March 2008

Pattern your success

by Dr. CJ Mertz

I am a huge fan of behavioral modeling. One of the main reasons why Team WLP has produced the most 300+/wk practices in the world is because of the intricate networking and mentoring process that our clients participate in together. Unfortunately, bad modeling works as well as good modeling. "Show me who you're modeling, and I can predict your future."

Recently, I began coaching a chiropractor who had been stuck seeing fewer than 80 adjustments per week for more than 12 years.

He was at his wits end, and ready to quit. A good friend encouraged him to give it one more chance, even though he thought he had already tried everything.

The first thing I had him do was shut his practice for a day and go watch another chiropractor. He thought I was crazy, but agreed to do what I recommended. Right then and there, his whole career changed as he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

When he returned to his practice, for the first time in more than a decade, he truly didn't want to continue doing what he was doing before. He began watching a specific series of training DVDs and entered into a series of role playing drills. Then he began to train with me on a live webinar. Yet, none of that would have been enough leverage had he not seen a model of possibility. Four months later, he was seeing in excess of 200 adjustments per week.

When we talked next it was bittersweet. He wanted to know why no one had ever shown him how to do this before. He asked me how often I ran into this kind of situation where a chiropractor had been struggling for so long. I said "about a thousand times per year."

Surprisingly, a similar pattern arises with higher profile chiropractors. More DCs contact me who see more than 400 adjustments per week. When a chiropractor gets "stuck," it feels the same, no matter what the volume. I follow the identical process, except they visit a practice that is seeing several hundred adjustments per week, and their skill set drills are more intense and more specific. The results are the same as before and behavioral modeling plays an enormous role. The kind of chiropractors who are attracted to this style of coaching are also the kind that aspire to be a model for another chiropractor in need of help.

Some chiropractors have layers of problems that need to be corrected. I rarely solve them simultaneously, because all too often it's simply overwhelming. I've learned that great changes usually happen in two's or three's. Each set of changes takes about 90 days to complete and another 90 days to flow brilliantly. You can't go into changes and "try to make it work" or "just see what happens." There is as much time spent visualizing the precise outcome desired as there is on the implementation itself.

Most of my clients want to learn how to go cash (80% cash, 20% insurance) profitably. They're always surprised how relatively easy it is and wish they could have learned years earlier. They also want to learn how to build a bigger wellness practice, attract more children, speak in public, and command packed audiences for their own workshops. And, they want to learn how to predictably average 20+ new patient conversions per month. All in all, what they want to learn are the things every chiropractor deserves to do well.

In 2008, the likelihood of making the right changes to produce growth without professional instruction, is working against you.

The environment is more complex than ever, and the standards for growth have risen even higher. Nevertheless, there has never been a better time to build a highly successful, cash driven, subluxation‑based, lifetime family wellness practice. This is the most rewarding, profitable, purpose‑driven and passion‑filled style of practice in chiropractic today.

Imagine coming into your practice seeing 50 to 100 patients daily. In every city across the country where I am watching a chiropractor, families are flocking to his or her practice. Chiropractic is a highly desired service and way of life ‑‑ if it's modeled properly.

Let this be the year of modeling for you. Pattern your success to get it right. I invite you to experience my webinar called, "Metamorphosis." It shows the modeling techniques and strategies to pattern your success. It has helped hundreds of chiropractors see something new for themselves, and perhaps it can help you, too. Remember, never be afraid to ask for help.

(Dr. CJ Mertz is the founder and head coach of the prestigious Waiting List Practice chiropractic training organization. See the WLP 300 patient per week opportunity on the back page of this issue. For seminar tickets and information on WLP coaching services, please call The Waiting List Practice at 877‑TEAM‑WLP).