GREAT NEWS!!!!!!! My new website WWW.FreeDCHelp.COM is up and running. This site’s purpose is to provide a repository of materials that will be helpful to those in the profession. On this site will be posted archived articles as well as sample reports, letters and marketing materials — FREE. I also hope that as much assistance that this site may be able to provide to you, that you will see the need to pass along this “Secret” to others.Please do not hesitate to contact me, drvernonchiro@aol.com, if you feel that you may have information, resources or web content that could provide addtional assistance to those of us in the profession.

Remember: To get the most out of this newsletter, I suggest that you print it out and read it-don’t skim it-Refer back to it when implementing your marketing plan

Dr. Austin Church and John Dwight as an essential baking ingredient in 1846, had by 1927 at least 15 other uses.

By now you’re saying what does a Fluffernutter^® and baking soda have to do with the marketing of chiropractic? Just this. If you look at all of the marketing gurus and I mean every one of them, they will all tell you the same thing, YOU CANNOT BE JUST A BACK PAIN DOCTOR! I’m not saying that treating back pain is bad, or that you shouldn’t do it, that’s up to you. I personally don’t think you should throw out the baby with the bath water. But that’s just my opinion. I don’t want to get into the philosophical issues of mixer vs. straight vs. objective straight chiropractic, but I can tell you this; that most people will seek your services because of pain, this will get them in the door, however how do you get them to stay once their pain is gone? This has always been the challenge in practice, how do you convert pain patients to wellness patients? Well the first thing you have to know is that YOU CAN’T SELL WHAT YOU DON’T OWN, in this case you must OWN, not just by words but by your actions, what chiropractic really is. It is NOT just for back pain, never was, and should never be.

There is a movement in chiropractic to become an “evidenced based” profession. This is being done in an effort to have chiropractic establish itself as the “cultural authority” of back pain, much like dentists did for teeth. In my humble opinion this spells disaster for the profession. Manipulation is NOT chiropractic. It works, and it will get them in the door, but once the pain is gone so are they. Patients must be taught that chiropractic is so much more. This is the first thing YOU MUST LEARN AND ACCEPT otherwise you will constantly require more and more new patients.

You must learn that you are a NERVOUS SYSTEM SPECIALIST. I am not saying that you should go back to the days of chiropractic cures everything or the garden hose diagrams, but you can show a patient the devastating effects that a subluxation has over time. I’m not talking about using scar tactics or high pressure sales tactics, like you will die a miserable slow death if you don’t become a patient of mine for life, what I’m talking about is the effects of spinal degeneration and how this will effect the nervous system and the role that the nervous system plays in every aspect of life. You need to explain how a nervous system without interference is better then one with interference. This is a basic concept that is taught (or at least should be) in every chiropractic college. Even if you are a musculoskeletal practitioner, and have doubt as to the actual existence of a subluxation (something that I always founds strange coming from someone who graduated from a chiropractic college) you would still have to admit that most of the patient’s pain that you are treating is a result of nervous system insult. By removing this insult don’t you think that the nervous system of this individual will function better? You might argue that yes, strictly from a neurological standpoint, but certainly not from a standpoint where viscera are affected or the overall health potential of the patient is improved. Well I’ll tell you this; if you are looking to be a success in practice you MUST get off the back pain cycle and

tell your patients that there are additional uses for your Fluff and your baking soda. You understand that chiropractic allows for the proper function of the nervous system and that a nervous system without interference is better then one with interference you MUST begin to convey this message to your patients, even the back and neck pain patients. If you do not and you fail to explain the other benefits of chiropractic I can assure you that you will always be trying to fill that leaky bucket.

