Whatever the reason, it happens, and we’ve often wondered if we should be doing something at those times. Recently, instead of just continuing to wonder, we decided to try an experiment.

We have a dry erase board in the staff room, and lately we asked the team to simply write down clients when they think of them out of the blue. Pretty simple stuff, really – just write their names on a board.

For a while we wondered about the best way to connect with them, though. Call? Write? Email? We’d been using personal letters to reengage old clients, but the truth was we wanted to connect with those people. After all, we really did want to know what was happening with them.

In the end, we decided to experiment with email. Tara wrote six personal emails to clients who had appeared on our “mental radars” in some way. The result was incredible: people loved it. All six responded quite quickly, and at least two have booked to come back in. Just like that. Minimal time investment, zero cost.

Why did it work so well? I think part of it was the medium – email’s less invasive, and more convenient for starting a dialogue. Letters aren’t great for instant dialogue, and it’s often hard to get people on the phone at a time that’s convenient for everyone. More important, though,  I think it was because these were in no way “salesy” emails. They were genuine inquiries: we were thinking of you and wondering how you were. The decision to reengage with the practice was entirely their idea.

The lesson? If someone’s on your mind, then maybe it’s time to be on theirs, too.

Update: The Practitioner’s Journey is off to the presses! We’re really excited about this book. It’s the end of a long stretch of writing and rewriting, but best of all, it’s going to change the way that many practitioners think about growing their practices. More details to follow as the book hits the shelves, of course, but in the meantime, we’ll be moving AHP to a new online home. With any luck, that’ll be a seamless process, but if things get dark and strange in here for a while, you’ll know why!

This is for both new and established ND’s – you can get all the details and register at NDSuccess.com, but let me give you the highlights here.

You’ll spend two full days immersed with us and a select group of naturopathic doctors, where we’ll cover a wide range of topics including:

• New, ND-specific opportunities for practice growth
• Key practice shifts for more patient retention and referrals
• Strategies for work-life balance, including locums, mat leaves, sabbaticals and more
• Solutions to staffing, associates and other HR challenges
• Options and models for transitioning from practice to business
• Building an action plan to guide you when the workshop is over

In a nutshell, the weekend is about defining what you need from your practice and building a practical plan to get you there.

This has been brewing for a while – we get lots of requests for coaching and help – so I’m excited to see it coming together. Private practice can be a lonely role at times and this is a great chance to connect, learn, and most definitely grow. It’s going to be a fun, inspirational and super-practical weekend – we can’t wait to see you there!

To register, visit NDSuccess.com. Space is definitely limited, and there’s a great early-bird special that ends March 1.

See you in April!

-Dan & Tara

PS – If you know an ND that could benefit, can you pass this on? Many thanks!

This year at our strategic planning day, one of our team members came up a great idea for reactivating some of those old patients. It only takes a few minutes a week, and although we’re just starting out, I think it’s a great plan.

5 Random Files: How it Works

After this idea came up,  Tara reminded me of a chiropractic marketing guru  – I’m pretty sure it was Dr. Demartini -  who talked about how his staff would pull a random client file every week at the office and just…well, just think about the client.

According to the story, more often than not that person would call out of the blue and return to the practice. Kind of a law-of-attraction approach.

Our process is a little different, but geared toward the same result of re-engaging past clients in our current practice. Here’s what we’re doing:

1. Each week we pull five old files at random from the archives. (If you don’t keep files, you could just as easily check old appointment records, invoices or other client notes.)
2. We quickly review the files to see if we have anything new to offer, or some reason that we may be able to help now, when we might not have in the past
3. Where applicable, we write a personal letter to the client, describing when and why we saw them last, and why we think we might be able to better serve them now.

That’s it! Just a few minutes down the memory lane of your practice past to see if there’s anyone you might be able to help.

Why It’ll Work For You

Here’s why this approach is likely to bring back some old faces to your practice:

• You’re better now than you were then. Since you last saw these clients, you’ve probably gotten better at what you do. You’re more experienced, more confident. You may have done some continuing education, or have some new treatment tools at your disposal. Or perhaps your pricing, service, staff, hours or other aspects of your practice are more appealing.
• It’s personal. Each client is getting a letter just about them, talking about why they visited in the past, and how you might be able to help now. It’s far more personal and relevant than a newsletter or bulk mailing, so your clients are more likely to respond.
• It’s cheap & simple. Really. This is a no-brainer. The first few letters take a few minutes to put together, but after that it starts to get faster and faster as you realize part of what you’re saying each time is similar. In total, it only takes about 20 minutes a week of time commitment, and a under $5 in stamps, paper and envelopes.

