Whether you own a thriving chiropractic practice, just getting started or you're somewhere in between, there is a little know known secret to getting more joy from your work, widening your patient base, and ultimately making more money doing what you love.
The secret is one three letter word: WHY.
"Why are you doing what you are doing?"
If you want to stand out from the crowd and have patients coming to rather than any of the other countless chiropractors out there, do not just tell people what you do, tell people why you do it.
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In this day and age, the world of business is undergoing a completely revolutionary shift. The rules are changing. Businesses that solely focus on their bottom line will wither away and soon be forgotten.
For most of you reading this article, it would be safe to say you were first drawn to the chiropractic field because you had a passion to heal others, right? And if you are just starting out, you have invested countless hours of education. And if you have been in business for a few years, lets add a few more hours of continuing education to fuel the inspiration that keeps you focused on why you continue to do what you do. But it really goes beyond that.
You need to fully understand your "Why" and for most in the profession, it isn't about the money. It is so much more. By understanding your own "Why", and then communicating it patients, will make you their go-to health care provider.
Consider this, if you knew how to translate "why" you do what you do into language that communicates how it helps your patients and potential new patients lead better, healthier lives do you think you would have better relationship and retention with your patients?
How Apple Computer Did It
You may be asking yourself, is this really so important? Yes, because people are starting to care less and less about what a business does, and more and more about the people behind the show, who they are, and what they stand for — your "why" and how your "why" helps them.
Let's take a real world example. Take Apple for instance. Why do you think they have such a loyal, raving customer base, and own such a huge part of their market? How has a company, which for years had the most expensive computers on the market, developed customers like that.
Answer: They don't just sell electronics, they offer an experience, and an opportunity to be a part of something bigger.
If Apple were like everyone else, a marketing message from them might sound like this: "We make great computers. They're beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. Want to buy one?"
And that's how many of us communicate. We say what we do, or how we're different or how we're better, and expect someone to take action based on that. But it's not inspiring.
Now, here's how Apple actually communicates: "In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. The way we challenge the status quo is by making our products beautifully designed, simple to use and user friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Want to buy one?"
Do you see how this is completely different? That's a perfect example of leading with why and how the why benefits the customer.
And that's the little known secret. Lead with your why, and how it benefits your patients and you will reap all of the rewards that come with having the practice of your dreams. Live your passion and serve people by simply sharing your why.
How To Do It
Want to know how to do this? Start now by getting a piece of paper and a pen. Begin by making a list of your personal, professional and financial "whys."
A personal why could be that you want to help make a difference in someone's life.
A professional "why" may be you want to educate 100 people on the benefits of chiropractic care within the next year? A financial "why" may be that you want to be able to travel more or get new office equipment.
[pb]They can be as simple or complex as you want. Take 5 to 10 minutes and complete this exercise now.
Incidentally, this is a great exercise to repeat frequently because as your practice expands your "whys" will evolve, change or in some cases get much bigger than when you first started. This is even something you can have all of your staff within your organization complete on a quarterly basis. This is a great team-building exercise and lets you, the owner, know and communicate the goals and the desires for your practice.
The sole purpose of this article is to offer some simple steps to create, not only the chiropractic practice you really want, but really, the life you truly desire. A successful chiropractic practice just happens to be in the picture.
Since you have a nice list of reasons why you do what you do, let's take it a step further. Being a chiropractor and simply adjusting people is one thing, but being a chiropractor where you're skills, open heart, and your deepest desire for improving other people's lives fuels a cause and a bigger mission, is completely different. It's no secret that as a chiropractor you are incredibly passionate about what you do. You may even be among the vast majority who chose this line of work because they were answering the same noble calling: to heal the world. That's the difference between what you do, and why you do it.
Translating Your "Why" to Patients
So how do you translate your "why" you do what you do into how it helps your patients and new patients lead better, healthier lives? You know why you do what you do so how do you get that communicated into benefits for your patients?
Unless you understand the modern-day solution to creating the chiropractic practice of your dreams, you are in danger of being just another chiropractor who struggles with how to keep their patients inspired and make chiropractic care a priority.
Go back to the Apple example.
Like most of the greatest companies in this world they don't just offer a product or service, they offer an experience at the core of it all, and those that do it well, like Apple, offer an opportunity to be a part of something bigger. Your "why" is something bigger.
In order to communicate your "why" into that experience and make it so the patients see, feel and understand how it benefits them, remember to see it from their point of view.
"How is my why going to help them?" When you lead with why you do what you do and how it benefits them, and you share this beneficial vision with others, you will attract more patients who share that same desire. Furthermore, those patients are going to happily pay a premium to have an ongoing relationship with you.
People want to know you. When patients want to work with you, it's because of your connection, the rapport, what is unique and fascinating about you, and ultimately, how they feel by associating themselves with you. Of course, it's important to be able to help people live well, but remember, at the end of the day, they buy you, not your chiropractic care. By sharing how your why benefits them, you are creating a relationship.
Remember the saying "no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care?"
Your why you do what you do to benefit your patient shows them how much you care. To help you get clarity on translating your why into benefits for your patients, on the same piece of paper now answer these next three questions:
Be sure to give these some thought, take your time to really think about what it is that you feel most passionately about chiropractic care and why you choose this profession.
Once you have answered these questions you should have your why and how your why benefits your patients. When you make that connection with your patients by building an interactive relationship they make it a priority in their lives. They feel better and thereby reducing those common struggles every chiropractor has in common; patient retention and patient affordability objection.
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