March 21, 2025 • 23 mins
What separates thriving chiropractic practices from those that struggle isn't clinical excellence—it's mastering the art of patient nurturing from first contact through years of care. When you treat your practice like your baby, constantly nurturing relationships at every touchpoint, you create the foundation for lifetime patients who remain loyal for decades.
Most chiropractors pour tremendous energy into those first one or two patient interactions, then shift to an unspoken expectation: "You called me, you booked in here, now follow my recommendations or take a hike." This healthcare authority mindset creates a disconnect that leads to patient dropout and missed opportunities for long-term relationships.
In this energizing episode, we break down the top ten nurturing strategies that transform first-time visitors into lifetime advocates. From crafting that perfect welcoming first phone call to implementing systematic 3-month, 6-month, and yearly reactivation protocols, you'll discover practical, actionable approaches that keep your practice present in patients' lives throughout their wellness journey.
You'll learn why personalized touchpoints before visits reduce anxiety, how post-treatment follow-up calls separate you from typical healthcare experiences, and why something as simple as a handwritten note can create lasting impressions in our digital world. We explore the power of automated email nurturing sequences, social media engagement, and systematized referral encouragement that turns every patient into a practice champion.
Whether you're building a new practice or rejuvenating an established one, these nurturing strategies create the sustainable growth engine that powers decades of success. Implement even a few of these approaches and watch as your practice culture transforms, your team rallies around patient relationships, and your retention metrics soar.
- Join Marketing 101 for Chiropractors Facebook Group here
- Learn more at EnricoD.com
- Book a free discovery call with Enrico to level up your business
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Marketing
101 for Chiropractors.
I'm Dr D.
This week we are going to gothrough nurturing your babies,
which is pretty much yourpractice, and you need to be on
top of your nurturing to getthrough lifelong wellness care.
I mean that's the ultimate goalfor all chiropractic offices is
(00:22):
to have lifetime repeatcustomers.
That's the lifetime goal forany business is to have repeat
customers coming back andgetting the pizza at your pizza
place.
Repeat customers getting theirdental cleanings.
Repeat customers gettingadjusted.
Repeat I know you don't likethe word customers, but patients
or practice members, whateveryou call them.
I've got the top 10 today, likedavid letterman remember
(00:45):
letterman and we're going to gothrough them and instead of
giving you exact ideas for eachone of these, I'm going to give
them in a general sense so thatyou can reflect back into your
practice and be like well, whatworks for me and what works for
our team to do these things?
But these 10 things are reallyimportant in business building,
in any type of business, notjust chiropractic.
(01:06):
But we're going to keep it verychiropractic and I may give you
examples of what I do, but theymay or may not fit how you do
it.
But let's go through them andlet's go from the first
experience a patient or apotential client or a lead may
experience of your business, andthen what it's like for them
walking in and walking out.
I'm doing this episode because,once they walk in and they
(01:28):
become a new patient, thosefirst one or two interactions
are where you give them the mostenergy.
And then after that, you as abusiness owner, as a
chiropractor, have anexpectation that them, as a
patient, better follow the rulesor take a hike.
You have this undertone.
It's a healthcare undertone,it's just the way it is.
It's you, with the authoritythat you have as a doctor, being
(01:50):
like hey, you called me, youbooked in here, you paid the
exam fee.
It's up to you to follow therecommendations, otherwise, what
do you want me to do?
That's really the undertone.
And as chiropractors, we'remore compassionate because we
have to be in order to keeppeople motivated and on board
with the treatment protocol,whether it's an acute six visit
plan to help them with astrained hamstring, or whether
(02:11):
it's a 36 visit plan to helpthem with a levoscoliosis of
their lumbar spine, whatever itmay be, you have to keep them on
board and this is callednurturing, and through that
process you can build authority,you can build trust, you build
a bunch of good things.
Let's let's dive into these top10 things.
That'll get you thinking thisis a podcast.
We don't have to write anythingdown, you probably don't even
(02:32):
have to watch the video.
This is one.
You just listen to and justreflect on what you're doing in
your office, and if there's oneor two things you're like, man,
yeah, I got to really focus onthat, then I think it was worth
it for this podcast.
We'll keep it short and sweet,like each and every week, but
let's dive in.
First thing is the warm,welcoming first call.
That's usually the interactionthat you have.
(02:53):
It could be an email these days, it could be a contact us form
on your website.
It could be one of those, oreven a reply to one of your
marketing funnels.
It could be, but typically it'sthat call.
We're trying to get them on thephone.
If you're chasing down leads,you're probably trying to get
them on the phone, and if theyare finding you on Google or
referral, they're probablycalling your office.
So it is that first call.
(03:13):
Train your front desk to engagewarmly, ask about concerns and
express excitement to help them.
This is key.
A great first impression setsthe tone and make it your own in
your practice.
Our office, the people that wehire first off, are literally
interviewed based on that phonecalls.
Those first phone calls.
I want them to call, I want totalk to them on the phone, and
(03:35):
we literally grade them one to10.
And those are the resumes thatwe keep people that have a nine
or a 10 out of 10 on the phone,that robust, bubbly personality
that pick up the phone and justexcited to be there, and we hope
that they continue with thatthe longer they work with us.
So they pick up the phone hey,it's Full Life Chiropractic.
It's Brittany, how can I helpyou today?
Or I can help you today.
(03:56):
And then the patient calls inyeah, I'd like to be a new
patient.
And they go through theirconcerns.
Or they'll ask our front deskasks like hey, tell me what's
bringing you to our office today?
And they'll just keep a couplenotes for us.
And then we create that intothe nurture sequence on the next
step and I'll show you whatwhat that is.
And then they are just excited.
At the end they're like hey,we're so excited to have you
come in here.
That's why we're not in networkwith insurances, so that we can
(04:18):
help everyone come in.
But I'm going to help you withyour super bill afterwards so
that you can try and submit andget some reimbursement there.
That's just us.
I'm giving you my example.
We're not in with insurance.