Why five files? It just seemed like a manageable number. Five was small enough to ensure the job gets done and retains its individual patient focus (of each five we pull, there are only 2-3 that get letters), but big enough to get through quite a few files in a year.  You can do just one, if that’s what works best for you.

I’ve got high hopes for this effort, and I love the personalization of it. It’s also really rewarding to see how much more we offer now than we did a few years ago. It’s easy to forget how much progress you make over time!

Sometimes, though, the very thing that makes many practitioners so good at what they do – their ability to connect with and be sensitive to others -  also makes them very, very uncomfortable with the idea of marketing. Behind many of the questions we get from practitioners is a common theme: I’m shy/introverted/timid/reserved. How can I  promote my practice?

To answer that, let’s start with a few key truths about practice marketing for introverts:

Introverts Have an Advantage

So you’re an introvert. You’re inward-looking. You prefer the company of yourself, or a close interaction with one other person. You’re insightful, a good listener. All these things, as it turns out, make you a kick-ass practitioner, too. What no one may have told you, though, is this:

The same things that make you a great practitioner can make you a great marketer, too.

Not only is being an introvert not a flaw, you also have a unique set of advantages, well-suited for health care and health care marketing.

• You Listen Better – One of the greatest complaints about lousy salespeople and marketers is that they don’t listen. You’re telling them you want green, but they keep sticking red in your face over and over. As an introvert, odds are you’re a better listener than your extraverted counterparts. That means you stand a chance of actually hearing what it is your prospective clients want. What’s the biggest sales technique you’ll hear over and over in sales training? Listen to your prospect. It turns out that you’re a natural.

• You Get Others Talking – It may be that you don’t like to be the center of attention, or it may be those great listening skills, but whatever the reason, introverts have a knack for keeping others talking. That gives you a much better chance of hearing about a health concern or a subtle detail that might never come up otherwise. It means you learn far more about prospective clients than anyone else.

Introversion Isn’t a Character Flaw

We live in a culture that tends to value extraversion. Don’t buy in.

If you tend to be energized by time alone, and a little introspective, you’re in good company. Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Steven Spielberg? Yep – all introverts. Who says introverts can’t find a little success in business?

And remember, just about everyone feels the way you do at some point. You are neither broken nor alone.

Introversion and Extraversion Aren’t Permanent States

Introversion and extroversion are one continuum. We move around that continuum depending on our environment and experience. While there are genetic components to personality, they are, as with most things, not the whole picture:

Even a broad category such as introversion is like Silly Putty once life gets hold of it: a “genetically shy” child whose parents gently encourage her to get herself into the sandbox and mix it up with other kids is more likely to outgrow her shyness by age 12 than a shy child whose parents take her trait as a given. <source>

Instead of thinking yourself as flawed because you’re nervous about getting out there, think of yourself as inexperienced. We don’t blame kids for not being able to ride a bike, we just support them as they learn. You should cut yourself some of that same slack, and go easy on the labels.

Extraversion Isn’t Bad

For many, the idea of marketing a practice isn’t the fear of the actual act of say, networking, but a fear of becoming an icky extravert. That stems in large part from our stereotypical view of the marketer as the deceitful used-car salesman in the plaid jacket and snakeskin boots.

Just as introversion doesn’t mean “loser,” extraversion doesn’t mean “phony.” You can adopt aspects of extraversion without compromising your integrity or losing your personality.

You’re Already Marketing

Those great client skills of yours? Listening, reflecting, connecting, empathizing, assessing, diagnosing, prescribing and teaching? They’re the hallmarks of exceptional salespeople. The ability to truly connect with another person, understand their problem and provide the perfect solution? That’s all sales and marketing is. You learned it in school, and you’re doing it all the time, but no one ever told you. So I’m telling you right now: you’ve been marketing all along. You just need to get comfortable with the idea of expanding your audience a little.

But How?

Here are a few tips to ease your transition.

1. Start Gradually

You’re not going to change overnight. Commit to some small changes, or one big move per month or quarter. You can find a massive list of marketing ideas here. Pick just one to focus on that’s a small stretch for you. Get it done, and repeat.

