The people in our community that we target as potential customers, patients and practice members have been spoon fed the same old health paradigm since birth. No Symptoms = No Problems. That is a huge obstacle to overcome with retaining patients but is something you could obviously use to your advantage when marketing for new patients. But be careful!... If you want to build a chiropractic wellness patient base that ultimately grows into a high-volume cash practice, you cannot directly market pain relief care. Well, actually you CAN but the lack of congruency you will generate in your office will either just shape your office into a pain relief center – by default – or at the very least sabotage the growth of your ‘wellness’ practice. If your goal in the office is building health rather than simply reacting to the decline of it, then don’t market pain relief as a service. It’s not needed because [...]

Preparing for the Transition from an Insurance to Cash Practice Before beginning the actual steps of transitioning from an insurance based model to a non-insurance based cash chiropractic model, there are a number of variables to consider and decisions to make. The good news is that you are probably going to make it a bigger deal and task in your head then it will be in reality. Nevertheless, if you get scared about letting go of the ‘mental safety’ that you believe you have by being attached to third party payers, if you take a dip in volume or income during the process or just temporarily lose focus, take a few minutes to reflect on the disaster that is our failing healthcare system… one that is focused on sickness care. Think about the stress you have endured by being a part of it for as long as you have and how much closer you are to [...]

Just as with an insurance based practice, there is no one magic bullet to success when building a chiropractic cash practice. Below is a summary of the keys to success you should internalize and never forget – from day one of starting the journey – if you decide to transition towards or open a cash chiropractic office. 1.       Always be Marketing – From the clothes you wear to how your staff and practice look and feel, you are always marketing whether you want to be or not. Customer volume solves most business issues so always have at least 4 or 5 ‘marketing poles’ in your community pool bringing patients through the door. One fishing pole might be as simple as asking for referrals or reviews while another is a simple online ad and yet another as complex as an outside health fair event. Either way, always have a marketing plan in action - not place - [...]

There are 2 ways to run a service based business. 1. With Systems 2. Without Systems Without systems means you are depending on the God given talent and past learned behaviors an employee has – personality, decision making and critical thinking skills – to get the job done right. With systems means you depend on protocols and scripts to overcome the ‘shortcomings’ a person, including you, will inevitably prove to have. […]

If you are new to the membership type of business model, you may liken it to a gym or tanning membership in that customers are able to pay per visit at a higher fee or save money by signing up for a membership. To ensure the cost for the services can be kept at a reasonable and lower fee schedule than most clinics, we set all membership customers up on an auto-debit system. This simply means that a customer’s credit card, debit card or checking account information is managed and processed monthly by a reputable 3rd party service. By using an outside service the office does not require the extra man power associated with tracking and taking a payment from hundreds of patients monthly. This saves the office money which is passed on to the customer as a lower fee for service and lower fee for monthly memberships. However, that doesn’t answer the question of ‘WHY’ [...]

A Cash Chiropractic Wellness Office is more than just a pipe-dream for chiropractors wanting to escape the restraints of insurance. It's becoming a way of life for people in our community! Statistically speaking more and more people are seeking routine chiropractic care and seeing the positive benefits. And studies show that chiropractic care provides profound and consistent improvements in energy, flexibility and pain relief. Is your practice structured, both in how it runs and how it is marketed, to tap into this growing segment of our population?     Blanks RH, Boone WR, Schmidt S, Dobson M, Network Care: A retrospective outcomes assessment, 1996

  If there is no other practice success tip I can give you it is that IF you can create continued value for your cash paying customers… you will be successful. When a new patient first enters your office it is likely because they want your expert advice or have pain they want to get resolved or in the case of a cash based wellness practice, are seeking chiropractic as part of their healthy lifestyle. Whatever the reason they enter your office, at that very moment you have a high value. Now, the patient is willing to sacrifice a couple of precious things because of that value. […]

Whether you are operating an insurance, cash or membership practice model, the fact remains that as you get busy... you will need people to help you keep the operation running smoothly. You will of course also need to pay those people and would like for each to be worth the wage paid out. The unfortunate reality is that for most chiropractors and small business owners in general, finding and hiring staff is less than a pleasant experience and training employees is not as successful as intended. The good news is that if you fix 2 very common mistakes you can eliminate most of the frustration that business owners experience with building and employing a team. The Mistakes When hiring, most chiropractors look or the 'pro' with a lot of experience to fill the position. If you find that person at a great price, even better. This is where it goes wrong right off the bat. As an [...]

If you follow the teachings of any reputable marketing or business guru, they will all tell you that your USP or Unique Selling Point is one of - if not The Number One - aspect of your business that must be specifically defined before real success can ever be realized. Your USP simply put is what sets you apart from the competition. Let’s take chiropractic as the obvious example. If you are a chiropractor providing chiropractic services in the same way as everyone else in your community then you are essentially the same as all other chiropractors in the community. Well at least in the eyes of the public you are, despite how you may think you are different. So when you are speaking to someone at a networking event or marketing online it is important to understand that in reality the public ‘sees’ you as the same as other chiropractors. The million dollar question, often [...]