If you listen to what the gurus have to say they are correct (remember I’m not saying what they teach is wrong, only that they are taking advantage of the poor jobs the schools are doing ) When they tell their clients that subluxation based practices have the best patients, the best collections and the most longevity they are telling the truth. Until you grasp the subluxation concept and truly believe it and by the way, this belief can be at any level it just has to be at some level, then you can practice chiropractic, then and only then will you be successful. But like I said earlier, you can’t sell what you don’t own and until you OWN the subluxation you will struggle the rest of your professional life. You must expand your market beyond back and neck pain. I have posted 2 recent news stories about research that has been published in prestigious medical journals regarding the benefits of chiropractic and blood pressure. The most recent being this week. Although this information will come as no surprise to the subluxation based chiropractor It will however come as a surprise to the spinal decompression practitioner or the back and neck pain doctor. The reason? Usually it is one of two or both. The first is that they never really accepted the chiropractic premise and they became chiropractors so they could be “doctors” and the second if they did they found the easy money much more satisfying and abandoned the philosophy. My advice is that all chiropractors should become students of history. In the 1980′ and 1990’s there was Carte Blanc billing for services. Patients had $100 deductibles and HMO’s were unheard of. Now look, $1000 deductibles, $50 co-pays, 15 visit limits. So what did the chiropractor do? Well, he concentrated his practice on PI patients that is until the state legislature in his state said, no more chiropractic care for auto accident victims. Think this is far fetched? In N

ew Jersey the PIP laws have been changed dramatically over the last 5 years. Pre-certification is now required and there are care plans that need to be followed. If you think a patient needs daily care or needs to be seen 4 times a week, that’s fine, however the insurance company will only pay for 3, because that’s what the care plan says. There is also a fee schedule and a daily cap on fees. Last month a judge in New Jersey ruled that extremity adjusting was outside the scope of a chiropractors practice. Remember if you practice anything other the subluxation based chiropractic your practice could be completely dissolved in one pen stroke by a governor’s signature or a judges ruling. Diversify, Diversify, Diversify! If you still don’t think that the subluxation is the way to go or worse yet that chiropractic isn’t really good for anything other then neck or back pain, then you need to read the current MEDICAL literature. A few months ago there was the study of chiropractic and blood pressure done at the University of Chicago, well this week comes a study from the University of Leeds in the UK which explains why and how chiropractic may work to lower blood pressure. So while our colleges are finally getting grant money they continue to study back and neck pain, while the Medical Colleges are studying AND PROVING the effects of chiropractic on everything else. Is it me, or is there something wrong with this picture? Your patients really do NEED lifetime chiropractic care, but remember you can’t sell what you don’t own. You must first own the subluxation yourself before you can tell others about it. If you do people will seek you out. Trust me!

You Must Be Different!

This brings me to another topic, competition. Within the chiropractic profession it is a way of life. It is what it is, however that’s going to make it harder and harder for doctors to earn good money. The one way to have a competitive edge is to be different. The lack of differentiation between competing chiropractors is unbelievable.

Simply take a look at the yellow page ads. Take any 10 doctors ads and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

· Their marketing is almost identical.

· The “services” they offer are almost identical.

· How they offer those services is almost identical.

· What patients experience from one office to another is almost

identical.

· There’s nothing unique or different about any one of them.

So, let me ask you… since when has “sameness” been an effective business strategy? You can however stand out. People are seeking out chiropractors, not second rate medical doctors. Trust me when I tell you this. I was they guy who drew my own labs, wore the white coat in the office, did EKG’s, EMG’s, NCV’s. I treated this and that with various nutritional products. I was in favor of chiropractors using OTC medications and being able to “prescribe” them. I only wanted to be looked at as “a doctor” a “real doctor.” I was even involved in a medical school fraud in the 1980’s that was featured on 60 Minutes. This attempt to fraudulently obtain a medical degree from a Dominican Republic medical school caused me to have my chiropractic license suspended for 3 months. For almost 20 years of my professional life I practiced as a pseudo MD, always poo pooing what those “straights” had to say, thinking how they ruin the profession and if only they would get “on board” what a great profession we would have. About 10 years ago I had an epiphany of sorts. I am a huge chiropractic history buff and have even authored a book on the history of chiropractic in New Jersey (not a plug) it was during my research for this book that I cam across materials that I had never read before or chose not to “waste my time” reading. You know all that “chiropractic cures everything” bullshit. How embarrassing. Then I recalled my days of Reggie, how he would lecture, albeit at that time singing the tune of the traditional straight chiropractor, you know the old garden hose example, so I decided to do some additional research as to what Reg was up to these days. It is here that I came to hear about and understand what has been called Objective Straight Chiropractic. The concept was simple and made sense even to a pseudo MD like me. It is the nervous system that I should be concerned with, nothing else. Interference to this nervous system causes it to function at less then par (for you golfers) and thus you cannot function at par. Remove this interference and you will function at par. What is par? Well, that depends on the individual, for some par is the ability to walk a block while for others it’s running in a marathon. No matter what par is, you will be there if you have no interference. This was a concept that was simple and made sense, a concept that patients could understand. I didn’t have to tell them that by removing their subluxations and cure their asthma or headache or any other disease, I simply would allow their body to function at its best, whatever that was. Now of course there is a great deal more to this and there is in my mind room for discussion and expansion, however the basic premise is solid, and it is what will separate you from the others.

