Q: Dear Dr. Joel. With the realization that you have one chance to make a first impression, would you be able to provide me with the verbiage to use in the 20 seconds you have to talk with someone as they are opening their door to talk with a complete stranger. I have no fear about going door to door, and speaking with 3000 people. But, my thought is wouldn't the best idea be to make numerous presentations in town with the outside chance that the person you are introducing yourself to at the doorway of their home, could possibly be in the audience of one of your talks or could hear about you from one of your talks, and then can formulate their own opinion of you. Going door to door conjures up vacuum salesman in everyone's mind, whenever anyone, including you and me, have to answer the door to a stranger. Again, I don't have any fear about the process, I just don't want to lose a prospective patient by interrupting them in their home. A: First of all .. the 3000 people you meet may be at their workplace .. a retailer .. an attorney .. a florist .. a survey in the parking lot as people go to work .. local physicians .. health food store owners .. spa members .. the list goes on. In fact the people that make the most impact are the ones you want to reach first. Knocking on doors as a vacuum salesman is tough but if you can do it for the right reasons then it will work. As far as the Fernandez new doctor program they have their own script but more importantly .. they explain the mechanics of using it and how to capture the moment. I have never looked at their script or discussed it with anyone there except heard the feedback from many of their clients .. it works. I do recommend you call Susie there and have her explain the purpose and about their program .. they don¼t twist your arm to join .. they are very low key concerning that. Their number is 1-800-882-4476. Below is taken from my Smart Start Book .. I think it is also in my Marketing Book. It will help you get the big picture of the community. If you are new in practice dedicate a few hours in the morning a week for this .. in other words during office hours close the office and dedicate it for PR. Public Relations: Your Community -- Your Farm The Farm is a marketing term depicting your local community. As with any farm, you¼ll plant your seeds and cultivate until harvest. The bounty of harvest will be dependent on how you plant your seeds, nurture your seedlings, and cultivate your farm. Ethical marketing is crucial and the approach you take will pay dividends for years to come .. prepare your farm well. Draw a circle around a five to ten mile radius of your office. Of course this is dependent on whether you are in a rural or urban location This Is Your Farm ... Stake It! ... Claim It! Now Go Out ... WORK IT! The challenge is when and where to plant your seeds and how best to nurture your farm. Farmers consider the cost of seed and fertilizer prior to working their soil, so too with your marketing ideas. Professional newsletters, direct mailing, community screenings, professional alliances are all ideas that cost in material, time, and staff support. Create the message as cost effective as possible with the greatest amount of impact. Marketing falls totally within the bounds of ethics. The old ambulance chasers have been replaced with new „high tech¾ replacements. Fee splitting and referral programs have replaced the ambulance chasers. With a handful of accident reports and a cellular phone, a „runner¾ can generate lots of money. A trip to the hospital, the municipal court, or the scene of an accident can bring new patients and clients to the doors of an attorney or doctor. „Here, take this half of a $100 bill. The other half is waiting for you at attorney Smith¼s office .. or Dr. Jones.¾ Ethical? Well, they do need care .. don¼t they? But, is it ethical? It¼s your call. I don¼t think so! Marketing and Public Relations can be expensive or as cheap as a handshake. In the beginning walking your talk is the least expensive and the best long term investment you can make. As you grow and prosper time restraints will keep you from reaching out as before, but time should always be found for this. Consider where you want to take your practice rather than your practice taking you. Whether you wish to be involved in Public Relations or not .... you will be. You must have a marketing concept to create your practice. Every business, markets their product with community and public relations. Corporations from AT&T to Wal-Mart have on-going programs spending millions of dollars monthly. Why? Competition ... and that¼s reality. If everyone is fishing with worms and getting just a few bites, it may be time for you to use some other form of bait. Therefore, marketing is a learned and acquired skill. Relying only on free examination flyers has little creativity as well as longevity. These ads are like worms. You¼ll get a few bites, but the masses of fish are looking for something else .. something more substantial. That bait is your knowledge ... after that your skills. Meet your public with community programs ... the patients will follow. Community Relations and Marketing: Community Relations in a Health Care environment is demanding, challenging and competitive. Chiropractic has a limited share of the health care market, and the number of chiropractors within a radius of five to ten miles of your office may be dense. Therefore, aggressive but ethical methods of marketing must be used. The end product of this will be new patients; and the end result will be a healthier community. This is your goal and purpose. Your office location may be within a residential, commercial and industrial area. This results in an unlimited number of sources for potential people