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“We Mean Business” is a new TV show, sponsored by Dell Computers, on the A&E network.  The latest show features the “makeover” of a chiropractic office called Spinal Fit in Redondo Beach, California.   The makeover team came in with guns blazing to save the office from its primary problem: lack of patients.

Their solutions:

1. A new networked computer system (provided by Dell, of course) and QuickBooks.  And new appointment software (not sure what this was(.

2.  New front door and reception room decor, with a big computer screen (provided by Dell, of course)  to show off the services the office provides.

3.  New  seminar room with a computer and digital video projector (provided by you-know-who) so the doctor could show videos for patient lectures.

Of course, the team left, and now what?  Is this stuff supposed to fix all the doctor’s problems?

1.  Sure, they showed the staff how to use QuickBooks and the appointment scheduling software.  But did they teach them how to cluster book or to re-schedule patients or do recalls, to get lapsed patients back in?  I’m betting not.

2.  The  lovely new waiting room probably will make patients feel more comfortable while waiting.  But why did they have that many patients waiting?  The number one complaint by patients in all health care practices is … waiting time.  It would have been better if the rescue team spent more time teaching the doctor how to move patients through the office more efficiently.

3.  The new seminar room will give the doctor a space for lay lectures, new patient lectures.  But does he know how to give a presentation with  lots of good emotional and factual punches, and a “call to action”?  Did he really learn how to get people to sign up?  And stay?  Probably not.

My problem with extreme makeover shows and especially shows like this for businesses is that they over-simplify the problem.  The decor, the computer system, and the lack of a space to hold lectures in the office is NOT this doctor’s problem.  I would like to go back to this office in a year and see how he’s doing.  If he’s doing well, that’s great.  But if he hasn’t solved the more essential problem of getting and keeping patients, don’t be surprised.  What do you think?

A readaer asked me about this one a few days ago.  Here is how I responded:

Setting up a website is definitely a good idea; having a site is becoming more and more the preferred way to attract potential patients to your site - even higher in importance than getting a Yellow Pages ad.  But the website business has gotten much more complicated in the past few years, with the addition of stuff like search engine optimization, flash special effects, and fancy widgets.  I did my own website a few years ago, but I would not attempt to tackle it now.

Here is another important reason why you should hire someone to set up your practice website:  Even if you have the expertise, do you really want to spend the time doing this when you could be doing other things - like talking to prospective patients or doing adjustments?  Setting up a website is a huge “time sucker-upper” and I would suggest you not get sucked into that task.

You can set up a fairly simple site for not much money, with all the information a prospective patient needs - who you are, where to find you, all about chiropractic, your services, the ability to contact you by email, even new patient forms.  If you want to do the “max” (and spend much more money) you can create an interactive “member” site where people can go to interact with you and have lots of information about chiropractic.  It’s up to you, your purpose for your site, and how much money you want to spend.

There are many web designers out there.  Here are some suggestions for getting your site done, depending on your budget and your preferences:

1.  I have been working for several years with a company called VirtualImpax.  The owner, Kathy Hendershot-Hurd, is a marketing guru, book author, and website setter-upper. She has helped many people set up great-looking sites with high ranking in search engines.   She has a service called easychiropracticwebsites.comto help chiropractors set up simple but effective websites.   You can see her main website at VirtualImpax.com and you can email her at kathy[at]virtualimpax.com.

2.  I ran a search on Chiropractic Economics online to see what came up for “website design.”  There were lots of vendors on the list.  (http://www.chiroeco.com/buyersguide/Search/MarketingResults.php  .

3. I also know that Bill Esteb over at Patient Media has a partner website service called PerfectPatients.  They have lots of chiropractic content, if you’re looking for a site with more services.

When you get your site set up, send the link to me at jean@dcpracticesuccess.com - I collect chiropractic websites and I would love to see yours.

Fear of speaking is the #1 fear in the U.S.; more people are afraid of speaking in public than of dying. I figure it’s because you don’t want people to laugh at you, and you don’t care about that if you’re dead.  As a health care professional, you’ll need to be out in public talking about chiropractic.  It’s the best way to get new patients and get yourself respected and noticed in the community.

The best way to overcome your fear of speaking is to join TOASTMASTERS.  I have been a part of the Toastmasters Club at Palmer for several years, and I’ve seen dramatic improvements by students in ability to feel comfortable in front of an audience.  Form a club on your campus or find a local club right away.  Any city of any size will certainly have a Toastmasters Club. 

To overcome learn more about shyness and how to overcome it, here is a great article with tips from Think Simple Now.  The faster you overcome this fear, the sooner you’ll be able to relate to people and get them through Know-Like-Trust - absolutely essential for building a chiropractic practice.

I hope you have heard about the E-Myth - why businesses fail and what to do about it.

The C-Myth is the chiropractic myth.  It is the myth that all you have to do is be a great chiropractor with a cool technique and you will make a million dollars.

To be a successful chiropractor, any way you slice it, you MUST have 3 things:

1.  A great technique that gives pain relief to people.

2.  Business knowledge to keep your practice running smoothly.

3.  People skills/ability to communicate with others.

You have the technique;  you know how to adjust people.  Check that one off.

And you can get or hire the business skills.  Check that one off.

So do  you have the people skills?  You can’t hire that skill.  Get busy figuring out how to talk to people and get them to know you, like you, and trust you.  You have to have all three of these things, and the sooner you get them, the sooner you’ll have a successful practice.  And you’ll avoid the C-Myth.

This is an unusual website for a chiropractic practice.  It has been running for several years, and I used to use it as an example of what NOT to do in a website, because it took several clicks to get into the site and I didn’t like the sound (personal preference - I don’t like sounds/music on websites).

I recently saw on a group discussion that the chiropractors who saw this site loved it.

My question is this:  Pretend you are NOT a chiropractor.  Would you like this site?  Would you go through the trouble to click to get to the “real” home page?  I know it’s difficult to imagine yourself without a chiropractic background, but as a web user, I’m sure you can look at it like any other site.   Ask family and friends.

Here is the link:  Shephard Chiropractic

Post a comment and let me know what you think of this as a website.  Compare it to other websites you see and like, not just to other chiropractic websites.

Here are a couple of Chiropractic Economics articles on this subject:

Get caught in the Web! 4 Strategies…

Three Secrets to Profiting From Internet Marketing