2. Don’t Sell. Solve.

If the idea of “selling” is making you feel squishy, that’s good, because selling isn’t what you need to do. Your job in marketing your practice is to connect with others and solve their problems. Your job is not to sell, it’s to solve.

You can never sell anything to anyone. All you can you is create the circumstances for people to sell things to themselves. So think of yourself as connecting, sharing, educating and solving. Not selling.

3. Engage With the World

Clients don’t have to come from information sessions, speaking gigs, media interviews and article writing. They also come from being at the gym, or a mom’s group, or at the hairdresser. They come taking classes, hanging in coffee shops. From art galleries and movie theatres.

The hardest way to find new clients is to never leave your house or office. Just get out there and engage with the world.

4. Use The Buddy System

Despite all this, it can be, beyond a doubt, nerve-wracking for the less-outgoing to…well, go out. If you’re going to engage the world, there’s no rule that says you have to do it alone. Find a buddy, and get out there. Intoverted, extraverted – doesn’t matter. Moral support comes in many shapes and sizes.

5. Focus on One-On-One Interactions

Even though you might teach, or speak to groups, or show up a cocktail parties and open houses, all the good stuff happens one-on-one. Think of crowds as opportunities for a series of monogamous marketing efforts, not a pitch to a pack of rapt listeners. You don’t have to captivate a crowd. Just connect with one person.

6. Don’t Be Distracted By the Easy Stuff

There’s an enormous trend right now toward web-based marketing, especially social media. There’s a good reason for it: it’s a viable way to reach a lot of people.

The pitfall for introverts, however, is that the web is just too easy. It offers the (questionable) promise of riches and practice growth without getting out of your pyjamas, and for those of us who are a little shy, that’s too good to pass up.

So don’t pass it up. You’d be crazy not to use some of this technology to your advantage – just don’t fall into the trap of using it as your only advantage because you’re too scared to do anything else.

In a nutshell, let’s remember the words of Winnie the Pooh, who sums it all up far better than I ever could have:

“You can’t stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

Note: Kevin Doherty is one of the first people I stumbled across a few years back when we started this blog. He built a successful acupuncture practice, then went on to become an author and business coach.

He’s a smart guy, which I like, but he’s also walked the talk, building a six-figure income while maintaining a life.

It’s about time we had him sharing his brain here, so I asked him a few questions about finding success in practice…enjoy!  – Dan

1. You’ve worked closely with acupuncturists, but also with a variety of other health care professionals.   How similar are the practice challenges between acupuncture and other CAM professions?

I would say there are many similar challenges that include getting enough exposure and new patients, retaining them effectively, and creating a scalable business model that enables you to have a life outside of your practice.  Every business owner is faced with these challenges.

The difference I see for acupuncturists is that most of them would really prefer to just treat patients and not have to worry at all about marketing.  Chiropractors are much more motivated when it comes to marketing.  They understand the importance of investing in their practice growth through consulting, advertising, and internet marketing.  Acupuncturists are much more resistant to investing in their marketing education.  Because of this, they struggle more than chiropractors and generally make less money.  Acupuncturists often struggle with the whole notion of marketing in general, as it can feel inauthentic to them.  Because of this, they rely heavily on word of mouth and law of attraction principles.

For some, this works.  But for most, they never see the amount of patients they want because they have an aversion to self-promotion.  This is one of the greatest challenges that individual practitioners face, not to mention the profession as a whole.

2. What’s the biggest missed opportunity for most practitioners?

Fully leveraging the power of online technology to grow their practices.  In many markets, consumers are searching for alternative medicine services in the thousands every month with relatively little competition.  It is just crucial to get your practice positioned effectively on the internet.

3. If practitioners were to focus on one single strategy for the next three months, what would you recommend that would have the biggest impact on their practice?

Make sure you have a professional website or blog that has some current web 2.0 features like an opt in form, video, and integration with social media.  Take the necessary steps through search engine optimization, article marketing, and possibly pay per click to get a lot of qualified visitors coming to your website.

4. Many practitioners are in solo practice. Is it possible to make a good living as a solo practitioner and still lead a balanced life, or is adding associates and other staff a step that  practitioners have to make at some point?