So for the rest of you, hey,yeah, we're direct in there.
This is how it works.
We won't know exactly yourpolicy, depending on deductible,
but we'll get you in here andget you all started.
Don't worry about that.
Leave the rest to us.
We're excited to see you.
(04:39):
You get it away from thefinancials, you get it away from
money and you make it moreabout them emotional, right?
This leads us into somethingand there's a different podcast
for this about the virtualconsult.
That's why we get thatinformation and before they come
in for their first visit, theyget a virtual consult.
Go search for the virtualconsult podcast and listen to
that.
It's a great thing.
That has really changed thetrajectory of my practice.
(05:00):
We love it and it fits intothis nurture sequence so well.
So they get a consult call.
That can be three minutes, itcan be nine minutes, whatever it
is, and the patient just kindof spills their guts about
what's going on.
It's perfect.
So when they come in for theirfirst visit, their exam, they're
like hey, sam, I talked to youon the phone.
Man Sounds like this, this andthis are bothering you, started,
(05:20):
then started this.
Did I miss anything from thatcall?
Is there started then startedthis?
Did I miss anything from that?
Calls or anything else you wantto tell me about, maybe some
other issues, and they're likeno, I think that's pretty much
it.
Or they'll tell you secondarythings like oh yeah, I didn't
tell you, but I've had likeplantar fasciitis or foot pain
for like five years.
I don't know what to do.
That I'm like great, let's talkabout that too.
(05:44):
We're going to focus on thephone and then they match it up
when they come in.
Works really well.
Number two personalizedpre-visit touch points, the
virtual consult.
Send a welcome email with atext on information on how to
get to the office, where to parkand what to expect from the
doctor.
You may even embed some YouTubevideos that you say hey,
(06:06):
welcome to our practice, we'reexcited to see you.
This is what you can expect.
And then just a quick tour ofthe office, or just even the
front or the front desk, so thatthey visually see this.
So when they drive there, theysee the parking lot, they're
like, oh, this looks familiarand they get on in.
How many of you are trying tofind a new place, right?
You don't know where you'regoing.
These are personal pre-visittouch points that can help
(06:26):
heighten the experience.
You do this one time, youcreate the videos, that's it.
You're good for the next 10years or as long as you're in
that location.
You're all set, so you don'thave to worry about doing these
over and over again.
So that's number two, thepersonal.
What else can you add?
Personal touch points pre-visit, pre-determined before they
even come in for the visit.
What else can you do?
And it's going to be thereminder text for their first
(06:48):
visit.
It's going to be maybe an emailthat you customize for them,
embedded with a video, a text toa video of the office hey,
here's where to park, here'swhere to expect when you come in
for your first visit.
And then it's a quick video ofyour parking lot, your building,
the front entrance, the frontdesk, so it looks familiar to
(07:10):
them.
There you go.
A savvy way of doing this stuffis do it vacant, without any
employees in there, or people orstaff, so that the video will
last no matter whether employeescome or go.
So that's a great way to dothat too.
Then the patient is in theoffice.
Now that's number three theexceptional first visit
experience.
This is to ensure new patientsfeel heard, educated and not
rushed.
A well-structured consultationand exam build trust during this
(07:34):
.
What can you do in your officeto make it an exceptional first
visit?
I know you guys already dogreat stuff.
You have your exam processes,you have your orthopedic testing
, you have your scanning, yourx-rays, whatever it is that you
do to really get the data thatyou need to do a clinical first
exam, and those things are allreally important and they're
clinical.
They're more important for youthan they are for the patient.
(07:54):
The patient sees this andvalues all the testing that you
do to determine what's going on,but there's no emotional
connection to testing.
Testing creates a little bit ofanxiety.
For most people they're like,oh great, where they're going to
find another cavity.
Right, that's how we've beenprogrammed.
A test is to find a pathologyand in your office you're trying
to find not just pathologiesbut also underlying conditions
(08:16):
that could be the root cause towhat brought them to the office
in the first place?
It's the fundamental basis ofchiropractic.
And then what are you doing tomake it exceptional?
So this all comes into it.
When they come in, they'rewelcomed.
Somebody stands up from thedesk and like, hey, you must be
Sam.
And they're like yeah, I'm Sam,you find us okay.
Yeah, I actually did.
Thanks for the instructions.
(08:36):
Great, I've got all yourpaperwork.
You sent it via email.
We appreciate that.
Or hey, we didn't get thatpaperwork.
Here's a clip.
Um, let's do this right now,before you see the doctor.
You know that happens sometimes.
Uh, or they're ready here, Letme show you around.
And then they come on in and,because the exam room is in the
(08:56):
back on purpose, they have topass the, the adjusting area and
there's just a quick littlething this is where we do
adjusting and based on who's inthe office at that time
sometimes kids are screaming orsometimes we're doing like a
muscle stretching or whatever itis they can tell hey, we do.
You know sports injury stuff.
Hey, we take care of a lot ofkids.
They can just point to them andthen walk them right down.
That's only like a five to 10second tour.
They get to the exam room thedoor shut.
(09:17):
Hey, can I get you anything?
Any water, any sparkling water,any tea or anything?
Most patients say yeah, somewater, and half of them say no,
what a great experience.
Them say no, what a greatexperience.
We've made our office a wowexperience on purpose
(09:39):
Chandeliers, tiled walls, quartzcountertops.
We did that for the aestheticbased on where we are in our
city.
We did that on purpose to getthat wow factor.
It's a marketing strategy.
Honestly, for some of youthat's not it.
That's why I said I'm not goingto tell you what I do.
You have to fit this into youroffice.
What are the things that you doto give the patient an
exceptional first visitexperience?
This will last forever.
Really important.
(09:59):
That's number three.
Number four post-visitfollow-up.
What are you doing on thosepost-visit follow-ups?
I most of the time not everytime, most of the time will call
in a patient to see how theyfelt after their first treatment
, after the first, that firstvisit.
If we did an adjustment thatday, hey, how are you feeling?
