The art of friendly persuasion: Get what you want

Were you the kid who had what everybody called “the gift of gab”?

You always sold the most candy bars, boxes of cookies, or magazine subscriptions for your scouting group, simply by persuading your parents to ask their friends and coworkers to buy from you. Your lemonade stand had a line around the block because you had convinced everyone that you had the coldest, freshest lemonade in town. If there was a way for you to “sell” yourself, you excelled at it.

Now that you have your own chiropractic practice, it’s time to use that gift of gab from childhood to boost your practice. Let’s look at some effective ways you can use your persuasive powers to boost your practice.

Have an elevator pitch

Imagine that you just got on an elevator and are going up to the 10th floor. The person standing next to you asks what you do for a living. How will you describe your job as a chiropractor in approximately 20 to 30 seconds, before one or the other of you reaches your destination floor?

This is what is known as an “elevator pitch.” Even if you never get a chance to use it in an elevator, it’s a great way to get you to drill down to the essence of what you do in as few words as possible.

A persuasive pitch is not enough

Congratulations! Your pitch was successful enough that the other person asked for your card. Did you get their card? If not, you may have missed a follow-up opportunity with a potential new patient. If you did get their card, did you actually follow up with an email or phone call to remind them who you are and what chiropractic services you offer?

The point is that your initial pitch is just your foot in the door. If you want to get that door to open a bit wider, you must not let that initial contact be the end of things.

Jot down some quick notes about your encounter on the back of the card, such as if they had any specific complaints like lower back pain or a stiff shoulder. This will help you when you send your follow-up email, which can go into more detail about how you can help them with their specific complaint.

Deliver on your pitch

Of course, your wonderfully persuasive pitch won’t be worth much if you can’t deliver on what you promised. In fact, it may not take long before you develop a reputation as being “all talk, but no walk.” The best way to combat this is to go right back to those notes that you wrote on the back of the business card your contact gave you.

If their main complaint was lower back pain, that’s where you initially focus your treatment. Once you have alleviated their pain, giving them the opportunity to experience the benefits of chiropractic for themselves, you can then start discussing maintenance plans and other services that you offer.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when you are looking for ways to persuade people to consider the benefits of chiropractic is to think back to the techniques you used as a kid to sell cups of lemonade or boxes of cookies. These techniques include knowing how to get to the essence of what you are selling, remembering to do proper follow up, and delivering on what you promise people.