You don’t have to be a battle-hardened salesperson to get more patients. Sales help for small business comes in the form of networking and self-belief.
Most chiropractors like to work with people. While they may love that aspect of the business, selling is often something that makes DCs cringe.
If that’s you, have no fear.
Jeff Williams, DC, clinician, and public relations chair of the Texas Chiropractic Association and host of The Chiropractic Forward Podcast, along with Kevin Christie, DC, owner/founder of Health-Fit Chiropractic and Sports Recovery in Boca Raton, Fla., founder/developer of The Modern Chiropractic Marketing Group, and co-founder of the podcast The Chiropractic Success Academy, have lots of tips and sales help for small business chiropractors that will help you get more patients without feeling like you have to do the “hard sell.”
Believe in yourself
The first tip from both sources is to be confident. And you don’t have to do this on your own. Williams sought help from a practice consultant.
“I started getting better at patient retention and at making recommendations to patients when I first started valuing my services and what I do,” he says. “When you value yourself and what you do, naturally your recommendations and your leadership carry more weight.”
“The thriving chiropractor needs to use effective communication to achieve clinical excellence, marketing results, and business acumen,” says Christie. “This will allow for a healthy level of confidence that patients will respect. Patients are looking for this confidence in their chiropractor.”
Marketing help for networking benefits
While Williams says that networking is key, he adds that you don’t have to do it yourself. Networking is basically marketing, he says. You can be the best chiropractor, but if you’re not good at marketing, no one will know who you are. Williams admits that although he isn’t a bad networker, he doesn’t usually have time to do it himself.
“So we have a marketing representative for our office now,” he says. “She forges relationships with our medical counterparts, and she goes to the chamber of commerce events as well as the morning breakfasts for different groups. The goal is to be everywhere. Since I don’t have the time or opportunity to network, I have hired someone has the time and skills required.”
You can also network with other professionals. Christie gives an example of having a patient coming to you for lower-back pain who mentions she sees a personal trainer and is bummed that she can’t work out. Ask her permission to contact the trainer to talk about her condition. When you do that, ask the trainer of you can stop by to introduce yourself.
“Turning this connection into a phone call and then an in-person meeting has a higher likelihood of cementing an ongoing relationship,” he says. “This ‘warm lead’ is much easier to connect with than if I just called or walked into the gym without that mutual connection.”
Sales help for small business chiropractors: social media and online resources
Both sources agree that social media is a must when it comes to sales help for small business chiropractors.
“Having a total web presence is the modern-day version of having a great location and signage on Main Street,” says Christie.
Also don’t discount word-of-mouth.
If a friend or family member of a patient “tells them how amazing we are, they have nothing to gain and are speaking from personal experience. You just can’t top that in the eyes of a patient or a consumer,” says Williams.
If you’re still uncomfortable with selling/marketing, Williams suggests you check out the following resources:
- Udemy online — “They have courses for sales and marketing that can help doctors get more comfortable with the process.”
- Listen to podcasts — He recommends Black Sheep DC, The Evidence-Based Chiropractor, The Modern Chiropractic Marketing Podcast, The Chiropractic Success Academy, and his own, The Chiropractic Forward Podcast. “Podcasts are an excellent way to guild knowledge on marketing, networking, and sales.”
- BNI and Toastmasters — These offline sources can help DCs build speaking and networking skills.
“I may be an idealist and maybe a traditionalist, but in my opinion, effective sales comes down to taking the time to create a brand that stands for honesty, trust, respectability, love, and dependability,” Williams says. “The more of those words your brand is identified with by your market, the more you are existing in the sweet spot.”
