Issue 13 - September 2004

Success File By Bob Levoy
Help a new associate lighten your workload

How do you get established patients who are used to seeing you switch to a young associate recently hired to lighten your workload?

At the outset, it’s a tough assignment — and with some patients, an impossible one. The understand-able reason: Established patients, by definition, know and trust you and are more comfortable with you than with a “fresh out” graduate. The problem worsens if your staff doesn’t know much about the new associate.

Here are some things you can do to create a demand for your associate:

• Build credibility in-house. Convey to your staff the high regard you have for your associate’s credentials and competence.

Impress your staff with the same qualities that impressed you about him or her. Even better: Schedule staff members to have a basic neurological, orthopedic and chiropractic evaluation and/or an appropriate adjustment done by the associate. In this way, they’ll experience first hand, the qualities you admired and as a result, can personally recommend the associate to patients.

• Introduce the associate. “When I first started in practice,” says Dr. Lydia Gray, Woodstock, Ill. “my boss took me out and introduced me to every single patient when they arrived for their appointment. He essentially said, ‘This is my new associate’ and made it clear to patients that he had the utmost confidence in me – which gave me confidence in myself.”

• Send letters to patients. Consider sending a personal letter and cite the highlights of his or her education, previous experience and special recognition along the way. If the associate has specialized in an aspect of chiropractic care not previously offered in your practice, such a letter may stimulate immediate interest for appointments with him or her.

Include a photograph of the associate with his or her family and mention the person’s hobbies and community activities. It will “break the ice.”

• Post an announcement. Include the same information on your practice Web site, in a patient newsletter or on a bulletin board in the reception area of your office. And send a news release to the local paper(s).

• Build patient confidence. “You can’t just send your new associate out cold,” says Dr. Jim Guenther, Asheville, N.C. “You must step forward and show patients that this person is someone you’ve spent a lot of time finding and that you believe he or she is right for your practice, and that you have complete confidence in your associate. Set the stage for success.”

Gray recalls her first boss asked her for advice in front of patients, showing them he had faith in her and trusted her judgment. “The recent graduate may be more up-to-date on certain topics than you,” she says, “so be big and say, ‘My associate knows more about this. Let’s ask her.’ It’s great for the associate to get a chance to shine.”

• Make the associate available. Most importantly, encourage your receptionist to make the associate more readily available than you for “emergencies” and “same day” appointments.

If you’re personally put on the spot by a patient requesting an appointment at a time when you’re booked, you can say, “Ms. Smith, I’m booked pretty heavy right now. If this isn’t an emergency, I’d be happy to see you next week. But if you want an appointment sooner, then my associate is available.”

These steps will definitely lighten your work load and boost the demand for your new associate.

Bob Levoy is a seminar speaker and writer. He can be reached at 516-626-1353.