I kind of tell them what toexpect when they go home.
Maybe use some heat or maybesome tenderness after an
(10:21):
adjustment.
But I'll call them up.
If they had an appointment at 545 and I'm done at 6 15, I'm
not calling them at 615 30minutes later asking them how
they did it.
But if they were a new patientthis morning, I'm probably
calling them in the afternoon.
Hey, mike, how's it going, man,how are you feeling a few hours
after that adjustment?
Any difference there?
Any soreness?
And I'm bringing up thenegatives any soreness, any
(10:42):
swelling, any stiffness.
They're like no, everything'sdoing pretty good.
Great, I was just going to tellyou, if you did, you can use
heat on that and I'll see youagain on Thursday for your next
appointment.
And then, if they do, you canguide them through and like, oh
man, this guy really cares.
So you had a great staff phonecall.
This is all.
By the time the first visit isdone, you've contacted them two
(11:03):
or three times.
I mean this is a differenthealthcare experience, right?
That's the whole point of thatPost visit follow-up.
That's number four.
Number five email and SMSeducation series.
We have two podcasts on nurturesequences.
I highly recommend going backto those podcasts and listening,
or going to the YouTube channeland looking up on adjusting
success on nurture sequences.
(11:24):
Just put in nurture sequenceeither on the Spotify or Apple
you'll find the podcast or onthe Adjusting Success videos and
we go through nurturingsequences on what to create and
what you should create.
If you don't use emailmarketing in your office, you
absolutely should be.
This is where you're going tocreate emails that are timed
After the patient has done theirfirst visit.
(11:45):
Your team already knows to hitthe trigger on MailChimp, on
HighLevel, wherever it is.
You hit the trigger and they'retriggered for their new patient
sequence.
And the new patient sequencetypically goes three or four
months of a bunch of emails.
You could do 12, 16 emailswhere they get them every week.
I think ours is 16 or 17, wherethey get two or three emails a
week for the first week, thenlike one or two emails a week
(12:06):
for the next few weeks Kind ofsound familiar right With Truman
and then once a week and thenonce every two weeks kind of
kind of tapers out and then theyautomatically get put into our
newsletter uh automate funnel.
So whenever a newsletter goesout they're automatically part
of the newsletter.
So and that's on forever.
Once they're done care planning,we put them in a lifelong
nurture sequence which has, likeI think we're built it up now
to 40 emails, where now they'rejust getting information about
(12:30):
our office all the time.
How to refer to our office.
Hey, by the way, we take careof families.
Hey, by the way, we take careof newborns.
Did you know?
These are tips, recipes, eating, fitness, nutrition, just stuff
always going.
Hey, by the way, did you knowwe do massage?
So a lot of value in thoseemails.
But then over and then, everynow and then, a little, a little
punch line of like, hey, thisis how you come back to our
office or this is how you getpeople to refer to our offices.
(12:53):
Here's, here's a 50% off.
You know, new patient examthing for your next referral,
things like that over time thatnurture them.
They're in the back.
Your team has to do nothing.
They just hit one button andit's set and done.
They can unsubscribe, they cando whatever they want on their
end.
Who cares At that point?
Who cares?
So that's email and SMS andthere's ways to use it For many
of you.
Using what's called ReviewWave,sked TrackStat, you can blast,
(13:20):
text your patient list and youcan have acute or active
patients, inactive patients, andthen target certain lists on
who you want to send thoseblasts to Be seldom with these.
Don't overdo it.
You know what happens when youdo that.
A lot of people try and opt out.
(13:40):
Number six handwritten notes.
Man, this is such a classytouch to run handwritten notes
and just throw them in the mail.
These are better than sendingpeople gifts.
These are better than trying tohunt people down, trying to
bribe them to come back when younotice something that they do.
So the notes that we give out,it's got a logo card.
(14:02):
It's a white card with our logoon the front, nothing written
on the inside.
So you have to write on theinside by hand and it says thank
you for, uh, referring us onFacebook.
We saw that in the mom's group.
That's super cool.
Uh, we see these things and weappreciate you, and that's it.
That's that's it.
It says thank you, sending thema happy anniversary card.
Hey, it was great talking toyou yesterday.
(14:23):
I hope you have such a greatweekend with your on your
anniversary trip.
Congrats on 21 years ofmarriage.
And you put that in there.
Man, these things come back.
They always, when they comeback, they're like thank you so
much for the card.
Right, you can do birthdaycards, you can do these
automation type things too, butthese handwritten thank you
notes for just random thingsleave a touch on people and they
(14:44):
end up coming back long term.
This podcast is for you to havea thriving business 20 years
from now.
That's honestly what we'redoing here.
You're not going to see thefruits of your labor.
You may on a couple of thingsimmediately, but as you build
these systems and you have themin place and it's just the
culture in your office who's notgoing to come back to your
(15:04):
office.
You know what I'm saying.
Outgoing engagement regularcheck-ins, birthday messages,
patient appreciation events,social media interactions,
workshops all these things, theongoing engagement that you keep
people with.
The easiest way to do this ishave them subscribe to your
email list.
That way you can continue doingemail marketing.
That's the best way to do it.
And then referral encouragement.
(15:27):
A lot of you say referral is howyour businesses run.
And then I asked Great, whatare your strategies on getting
more referrals?
How do you do this?
And you may have one that youdo, and then you really haven't
continued, but it just kind ofhappens organically and you
don't know why.
Uh, you don't know what you'redoing or why you're stimulating
those referrals organically.
(15:48):
Why is that happening?
And and you and again, theundertone, the authority
undertone of being achiropractor is one of those
things that you just expectpeople refer to me.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm a damn good chiropractor.
They better be referring to me.
I better be the talk of thetown.
Um, every day with the magicthat I perform in my office,
right, but it's your expectationthat referrals come in, not
(16:11):
your clients, not your society,not your community that does
that for you.
