August 2008

Article Tools

---

Featured White Paper

Introduction to Neuromechanical Instrument Adjusting: Impulse Adjusting Technique

Promoting to MDs: Anatomy of sales presenatation

Many MDs have yet to incorporate chiropractic services despite the fact they have embraced the evidence-based healthcare (EBHC) movement.

Several prestigious medical journals have published research documenting manipulation as a safe, cost-effective, and efficacious treatment strategy for back pain. Chiropractors have been proactive in introducing this research to physicians in letters and personal meetings with lackluster results.

How can you position your services as a first-line therapy and change physicians’ referral habits to include chiropractic for appropriate neuromuscular conditions?

Whether you recognize it or not, you do it every day. When you ask your patients questions, personalize and present their report of findings, gauge their “buy in,” and ask them for their commitment — you position your services as a first-line therapy.

Unfortunately, when you turn to educating MDs, you become more of a commercial. In your eagerness to promote the benefits of chiropractic, you supply too much information, rather than focus on one primary message.

You need to understand what the physicians’ needs are in order to deliver a message with impact. Knowing what motivates their treatment strategy is the key to having the needed information on your presentation to earn their patient referrals.

You must educate physicians in the same manner you educate patients and personalize your presentation — albeit at a more advanced clinical level.

ANATOMY OF A SALES PRESENTATION

Sales involves more than just illustrating that a treatment works or that it is a safe and cost-effective choice. Without understanding what motivates a physician’s treatment strategy, it is difficult to determine how to position chiropractic care.

You need to paint a patient picture to uncover treatment rationales and present the specific research that positions chiropractic care as a first-line therapy.

• Painting a patient picture. Rather than providing a bullet-point synopsis of several research findings, paint a patient picture — a sedentary patient with nonradiating, moderate lower back pain of six weeks duration, for example. Limit the research you illustrate to a few studies which support this patient type.

Ideally, what you want is the next time the MD sees this type of patient, it triggers his or her memory to your conversation and the research you presented — making a referral more likely.

• Uncovering treatment rationales. Uncover the MD’s treatment rationale, thought process, and opinions for a specific condition and the therapies available to treat it by asking probing questions. Uncovering this information is critical for you

• Presenting the research. Once you have a firm understanding of the treatment rationale, continue to focus on a specific patient type and present your research articles to support that patient type. For instance, an MD wants to use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a first-line treatment for chronic nonradiating moderate back pain because it allows the patient to return to work sooner, but finds the gastrointestinal side effects to be a problem.

Presenting a chronic lower back pain study that compares the efficacy and side effects of manipulation and NSAIDs in which the manipulation group demonstrated fewer days of disability and fewer side effects as compared to the NSAIDs group is compelling evidence. It provides the MD with the efficacy he is seeking, while solving the issue of side effects. Even if the MD is not ready to give up on NSAIDs, you will be able to work around motivation.

In this case, ask the MD to utilize chiropractic services for patients who fail on NSAIDs, or in conjunction with NSAIDs in order to reduce the needed medication and enhance recovery time.

To begin the path to patient referrals, do these two things:

1. Ask for their business. If you have followed the above steps and received “buy in” from the MD, you have earned the right to ask for their business. Asking an MD for their business formalizes their commitment to utilize your services.

2. Maintain contact. If you have gained a commitment, you have also gained a professional relationship and opened the door for future meetings. You will need future meetings to illustrate referral successes, introduce new research, and expand the patient type to other conditions. As long as you are providing useful information, the MD will continue to perceive value in your visits and more importantly in your services.

By modifying your approach, you can turn your presentation into one which adds value and changes MDs’ referral and prescribing habits in favor of your services.

Christina Acampora is author of Marketing Chiropractic to Medical Practices and the founder of Aligned Methods, company dedicated to forging medical relationships by supporting the medical marketing and public relations efforts of independent chiropractic physicians. She can be reached at Christina.Acampora@alignedmethods.com or through www.alignedmethods.com.

Comments

Be the first to comment on this Article

Post Your Comment

Name

 

Location

 

Comment

To submit your comment, please type the security word shown in the picture.

Remember information