I have just finished seeing 72 patients on a Friday, this is busy even for me. I usually see 40-50 a day 5 days a week. This volume of patients requires me to do very little advertising, and the majority of these patients who now are adjusted 1 time a week were originally PI patients. The difference is now my bucket stays full. And if someone wants a “REAL CHIROPRACTOR”

, and not a pseudo MD they know where to go. This need to feel like a real doctor in an effort to gain the respect and admiration of other healthcare providers has ruined many a chiropractor financially. I know I was one of them! If you’re just starting out PLEASE write or call me BEFORE you start your practice.

Here Are The Economics Of Subluxation/Family Based Chiropractic

In business there is what is called the front income and back-end income, also known as life time value.

A chiropractor who is focused on strictly PI or back pain patients and fails to convert them, fails to teach them that chiropractic is great for back pain, but if that’s all you use it for you are only realizing 10% or less of the benefits of chiropractic will loss over a million dollars in the course of their practice years. In addition, the practice is established on relationships, i.e. attorneys, medical doctors, etc. the actual value of the practice at the time of sale is less. The reason for this is that the practice is not built around chiropractic, but around a relationship of 2 individuals. On the contrary, a practice that is subluxation based, one that has an educated patient population will have more value at sales time. Although a portion of the patient’s may not like the new doctor, and they will leave the practice, the majority will stay. Unlike the strictly PI practice where if the lawyer doesn’t really like your, color, religion, name, personality the practice is worthless.

Here are some things to think about:

1. The chiropractor who is seeing 20 new PI or pain only patients and fails to educate them may see a value of $2000-$3500 per patient. This is the up-front money. (By up front we do not mean that the patient is paying this up front, what we mean is the average value of the case)

2. The doctor who, when doing a report of findings with this pain patient begins to slowly explain the Big Idea, the additional value that chiropractic can bring to their overall health not only will receive the Up-front fee, but the back end income year after year, not to mention the other family members who become patients. If you are a PI office, think about this. How many PI patients have you had over the last 10 years? How many are still patients today? If you had converted just 10% of them you would be in a position today where you never had to worry about a new patient again.

It is for this reason why programs run by those like Dr. Eric Plaskers and Ben Lerner and others like these are so popular with chiropractors who have been practicing 10, 20, or even 30 years. They are tired of the frustration of the leaky bucket practice. Again there is no “Secret” here. What people like Dr. Plasker teach is basic economics. Unlike pain care, which is very heavily front end loaded, family care is both front and back end loaded. I am not saying that’s all there is to his or other programs like his, I am saying that the message he and other people teaching life time chiropractic care is that contrary to what you have heard and have been led to believe, a subluxation based/family practice is the healthiest practice to have. And it’s NEVER too late. Start Late, Finish Rich

Okay, I ran a little long here, so we will address direct mail marketing and monthly communication next month. I will be posting a completely editable newsletter on the web site www.FreeDChelp.com next week. I will be posting it every month for you to use and send to your mailing list.

Until Next Week

Yours in health,

Lenny