This depends on the practitioner.  I, for one, never had a receptionist. Neither did the mentor I trained under.  We were able to see 50-70 patients per week in 3-3.5 days doing this.  This can only be done if you basically eliminate the need for a receptionist.  You have most patients pre-pay and pre-book appointments and you have an effective script in place that lets them know that they should only call your office to reschedule if it is absolutely necessary, as you run a very busy practice.  Basically, you need to be highly organized and efficient in the way you manage your time.  Otherwise, it can get pretty chaotic and exhausting.

Not all practitioners are able or want to see 3-4 patients per hour.  By far the most successful and lucrative practices are the ones that do see at least this many an hour.

I think it is possible to make a solid 6 figure income as a solo practitioner and have a life outside of the practice, but the truth is that this is unfortunately pretty rare.  You have to be pretty developed both personally and professionally to handle a high patient volume and set healthy boundaries so you don’t take it home with you or just end up pretty much living at your office.  Your marketing needs to be mostly automated through effective word of mouth and internet promotion.  Your practice management systems have to be tight and consistent.  These are things most of us don’t learn in school, which is why I decided to step up as a practice building coach.

Note: I think Kevin’s the real deal – he’s a sincere guy, helping a lot of practitioners reach more people and build a practice that supports their life.

If you need coaching, inspiration or help with any area of your practice (or you find all this internet talk confusing as hell ) you’ll find it well worth your time to check out his stuff. – Dan

It was a great success, but this year I was trying to pay particular attention to why. Here are a few of our thoughts, but we’d love some further tips. Anyone have any great ideas? Leave them in the comments!

Have a Designated Greeter

This year I spent most of my time serving drinks, and from my vantage point I had a clear view of the main entrance for most of the night. The one thing I noticed more than anything else was how uncertain new people looked when they came in. Fortunately, there were enough of us around that someone was usually able to welcome them give them a tour or point them in the direction of food, drinks, samples, etc., but in hindsight, I think having a “greeter” would have been helpful.

The greeter doesn’t need any special clinical knowledge – it can be a friend or family member. They just have to make people feel like they’ve come to the right spot for the right reason. Next year, we’ll have someone assigned to the front door the whole time.

Spread The Word Widely

People show up from an amazingly diverse range of places. We promoted the event:

• On our website
• To our patient mailing list
• In posters in local stores and shops
• On clinic signage
• In postcards left with local practitioners and other vendors
• In newspaper ads and events calendars
• In various local online calendars and community sites

Many of these sources were free, and they all helped spread the world. It turned out that just about everything connected with someone. As we’ve discovered with new client marketing, you never quite know where the people are going to come from.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Invitation

We sent letters to all our patients to let them know about the open house, and it was a pleasant surprise for me just how many clients seemed to truly appreciate simply being invited. It was a great reminder of how much people long to feel special, or a part of something.  The letter included other services and events, but the lead item was an invite them to the event, and people responded, many with messages of gratitude. It made the whole process of marketing the open house quite enjoyable.

Apparently, Recipes are Big

We had advertised that we’d be sharing recipes for unique and healthy foods, and there were people who came for that reason only. Who knew? Apparently Tara did, which gives you some insight into who does most of the cooking at our place. At any rate, recipes=more people!

Free Stuff Is A Big Draw (and Easy to Get!)

I think this was our biggest year for freebies. Our supplement suppliers and local retailers really came through for us, and it was surprisingly easy. We brainstormed a few ideas in advance, made a list, and simply asked. The people at the open house loved it, and the suppliers were super-keen and helpful. It also had the added bonus of moving people through the clinic. By placing freebies throughout the office, people tended to explore a little more, and become more familiar and comfortable with the space.

Partner

Back when the clinic was a lot smaller, we arranged to have our open house on the same night as the massage therapists down the hall. We were both relatively new in practice, but by holding events on the same night, we were able to create a much busier (and more enjoyable) event for both of us.

This year, we had a local personal trainer and raw food expert spend the evening with us. She blended up some amazing organic green smoothies, and actually turned out to be the biggest hit of the evening. She was a hugely successful addition for us, and was able to promote her own services at the same time. A great collaboration.

Have a Way to Stay in Touch

A good open house can bring a lot of new faces in the door, and it’s nice to be able to get in touch with people after the event is over. Our approach was pretty simple: a door prize that people entered by writing their name and email address on a ballot.

The next day, I simply emailed everyone a short message thanking them for attending, and included a link to the recipes from the night before on our website. The key? Respect their email address, and offer something of use. Having a great email newsletter solution makes things a heck of a lot easier, too.

