Wowing New Patients Part 3… The Consultation

Now that the new patient has been thoroughly wowed by your staff, it’s time for the doctor to step up.  This post will be a little different.  I’m just going to bullet point a few of the musts when it comes to your patient interaction:

• Shake their hand.  Smile. Make good eye contact.  That first impression again.

• Don’t get straight to business.  Make at least 30 seconds of small talk. Look at their personal info in their chart and then try to connect.  For example, they may have said on their intake that their pain is affecting their golf.  Then you can make some small talk about where you like to golf.  Just be personable before getting down to business.
• If they were referred in, make sure to acknowledge the person who referred.  “I see you were referred in by Betty.  She’s been a great patient and really helped spread the word about what we do here.  Please make sure to let her know that we really appreciate her telling you about our office.”
• Really listen to what the patient has to say and let them do most of the talking.  You want to keep the consultation short, so just gently direct them.
• Once it’s time to start the exam, it’s time to ask for a referral!  What?  Several chiropractic marketing gurus have told me to do this over the years and I believe it does help in getting referrals.  The script would go like this.  “Alright Mrs. Jones now we’re going to do your exam.  I’m going to check your flexibility and do a few orthopedic tests to see if I can really zero in on where the problem is coming from.  Then based on our findings we may take some x-rays as needed.  Before we do that I want to let you know that about 80% of our patients are referred in by other patients.  So if you like the way your treated and the results you get will you tell your friends and family about our office?”  Wait for a yes and then get started.
• Keep the exam short.  You can fly through a couple dozen tests if needed in 5-10 minutes. When you do the range of motion testing, let them know what normal range is and then tell them where their deficient.
• Keep the ROF short.  It literally takes me less than 5 minutes to describe how chiropractic works and explain to them what their problem is.  I basically tell them that a joint is moving improperly, causing irritation on a nerve, which leads to their pain and symptoms.  By improving the way that joint moves, we remove the irritation.  I know people have much longer ROF’s, and some docs do 2 day reports or have group ROF’s. I’ve just found this works well for us.
• “Baby Step” the recommendations.  I learned this many years ago and it definitely helps to get compliance.  Additionally it removes any confrontation which can be especially helpful if you’re newer to practice and don’t have the confidence you will have later.  Our script goes something like this… “As far as how long it will take to get you feeling better, I can never really tell until I see how you respond to care.  I can tell you that in the majority of patients it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 visits.  It could be more.  It could be less.  But that is about average.  What I’d like to do is see you 3 times per week for the next 2 weeks and then reassess.  Then based on how you’re doing at that point, we can make further recommendations.  Does that sound fair?”
  • This has actually increased our PVA over the years.  People are more likely to say yes to this and then follow our later recommendations at the 6 visit mark.
  • It helps get referrals by lowering perceived pressure.
• Adjust on the first day.  I know docs are set in their ways and will vehemently defend not adjusting on the first day, but I have never understood this.  Most people are coming to you because they’re in pain.  If you send them away without treating and they can’t get back in for a couple of days, they’re going to be pissed.  I would be.
• Lastly, follow-up with the patient and call them that night or the next morning just to see how they’re feeling.  It’s simple.  It takes literally 60 seconds. And it’s probably something no other doctor has done for them.

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