By Drs. Nelson and Helen Peet

1963— OVERSELLING: Are you overselling yourself and chiropractic? Is the public image of chiropractors and chiropractic being built-up or brought-down when chiropractors unintentionally oversell their results?

Overselling must not be confused with overcharging. Overcharging is charging an illogical fee for services rendered. Overselling is inferring, suggesting and promising more results than can possibly be produced. This unintentional overselling can easily be brought about when working with a 100% healing principle such as chiropractic. The patient misconstrues the 100% healing principle for 100% results.

The principle of chiropractic is unlimited, just as the power to heal is unlimited and can never be oversold. However, the results obtained from applying the principle in practice have some limiting factors. The major ones that influence the patient’s response are:

How complete the patient accepts the individual chiropractor;

How well the patient follows the doctors recommendations;

How far the patient has allowed his condition to progress.

These limiting factors are often overlooked by the doctor in his desire and haste to assist the patient. Overselling takes place when an impression of 100% results is assumed by the patient and not clarified by the doctor. The patient is anticipating the miraculous. He is limited in his chiropractic understanding and is thinking only in terms of his results.

This one factor of overselling can build problem cases, lead to malpractice threats and bring down the public image of the chiropractor and the chiropractic profession.

Here is what you can do to build-up your practice. It is what our graduates are doing to build-up their practices, the public image and reducing the possibility of overselling.

FIRST: Realize that chiropractic does not need to be sold. The patient wants to buy your service. That is why he is in your office. There is always a seller’s market for anyone in the healing sciences because there is more sickness than health. So, one does not need to sell the patient to get well. He already wants more health. You should be presenting services the patient wants to buy as differentiated from selling the patient what you want him to buy. The former is Professionalism, the latter is Commercialism.

SECOND: Fully explain to the patient the power to heal is within them, not you. Your role is to assist their healing power with your services. All o their results will depend primarily upon their cooperation in following your recommendations.

THIRD: Be conservative in your estimate of anticipated results. Never promise or guarantee results. Always point out the favorable percentage of results other cases have received, either in your office, or from chiropractic research statistics. Acknowledge the fact that any percentage of results will be better than their present state. Remember that most of your cases come to you after medicine has failed and they will be pleased to receive any percent better results, even 5 or 10 percent. They do not expect you to be a 100% miracle worker.
You will always place yourself and chiropractic in a more acceptable position by using a conservative approach to the anticipated results.

FOURTH: Realize that any aspect of your case management not thoroughly understood by the patient, left up to assumption or has not been mutually agreed upon, becomes the short circuit in your results.

Overselling is one factor of patient management of which you must always be aware. Learn all the possible aspects of your patient management which will assist you to build a practice of distinction and increase the public image of the profession.

Yes, the sick want and need what you have. Be certain to present your services with Professionalism which builds practices that survive and thrive, instead of Commercialism which leads to extinction.