Awesome result this week, very happy customer. A patient I have been working with, with a colleague, Jessica (Not her real name), presented with chronic, severe Coccyx pain. My colleague and I have been chipping away at times, what seemed to be little avail. Jessica presented to me yesterday reporting a subjective 90% improvement. This has changed her life, she is ecstatic! I would like to acknowledge my colleague’s work here. This is clear example of a collaborative team approach producing an outstanding result, many thanks mate. What's also interesting is Jessica has invested ~$1500 to achieve this result which in her words, pales into insignificance. And if you compare this with the money she could have spent in the medical world, namely MRI's, U/S's, drugs, injections, maybe even surgery...this amount of investment is very little. So when you're feeling like you might be asking too much of your patients understand their ROI from what we do is incredible value. Never under-state the impact you can make and NEVER compromise your treatment plan based on YOUR PERCEIVED reality around WHAT YOU THINK YOUR PATIENT CAN AFFORD! You are doing them a huge DIS-SERVICE if you do this not to mention undermining yourself and the practice. Furthermore, I then asked Jessica if she would offer a Google+ and FB testimony which she said would love to do. I said aside from promoting us, this helps communicate a message to our community which might avoid someone unnecessary surgical and/or drug intervention and in most cases, far greater costs! Thank you again to my colleague for staying the course and not compromising your care. If you work with someone like this, make sure to organize a one on one and find out more about what they do and how to best refer to them. And don’t manage your patients on your own! About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au
0 Comments
If you’re a contractor you will understand the definition according to the ATO and Fair Work Australia, and therefore the distinction between that and employed. If you don’t then I recommend you find out. A key distinction is that to be deemed a contractor you need to work in at least 2 locations. If you don’t then this leans more heavily on the remaining criteria. For this reason many contractors work between 2 locations and this in of itself raises a number of challenges. The other reason might be that you are a practice owner who has 2 or more locations. Either way, managing your energy at one location is challenging enough right? Try splitting that between 2 places, not easy! So let’s ‘unpack’ these challenges:
So let’s now look at some solutions:
Working 2 locations can be a very rewarding choice and as mentioned, one that secures your position as ‘Contractor’. Cheers, Dr. Andrew About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.com I saw a new patient yesterday for an acute wry neck, something I’ve managed many, many times. I took her thru the routine, including education around how pain perception works, the tip of the iceberg metaphor, how the healing process works…better, worse, same or different being all part of that. The treatment went well, followed thru with my standard SMS and emails. I gave her home advice and recommended she see me again the next morning. Long story short, she replied via text, she wanted to cancel as she was no better. What do you do? My reaction surprised me given how well I understand this scenario. I got emotional, and by that I mean angry and frustrated. How could she not give me the opportunity to show her my magic and the magic of Chiropractic. How could she cut me off without any opportunity to explain. This could be the breakthrough she’s been looking for…right? Well that’s called ‘perceived reality’ so I thought I’d re-affirm, to myself as much as anything, the ‘Actual Reality’. So here goes. There are 3 types of patients, Apples, Oranges and Pears, no better or worse than one another. In our practice an ‘Apple’ is one who ‘gets’ the bigger health picture; who pays, stays and refers. We want ‘Apples’. This patient was an ‘Orange’ or a ‘Pear’. These patients have pre-decided you’ve got one shot! They are not interested in wellness. Any attempt at offering a schedule or product is met with an over-servicing, over-charging inference. Quite simply these patients are not only NOT LISTENING, they’re not even in the same room and THERE IS nothing you can do to change this!!!!!! So don’t even try. We don’t want or need these. We want ‘Apples’. There are clinics however, who want ‘Oranges’ and ‘Pears’. They love seeing patients once or twice; treating acute pain etc. So I remind both myself and my fellow colleagues, ‘LET GO’ and stop adding meaning. It’s not personal; it’s doesn’t mean you are not successful or a not an accomplished practitioner, YOU ARE! It’s simply that what you are offering is not what they want irrespective of you think they need. Focus you’re energy on the ‘Apples’ and let the rest go. It’s only fair to you and you’re Apples. Oh, and keep having fun, Dr. A About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.weebly.com www.milliondollarwellnesspractice.weebly.com My brother in law once said to me, ‘A little bit of arrogance goes a long way!’ As Allied Health Practitioners in general, we’re a shy, humble bunch which is great however, when it comes to telling the world what we do and who we are, it just doesn’t cut the mustard. As Allied Health Practice owners we can even more shy which is a problem. Let me state this very clearly. You’re sole mission and purpose is to lead and inspire you’re team and the wider community, both local and global. That’s it! That means being the Boss! For most of us this is a huge fear, right up there with public speaking and heights and the inclination is to run, and fast. The problem is your team are left floundering, a bit like a ship without a captain. It’s time to step up, and into your power and be the awesome leader you were meant to be. I call this ‘Celebratizing’ (a made up word if you’re wondering). This means stepping into comfortable – uncomfortable and being ok with that. Here’s how you do it. First, learn to ‘let go’. The best way to do this is meditation and affirmations and then repeat, repeat, repeat! Second, find an awesome photo of yourself in business attire, get a friend to take one if you don’t have one, and then get it blown up to at least A2 size. This then goes on the mirror in your bathroom or somewhere else, where you will see it often. Start to fall in love again with YOU. Marcus and Andy from the Wellness Leadership Academy call this +ve delusion. Third, take that same photo and superimpose it over the front man/woman of a band standing on centre stage looking out at 100,000 adoring fans. ACDC is a good one. Enlarge this and place it next to your solo portrait. Fourth. Watch what you’re wearing, you’re perfume, cologne, jewelry. Start to dress up even for a regular day at the office. You’re posture will change I guarantee it. Fifth. Start hanging out with your team one on one. Tell them let’s do our regular mthly catch up at the local coffee shop. With your new found persona or avatar you will naturally be able to connect as boss-practitioner-staff without the lines getting merky. Sixth. Add a sprinkling of arrogance. Be a bit cocky, those around you will respond positively because they already know you’re a great person. There are many more steps to celebratizing however, these will get you started. It’s time to become a celebrity of your own show. Good luck and have fun. Cheers, Dr. Andrew About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.com edit. Successful products and services quite simply, have found they’re client’s ‘BLISS’ point. Think about a service or product that you love. What is it about that product? Taste, smell, how healthy it is… or the service…the way you are always greeted, the way the reception staff remember fine details about what’s important in your life, the smell of the treatment room… The Bliss point is exactly this. A culmination of kinaesthetic, auditory, visual and emotional cues that go beyond simply delivering a great product or service. In my view it’s what makes up the gap between a great service or product and an extra-ordinary one. Another word for it is ‘Relationship’. So have a think about what is or could be your ‘point of difference’ or Bliss point and oftentimes it’s not a big thing. There’s a saying, it’s the small things that make the biggest difference! So true. For example, I spray essential oils around my room and treatment table before and after every client; I randomly gift my ‘Grade A’ clients with a low cost item such as soap or hand cream, just because…; I make detailed notes about their family, kids, pets, holidays etc. and then ask about these during the consultation; I bring my colleagues into the consultation room for a 2nd opinion, makes my client feels extra special; I send them an email about a topic they mentioned even though they didn’t ask me directly for the information; I make sure the table is clean before every client puts their face down… As you see there are many no-cost things you can do. When you’re client feels that warm, fuzzy feeling…the same way you do when you see your professional or receive a product (which still relies on a service) they will be a patient or client for life. HINT: When you feel the warm and fuzzies also with your client this means you’ve connected, and that means bliss point. Have fun, till next time, Dr. Andrew About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. Andrew's websites: www.milliondollarwellnesspractice.weebly.com www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.weebly.com o edit. First of all, what’s an infomercial I hear you say? An infomercial is a 30-60 second pitch about you, your business but most importantly, what you’re really about. Purpose: A tool to help you deliver