It’s a new year, a clean slate, a fresh cut – what was is gone, and what will
be lies right before you – what will you make of the opportunity? Whether you
just had the best year yet or it left something to be desired, you can begin
right now with the end in mind – what would you like to be celebrating a year
from today?
Remember that it comes from you, not to you – the way you show up and what you
do are the two most important determining factors in your continued success. If
you’ve let your morning routine slip, or your exercise, or your diet, now is the
time to check yourself before you wreck yourself!
As you know, holiday time has been stressful for many, even when things went
well – eating differently, keeping different hours, traveling, it all throws
people off their usual rhythms and routines. What a perfect opportunity to
inspire people to adopt better lifestyle decision-making so they take
responsibility for their own life and health!
The idea of “New Year’s Resolutions” gives you leverage to direct people’s
attention toward the important choices they must make. You are their guide, show
them the way. It changes lives, builds your practice, and contributes to the
greater good. Make a difference, and hold yourself to a high standard of
excellence – it’s worth it!
If you blinked, you may have missed this year, it moved by that fast – but it’s not quite over yet, so you still have an opportunity to reach out to more people and serve.
People are often in overdrive, gearing up for the holidays and cranking to get everything done – they need you more than ever, to help keep them on course under challenging conditions. Alert your patients and practice members that they
need to get in for a tune-up before they start to buckle under the impact of their assorted pressures – help them get a leg up by getting adjusted before, during and after the excitement, so they cope and even flourish as the year comes to a close.
If you haven’t planned some kind of holiday promotion, there’s still time – something as simple as a Christmas Stocking Raffle, a holiday gift package or a healthy goal-setting essay contest for the kids can generate enthusiasm and fun for all!
Finish up the year strong, with a sense of engagement, purpose and congruency. You’ve worked hard, so drive toward the goal line, smile and congratulate yourself on a job well done! And if you had a tough year, then learn from it, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the game. There are people
who are desperate for your services, only many of them don’t know it yet! Tell the story, speak your truth, and inspire people to buy into this way of thinking and living – it will come back to reward them (and you) many times over.
Happy Holidays, and let’s look forward to a great New Year!
You can help your community by running a “tune-up” campaign around the onset of holiday anxieties and weather changes alike, when people go into defense physiology based on their internal and external stresses. You can provide holiday wellness packages to help people to be at their best and maybe even pamper themselves a bit, with, for example, a gift package of a massage, an adjustment and a certificate for a meal at a healthy restaurant in town.
If you want to offer a “makeover” package for your own holiday promotions, now is the time to start planning it. Bundling a chiropractic exam with a personal training evaluation, a stress survey and a dietary analysis can be a life-changing gift of health and wellness that your patients may want to give to those they care about. If you already offer those services, you can plan accordingly, but if not, it’s an opportunity to interact with others in your area to stimulate inter-referral and initiate or develop your wellness network.
Invest a few extra moments with each patient to express your own appreciation for the opportunity to serve them. They have chosen you over many other available options, and deserve your respect and your best work.
And while we’re at it, let us express our gratitude for the opportunity to serve you! You’re the finest chiropractors and wellness professionals in the world, and it’s an honor to be associated with you and to support you. We thank you for your confidence, and for the privilege of our relationship.
Your first three quarters gave you information and feedback about how well your strategies are working – pay attention, success is leaving you clues. Look at your goals and your current results – or, if you didn’t have goals set, look at your current results anyway. Decide how much you want to and believe you can grow for next year, and let that be the foundation of your statistical goals for next year.
Make sure to align your goals properly – in other words, aim to maintain or grow your averages when you increase your volume. Too many new patients can crash your PVA, while volume that grows too rapidly could compromise the quality of your service, even your healing focus. Be reasonable, but find the target that you believe you can hit, and you are very motivated to do it – that’s the sweet spot of goal setting.
You’re entering the last quarter of the year, where many games are won or lost – check your approach, make sure you bring your best attitude and abundant enthusiasm, and you can create the new trend in your practice, which can carry over into a great start in 2010.
