Hey there.

Sometimes I talk about marketing, other times
just about LIFE in general and how it affects
your marketing... well... today I'm going to
talk about a gooroo. Someone that people put
a lot of trust in.

So read this slowly and carefully.

this gooroo came up with an email.
He said he came up with a list of what typical
Chiropractors do.

What I did was copy and paste his list so I could
comment on it.

Here are my comments.

You may not think you're going to learn anything about
chiropractic, or business, but I promise you, you will.

He said if any of them apply...

then you are the Typical Chiropractor.

I'll tell YOU if I agree with him at the end.

He says, "you MAY be typical and if one thing's for
certain, successful D.C.s are not typical."

I personally think you can be typical and
still successful, so let's wait and see.

He also says, "Their competence, confidence and conviction
creates and keeps great employees and patients." Well I'm
going to tell you, competence, confidence and conviction
won't make much of a difference with employees if you choose
the wrong ones.

Sorry.

That's just the way it is.

Okay let's get into this one.

Here's his list.

1. They've been seen spinal screening. (There is nothing wrong with
doing spinal screenings. Some of the very successful use spinal screenings
and with the economy like it is, you get these new patients anyway you can.
2. They have odd office hours like 3 full days, and 3 half days including Saturdays. I feel that doctors don't need to work like everyone else. They
can work two full days and one half. Who cares. I loved working in the office
so I worked five full days and an hour on Saturday. That's why I was in business
for myself, so I could set my own hours.
3. They're out of shape. (Honestly, there are lots of doctors, successful doctors who could care less about going to the gym.)
4. They think more new patients will solve all their problems. It's like of like thinking about becoming rich to me. Yeah it doesn't make you happy, but neither does being in a poverty state.
5. They don't go out of their way to properly thank patients who refer others. I have to agree on this one. Most doctors do not have a clue on how to follow up with anyone, especially their patients.
6. They don't have a C.A. and their reason is, "I can't afford it." This is unfortunate, but I've also seen a doctor who sees 20 or less patients in a day have two or three staff. Doesn't make sense. I would see 20 patients in less than an hour.
7. They attribute their past success to themselves but don't take responsibility for where they're at now. It's all about responsibility.
8. They don't know what the Lifetime Value is of a patient therefore they have no idea how much they can and should pay to attract a patient. This is a typical thing that most marketers know and most D.C.'s don't.
9. They spend a lot of time IN their practice but not much time ON their practice. This is something almost every doctors does and that's mainly why they hire me. They want someone working ON their practice daily. If you can get someone to do this, you're going to be way ahead of the game.
10. They aren't proud of what they do. They dislike meeting strangers. If they do this, then I'd say they need to sell what practice they have.
11. They have a history of jumping from seminar to seminar, buying or signing up for everything and then lack the follow through necessary to succeed. Follow through is the KEY. If you're not doing the follow up in your office you're not getting the mileage you need out of your office.
12. They overcharge and over treat. I don't know what that means, because if you're like me, you're able to charge what you're worth, not what everyone else is charging.
13. They have Chiropractic "Propoganda" on the walls. You balance what is on your walls. You should have some chiropractic propoganda on your walls.
14. They don't do re-exams. This is something you should have on the table in the R.O.F.
15. They have an office name that doesn't target or isn't congruent with the typical "non-referred in" patient.
16. When it comes to patient care and management, they are sloppy. They move bones but don't really know what the hell they're doing, why they are doing it, and...they don't know how to help the patient recognize his or her progress. This was an interesting statement by the gooroo and one that I'm sure a lot of people do not and will not ever agree with.
17. They give treatment recommendations like 3 X 4, 2 X 4, 1 X 4, followed by once a month OR...they recommend never ending, unlimited care and charge a fixed fee per month or per year per person or per family. This is old school stuff but if that's what the owner wants to do, then by all means, he should do it.
18. They wear scrubs or dress casual. I love scrubs and if I dress casual, it's my office and I'll do it. Like I said, I love scrubs. They provide a confidence that you are a medical person, people associate medical with them, and they are easy to take care of.
19. They have an "open adjusting" room and/or have patients carry their own "travel cards". I love this and I applaud this. If you're not doing this, then by all means you're missing out.
20. They have a 2 or 3 day new patient process and their "report of findings" takes 10 minutes or more. I love a short, get to the point, R.O.F. If you're using a two or three day R.O.F. you're wasting your time.
21. They get 1-2 referrals per week, max. Okay, now that might not sound like a lot of referrals, but that's just one media.

Well that's it.

Let me know what you've learned about business, reading this.

Thanks,

Dr. Carney