Anyone else have any practical tips for making the most of an open house or other event in your practice? Let’s hear your ideas!

Why, you ask? Because for us, competition really is good for business and patients. Here’s why turning your competitors into collaborators benefits everyone.

1. Collaboration Creates a Bigger Pie

My guess is that about 5% of the people in our area are users of our particular brand of health care. So of the many thousands or so folks that could potentially use naturopathy, only a fraction of them actually are (and that 5% is being generous, I think). That leaves a really big pile of potential patients. Really, really big. And our area is small – the same idea applies just about anywhere.

The real opportunity, then, is not to fight over the same slice of pie (the 5%), but to expand the size of the slice – to tap into more of the 95% who aren’t users of our profession. There’s a whole world of pie out there – why fight over the same old slice of apple?

The challenge of course, is reaching and engaging that other 95%. That’s where competition helps. The more people who say, “I see a homeopath,” or, “I use a chiropractor,” for example, the better off the whole profession is. Competition raises awareness, which creates acceptance and momentum, and expands the market for your services.

• What to do: Reach out.  Pick up the phone or email a practitioner in your field. You’ll be surprised at how many of your competitors really do want to talk with you. They’re just too scared to take the first step. Open a dialogue with a practitioner in your area. Be generous. Share your vision. My guess is that you’ll all sleep better at night, and discover something marvelous along the way.

2. You Can Flex More Muscle

Of that huge untapped expanse of pie, a huge percentage of them use conventional medical care, so the problem isn’t health care need, it’s health care awareness. You need to reach those folks who don’t use your stuff.  Tapping into that group, though, can be an expensive and time-consuming prospect – it’s hard to make enough noise to get the attention you need.

The good news is that there’s strength in numbers. By combining forces, you can create a larger presence and do some marketing that gets attention. In our case,we’ll essentially becoming our own lobby group, promoting the benefits of naturopathic care in order to reach more people than we ever could alone.

• What to do: Pool your resources to create joint marketing efforts. For example, you can take a full page ad out in the local paper for a fraction of the cost of doing it alone, and make some noise. You can have a large booth at a trade show that really attracts attention, or run some amazing clinics, info sessions or classes that offer some real value. Get five practitioners together and you can do five times as much without spending any more time or money than you would alone.

3. Collaboration Generate More Referrals

You and your “competition” might all be massage therapists, or chiropractors, or acupuncturists, or nutritonists, or herbalists or homeopaths, but you’re all unique, too. It’s the ways in which you’re different from each other that offer the greatest opportunity. What do you each love? What do you hate? What are you best at? What does one offer that the other can’t/won’t/doesn’t?

In our group, for example, there’s an ND who’s a doula, and an ND who specializes in cosmetic / spa applications of naturopathic medicine. They’re both great services that we don’t offer, but that many of our clients would love. We’re happy to refer to them for those things. And in return, we can offer things like IV therapy and colon hydrotherapy to their clients. Patients gets better care, practitioners get more business. It’s great for everyone.

The trick is, of course, you need to connect with these folks to truly understand their specialties and explain yours. You can’t do it by reading each other’s websites on the sly or peeking in their windows after hours. You need to reach out.

• What to do: First, connect. Do a lunch or breakfast offsite, as opposed to in someone’s practice space. Get to know what each of you love and do best. Next – and this is the most important part – refer. Send a client to your competition as soon as the opportunity arises. It’s a smart, patient-focused act of goodwill that will benefit everyone, including you.

Start Now

This is a sum of the parts thing. You and two or three other practitioner can generate more total business cooperating than the three (or 6 or 15) or you can working separately. Don’t be shy. You’ll find most practitioners pleasantly relieved to have open dialogue with you.

Focus on your differences, your passions, and the strengths of your professions as opposed to your practices, and you’ll find more patients, more fun, and more pie than you ever would have alone.

One of the real advantages to this process was that we came out of it with a concrete, concise template for how to move forward when things get dicey. I’ve gone through the plan and pulled out the strategies that I feel are making the biggest difference during challenging times:

1. Look for Prospects, Not Patients

It’s easy to think that you need more patients, but the truth is that before someone becomes a patient, they often make a pitstop along the way. In sales, they call it being a “prospect” – that’s someone who might become a patient.

In a slower economy people are more careful in their spending. They’re cautious when it comes to resources, and as a result they don’t necessarily want to leap from stranger to client in one step. They want to kick a few tires first.