But if you’re just thinking of all that now, you’re a bit behind, and it’s time to pick up the pace and kick it into a higher gear. There’s a third of the year left, and it’s up to you to match your standards and your strategies to the demands of the current circumstances.
First, inside the skin, if you’ve gotten a bit lazy and unstructured, seize control and initiate a program of personal development – start your day with a powerful and uplifting morning routine, check in with your team at your pre-shift huddle, spring into action with the very first patients, and follow through so you maintain your energy and passion throughout the day, closing your office with the same love and intention that you opened it. No one can do that for you – you must decide to do it and do it well.
Once you get back into the swing of things, though, apply your energy to the spectrum of practice building and new patient attraction techniques – when you add enthusiasm to even the most typical methods, like asking for referrals, inviting the spouse to the report of findings or presenting health care class, you’ll find that the extra energy improves the response and opens the door of possibility where it may have seemed closed.
Capitalize on common parental rhythms, tuned to handling an assortment of child-related health evaluations at this time. Explain the need to patients who have not yet engaged the process, and guide them toward the best decisions for themselves and their families.
Above all, act consistently with your sense of purpose – building your practice is more than just business, it’s a way for you to help to make the world a better place, with less suffering, more wellness, and an opportunity for people to experience all that they can be. Be generous, and share the gift of chiropractic – it changes lives.
There are no dog days in August or any other months – only occasional doggy
attitudes that give us an excuse not to show up big. August is traditionally a
solid practice month, often one of the busiest of the year – but not unless you
are focused on making it so.
Most school kids are returning to regular school schedules at the end of August
and beginning of September, so now is the time to plan “back to school”
screenings, evaluations and promotions.
The weather may be hot outside, but you can help your patients keep cool by
offering them spring water when they arrive – a small gesture perhaps, but what
feels better than a cool drink on a hot day, especially after the stress of
fighting traffic to get to your office -- and besides, most patients don’t drink
near enough water, it gives you a chance to talk about wellness lifestyle
decisions with them.
Paying attention to the rhythms of your practice and your community can help you
anticipate times when you have to invest more focus and energy to keep things
flowing. For example, if you have busier afternoons than mornings, it may help
to recruit some morning patients, like seniors, young families and people who
work at night. Likewise, if you notice that there are time periods in your
calendar that tend to slow down, anticipate them and generate a flow of people
to fill in those gaps – for example, if you notice that some regular patients
tend to vacation in August, then plan promotions in mid-to-late July so you have
some enthusiastic new patients coming into August to keep your schedule full.
Remember it going forward, when you plan your marketing for next year.
Make this month count – remember that recruiting new clientele doesn’t only grow
your business, it changes lives. Let one more individual in on the secret of
health and wellness each day, and your practice will reflect the investment.
Another half year is under your belt, and now it’s time for serious
evaluation – are you right where you want to be, getting closer, or not yet
getting closer? Those are the only choices, so pick one, and respond
accordingly.
If you’re right where you want to be, make sure to celebrate, and then decide
what the second half should look like – more of the same, or does some
refinement, project or new adventure appeal to you? Decide, check that you are
in position to take action the way it will be required, set your course and go –
you have momentum, invest it.
If you’re getting closer, notice where you have been limited, in other words
where your weaker areas are holding you back, and take your foot off the brake.
Are you aiming at more new patients, better patient compliance, improved
collections, enhanced training for your team, or is the issue more a matter of
how you are showing up? Use the Practice Fulfillment Quotient to troubleshoot
your practice and determine where your energy is best applied.
If you’re not yet close, then don’t flip out, that won’t help -- just put your
attention where it can do you the most good. Get back to basics – consistent
morning routine, well-articulated goals, constructive feedback mechanism from
your coaches and support team, and constant focus on your desired outcome.
Massive action grows out of massive certainty – do you or do you not believe you
can get there? It is this x-factor of certainty that often puts your efforts
into proper focus and gains for you the result you wish to accomplish. If
necessary, use a Resource Builder to develop more certainty, and let’s get the
show on the road.
Wherever your practice is at this particular snapshot in time, congratulations!
You’re in the game, and that’s the only way you can win, by being in the game,
playing your best, and looking for ways to do better. Good for you!