your message quickly and succinctly at a business networking event. A short, sharp well-rehearsed message speaks mountains when it comes to impact. They say you have 8-12 seconds to make an impact, that’s it! With this tool, you’re potential customer or referral partner will be blown away. This enables you to create a ‘vote of confidence’ effortlessly and powerfully. Hi, I'm Andrew Arnold, Wellness Coach and owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. Here’s for format: INTRODUCTION 5 seconds E.g., Good morning Andrew Arnold, Chiropractor and Principal of Cranbourne Family Chiropractic, a small, family practice located opposite the Settlement Hotel. We offer affordable, low force, gentle, safe healthcare care, specializing in Chiropractic, Myotherapy, Remedial and Relaxation Massage, Naturopathy, Hypnotherapy, Stress Management techniques, Exercise prescription, Custom orthotics, Postural assessment and brain integration work, and the Vibrosaun Massage-weight loss machine. L.C.D. (lowest common denominator) 5 seconds Choose a niche you are focusing on the moment, e.g. back pain in teenagers related to calisthenics. BODY 30-35 seconds Describe the problem, e.g. in your observation, the nature of Callisthenic activity may have a negative impact on growing spines. This relates to the repetitive hyper-extension exercises… Describe the solution…e.g. so Chiropractic care can have significant positive impact on correcting what we call Spinal Subluxations and minimizing spinal injuries particularly doing the growing years… THE CONCLUSION 5 seconds So a good referral would be a 10-15 you teenage girl actively doing Calisthenics. Include an offer…e.g. we have special rates for teens. Then give out your business card and have them mention you and the business convention you are both attending to receive the offer. Of course you can inter-change and develop a list of infomercials to keep it fresh, just make sure the base line message is consistent. Happy networking. About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.com Let me explain. Momentum is defined as ‘the impetus gained by a moving object’. In this case I’m referring your patients and they’re wellness care trajectory. So first, let’s go back and review what we are trying to achieve with our patients. Your patients come to you because they want to resolve a health problem. You have a product which may help. You then set about to enrol or subscribe your patient to your product. This involves verbal, visual, kinaesthetic and energetic cues which collectively become parts of your presentation. Generally this all takes place during the first 1-2 visits at which time you will set about to establish a plan. Does this sound familiar? Now, the reality is not all patients want all of your product, e.g. they may want some or all of your initial care, but not a corrective, or active education process whilst others are interested in tools to help them self-care but do not wish to continue on in a wellness care plan. So you’re primary job as an allied health care professional is not only make an awesome impact (and by the way you’ve only got 8-12 seconds at the first consultation) but also determine what part of your product the patient wants irrespective of what you think they need (Patients have decided this before they even see you). If you can nail this then you build momentum. If you don’t then in most cases you will literally being pushing S@#t up hill, and that’s a recipe for burn out. So once we have established the patient wants some of our product and is at least interested in other parts of our product, we can now build momentum. Momentum is energy, pure and simple. In general people place their health at a low level of priority and it is our job to elevate that. Momentum is about connecting with our patients, meeting them where they are at. Understanding their motivators and then leading them to a wellness paradigm. It’s about a journey, about relationship, about unconditional love and support. It’s about information generosity, being that solid vote of confidence and reassurance. It’s about consistency and stability, reminding them regularly they are in the right place, you’re all over it! It’s about acknowledging what else is going in their life, remembering the finer details, empathy. It’s about keeping in touch, sms’s, emails, phone calls. It’s about showing them products to support their care and help them lead a patient centred model. It’s about using your colleagues as resources…refer, engage reception…It’s about absolute clarity about your purpose, intention, treatment plan, process… If you can enrol your patients beyond the first 8-12 seconds and maybe into the follow up visit, you have a good opportunity to build on this, and next few visits during your initial care is critical. What happens is your Grade A patients start to show up, the one’s you really want in the clinic, the ones who want YOU and you’re product! And