From sales to emotional connection
Did it ever occur to you that if you knew how to retain patients…you wouldn’t need so many new ones each month?
It seems like a simple concept and yet retention is the dynamic that will change your practice and life. One of the most frustrating effects in all of Chiropractic are patients that just don’t get it. It’s not so much as they don’t get it…they don’t want to get it! There’s no reason for them to become any more involved if they refuse to form a relationship with you.
Two examples of patients and two very different outcomes
One is a forty-six year-old man whose back ‘went out on him’ and he wants you to snap it back into place. He is all about his back. Low expectations and low value for Chiropractic. You cannot meet his expectations under any circumstances. He is not interested in making a relationship with you (or anyone else) anytime soon. He will be in and out of your life in a few miserable adjustments.
How about this one? An eight year-old who has severe difficulty with breathing. The parents are invested in his health and want answers. They don’t particularly care who delivers the results, DC or MD. You have an interest in the health of the child and the parents also have an interest in the child. There is an interconnection between parents and doctor. There is a relationship involved. Once a relationship is created, recommendations, fee, time, and distance are put on the back burner. They are keenly interested in your patient education and eagerly attend your health awareness seminar and report of findings with both parents.
It’s not enough to tell the story…they have to feel like you understand and value them as individuals
In other words…you must create a relationship or emotional connection first and foremost before you commence to start educating your patients. In the age of instant communication, where people can opt-in or out, be blocked by caller’s ID, and defriended on FB, people have a choice of whom they wish to communicate to. If you are not on the relationship side of things, you are strictly a commodity and you are replaceable. The end result is low retention, increased stress, and the relentless need to get new patients.
Results are important, however relationships PLUS results creates GROWTH!
Look at all of your departing patients. Do you really think that you didn’t deliver results? Think again. There was no relationship (or a limited one) in place and once the result was achieved or the insurance ran dry, the patient was on their way. Do you think that your departing patients understood Chiropractic? Will they participate in long-term care or bring in their kids…not likely!
Change this doctor patient dynamic in your office and watch the exponential growth happen!