to meet. The challenge is to tap into the perfect fit between your goals and the goals of your community. Ä This may be a company wishing to reduce potential employee injuries and increase production by limiting downtime. Ä It may also be a local business willing to have you screen their customers as a method to attract new business. Ä It may be a civic or church organization that needs a speaker, or a special day set aside for their members to come to your office to be screened and evaluated for stress, etc. Survey Your Community: The challenge is to group your ideas, skills, and dedication to your stated purpose and plan your day/week/month/year towards on-going programs and increased growth both within and from without your office. The end result will be your office as a beacon within the community. It¼s not easy, and will take much time cultivating and maintaining. But, it will be worth the energy. Prior to any active program, it¼s best to decide which direction your energy should be spent. A demographic and interest level breakdown of your community will allow you to produce the most for the time you¼ll have. Survey your community prior to choosing a location, or even after your choice is made. Determine the specific needs of your farm. Ä Can you assist them with special educational programs? Ä Can you screen the public for physical (biomechanical) stress? Ä Can you establish an alliance with local corporations? Ä Can you create a referral base of attorneys and physicians? Once you decide where you want to plant and fertilize your seeds of chiropractic, time will be spent with specific research. Surveys can be done either on the phone or person to person. In the beginning, it¼s best to drive around your farm writing the names of office buildings, warehouses, residential streets, business locations, etc. With the use of a map, go the local library and lookup these street names in the Hanes Directory, or a similar directory. Business and residential names are listed along with their phone numbers. Also, call your city or county Chamber of Commerce for their list of civic organizations and businesses. Some county and city chambers group their businesses by the number of employees. You may also find new neighbor numbers from utility companies. Call the local gas or electric companies and determine if they give new addresses for the purpose of marketing. Don¼t forget your local Welcome Wagon organizations. If you¼ll use a service where people visit new neighbors with a gift basket, be sure you meet with your local representative and discuss chiropractic and your purpose, so they represent both you and chiropractic. They can be a great addition to your marketing arm. Begin a log of these names and numbers. Prior to calling, be sure you have your act together with written scripts and time set aside to drill these scripts with your staff. The scripts are your screenplay.. have all the actors in place and well rehearsed ... the rest will work as expected. Once you are ready, you then make the calls to learn who is and isn¼t interested. As this is business, and your time will be limited, you may wish to concentrate on those companies that offer chiropractic insurance coverage. It is more likely, with the restraints you¼ll have to promote, that the employees more readily able to afford your care will take advantage of it. But, and a big BUT, in the beginning talk to any and everybody regardless of their insurance coverage. Outside Survey: Workshop Interest/Corporate Environment This survey is used for outside promotions. The staff person involved with Public Relations goes to an office park within your „farm.¾ With a clip board in hand and a number of these surveys, he/she reaches for individuals on their way to work, during their breaks or on their way to lunch or home. Remember to be sensitive, some wish to be approached while for others it¼s a major turn off. Those who are reluctant will usually be worthless therefore concentrate on quality people. Ä Purpose: Determine interest level of individual employees, as well as leads from their supervisors. End result of this survey is to gather a list of potential corporate ergonomic workshops, as well as individuals interested in your in-office workshops during lunch and dinner. Pizza works well and is a cheap meal .. remember they deliver. Buttons to Push: Stress, Headaches, Carpal Tunnel, Neck/Shoulder Pain, Sprain/Strain Introductory script: „Hi, my name is Jason, and I¼m with the Ergonomic Wellness Center. If you have a few minutes, I¼d like to ask you a few questions concerning your interest in specific health oriented workshops. Do you have a minute? Great. Okay, first, do you work here (now follow the outline below) Community Workshop Survey Your Company Name: _________________________ Type of Business: ___________ Person Surveyed: _____________________________ Title: ____________________ Number of Employees: __________ Clerical: ______ Labor: ______ Sales: ________ Do they all work at this location: __Yes __No Type of Work Being Performed: ____________________________________________ Available Workshops (We offer the following workshops. All programs include handouts, a slide presentation, conservative exercises with employee interaction) __Staying Fit While You Sit (Clerical) __Safety in the Workplace (Labor) __Carpal Tunnel Syndrome __Stress Management __Nutrition and Exercise Would your employees benefit from any of these? __Yes __No Who would make the decision to set up a program at work? ______________ Are they in: __Human Resources __Personnel __Benefits __Other _____________ Does your office offer workshops such as these? __Yes __No What about Lunch and Learns? (employees come during their lunch break) __Yes __No Do you have a: __Community