then these patients refer others who just like them. Momentum! So you can see how this builds inertia, energy, flow…and those patients who are not choosing all of our product, does not! Momentum is ultimately about team. The practice collectively builds far more momentum than any individual. Use that to your advantage and stay engaged! Keep on keeping on About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.com As a practice owner you need to know the difference between perceived reality and actual reality. To put it simply, perceived reality is what you ‘feel’ or ‘think’ is happening with you and your practice. This is dangerous ground as it often is quite far from the actual truth. The actual reality is founded in stats and what stops us from looking hear is usually fear. And fear is based on the meaning we add to our perceived reality and this is based on our negative beliefs which in turn is founded on the past, all of which is not real! My mentor, Marcus Bird once said to me, run flat out towards your fear. This means looking at your appointment book today, for the week ahead. This gives a clear message to the universe to bring in the energy, call in the patients. But here’s the thing. Be careful you don’t add negative meaning when you look at your book and see gaps. It doesn’t mean you’re not successful, not getting results, or not able to sustain your practice! It is simply a gap and is not necessarily reflective of the bigger picture. This is where stats come in. Stats provide us with a balanced, over-arching perspective that is reflective of your ACTUAL REALITY, not what you ‘think’ is going on. But here’s another thing! You need to know what stats to look at, when you look at them and how to interpret them otherwise they will influence your perceived reality. Here’s my top 3:
Bottom line, don’t be scared to look at your stats and your book. As a practice owner and as individual practitioners you need to know where your practice is at any given time. Stats help you set targets and goals that are realistic and then help you monitor your progress towards your goals. Best of luck. About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.com As practice owners one of the hardest aspects to manage is patients failing to attend or calling to cancel at the last minute. This causes other patients to miss out, your practitioner missing out on being paid, the practice missing out on its commission, and good deal of frustration and eventual despondency on the part of practitioner and you.In my experience patients failing to attend or cancelling late can make or break a practice let alone the practitioner. I’ve seen practices reach 30-40% of weekly appointments accounting for these patients, which is a significant proportion of your gross income.
Enough is enough! You deserve to be paid. In fact if you’re not paid there won’t be a practice for your patients to come to. Now before I let you know on a secret we need to get one thing really clear. Patients don’t tell the truth! Now I know you’re thinking that’s harsh. The reality is people want to do the right thing this is true however, when we catch them out, its human nature to revert back to a child being told off and what follows is justification and white lying to get out of trouble. I’m sure you’ve heard all the excuses. So let’s think for a minutes about your Grade A clients. They’re the ones who tell you their car broke down that morning, then they mis-placed their debit card followed by a sudden sick child needing to stay home. They tell you all this at the appointment that they turned up for on time. You’re Grade A’s who can’t make it are happy to compensate you for your time because they respect your time as much as you respect theirs. So as a practice we need to make a decision. Are we prepared to be a ‘Stand’ for our patient’s health and wellbeing even when our patients struggle? Are we prepared to put $ currency before love currency to enable us to create and maintain a practice to see our clients? Are we prepared to cull our Grade B’s and C’s and not add meaning making it personal? If you can answer YES to these 3 questions then you are ready for the FREE PASS POLICY. The FREE PASS policy: All patients are entitled to a free pass regardless of who they are seeing. This is not made public until the need arises. This is based on the overall goodwill of the clinic. This means a patient maybe a NP for one practitioner but has already seen another for some time and has not exercised this right. They may also be brand new to the clinic. Reception / practitioner is entitled to exercise some discretion case by case. This is how it works. We give them 24 hours prior to an apt to cancel or reschedule. We SMS usually within about 30 mins of missed appt. If not heard from by the end of the shift we bill and letter. If already had a free pass we send the letter. If not had a free pass we usually wait to following day then send letter. If patient