We all hate “closing” patients. Explaining, Convincing, Defending…yuck.
The good news is that if you nurture your list/patients and consistently communicate to them forever or until they move or die, AND you treat them the way you’d want to be treated, AND provided a unique and memorable experience, THEN you merely service the demand.
Nevertheless, you still must have a systematized process that starts the second a prospect calls your office. From that moment forward, you must place them on a well greased, slippery slope that slides them right into saying “Yes” and referring others.
So the first principle you MUST adhere to is…
#1 Consistency!
People look for consistency in someone or something they are going to trust and give money to. Do you have consistency? Before you leap out of your lazy-boy and say ABSOLUTLEY! Let me ask you this…
When a prospect calls your office does your staff talk about anything else besides booking that appointment? Do they break the consistency and start babbling about insurance and conditions… keeping the prospect on the phone way too long and eventually loosing them? Did you know the longer a prospect is on the phone before an appointment is booked…. The less likely they are to book one?
#2 Authority
What does your office look like? How is the prospect greeted? Who greets the prospect? Is all that “stuff” that makes their first impression congruent with the office promotional work that we do for you. Is all that “stuff” congruent with you being the authority you say you are and they are looking for?
Having AUTHORITY is one of the keys to having influence over your prospects. Do you show them AUTHORITY when they first walk in your door and are greeted?
#3 Bonding
People are much more likely to say yes to you and give you money if they like you then if they don’t or just feel neutral about you. Once the prospect shows up you MUST adhere:
The “4 – Minute Rule”
The 4 minute rule simply put states that you absolutely can not talk about the person’s condition for at least the first four minutes after you greet them. Sound crazy? It isn’t. You MUST spend the first four minutes (or more) bonding with the prospect and getting them to like you.
How? Ask them probing questions. Pay attention. My most successful PBA doctors do this with EVERY SINGLE PATIENT..
The next phase of the slippery slide towards the close is…
#4 Social Proof
Social proof is one of the most powerful persuasion techniques of all time. It can be boiled down to the fact that people don’t like to think very much. Instead of looking into and researching something for themselves… they would much rather find “social proof” and do what others are doing. They feel safe that way. It’s simply monkey see monkey do.
So let me ask you this… what social proof do you have slapping your prospect in the face the very first second they walk into your office? Do you have a wall full of happy smiling patients that proves you’ve helps many others with the same condition? Do you have a testimonial book that they are handed while they wait for their consult or exam? Do you schedule new patients when you are busy and when your best patients are there so they can bend their ear and tell them how god-like you are?
The next principle of influence is…
#5 Scarcity
Here is an interesting quote from G.K. Chesterton: “The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.”
That quote sums up the power of scarcity. We all want what we can’t have or perceive to be limited or rare.
By Ben Altadonna, D.C.
Send this to your patients and see what happens…
Free & Proven Chiropractic Marketing Campaign Here: www.StarfishLetter.com
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