growing your practice from the inside out
FOMO is a powerful thing. We only need to look at the panic buying of toilet paper around the world to see that scarcity will make people take action NOW!
So can we use it to encourage people to take action with chiropractic care? Won't it backfire and have people feel like they are being manipulated?
This week's WBW answers how you can (and how you shouldn't) use scarcity.
Cheers
Martin
A chiropractor sent me a Facebook message recently asking me how you can apply Cialdini's principle of urgency and scarcity.
It's a tricky question because while it's great to have people see chiropractic as important we also want to make sure that we are communicating why it's important for them!
This week's WBW will show you how to balance the power of creating urgency with the absolute necessity to do it authentically!
Cheers
Martin
A chiropractor sent me a Facebook message a few weeks ago asking if I had any recommendations for ROF videos.
Patient education videos sound great - they sound like they should allow you to give a great, consistent message to people and save you having to explain the basics repetitively.
The decision to use video or not is massively impacted by the information revolution of the last 20 years (which has accelerated MASSIVELY with the rise of smartphones and social media). 20 years ago if you wanted health information you had to go to the library and hope the book you wanted was not lent out. Today we have access to all of human knowledge in our pocket.
On top of that, people's patience and attention span are in limited supply.
So, the big question is, should you be using videos for patient education?
Cheers
Martin
I was recently asked a really interesting question.
It came from a chiropractor who had watched my WBW series on Cialdini’s book “Influence”.
He was wondering what I thought about the idea of him giving clients a copy of a book about chiropractic with a couple of vouchers they could give to people for an initial consultation.
Would this be a good way of evoking Cialdini’s “law of reciprocity?
This week’s WBW unpacks the issues surrounding it. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers
Martin
I often am asked what my script for my first and second visits are. Or what our CAs are scripted to say if someone calls as a new client or to cancel an appointment.
The answer. We don't have any.
I understand why people like them. They feel like they should bring consistency in communication and therefore consistency in results.
On the other hand, when you are on the receiving end of a script as a consumer it over feels fake and manipulative.
So what's the best way to go?
This week's WBW gives you my perspective (based on the influence literature).
Cheers
Martin
The better you understand the 'why' of communication and influence the better you are able to do the 'how' of communicating and influencing.
This week's WBW goes into probably the most important idea from the influence literature - The Hierarchy of Influence. It's the idea that certain types of communication are WAY more likely to change people's beliefs and therefore their behaviour.
Cheers
Martin
Probably not the most gripping headline you've ever read is it?
But understanding it is the key to whether you help people with their pain only or whether you can help them continue for preventative and perfromance care.
This week's WBW goes DEEP into the WHY of the most effective communication strategies because the
Cheers
Martin
Using scarcity is probably the most used and abused influence strategy.
"Don't miss out". "Last chance to save". "Only 3 left".
This week's Whiteboard Wednesday looks at some more subtle uses of scarcity.
It's the sixth and final in our series on Cialdini's phenomenal book "Influence".
Cheers
Martin
Evolutionary psychology can give some cool insights into who some communication approaches are so effective. So many of the short cuts our brains make are based on what would help our ancestors survive as tribal hunter-gatherers. We lived as social animals where our survival depended on being "in" with the tribe.
Today's WBW looks at 'Likability' – the tendency we have to want to do business with people we like (and not with people we don't). There are layers to this one so make sure you watch the video until the end!
It's the fifth in our series on Cialdini's phenomenal book "Influence".
Cheers
Martin
We are social animals. When we are unsure we look to see what everybody else is doing as a clue to what the "right" thing to do is.
This week's Whiteboard Wednesday looks at the power of social proof to help people see having care in your office as the "right" thing to do.
It's the third in our series on Cialdini's phenomenal book "Influence".
Cheers
Martin
Does saying that chiropractic is good for people with pain make it harder for us to communicate the "big picture" of chiropractic? Is it just bait and switch where we say it's about pain and then try to sell them on our real vision once they are in the office?
If we present chiropractic as being another 'treatment' for pain are we making it easier for people to start care who wouldn't otherwise? Does it give us a chance to have them experience the broader benefits of chiropractic?
Which way does the influence literature say we should go, or is there a third way?
Cheers
Martin
PS - I made this video in response to discussion that Australian chiropractors are having about the Australian Chiropractors Association's "Consider a Chiro" campaign. If you know other Australian chiropractors who would benefit from this perspective please forward this email.
PPS - This video goes into more detail on the concept of "Distance" that I mention in this video.
This week's Whiteboard Wednesday continues to look at the lessons that you can learn from Cliadini's seminal book "Influence".
This week is all about Consistency – the drive we all have to behave in ways that we have agreed to!
