people late for their appointments. Missed payments. "I have no money" excuses.

The reality is, when you're totally honest with yourself, and after all the whining and windging, you'll discover I'm right. People want to see a doctor who's the very best. Period. They want to see a doctor they can trust implicitly. They want to see a doctor who's the best at being a doctor, not the best at being a marketing wizard. You know the answer but you still fall prey to all the marketing gimmicks and schemes and gurus out there.

There's just no shortcut to the practice of your dreams.

Trust is the key to your dream practice.

(Dr. Ogi Ressel, author, researcher, and an x‑ray and pediatric specialist, teaches The Practice Evolution Program, the "fastest‑growing coaching program on the planet." Visit online at www.practiceevolution.com  and take the Practice Health Mini‑Checkup. Dr. Ressel may be contacted by e‑mail at drogi@practiceevolution.com  or by calling 800‑353‑3082. Interested in receiving his weekly THOTS "on seeing tons of children and families in your practice?" Send him an e‑mail and asked to be added to the list.)