Room ___Cafeteria ___Open Atrium If they wouldn¼t offer these workshops to your employees, would you attend a workshop nearby during your lunch break, or after work, especially if lunch or dinner was served? __Yes __No Lunch ____ Dinner _______# who would attend with you? ____ Would you care to be placed on our mailing list for dates of future workshops? Name: _____________________________ Address: ____________________________ City _____________________State: __________ Zip: ______________ Home Phone #: ___________________________ Work # _____________________ Use this survey to meet the public one on one. You may ask these questions or have them complete the survey themselves. This survey allows you to get a pulse of your community, gather a local mailing list, determine who is interested in attending your workshops. Be sure to add questions that pertain to your expertise. Done in your Farm area .. gentle into Chiropractic. If too long, work and re-create this to fit Healthcare in America Survey Ä Are you satisfied with the present health care system in America? Yes _ No _ Ä What areas need improving? _____________________________________________ Ä Are you satisfied with your present health insurance coverage? Yes _ No _ Ä Are you presently a member of an HMO: Yes _ No _ Ä Do you feel that prevention is always better than cure? Yes _ No _ Ä If fees were reasonable, would you take advantage of Preventive Care? Yes _ No _ Such as: Exercise _ Massage _ Nutrition _ Fitness _ Stress Management _ ÄWould your fellow employees also benefit from these programs? Yes _ No _ Ä Do you exercise regularly? Yes _ No _ Ä Are you a member of a health spa? Yes _ No _ Ä If not, would you benefit with a free a 2 week pass to a local Spa? Yes _ No _ Ä Does driving to work take more than 20 minutes? Yes _ No _ Ä Do you tire easily after a full night sleep? Yes _ No _ Ä Would you like to learn more about nutrition and diet? Yes _ No _ Ä Have you evaluated your fitness and stress levels lately? Yes _ No _ Ä Have you suffered within the last six months with chronic problems such as: __Headaches __Allergies __Digestive Problems __Irritability __ General Pain Ä Does a chiropractor help? ___Pain only ___Adults only __Maintains Wellness Ä Have you ever been to a chiropractor? Yes _ No ____Are you presently? Y _ N _ Ä Has friends/family been to a chiropractor? Yes _ No ____Positive ____Negative ____ Would Wellness be of interest to you and your family? Yes _ No _ If it were possible would preventive health care appeal to you? Yes _ No _ Ä If Wellness Workshops were offered at no charge would you attend? Yes _ No _ Ä Which Workshops would you and others attend: _ Stress Mgt. _ Nutrition _ Exercise _ Pain Control _ Aging Gracefully Ä Would these programs benefit your church or civic groups as well? Yes _ No _ Ä We would like to include you on our mailing list and alert you to these programs, if you are interested in this please complete the following: Name: ______________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Address: ________________________________________________ Zip : ________________ Home Phone # _________________ Work # _______________________ Thank you for your time, if you answered yes to a number of the above questions, you may be interested in taking advantage of our Complimentary structural and biomechanical evaluation. If yes, check this box: _ Please note below the phone number and time to best reach you. Phone # _______________________ Time: ____________________ The nature of these programs is informational, as well as being a productive avenue for you to meet more people. If you wish to be invited back, or referred to other organizations, keep your close of the workshop a mild-medium sale .. try not to hard sell chiropractic or your office. Everyone will pick up on your sincerity if you tell the story. Tailor your expertise to your public. If you are into biomechanics, sports chiropractic, specialized techincs, use this to your advantage. If you are sold on the product .. so will your public. The flame is kept alive by enthusiasm and results. But first .. get them in. Your efforts and energy will determine your marketing strategy. Once you have a feel for the area; the demographic orientation you¼ll be attracting; the business programs you¼ll be creating ... it literally will be planning your success and future. Don¼t plan for failure .. there is little room for failure when your plans are well thought out. Your plan is your road map. Just as AAA has a Trip Tic outlining your travels even before you go, so too with your marketing plan. Don¼t be afraid of the competition If you market yourself correctly .. there is none! Positive Concepts and Marketing Ideas: Ä New Patients are the result of being up tone which in turn keeps your practice up Ä Your attention must be on Outflow -- Promotion = Inflow Ä Motivation should not be money -- exchange must be service towards your Purpose Ä You must change what you do if you¼re not happy with what you have To be in control of your office you must know where the next patient will be coming from. Looking at the telephone will not make it ring. Sending 10,000 free examination flyers will not have 10,000 people materialize in your office. No, you must be prepared to be Pro- Active in public relations and reach out to your public. If you want to reap the harvest of your efforts every week, every month and for years to come, go out and plan for this harvest. This pursuit is on going and should never an considered a burden, but a challenge. If you feel, at this point you cannot do it yourself .. it is beyond your comfort zone, then learn the tools and train someone else. They¼re out there. THINK OF YOUR OFFICE AS A FAUCET -- YOU WANT MORE PATIENTS JUST TURN IT ON!