Cheers
Martin
"Influence" by Robert Cialdini is the book that had the most profound impact on the way that I communicate chiropractic. Reading it helped me realise that "telling the story" and so much of what I had been told I needed to do to communicate the value of chiropractic was not only wrong, it was probably doing the opposite!
Today's WBW is the first in a series showing how important the principles Cialdini maps out are for us as chiropractors.
This week is all about Recirprocity.
Martin
People are naturally skeptical of ideas that they don't already believe. Makes it pretty tough for us as chiropractors doesn't it?
Providing corroborating evidence (people who will vouch for you and your message) is an effective way to break through with your message. But there is a LOT more to it than just getting testimonials (especially for those of us in countries where testimonials are not allowed)!
This week's WBW breaks down the things you ned to know to use corroborating evidence effectively.
This is the last installment in the WBW series of lessons from "Catalyst" by Jonah Berger.
You can watch the earlier videos here:
Reactance
Endowment
Distance
Uncertainty
Cheers,
Martin
Uncertain people choose to not do anything.
They choose the certainty of the 'status quo'.
The familiar.
They choose pain killers and medical care over chiropractic.
The better we are at removing uncertainty, the better we are at helping people see the value of chiropractic. Check out the video below to learn more.
This week's WBW continues the lessons from "Catalyst" by Jonah Berger.
You can watch the earlier videos here:
Reactance
Endowment
Distance
Cheers
Martin
We all have beliefs.
Beliefs about what's important. About what is not. And we are protective of them. If someone tries to push their belief on us and it is different from our existing beliefs we tend to ignore, reject, or fight against it.
When we are communicating chiropractic we have to be aware that it is grounded in a different set of beliefs than most people have about health and how their body works. If we want people to be open to taking an chiropractic we have to make sure we don't get ignored, rejected or fought.
This week's WBW will show you how to present chiropractic based on Jonah Berger's ideas of Distance, the Zone of Acceptance, and the Zone of Rejection.
It's pretty cool stuff!
Cheers
Martin
Love him or hate him, US President Trump has rallied a LOT of support using the slogan "Make America Great Again". MAGA works so well because it allows people to feel like supporting Trump is a vote to regain something they have lost rather than supporting a radically new style of politician (which you could also say Trump is).
MAGA unblocks the tendency we have to prefer what we already have or what we are used to (Endowment) by framing a change, not as something new (which we typically resist), but as allowing you to regain something you previously had!
Genius!
This week's WBW will unpack why you need to understand endowment to be able to frame chiropractic, not as something new, but as something that helps people regain something they have lost.
It's one of the most important perspectives you need to understand to up your ability to help people see the value of chiropractic. If you agree can you do me a favour? Please share this email with one colleague who could benefit!
Cheers
Martin
If you’re like most chiropractors you would love to know what we need to do to get more people to have chiropractic care. We KNOW it would be good for them AND it would be great for us too.
I have been looking for ways to do this for years! Since I first learned about the influence literature 24 years ago I have been diving into the influence literature trying to understand what the best way to communicate the value of chiropractic is.
Most of what I learned was about how to influence, persuade or encourage people to have and continue care. I have just finished a book (“Catalyst” by Jonah Berger) which is one of the 3 best books I have ever read on this subject. And it takes a radically different position! Berger's central idea is that to really influence people we need to remove the things that are stopping from taking action (remove the interference! Does that sound familiar?).
"Catalyst" has so many important lessons for chiropractors that I am going to chunk it down over the next 5 WBW so I can share the lessons I learned.
This week I will:
Explain why removing blocks to people starting care is more important than providing reasons they should.
Explore the idea of Reactance and show you new ways to reduce it so more people choose to continue care with you.
Cheers
Martin
There are so many different communication techniques you could work on it makes it tough to know what you should work on.
This video shows you exactly what will make the biggest difference to you!
Here are the resources for when you want to dive in and do the work of getting better at communicating!
If you get sweaty hands at the thought of people saying they don’t want to have care or that they heard that chiropractic was dangerous I suggest you work on a strategy called permission. This video will show you how. If you want to take it further then you will love my “Difficult Situations” Online Workshop.
If you struggle with people dropping out of care in the first 12 visits then learning Bridging can make a huge difference. You can get started with this video. Want to take it further? “The Retention Recipe” is what you’re after.
Want to work on the most important skills in a structured program? The “Deep Dive Series” is designed exactly for that.
Cheers Martin
Most of us have way more 'free' time than normal at the moment.
You have the choice of how to spend that time. You can choose to invest the time in doing things that will enrich your life in the long run. Or you can choose to do things that 'keep you busy' but in the long run this time will feel like a waste.
This week's WBW explores what you need to do if you want to look back on this as a time of growth rather than a missed opportunity.
Cheers
Martin