Shared by: George Youssef: george@chirosuccess.com "A Proactive Approach to Generating Referrals" Over the past couple of years, I've written two or three newsletters on the subject of generating referrals from current patients. Well, over time I've had the chance of experimenting with different methods, and today I'm going to share with you a method that I've found to be especially effective. First though, I want to briefly go over what the typical chiropractor does in his or her referral generating activities: 1) Nothing: Well, maybe saying "nothing" would be a bit harsh. But basically what these doctors do is provide the absolute best chiropractic care of which they are capable, while treating their patients in the kindest way they are capable. The unfortunate thing though, is just because you are an excellent chiropractor does not mean that you will automatically receive referrals. You need to instruct your patients to provide you with referrals. 2) Educate patients: The nice thing about these chiropractors is that by educating their patients about chiropractic, they are more likely to acquire referrals since their patients become aware of all the possible conditions for which chiropractic can be of help. As a side bonus, educated patients tend to stay with the doctor for a longer period of time. Still, without directly being asked for referrals, many of these patients never even consider referring their friends and family. 3) Ask for referrals: This is what many of the chiropractic offices I've worked with have been doing to build their practice through referrals. This step is very important, because most people do as instructed, and will refer others to you only if you instruct them to do so. Do not assume that just because they are happy with your care that they will refer others to you. The doctors who specifically ask for referrals are the ones who get them in quantity. An even more powerful method: What I am going to show you right now is above-and- beyond all those listed above. However, I am not suggesting that you do not utilize the three above mentioned methods, but that in fact, you should add this new method to your current arsenal - and watch results explode! Okay, okay, enough of this diddy-daddling. Here's what to do... Once you get a patient telling you about the wonderful results he or she has experienced due to chiropractic, how much she likes you as a doctor, or any other positive thing that she says, you want to ask her who else she knows who might also benefit from what you have provided her. You want to offer suggestions: friends, coworkers, family members, hair stylist, mechanic, etc. So far, this is pretty much the same as method #3 above, but what makes this so effective is instead of asking the patient if she would tell that person about you, you will want to ask her if you could send a letter to that person offering them a complimentary exam, and mentioning that she suggested you write them. In almost all cases, the patients will say yes. So you just have them fill out a form with the names and addresses of the people she knows, and then send out a letter to these people mentioning to them that Suzy (or whatever her name may be) suggested you contact them, since she feels that they would benefit from the same care that she has been receiving. And since you appreciate Suzy as a patient, and you find that people tend to associate with people who are similar to them, you are offering to provide a complimentary exam to them, with absolutely no obligation. In addition, you will also want to ask Suzy to call up her friends and let them know about you, and that they should expect a letter from you. By doing this, her friends will be even more receptive to your letter, since they will be aware of it, and anticipating it. Also, if Suzy's friends does not call up and make an appointment right there and then, make sure that you don't drop them from your database. Send them another letter a couple of weeks later, and still another a month after that. From there, just keep on marketing to them every few months until they become patients, or they move. Using this strategy, don't be surprised to see your number of referrals double or even triple. This is the power of taking the proactive step, since few of your patients will actually do the work themselves of contacting their friends, no matter how much they like you and your care. Would you like to subscribe to his newsletter? Just go to http://www.chirosuccess.com/newsletter/newsletter.html