In practical terms for us, that meant pushing our 15-minute “meet the doctor” visit. It’s a complimentary appointment for people to find out if naturopathy is a fit for them, and how we can help. It gives prospects a risk-free way to explore the idea of becoming patients without leaping right in. It’s a stepping stone to becoming a full-fledged client, and in a slow economy, you need those stepping stones. (And is it worth it? I think so. Over 90% of our 15-minute prospects become patients.)

What risk-free “stepping stones” are you offering for people to discover you?

2. Build MD Relationships

Health care is publicly funded here. That means that a recession doesn’t really change whether or not you can see an MD, or visit a hospital. It may affect how long you wait, but you can do it regardless of your income. The same applies for people with insurance coverage.

The impact of this is that in slow times, MD’s still see a lot of sick people. While CAM usage tends to be out-of-pocket and hit harder by economic changes, MD’s in many countries stay busy. We’re working to create more relationships, and nurture the ones we have with MD’s. The downside? These often take time to build. But like planting trees, if you want to have big ones, you need to start with small ones as soon as possible.

3. Cut Costs

This one isn’t rocket science, but it’s a critical piece of the plan. Here’s what we did:

• Created a quick spreadsheet containing most of the expenses in the clinic
• Used the spreadsheet to calculate the savings on each item, and overall, if we could cut 15% across the board
• Assigned areas, where possible, to the staff. The admin and other support staff tackled things like medical and office supplies, we did things like payroll and others. (Even in a one-person office, it’s actually pretty easy when you just itemize it all and get going.)

This whole process did feel a bit squishy at first – like scarcity thinking, or a step backwards – but one we got started, I realized there were some things we should have done long ago that had nothing to do with the economy. They were just smart business decisions.

4. Stay in Touch with Your Clients

These days, it’s easy and cheap to stay in touch, particularly by email, and when things slow down, there’s no excuse for not connecting with patients. We do a few email newsletters and a couple of print mailings a year, and we’ve stepped that up a bit with targeted mailing to certain groups within our patient base.

If you’re looking for an easy way to start your own email newsletter, we’ve always recommended iContact. Lots of templates, and those great little signup forms for your website, too. No geekiness required, and you get a beautiful email newsletter delivered to your client base for pennies apiece. Two thumbs up!

5. Increase Advertising (but Measure Return)

It’s tempting to cut your advertising when money’s tight, but the truth is that as long as your marketing is working (bringing in patients), then there’s no reason not to spend more.

If your advertising generates more profit than it costs, it makes sense to do more of it.

The trick, of course, is to actually know when it works. We track the source of every new patient so that we know whether a splashy ad, or our website, or a trade show, or an open house are attracting patients. It’s not hard – we just ask patients on our intake form, and clarify as needed – but it’s unbelievably valuable. If you also know the annual value of a patient, then you can pretty quickly see what’s paying off and what isn’t. If we run an $800 ad, and 7 new patients come in as a result, we know exactly whether or not that ad was worth it.

6. Consolidate Debt

If you’ve got business loans, student loans, operating lines of credit, credit card debt, etc., it’s worth trying to consolidate them into one loan in one spot. Easier to manage, and you can often get away with a smaller payment, or a shorter term. It’ll depend on your situation, but it’s worth half an hour with your banker to find out.

7. Expand Operating Credit

If cash flow is tight going into a recession, you’ll need some extra breathing room to be able to advertise more, get through a lean month, etc. If you don’t have a business line of credit to help you through the swings in business, it’s worth checking into. if you do have one, consider expanding it just in case. You don’t have to use it, but you’ll sleep better if you have it.

8. Monitor Your Media Consumption

Unless you’re prepared to take action on bad economic news, there’s no need to be micro-informed about every bit of bad media out there. I’ve ditched news radio in favor of music, changed the news I see on my browser’s home page, and I stay away from television news wherever possible.

This isn’t head-in-the sand behavior – I know these are challenging times and we’re taking action. I just don’t need to hear it 24×7 – I can tune in briefly once in a while to get the big picture. This one wasn’t in our strategic planning, but it really is important. Too much bad news keeps you frozen in place and makes it really difficult to execute these strategies. I’m not usually troubled by any of this stuff, but I can honestly say that avoiding the bad-news mania has made a real difference.