When the conversation comes upfor chiropractic or back pain or
headaches, yeah, and they'resitting around and their kids
are playing at the playgroundlike, oh man, you should go see
the chiropractor, you should trychiropractic, and that's how
the referrals happen.
(16:32):
But how do you educate them onthe importance of referrals?
Friends and family?
By making it easy and rewardingfor them.
That's it.
And that's through emailmarketing, that's through your
table talk and that's how.
That's how you get peoplethrough the door.
So I pick my best clients thathave been in 100 plus visits,
(16:53):
because we keep track of theirPVA and they come in If they're
part of the 100 plus club andthey don't really refer a lot.
I ask them hey, man, how'severything going?
You obviously love us.
I haven't had any referrals foryou.
And it's a tough conversationto have because some people are
like they're just introverts,they don't really talk to a lot
of people, they're like I don'treally get out much.
And then other people like,yeah, no, we love you, we love
(17:15):
to talk about you all the time,and I don't I don't know who was
the last person that probablycame in, but I bring it up all
and that's it.
It just gives you thatstimulating referral,
encouragement table talk thathas it out there, and then the
rest is that email, nurturesequences that I was talking
about.
Just, you know, value, value,value, recipe stretches, healthy
(17:36):
eating, healthy sleep.
And then this is how you referto our office oh, by the way,
did you know we take care ofkids?
Oh, by the way, did you knowwe're the only ones in the area
with shockwave that does this,this, this and this?
Hey, by the way, did you knowwe're the only upper cervical
chiropractic office in 45 milesthat does the this technique,
the knee chest technique orwhatever it is that you can
highlight and all the thingsthat it can help with?
(17:59):
You know, to give them ideas.
So it's the symptoms that arethe trigger words for the
patient who are like oh, I'mgoing to listen for sciatica,
I'm going to listen for sciatica, I'm going to listen for
migraine, I'm going to listenfor vertigo.
Trigger words, not back pain,neck pain, specific ringing in
the ears, things like this, thatnow you've got your warriors on
(18:22):
the ground, boots to the groundwatching out for you and then
your name's going to come upfirst.
That's how that all happens.
So referral encouragement and,lastly but not least, long-term
relationship building.
You know you got to keep intouch even after they stop
coming in regularly.
Occasional wellness check-inswe have a three-month, six-month
(18:45):
, one-year and two-yearactivation, reactivation
protocols.
The three months hasorganically kind of turned into
like a doctor call, call emailtext type thing, like a more uh
the doctor.
It goes on the doctor's listthat you know the.
The CAs have tried many timesto get them back.
And then you call in and be likehey, nancy, I can't believe
it's been since December, buttime flies.
(19:06):
I was just thinking about youtoday.
I haven't seen you since then.
It's been a long time.
Hope everything's okay.
Don't know why you crossed mymind.
I hope it's just all good news,give me a call back, let me
know how everything's going andmake sure that you're okay, and
that's how I've done it.
It's developed over time to bemore of that type of a voicemail
that I leave If I connect withthem on the phone.
(19:28):
That's exactly what I tell them.
If they actually pick up whichis 2025, nobody picks up.
But if they pick up, Iliterally say that I'm like
Nancy, how have you been?
Is Dr Enrico for LifeChiropractic?
I haven't seen you sinceDecember.
I can't believe it's March.
Like, what is going on?
How have you been?
What's going on?
I don't know why you crossed mymind, but I'm glad you picked
(19:48):
up the phone.
Be like oh no, everything's beengreat.
You know we ended up moving.
Or they tell you something Igot to get back in.
That's that's.
You know, that's the what youwant.
Great, that's awesome.
What days work best for you?
Oh, you know I'm off Mondays,them.
I just write it down if I'm notin front of the EHR or whatever,
and we get them in and that'show it goes.
(20:09):
Or the voicemail will getpeople to call back.
They'll be like oh man, dr Dcalled me.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
Let's get us in there.
Or you don't hear anything back.
Hey, come back on in.
We were working on this, thisand this.
(20:29):
We got to this point.
Let's come on in for a re x-ray.
See how your spine's holding upsince then.
And that's at no charge.
Come on in for the x-ray, let'sjust do that.
And then when they call, theycome on in.
And it was or a scan or athermal scan, whatever it is
that you do in your office, youknow, posture, check, posture
pro, picture, ipad, whatever itis that you do, objective
finding, offer it to them forfree, as long as it's quick.
(20:52):
It takes a few, you know a fewseconds.
Do it.
Then, once they come on, hey,come on in, and I do it as a
doctor.
They go into my appointmentschedule.
I go in, I take the x-ray.
I'm like, hey, things arestarting to slip a little bit.
You're here anyways.
Did you want to get adjustedtoday?
Just to remind you, it's $85for an adjustment.
Did you want to do that today?
Otherwise, this is all free.
(21:13):
No one has ever said no.
No one's gotten their car,drove all the way over to the
chiropractor's office to just dothe free x-ray it rarely
happens.
Or the free thermal scan itnever happens, they're all yeah,
let's just do it.
Sure, you waived your re-examfee.
Sure, you waived this, you didthat.
But you got your adjustmentright, you got that in and now
you got them on the table.
You can talk about them.
(21:33):
Hey, remember our wellnessplans.
You can come in for twice amonth for 120 bucks a month.
Come on, sign up for that.
Do that one every other week,get back on the horse, get your
well and yeah, I need to do this.
You're right, that's it.
And then you sign them up.
Sound good.
Been a chiropractor for 17 years, so this podcast rolled off my
(21:55):
tongue pretty easy because ofthe things that I do.
But think about those 10 things.
Think about those things inyour office.
Tweaking these things can pivotthe energy in your office.
It can rally your team together, it can change the dynamic of
just the culture and once you dothat, you can rev things up and
can get people excited.
Sometimes you do like thesenurture things and there's a
staff member or CA or somebodythat gets excited about doing
(22:17):
them for you and they build it,they.
Hey, doc, I know you said let'sdo a 12 sequence.
It's I did 28.
I just got carried away.
