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By Tom Owen, DC
1975
— That’s right, you direct your own economic
well-being! As a chiropractor, you have a greater
degree of control over your economy than almost any
other single factor in existence. For instance, you
may not be aware that most chiropractic “fortunes”
(if you will) have been built during what some people
have called depressed or recessed times. In fact,
I opened my own office at such a time. I’ve
seen them fail miserably in so-called good times.
Let me give you an example.
A
chiropractor in St. Augustine, Florida, opened at
a time when the five primary sources of economy for
the community were in confusion:
1.
Railroad — on strike
2. Aircraft Factory — no contract, closed
3. Tourists — bad year for tourism
4. Shrimp and fishing — poor shrimp and fishing
year
5. Farming — freeze killed the crops.
The
yond chiropractor said he would pay no attention to
these external factors. He would not let them penetrate
his mind. He would do what he was supposed to do and
what he had planned to do and what had been laid out
for a successful experience under our management program.
He continued to grow every week and every month throughout
the first year.
It
would be well to note that several years later when
the railroads were going full blast, the aircraft
factory had a full contract, the shrimping and fishing
were good, the farmers had an excellent year and the
tourism was unsurpassed, but the doctor’s mind
was not on his practice. He had done nothing to improve
his service. He was not active in promoting or stimulating
his community chiropractically or personally. Several
other negative experiences and activities included
being seen in the wrong places and in the wrong circumstances.
Would
you believe his practice went down, down, down? Yet
the times and economy were up .up. up! It would be
foolish to say the economy has no effect because it
certainly does; however, it is a minority effect,
not the majority effect as demonstrated by the St.
Augustine chiropractor.
Your
economy is controlled by your attitude. Attitude is
always more important than fact! Your economy is governed
by your actions as well. We all know thought without
action doesn’t do anything. It’s similar
to an automobile without gasoline.
It
reminds me of the old Southern gentleman who said,
“When I pray to the Lord to send me a chicken,
I very seldom get one. But when I pray to the Lord
to send me after a chicken, I usually come home with
one.” Yes, your actions or lack of them will
have a major effect upon your practice.
Have
you considered broadening your base to a threefold
practice ? A balanced practice?
The balanced practice or threefold practice which
we espouse in our offices and clinics, in seminars,
classes, and management programs, stresses the fact
that any business or practice with a broad base will
not be grossly affected by outside forces. We consider
the threefold practice one in which one-third of the
practice consists of specialized situations requiring
the very best of care rendered under a case program.
One-third of the practice should be that everyday
kind of patient who says, “I like chiropractic.
I want an adjustment every two weeks. I’m willing
to pay. I’ll send other people to you regularly.”
The foundation of your practice! This pays your overhead
— the per-visit patient. The other third should
be based on personal injury, workmen’s compensation
and insurance related cases.
Any
of these I have mentioned could be affected by outside
factors such as the economy, but rarely will all three
be touched at the same time. If there’s a negative
effect on one, there’s a positive effect on
the other. In any good community with a stable economy,
there is a broad base created by various sources of
income. Why not the same for your practice?
What
Did You Do To Build Your Practice?
We
have a long list of things to do. Specific thoughts
and procedures are used in our multiple offices as
well as in the scores of offices we have managed,
and are presented in seminars around the country.
The first thing on the list of referral getters or
practice stimulators is this question — what
are you not doing now that you were doing when you
first started building your practice?
Doctors,
I mean specifically in all three places of life —
the physical, mental and spiritual? Go back in your
mind’s eye and remember your mental attitude
toward your patients. Compare that to your current
practice.
If
your practice has plateaued or is
decreasing or remains stagnant,
then chances are your attitude now is not as good
as it was when you first opened your office. How important
were your patients to you then? How important was
a brand new patient to you then? How important was
making your practice succeed?
Let
me pose this question: Can you remember your first
patient, your second patient, your third patient?
You probably can! You knew them well and probably
still recall what the conditions were, what the chiropractic
response was, where they lived, and many personal
things about those patients. Now ask yourself, do
you remember patients number 103 or 1030? What can
you tell me about a new patient you had three weeks
ago? How really interested, sincere and dedicated
were you toward that patient? How important was that
patient to you? Was that patient treated with your
whole heart, soul and being, with intense desire to
make certain he succeeded in getting well? Further,
did you stimulate that patient into helping your chiropractic
practice?
I’m
talking of an attitude of dedication, mental direction
and quality of service. This is important. Now is
the time to concentrate on broadening your base of
practice, and more importantly, on improving the quality
of your service!
During
the great depression, may companies prospered. They
delivered with quality service, a quality product.
People still spent money. They wanted a quality product
worthy of their financial consideration and having
a real, tangible, and lasting value.
Don’t
be slipshod! Inferior products show up primarily in
a fast economy. Look around you at today’s toys,
houses, automobiles and what-have-you, almost all
inferior products. Quality always has to be provided
when building a solid economy.