If you’ve got a question about how to implement these strategies or you’d like to share a few of your own, leave us a comment!

The challenge is that these are pretty big projects, and it’s easy to bite off more than your practice can chew. Instead, I like to think of one principle to focus on in the coming year. It’s a bit like herding – I need one idea that can guide all those tiny details, decisions and actions in the right direction. Each “cow” might have its own unique path and nature, but at the end of the year, I want all those bovine bits to arrive at the same place.

The guiding word for this year? SERVE.

Why Service is Everything in Practice

It’s hard to be the cheapest in this industry. Or to have the biggest selection. It’s not usually that helpful to be the fastest, either. So how do you compete?

The truth is you’re not really competing with the practitioner down the road, you’re competing with a preconceived notion about what health care is. You’re competing with ideas in the minds of prospective clients. Things like “free”, “covered by insurance” “requires an MD”, “needs a white coat”, and “happens in a hospital only”. These are ideas that pop up when someone needs care, and they stop people from choosing you.

So how do you compete, and grow? In this industry, you can best compete by providing incredible service, all the time. You grow, in other words, when you serve. It’s the word for this year, but it’s probably the word for every year.

As Gandhi said:

“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.”

What We’re Doing About It (and You Can, Too)

We have two pushes on for the year to help us serve better.

1. Project 52: We’ve been rolling out a big service push at our office – it started back with the parking bowl phenomenon, really, but our niche has always been high service, and I want to take it up a notch. We’ve started what we call Project 52, which is our goal to make one customer service improvement every week all year. It’s fun, it’s tangible, and everyone gets on board.
2. Random Acts of Service: Sometimes an opportunity appears to go that extra mile. We’re going to try to seize more of them. A client is an avid reader? We send them a book that will really help them. A client loves the warm slippers we provide in a treatment room? We mail them a pair. These are little things that we don’t do for everyone, but that we do when we know someone will really love it. It feels wonderful to do it, and it’s great for business.

The great thing about this stuff is that it’s inexpensive. I bet most of our Project 52 ideas will be free (so far they are) – they’ll be tiny tweaks and improvements that really aren’t hard or costly.

People Who Can Help YOU

Here’s some 2008 gratitude and some 2009 well-wishes to the people out there who are doing their best to serve YOU so you can better serve others. I think these folks are an important part of what we’re all doing to help people get better. I’d say most aren’t making millions doing this – they’re just jazzed about helping you so you can help others. You should pay them a visit. They’ll help you serve.

To all of the following, in no particular order: thanks for all you do to serve, and thanks for the great interactions we’ve had in the last year. (If I’ve missed you please let me know!!)

• Acupuncture Clinic Marketing
• The Healthcare Marketer
• Alternative Growth Streams
• CAMLAW Blog
• Chinese Medicine Notes
• Professional Practice Success
• Acupuncture Business School
• IntegrativePractitioner.com
• Advance My Practice
• Chinese Medicine Tools
• Marketing Matters
• The Healthcare Marketing Connection
• Create a Thriving Business
• Insights for Acupuncturists
• Natural Medicine Business Success
• Community Acupuncture Network
• Build Your Dream Practice
• AltMD Pro Center
• Holistic PR
• The Acupuncture Marketing Blog
• TheBodyWorker.com
• The Integrator Blog
• DC Practice Tools

To all of our regular readers and visitors, and to practitioners everywhere: Thank you, and may 2009 be as remarkable as you are.

-Dan and Tara

I’m wondering what the best way is to network with other practitioners in a small area. I’m feeling uneasy, shy, and even slightly pushy just cold-calling people, especially in planning exactly what I want to say. I don’t want to inconvenience people, and I don’t want them to feel like I am trying to take business away from them.

We’ve touched on leveraging professional referrals (one of our 5 P’s), but I want to go into this in more detail and give you a step-by-step system that works.

It’s normal to feel awkward about approaching these folks – particularly the ones you might consider to be competition. The good news is this: it doesn’t have to feel that way. You can build your referral base without being afraid or feeling uncomfortable.

The Secret To Professional Networking

The real secret to easy, effective networking is this: find something to give.

For professional networking to be successful, you need a reason to contact someone. And for it to be really successful, that reason can’t be, “I need more referrals” – you need to have something to offer.