I got 28.
I spaced them out over time.
Instead of 12 weeks, it's goingto go for five months and I
think it's great information.
You're like, wow, thanks,thanks for doing that, and
(22:37):
you'll see the team rally behindthis stuff and build it for you
.
You cannot sit here and do all10 of those things and build
them yourself.
Trust me, you need a teambehind you to help make it more
robust.
Go try it, report back, leavesome comments let's know how it
goes and if you have any ideason top of that, share them in a
community, share them on theFacebook group, share them
online and get other people toread it too.
Reply to those emails I sendout as well Say hey, you know, I
(22:59):
had another idea on thatpodcast.
I heard you might want to addthat for next works really well
in our office.
That's great.
Have a great week.
Thanks for everything that youdo.
Keep doing it.
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of Marketing
101 for Chiropractors.
I'm Dr D.
This week we are going to gothrough nurturing your babies,
which is pretty much yourpractice, and you need to be on
top of your nurturing to getthrough lifelong wellness care.
I mean that's the ultimate goalfor all chiropractic offices is
(00:22):
to have lifetime repeatcustomers.
That's the lifetime goal forany business is to have repeat
customers coming back andgetting the pizza at your pizza
place.
Repeat customers getting theirdental cleanings.
Repeat customers gettingadjusted.
Repeat I know you don't likethe word customers, but patients
or practice members, whateveryou call them.
I've got the top 10 today, likedavid letterman remember
(00:45):
letterman and we're going to gothrough them and instead of
giving you exact ideas for eachone of these, I'm going to give
them in a general sense so thatyou can reflect back into your
practice and be like well, whatworks for me and what works for
our team to do these things?
But these 10 things are reallyimportant in business building,
in any type of business, notjust chiropractic.
(01:06):
But we're going to keep it verychiropractic and I may give you
examples of what I do, but theymay or may not fit how you do
it.
But let's go through them andlet's go from the first
experience a patient or apotential client or a lead may
experience of your business, andthen what it's like for them
walking in and walking out.
I'm doing this episode because,once they walk in and they
(01:28):
become a new patient, thosefirst one or two interactions
are where you give them the mostenergy.
And then after that, you as abusiness owner, as a
chiropractor, have anexpectation that them, as a
patient, better follow the rulesor take a hike.
You have this undertone.
It's a healthcare undertone,it's just the way it is.
It's you, with the authoritythat you have as a doctor, being
(01:50):
like hey, you called me, youbooked in here, you paid the
exam fee.
It's up to you to follow therecommendations, otherwise, what
do you want me to do?
That's really the undertone.
And as chiropractors, we'remore compassionate because we
have to be in order to keeppeople motivated and on board
with the treatment protocol,whether it's an acute six visit
plan to help them with astrained hamstring, or whether
(02:11):
it's a 36 visit plan to helpthem with a levoscoliosis of
their lumbar spine, whatever itmay be, you have to keep them on
board and this is callednurturing, and through that
process you can build authority,you can build trust, you build
a bunch of good things.
Let's let's dive into these top10 things.
That'll get you thinking thisis a podcast.
We don't have to write anythingdown, you probably don't even
(02:32):
have to watch the video.
This is one.
You just listen to and justreflect on what you're doing in
your office, and if there's oneor two things you're like, man,
yeah, I got to really focus onthat, then I think it was worth
it for this podcast.
We'll keep it short and sweet,like each and every week, but
let's dive in.
First thing is the warm,welcoming first call.
That's usually the interactionthat you have.
(02:53):
It could be an email these days, it could be a contact us form
on your website.
It could be one of those, oreven a reply to one of your
marketing funnels.
It could be, but typically it'sthat call.
We're trying to get them on thephone.
If you're chasing down leads,you're probably trying to get
them on the phone, and if theyare finding you on Google or
referral, they're probablycalling your office.
So it is that first call.
(03:13):
Train your front desk to engagewarmly, ask about concerns and
express excitement to help them.
This is key.
A great first impression setsthe tone and make it your own in
your practice.
Our office, the people that wehire first off, are literally
interviewed based on that phonecalls.
Those first phone calls.
I want them to call, I want totalk to them on the phone, and
(03:35):
we literally grade them one to10.
And those are the resumes thatwe keep people that have a nine
or a 10 out of 10 on the phone,that robust, bubbly personality
that pick up the phone and justexcited to be there, and we hope
that they continue with thatthe longer they work with us.
So they pick up the phone hey,it's Full Life Chiropractic.
It's Brittany, how can I helpyou today?
Or I can help you today.
(03:56):
And then the patient calls inyeah, I'd like to be a new
patient.
And they go through theirconcerns.
Or they'll ask our front deskasks like hey, tell me what's
bringing you to our office today?
And they'll just keep a couplenotes for us.
And then we create that intothe nurture sequence on the next
step and I'll show you whatwhat that is.
And then they are just excited.
At the end they're like hey,we're so excited to have you
come in here.
That's why we're not in networkwith insurances, so that we can
(04:18):
help everyone come in.
But I'm going to help you withyour super bill afterwards so
that you can try and submit andget some reimbursement there.
That's just us.
I'm giving you my example.
We're not in with insurance.
So for the rest of you, hey,yeah, we're direct in there.
This is how it works.
We won't know exactly yourpolicy, depending on deductible,
but we'll get you in here andget you all started.
Don't worry about that.
Leave the rest to us.
We're excited to see you.
(04:39):
You get it away from thefinancials, you get it away from
money and you make it moreabout them emotional, right?
This leads us into somethingand there's a different podcast
for this about the virtualconsult.
That's why we get thatinformation and before they come
in for their first visit, theyget a virtual consult.
Go search for the virtualconsult podcast and listen to
that.
It's a great thing.
That has really changed thetrajectory of my practice.
(05:00):
We love it and it fits intothis nurture sequence so well.
So they get a consult call.
That can be three minutes, itcan be nine minutes, whatever it
is, and the patient just kindof spills their guts about
what's going on.
