For almost 20 years, I’ve worked closely with D.C.s from all over Canada and the United States and FOR SURE this is the long list of why Chiropractors fail (in no particular order):
- Wrong practice name (repels, not attracts)
- Open adjusting (decreases perceived value, patients don’t dig it)
- A complicated fee schedule (in an attempt to maximize insurance payments).
- Adjustment fee too high for their market. (Even $10 too much can be devastating.)
- Unnecessary/Lengthy 1st visit and “ROF” procedures (wears ‘em out and only increases confusion and controversy)
- Over “educating” (to patients, it’s pushy)
- Doctors dress too casually (not appropriate)
- Chiropractic wall posters, brochures, reception room Chiropractic-content played on TV monitors. (pushy)
- Lengthy treatment plans (Requires you to be in constant promoting, selling, and patient-replacement mode.)
- Gullible (Will do almost anything to “survive.”)
- “Cash Practice” (There is no such thing. If patients have to pay even a buck, they too are a cash patient. People only buy what they want and expect doctors to accept their insurance. If you don’t, most will go elsewhere.)
- Unnecessary overhead (too much staff, square footage, equipment)
- Wrong office hours (When you know how to run a business, you don’t need to be available 5-6 days a week. This is a recipe for burnout.)
- Modality overuse (Patients value doctor time and question the validity of everything else. Ice, roller tables, cold laser, etc. may have their place but they don’t stimulate referrals. They can turn you into an easily replaceable commodity.)
- Lack of confidence/ over confidence (Neither creates attraction. To be likable, you need to be engaging and be a good listener. Being extremely likable also goes a long way. “Like attracts Like”.)
- Depression and Anxiety (Both can kill any possibility of practice expansion. The only way out is to be way in the present moment.)
- Unrealistic expectations (You can’t grow a business thinking that your overhead will never exceed 30%. The only way to grow a practice is by leveraging your time, your talent, and your money. Want to collect $100,000.00 a month? “Spend” $55,000.00 a month!)
- Unwillingness to automate, delegate, and outsource (This is huge. You and I suck at and don’t want to do most things. But that doesn’t mean that you can build a business without these things. Chances are, you can’t. You must know how to get a lot done in a short amount of time. To do that, you must use other people’s technology and talents.)
- Inaccurate assessments, perceptions, and points of view. (If you aren’t where you want to be, assume that you aren’t thinking accurately, and that what you think isn’t even true.)
- Lack of self awareness (Wanting what you don’t have the skills to achieve and/or aren’t willing to pay the price for… while continuing to be frustrated about it. Be honest with yourself and/or get help, read, hire experts. You can’t be good at everything.)
- Not giving patients what they want and how they want it. (Just because you have a solution, that doesn’t mean that people want it or are willing to do what it takes to get it.)
- Not living in the real world (You can’t run a business in the “should be” world or fantasy land. Like it or not, you must accept what is and builds a business around that.)
If I had time, I could go on but I have to go.
Bottom line, “school is never out for the pro.”
Have a great day.