What You Can Give

Feel like you don’t have much to offer? You might be surprised. There are more ways to give than you might imagine. Here are just a few things you can offer to other practitioners:

• Book an appointment.
• Ask for patient/case advice. I know this sounds like asking for something, but for most people, being asked for advice is flattering.
• Ask for business advice. Many successful practitioners love the idea of being asked for their business help.
• Link to their website. If you’re active online, link to another practitioner’s site and let them know.
• Refer a patient. Send a patient their way, then follow up to check on the case.
• Ask for their marketing materials, so you can refer to them.
• Thank them for inspiration, assistance, referrals, etc.

Why bother with all this giving? These approaches give you a reason to make contact. And it’s a comfortable reason, too – what could be easier than giving someone something? Our objective here is to open the dialog in a way that’s comfortable for you, and offers something to your colleagues.

Remember: this is genuine giving. You want to go into this with the idea that if you get nothing from the interaction except the joy of helping someone else, you’ve been successful.

How To Do It

Professional referrals are a one-on-one game. While things like newspaper ads, flyers and web content tend to be one-to-many, professional referrals are all about forging a deeper relationship. Take your time. Each health care professional in your area is a unique; you need to consider, respect and cultivate those differences.

What you’ll need: a notebook or binder, some Post-it notes in various colors, and alphabetical page tags

Step 1: Build Your List

Use a single notebook, or binder, and call it your “Professional Colleagues” file. In the notebook, each practitioner or related professional gets a whole page. You can use a computer file, but I still think a binder works better – it’s easier to move pages around, and it’s always “on”.

The Yellow Pages or similar directory will be the most useful source of people – just start plucking names, and adding them in alphabetical sections so they’re easy to find.

Step 2: Collect Data

Start collecting data on the colleagues in your book. You’re essentially playing detective at this point, fleshing out the pages in your notebook with the following data:

• Name
• Profession and credentials
• Contact info – phone, web, email, office address, etc.
• Friends or colleagues in common
• Something to give
• A personal referral (“Susan Jones suggested I contact you”)
  
• Other info: patients you have in common. Services offered. Unique ads, or activities in the community.

What’s important here is to develop the habit of adding to your book. You may have little more than a phone number when you first start your list, but that’s okay. These listings will grow over time as you meet people, talk to patients, and put yourself out there. Just keep adding information as it comes your way. Having a physical book, as opposed to a computer file, tends to make it easy to add stuff anywhere, anytime, and to include clippings, business cards, etc.

The two bolded items above – something to give and a personal referral – are special. Why? Because our one rule is this: you can’t move on to step 3 (first contact), until you’ve got at least one of them. Something to give trumps all, but a personal referral does a good job of opening doors, too.

Step 3: Make First Contact

As you work through your book, adding bits of information here and there, you’ll realize that you’ve got everything you need to make contact with a certain practitioner. Flag that page in your book with a sticky note. When you’re ready, simply contact the person in question, and arrange to meet in person (step 4). Again, take your time with this. Make an appointment once a week, if you have a lot of flags, but don’t get too crazy, or you’ll lose touch with the personal connection of a good relationship.

This first contact is where the give and/or personal referral really parts pay off. Either of those two make that first contact comfortable and super-effective, and tend to make the “what to say” part easy. Don’t make the call until you’ve got one of these. (If all else fails, just book an appointment. It’s a more expensive way to meet people, but it works wonders.)

Step 4: Meet in Person

Although you can do a remarkable amount online and by telephone, meeting local professionals in person just makes good sense. It’ll give you more time to get to know each other.

Remember to use each meeting as a chance to meet someone else. Don’t forget to ask these two critical questions before you leave: Is there anyone else in the area that you think I should talk to? and Can I use your name when I contact them? The answers go right in your notebook, and before you know it, you’ve got more people to meet with.

Step 5: Follow Up

Don’t forget to do the usual follow up after your meeting, in whatever form works best. You might want to send a note so you can include business cards, etc., but use your judgment.

Be Genuine

Part of connecting with your colleagues in this fashion is to be genuine. Don’t think of them as competition. Be interested in their success. Try to help them.

Take the time to get this right. Don’t just haphazardly call a few people. Systematically getting to know every practitioner in your area takes time, but it gets results. A solid professional referral base can create a steady flow of traffic to your office – remember, these people are in contact with people seeking health care all day, every day.

You may also be pleasantly surprised how much fun it is to give to people, and how many great friendships you can develop.

Above all, though, contact the professionals in your network with a desire to give. It’ll come back to you.