It's perfect.
So when they come in for theirfirst visit, their exam, they're
like hey, sam, I talked to youon the phone.
Man Sounds like this, this andthis are bothering you, started,
(05:20):
then started this.
Did I miss anything from thatcall?
Is there started then startedthis?
Did I miss anything from that?
Calls or anything else you wantto tell me about, maybe some
other issues, and they're likeno, I think that's pretty much
it.
Or they'll tell you secondarythings like oh yeah, I didn't
tell you, but I've had likeplantar fasciitis or foot pain
for like five years.
I don't know what to do.
That I'm like great, let's talkabout that too.
(05:44):
We're going to focus on thephone and then they match it up
when they come in.
Works really well.
Number two personalizedpre-visit touch points, the
virtual consult.
Send a welcome email with atext on information on how to
get to the office, where to parkand what to expect from the
doctor.
You may even embed some YouTubevideos that you say hey,
(06:06):
welcome to our practice, we'reexcited to see you.
This is what you can expect.
And then just a quick tour ofthe office, or just even the
front or the front desk, so thatthey visually see this.
So when they drive there, theysee the parking lot, they're
like, oh, this looks familiarand they get on in.
How many of you are trying tofind a new place, right?
You don't know where you'regoing.
These are personal pre-visittouch points that can help
(06:26):
heighten the experience.
You do this one time, youcreate the videos, that's it.
You're good for the next 10years or as long as you're in
that location.
You're all set, so you don'thave to worry about doing these
over and over again.
So that's number two, thepersonal.
What else can you add?
Personal touch points pre-visit, pre-determined before they
even come in for the visit.
What else can you do?
And it's going to be thereminder text for their first
(06:48):
visit.
It's going to be maybe an emailthat you customize for them,
embedded with a video, a text toa video of the office hey,
here's where to park, here'swhere to expect when you come in
for your first visit.
And then it's a quick video ofyour parking lot, your building,
the front entrance, the frontdesk, so it looks familiar to
(07:10):
them.
There you go.
A savvy way of doing this stuffis do it vacant, without any
employees in there, or people orstaff, so that the video will
last no matter whether employeescome or go.
So that's a great way to dothat too.
Then the patient is in theoffice.
Now that's number three theexceptional first visit
experience.
This is to ensure new patientsfeel heard, educated and not
rushed.
A well-structured consultationand exam build trust during this
(07:34):
.
What can you do in your officeto make it an exceptional first
visit?
I know you guys already dogreat stuff.
You have your exam processes,you have your orthopedic testing
, you have your scanning, yourx-rays, whatever it is that you
do to really get the data thatyou need to do a clinical first
exam, and those things are allreally important and they're
clinical.
They're more important for youthan they are for the patient.
(07:54):
The patient sees this andvalues all the testing that you
do to determine what's going on,but there's no emotional
connection to testing.
Testing creates a little bit ofanxiety.
For most people they're like,oh great, where they're going to
find another cavity.
Right, that's how we've beenprogrammed.
A test is to find a pathologyand in your office you're trying
to find not just pathologiesbut also underlying conditions
(08:16):
that could be the root cause towhat brought them to the office
in the first place?
It's the fundamental basis ofchiropractic.
And then what are you doing tomake it exceptional?
So this all comes into it.
When they come in, they'rewelcomed.
Somebody stands up from thedesk and like, hey, you must be
Sam.
And they're like yeah, I'm Sam,you find us okay.
Yeah, I actually did.
Thanks for the instructions.
(08:36):
Great, I've got all yourpaperwork.
You sent it via email.
We appreciate that.
Or hey, we didn't get thatpaperwork.
Here's a clip.
Um, let's do this right now,before you see the doctor.
You know that happens sometimes.
Uh, or they're ready here, Letme show you around.
And then they come on in and,because the exam room is in the
(08:56):
back on purpose, they have topass the, the adjusting area and
there's just a quick littlething this is where we do
adjusting and based on who's inthe office at that time
sometimes kids are screaming orsometimes we're doing like a
muscle stretching or whatever itis they can tell hey, we do.
You know sports injury stuff.
Hey, we take care of a lot ofkids.
They can just point to them andthen walk them right down.
That's only like a five to 10second tour.
They get to the exam room thedoor shut.
(09:17):
Hey, can I get you anything?
Any water, any sparkling water,any tea or anything?
Most patients say yeah, somewater, and half of them say no,
what a great experience.
Them say no, what a greatexperience.
We've made our office a wowexperience on purpose
(09:39):
Chandeliers, tiled walls, quartzcountertops.
We did that for the aestheticbased on where we are in our
city.
We did that on purpose to getthat wow factor.
It's a marketing strategy.
Honestly, for some of youthat's not it.
That's why I said I'm not goingto tell you what I do.
You have to fit this into youroffice.
What are the things that you doto give the patient an
exceptional first visitexperience?
This will last forever.
Really important.
(09:59):
That's number three.
Number four post-visitfollow-up.
What are you doing on thosepost-visit follow-ups?
I most of the time not everytime, most of the time will call
in a patient to see how theyfelt after their first treatment
, after the first, that firstvisit.
If we did an adjustment thatday, hey, how are you feeling?
I kind of tell them what toexpect when they go home.
Maybe use some heat or maybesome tenderness after an
(10:21):
adjustment.
But I'll call them up.
If they had an appointment at 545 and I'm done at 6 15, I'm
not calling them at 615 30minutes later asking them how
they did it.
But if they were a new patientthis morning, I'm probably
calling them in the afternoon.
Hey, mike, how's it going, man,how are you feeling a few hours
after that adjustment?
Any difference there?
Any soreness?
And I'm bringing up thenegatives any soreness, any
(10:42):
swelling, any stiffness.
They're like no, everything'sdoing pretty good.
Great, I was just going to tellyou, if you did, you can use
heat on that and I'll see youagain on Thursday for your next
appointment.
And then, if they do, you canguide them through and like, oh
man, this guy really cares.
