May 2008

Corporate wellness events: Turning employees into patients

by Dr. Phillip Golinsky

Success at corporate wellness events is not based on the number of people you see or even the number who show up for appointments. Instead, it is based upon the number of employees who actually become patients. I realized early in my corporate wellness campaign the employees who set appointments don't always show and employees who show don't always sign up. I wrote in my last Chiropractic Journal article about qualifying employees at events. This helps your show ratio. Now I'm going to help your closing ratio when employees come to your office.

I've endured many failures in my attempts to convince patients who need care to sign up for it. It took me a while to find the niche that worked. After listening to literally thousands upon thousands of people at the weekly marketing events I had been doing at local corporations, I threw up my hands and said to myself, "I'll give them what they want. I won't try and change them, but I'll be the best chiropractor I know I can be, and meet their expectations."

This day was a turn about for me. My stress level of keeping people under chiropractic for the rest of their life vanished once I was focused on taking care of patients where they were. Surprisingly, my weekly office visits pretty much stayed the same, but my income just about doubled within six months. I suspect that people will pay a premium for what they want, not what they NEED. In other words, they will pay top dollar for taking care of their needs (get them out of pain, and stabilize their spine so the pain doesn't return after care ends).

I now use a two-visit system to sign up employees I know I can help. During the first visit, I tell employees: "Here is my goal for you. I want to get you started on chiropractic care, because I can help you. I want to fix your issues, and I want to get you out. Are you OK with that?" Do you know the smiles I get when I ask that simple question? This may explain why my rate of people accepting care is easily ninety-five percent. Since they know I'm going to give them something they already want, they are on board.

I tell them (also during the first visit): "I really can't say how much your body will respond to chiropractic care. It differs for different people. However based upon your response to the adjustments I give you today, I'll have a much better idea whether or not this if for you. I first want to check your spine for subluxations and do some tests to rule out any red flags that may prevent me from adjusting your spine. If all goes well, I want to correct some of the misalignments that I find in your spine. If you feel better by at least 20%, then you are 'fixable.' If you don't feel better by at least five percent, then the techniques used in this office will be ineffective for you and there will be no second visit." When people hear this, they appreciate that I realize that my office may not be for everyone.

How liberating is this? In addition, you are now offering to prove your service to the employee. Meaning that if you do a simple adjustment for people and they immediately feel better by at least 20%, then they're going to come back for another visit. Everything I say and do at the first office visit is to set up a successful second office visit, which is the Report of Findings day.

All future care and finances are discussed at the second visit. This IS the money day, but without a proper first office visit, there will never be any Report of Findings given.

Your communication MUST be clear, so people understand your intentions and have no questions on where you stand with them. At the end of my first office visit, after I've adjusted that person, and after I've asked the person how they are doing after the first adjustment, I'll let them know I need to see them for a second visit.

"Mary, I want to see you for a second visit within 72 hours, but preferably before three days. Based upon how your body accepts these adjustments and based upon how you feel, I'll have an idea of what kind of program I'll need to put you on when you come back for the second visit."

Ninety-five percent of these people return. As long as they've received good chiropractic care, they will come back for a second visit. Remember, they feel better by at least 20%, so they know they are fixable. They are going to want to find out what kind of program will finish the job.

That's the exact wording I use as we end our first meeting, and given the high percentage of return people for the second visit, this is something that you might consider using during your first meeting with your new patients.

(Contact Dr. Golinsky's staff at 800‑996‑6031 or visit www.corpwellnessevents.com to learn more about spinal stress screenings or discuss this article.)