contacts us day of apt and already had a free pass - then bill & letter sent same day. If you would like to change this procedure please let me know. If someone has already had a free pass giving those 24 hours won’t change much, unless they contact us the next day with a very big reason. In which case we usually tell them to ignore the letter sent. However, they obviously realise at this point we are prepared to bill if they don't contact us. Good lesson for the future. So what are you going to do? If you’re serious about growing a Grade a practice then you need to embrace this procedure. More and more practices are doing the same with incredible success. For more information you reach me on [email protected] or visit me online. About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.weebly.com As practice owners one of the hardest aspects to manage is patients failing to attend or calling to cancel at the last minute. This causes other patients to miss out, your practitioner missing out on being paid, the practice missing out on its commission, and good deal of frustration and eventual despondency on the part of practitioner and you. In my experience patients failing to attend or cancelling late can make or break a practice let alone the practitioner. I’ve seen practices reach 30-40% of weekly appointments accounting for these patients, which is a significant proportion of your gross income. Enough is enough! You deserve to be paid. In fact if you’re not paid there won’t be a practice for your patients to come to. Now before I let you know on a secret we need to get one thing really clear. Patients don’t tell the truth! Now I know you’re thinking that’s harsh. The reality is people want to do the right thing this is true however, when we catch them out, its human nature to revert back to a child being told off and what follows is justification and white lying to get out of trouble. I’m sure you’ve heard all the excuses. So let’s think for a minutes about your Grade A clients. They’re the ones who tell you their car broke down that morning, then they mis-placed their debit card followed by a sudden sick child needing to stay home. They tell you all this at the appointment that they turned up for on time. You’re Grade A’s who can’t make it are happy to compensate you for your time because they respect your time as much as you respect theirs. So as a practice we need to make a decision. Are we prepared to be a ‘Stand’ for our patient’s health and wellbeing even when our patients struggle? Are we prepared to put $ currency before love currency to enable us to create and maintain a practice to see our clients? Are we prepared to cull our Grade B’s and C’s and not add meaning making it personal? If you can answer YES to these 3 questions then you are ready for the FREE PASS POLICY. The FREE PASS policy: All patients are entitled to a free pass regardless of who they are seeing. This is not made public until the need arises. This is based on the overall goodwill of the clinic. This means a patient maybe a NP for one practitioner but has already seen another for some time and has not exercised this right. They may also be brand new to the clinic. Reception / practitioner is entitled to exercise some discretion case by case. This is how it works. We give them 24 hours prior to an apt to cancel or reschedule. We SMS usually within about 30 mins of missed appt. If not heard from by the end of the shift we bill and letter. If already had a free pass we send the letter. If not had a free pass we usually wait to following day then send letter. If patient contacts us day of apt and already had a free pass - then bill & letter sent same day. If you would like to change this procedure please let me know. If someone has already had a free pass giving those 24 hours won’t change much, unless they contact us the next day with a very big reason. In which case we usually tell them to ignore the letter sent. However, they obviously realise at this point we are prepared to bill if they don't contact us. Good lesson for the future. So what are you going to do? If you’re serious about growing a Grade a practice then you need to embrace this procedure. More and more practices are doing the same with incredible success. For more information you reach me on [email protected] or visit me online. About the author: Dr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractic Doctor, and Owner, Cranbourne Family Chiropractic and Wellness Centre. He is also a Wellness Leader Mentor working with the Wellness Leadership Revolution and running his own program, the Million Dollar Wellness Practice. Andrew shares this ownership with his wife, Dr. Linda Wilson. www.cranbournefamilychiro.com.au www.drandrewarnold.weebly.com |
AuthorDr. Andrew Arnold is a Chiropractor in private practice in Cranbourne, Victoria, Australia and an Accredited Business Coach working with Allied Health Professionals. Archives
September 2016
Categories |