So you had a great staff phonecall.
This is all.
By the time the first visit isdone, you've contacted them two
(11:03):
or three times.
I mean this is a differenthealthcare experience, right?
That's the whole point of thatPost visit follow-up.
That's number four.
Number five email and SMSeducation series.
We have two podcasts on nurturesequences.
I highly recommend going backto those podcasts and listening,
or going to the YouTube channeland looking up on adjusting
success on nurture sequences.
(11:24):
Just put in nurture sequenceeither on the Spotify or Apple
you'll find the podcast or onthe Adjusting Success videos and
we go through nurturingsequences on what to create and
what you should create.
If you don't use emailmarketing in your office, you
absolutely should be.
This is where you're going tocreate emails that are timed
After the patient has done theirfirst visit.
(11:45):
Your team already knows to hitthe trigger on MailChimp, on
HighLevel, wherever it is.
You hit the trigger and they'retriggered for their new patient
sequence.
And the new patient sequencetypically goes three or four
months of a bunch of emails.
You could do 12, 16 emailswhere they get them every week.
I think ours is 16 or 17, wherethey get two or three emails a
week for the first week, thenlike one or two emails a week
(12:06):
for the next few weeks Kind ofsound familiar right With Truman
and then once a week and thenonce every two weeks kind of
kind of tapers out and then theyautomatically get put into our
newsletter uh automate funnel.
So whenever a newsletter goesout they're automatically part
of the newsletter.
So and that's on forever.
Once they're done care planning,we put them in a lifelong
nurture sequence which has, likeI think we're built it up now
to 40 emails, where now they'rejust getting information about
(12:30):
our office all the time.
How to refer to our office.
Hey, by the way, we take careof families.
Hey, by the way, we take careof newborns.
Did you know?
These are tips, recipes, eating, fitness, nutrition, just stuff
always going.
Hey, by the way, did you knowwe do massage?
So a lot of value in thoseemails.
But then over and then, everynow and then, a little, a little
punch line of like, hey, thisis how you come back to our
office or this is how you getpeople to refer to our offices.
(12:53):
Here's, here's a 50% off.
You know, new patient examthing for your next referral,
things like that over time thatnurture them.
They're in the back.
Your team has to do nothing.
They just hit one button andit's set and done.
They can unsubscribe, they cando whatever they want on their
end.
Who cares At that point?
Who cares?
So that's email and SMS andthere's ways to use it For many
of you.
Using what's called ReviewWave,sked TrackStat, you can blast,
(13:20):
text your patient list and youcan have acute or active
patients, inactive patients, andthen target certain lists on
who you want to send thoseblasts to Be seldom with these.
Don't overdo it.
You know what happens when youdo that.
A lot of people try and opt out.
(13:40):
Number six handwritten notes.
Man, this is such a classytouch to run handwritten notes
and just throw them in the mail.
These are better than sendingpeople gifts.
These are better than trying tohunt people down, trying to
bribe them to come back when younotice something that they do.
So the notes that we give out,it's got a logo card.
(14:02):
It's a white card with our logoon the front, nothing written
on the inside.
So you have to write on theinside by hand and it says thank
you for, uh, referring us onFacebook.
We saw that in the mom's group.
That's super cool.
Uh, we see these things and weappreciate you, and that's it.
That's that's it.
It says thank you, sending thema happy anniversary card.
Hey, it was great talking toyou yesterday.
(14:23):
I hope you have such a greatweekend with your on your
anniversary trip.
Congrats on 21 years ofmarriage.
And you put that in there.
Man, these things come back.
They always, when they comeback, they're like thank you so
much for the card.
Right, you can do birthdaycards, you can do these
automation type things too, butthese handwritten thank you
notes for just random thingsleave a touch on people and they
(14:44):
end up coming back long term.
This podcast is for you to havea thriving business 20 years
from now.
That's honestly what we'redoing here.
You're not going to see thefruits of your labor.
You may on a couple of thingsimmediately, but as you build
these systems and you have themin place and it's just the
culture in your office who's notgoing to come back to your
(15:04):
office.
You know what I'm saying.
Outgoing engagement regularcheck-ins, birthday messages,
patient appreciation events,social media interactions,
workshops all these things, theongoing engagement that you keep
people with.
The easiest way to do this ishave them subscribe to your
email list.
That way you can continue doingemail marketing.
That's the best way to do it.
And then referral encouragement.
(15:27):
A lot of you say referral is howyour businesses run.
And then I asked Great, whatare your strategies on getting
more referrals?
How do you do this?
And you may have one that youdo, and then you really haven't
continued, but it just kind ofhappens organically and you
don't know why.
Uh, you don't know what you'redoing or why you're stimulating
those referrals organically.
(15:48):
Why is that happening?
And and you and again, theundertone, the authority
undertone of being achiropractor is one of those
things that you just expectpeople refer to me.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm a damn good chiropractor.
They better be referring to me.
I better be the talk of thetown.
Um, every day with the magicthat I perform in my office,
right, but it's your expectationthat referrals come in, not
(16:11):
your clients, not your society,not your community that does
that for you.
When the conversation comes upfor chiropractic or back pain or
headaches, yeah, and they'resitting around and their kids
are playing at the playgroundlike, oh man, you should go see
the chiropractor, you should trychiropractic, and that's how
the referrals happen.
(16:32):
But how do you educate them onthe importance of referrals?
Friends and family?
By making it easy and rewardingfor them.
That's it.
And that's through emailmarketing, that's through your
table talk and that's how.
That's how you get peoplethrough the door.
So I pick my best clients thathave been in 100 plus visits,
(16:53):
because we keep track of theirPVA and they come in If they're
part of the 100 plus club andthey don't really refer a lot.
I ask them hey, man, how'severything going?
You obviously love us.
I haven't had any referrals foryou.
And it's a tough conversationto have because some people are
like they're just introverts,they don't really talk to a lot
of people, they're like I don'treally get out much.