So,
what is your attitude? What types of services of the
mind, heart, and physical planes are you giving to
your patients?
Building
and growing principle number one: Improve your quality
of service. Be in tune today, not tomorrow! Begin
today to straighten your economy.
Many
years ago when our practice was growing by leaps and
bounds (right in the middle of what was known as the
recession of the fifties) a chiropractor for whom
I had great respect called one day.
“How’s
business, Tom?”
I
responded, “Well, Bill, it’s terrific!
We’ve got three new patients in the office,
10 or 15 waiting in the reception room and several
out on the sidewalk trying to get in. It’s fantastic!”
He
said, “Well, boy, it’s sure bad here.”
He proceeded to tell me about the recession they were
having in his community barely 150 miles away from
mine. I listened intently (the young inexperienced
doctor just building a practice) to a respected, authoritative
doctor in my profession telling me things were deteriorated.
So
I, too, began looking around, and, sure enough, in
Jacksonville, Florida, the shipyards, Navy and railroads
were all laying off people. The fact is, we had a
very bad economic situation in Jacksonville. But frankly,
I hadn’t been aware of it as my practice was
growing.
Suddenly,
with new found realization, I discovered we, too,
were involved in a thing called recession. My practice
immediately dropped almost $2,000 a month and stayed
that way for several months.
Finally
I had the opportunity to realize what had happened.
I changed my attitude and the practice flourished
again.
The
next time I saw my revered doctor of chiropractic,
I asked him how the recession was doing in his town.
He said, “What recession?” He told me
I had convinced him that things were so good when
he had talked with me, his practice began to boom,
and lo and behold, there wasn’t a recession!
Somewhere
in this little story, my fellow chiropractor, lies
a message … one worthy of your consideration.
A
widely acclaimed chiropractor I once knew very well,
B.J. Palmer, expressed it this way. “Never
mind the business outlook, be on the outlook for business.”
What
are you doing to broaden your base of practice? Are
you on the outlook for business? Are you stimulating
your practice in your community? Believe me, the worst
thing you can do is nothing!
So
what can you do? Make an analysis of your past and
present — when you were building and now. Make
a comparison in terms of:
1.
Your attitude toward the practice.
2.
Your attitude toward the patient
3.
Your willingness to serve
4.
Your enthusiasm for the principles of chiropractic
5.
You enthusiasm over results
6.
You enthusiasm over practice growth
7.
Your attitude toward doing whatever is necessary to
make the practice grow.
8.
Your willingness to go to seminars and improve your
span of knowledge and your quality of service.
9.
Your willingness to get our and meet people, letting
them know who you are, what you are, and where you
are.
10.
Your willingness to talk about chiropractic and its
results with people you meet
11.
You singleness of purpose.
Never
forget that the rays of the sun, when passed through
a magnifying glass, condense to a fine point, creating
great heat and enormous energy. Dispersed rays do
not have such a definitive effect. Many of us have
our lives and minds scattered in so many directions,
we no longer have that heat of purpose or energy of
conviction.
The
Master states, “Where two or more are gathered
in My name, I will be with you also.” Paraphrasing
a bit, “Where your mind is I will be with you
also.”
Let
me run through a “How Long Has It Been”
check list:
1.
How long has it been since you sent out a newsletter
or made contact with your patients, educating them
in advancements in chiropractic; making them a part
of and not apart from your practice? Let them know
what you are doing to improve and upgrade service
to them.
2.
How long has it been since you’ve maintained
files and sent birthday cards to build good will?
It makes people feel good on the personal day.
3.
How long has it been since you’ve sent four
or five thank-you-grams, letters or notes of appreciation
to patients and other people in your community?
4.
How long has it been since you’ve sent a congratulatory
message to someone who has made a worthwhile achievement
in your community?
5.
How long has it been since you’ve given a lay
lecture or patient education lecture or purchased
something for your office which educates your patients
on chiropractic and its services? It’s an old
and simple rule that a patient will discontinue going
to a doctor with he no longer knows or has a reason
for going to him!
6.
How long has it been since you attended a progressive,
positive seminar presented by those who are willing
to share ways for you to get what you want?
7.
How long has it been since you attended a seminar
that really got you enthused and challenged concerning
your practice or your profession?
8.
How long has it been since you evaluated your staff
as to its attitude and productivity?
9.
How long has it been since you called a patient at
his home to see how he’s doing or to give additional
instructions to him?
10.
Are you conducting or have you checked yourself on
a total compete service visit according to a six-point
program? Are you following a definite procedure for
acquiring referrals from the patients you have or
stimulating referrals on a positive basis in the first
ten visits to your office?
11.
When was the last time you had lunch with an attorney,
a minister or your banker? When was the last time
you activated the old and well-known “bird dog”
acts?
Allow
me to conclude with a statement we make to our doctors
in our clinics: Count your blessings for what you
have. Have a soul-searching “where is your mind
and heart” session, remembering the old Southern
gentleman…go bring home some chickens.
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