Part of creating a thriving chiropractic practice involves honing your ability to successfully market yourself.
While this typically means coming up with a visually appealing and informative website, crafting a few different print materials that prospective patients can take with them when they go, and other somewhat traditional forms of getting your name out there, it also benefits you greatly to master your elevator pitch.
What is an elevator pitch?
If you’re unfamiliar with this terminology, Mind Tools explains that an elevator pitch is essentially “a short, pre-prepared speech that explains what your organization does, clearly and succinctly.” Ideally, it should be able to be delivered within 30 seconds at most—preferably closer to 15 to 20 seconds—which is roughly the amount of time you would spend in an elevator with someone when going from one floor to another.
Admittedly, it can be difficult to sum up who you are and what you do in such a short time frame, but if you can master this one technique, you can really make a lasting impact on whomever you’re speaking with. This is critical as Red Crow Marketing indicates that the typical person is exposed to anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 different advertisements every single day. So how do you get your elevator pitch to stand out, making it the one advertisement they actually remember and, thus, want to pursue?
Key elements of a winning elevator pitch
According to the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), your elevator speech should contain four key elements:
- What you do
- The skills you use to do what you do
- The type of business you have
- Your special strengths
Let’s look at each of these now.
Of course, what you do on the simplest level is provide chiropractic services. But, taking that one step further, what do you really do? Do you offer relief to patients in chronic pain? Or maybe you provide sports rehabilitations to athletes, getting them back on the court or field faster and more effectively? What specifically do you do? What are your outcomes?
The second element of a winning elevator speech involves sharing the skills you use to do what you do. What types of techniques are you competent in using that help you thrive in your practice? What trainings have you underwent that make you more than proficient in your work? It’s likely you have a whole list from which to choose, so you’ll want to focus on the most important ones, or the ones that you feel most confident with.
The third element, according to the UCSB, is the type of business you have. For instance, do you offer just chiropractic services, or do you also provide other natural health based alternatives, such as massage therapy or high quality supplementation? Is your practice kid-friendly, focused on older adults, or tailored to school-aged athletes? Give the person you’re speaking with a clear idea of what type of environment they can expect when walking in through your doors.
The fourth and final element of a top notch elevator pitch involves sharing your special strengths. What sets you apart from your competitors? Why should someone choose you over the other chiropractic practitioners in the area?
Putting them all together
When you can put all of this information together in a 20 to 30 second speech, not only are you able to clearly convey who you are and what you do to others, but it also gives you a greater sense of clarity yourself. This makes it easier to market yourself in other ways because you know exactly what type of chiropractor you are, who you want to serve, how you intend to serve them, and in what ways you’re better than other chiropractors out there.
Finally, once you’ve created your elevator pitch, practice it often so it sounds natural and not like it’s rehearsed. Be passionate and excited about what you do and how you do it, and the people you share your speech with will likely become passionate and excited