And then other people like,yeah, no, we love you, we love
(17:15):
to talk about you all the time,and I don't I don't know who was
the last person that probablycame in, but I bring it up all
and that's it.
It just gives you thatstimulating referral,
encouragement table talk thathas it out there, and then the
rest is that email, nurturesequences that I was talking
about.
Just, you know, value, value,value, recipe stretches, healthy
(17:36):
eating, healthy sleep.
And then this is how you referto our office oh, by the way,
did you know we take care ofkids?
Oh, by the way, did you knowwe're the only ones in the area
with shockwave that does this,this, this and this?
Hey, by the way, did you knowwe're the only upper cervical
chiropractic office in 45 milesthat does the this technique,
the knee chest technique orwhatever it is that you can
highlight and all the thingsthat it can help with?
(17:59):
You know, to give them ideas.
So it's the symptoms that arethe trigger words for the
patient who are like oh, I'mgoing to listen for sciatica,
I'm going to listen for sciatica, I'm going to listen for
migraine, I'm going to listenfor vertigo.
Trigger words, not back pain,neck pain, specific ringing in
the ears, things like this, thatnow you've got your warriors on
(18:22):
the ground, boots to the groundwatching out for you and then
your name's going to come upfirst.
That's how that all happens.
So referral encouragement and,lastly but not least, long-term
relationship building.
You know you got to keep intouch even after they stop
coming in regularly.
Occasional wellness check-inswe have a three-month, six-month
(18:45):
, one-year and two-yearactivation, reactivation
protocols.
The three months hasorganically kind of turned into
like a doctor call, call emailtext type thing, like a more uh
the doctor.
It goes on the doctor's listthat you know the.
The CAs have tried many timesto get them back.
And then you call in and be likehey, nancy, I can't believe
it's been since December, buttime flies.
(19:06):
I was just thinking about youtoday.
I haven't seen you since then.
It's been a long time.
Hope everything's okay.
Don't know why you crossed mymind.
I hope it's just all good news,give me a call back, let me
know how everything's going andmake sure that you're okay, and
that's how I've done it.
It's developed over time to bemore of that type of a voicemail
that I leave If I connect withthem on the phone.
(19:28):
That's exactly what I tell them.
If they actually pick up whichis 2025, nobody picks up.
But if they pick up, Iliterally say that I'm like
Nancy, how have you been?
Is Dr Enrico for LifeChiropractic?
I haven't seen you sinceDecember.
I can't believe it's March.
Like, what is going on?
How have you been?
What's going on?
I don't know why you crossed mymind, but I'm glad you picked
(19:48):
up the phone.
Be like oh no, everything's beengreat.
You know we ended up moving.
Or they tell you something Igot to get back in.
That's that's.
You know, that's the what youwant.
Great, that's awesome.
What days work best for you?
Oh, you know I'm off Mondays,them.
I just write it down if I'm notin front of the EHR or whatever,
and we get them in and that'show it goes.
(20:09):
Or the voicemail will getpeople to call back.
They'll be like oh man, dr Dcalled me.
I can't believe it's been thatlong.
Let's get us in there.
Or you don't hear anything back.
Hey, come back on in.
We were working on this, thisand this.
(20:29):
We got to this point.
Let's come on in for a re x-ray.
See how your spine's holding upsince then.
And that's at no charge.
Come on in for the x-ray, let'sjust do that.
And then when they call, theycome on in.
And it was or a scan or athermal scan, whatever it is
that you do in your office, youknow, posture, check, posture
pro, picture, ipad, whatever itis that you do, objective
finding, offer it to them forfree, as long as it's quick.
(20:52):
It takes a few, you know a fewseconds.
Do it.
Then, once they come on, hey,come on in, and I do it as a
doctor.
They go into my appointmentschedule.
I go in, I take the x-ray.
I'm like, hey, things arestarting to slip a little bit.
You're here anyways.
Did you want to get adjustedtoday?
Just to remind you, it's $85for an adjustment.
Did you want to do that today?
Otherwise, this is all free.
(21:13):
No one has ever said no.
No one's gotten their car,drove all the way over to the
chiropractor's office to just dothe free x-ray it rarely
happens.
Or the free thermal scan itnever happens, they're all yeah,
let's just do it.
Sure, you waived your re-examfee.
Sure, you waived this, you didthat.
But you got your adjustmentright, you got that in and now
you got them on the table.
You can talk about them.
(21:33):
Hey, remember our wellnessplans.
You can come in for twice amonth for 120 bucks a month.
Come on, sign up for that.
Do that one every other week,get back on the horse, get your
well and yeah, I need to do this.
You're right, that's it.
And then you sign them up.
Sound good.
Been a chiropractor for 17 years, so this podcast rolled off my
(21:55):
tongue pretty easy because ofthe things that I do.
But think about those 10 things.
Think about those things inyour office.
Tweaking these things can pivotthe energy in your office.
It can rally your team together, it can change the dynamic of
just the culture and once you dothat, you can rev things up and
can get people excited.
Sometimes you do like thesenurture things and there's a
staff member or CA or somebodythat gets excited about doing
(22:17):
them for you and they build it,they.
Hey, doc, I know you said let'sdo a 12 sequence.
It's I did 28.
I just got carried away.
I got 28.
I spaced them out over time.
Instead of 12 weeks, it's goingto go for five months and I
think it's great information.
You're like, wow, thanks,thanks for doing that, and
(22:37):
you'll see the team rally behindthis stuff and build it for you
.
You cannot sit here and do all10 of those things and build
them yourself.
Trust me, you need a teambehind you to help make it more
robust.
Go try it, report back, leavesome comments let's know how it
goes and if you have any ideason top of that, share them in a
community, share them on theFacebook group, share them
online and get other people toread it too.
Reply to those emails I sendout as well Say hey, you know, I
(22:59):
had another idea on thatpodcast.
I heard you might want to addthat for next works really well
in our office.
That's great.
Have a great week.
Thanks for everything that youdo.
Keep doing it.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!