Many practitioners (and their teams) feel that they are forced (required) to treat every patient or client who walks in their door and some days they just hate coming in to work because they know that their schedule contains some difficult, ornery, or undesirable people.
Now, it is true that people are people and everyone deserves ideal care no matter what. However, not all people are going to be a match for you and your team and it IS your business and, ultimately, you do have a right to say who your customers are.
Have you ever noticed that there are some patients you love to treat more than others? Have you ever wished you could fill your practice with clones of your most wonderful clients? It IS possible you know! And it doesn’t cost a lot of money.
There are several parts to this:
- Work out how you and your team can ask for referrals in various comfortable ways. “If you don’t ask, you won’t receive” is a very famous saying and very true in this case. The proverbial sign at reception (“The nicest compliment you can pay our practice is to refer a friend or family member.”) usually goes unnoticed and most doesn’t inspire referrals.
- Decide which patients or clients you love treating who are coming in that day and only ask those people for referrals. This is because they will likely have friends, co-workers, neighbours and family members, etc. that are similar to them. If you do the opposite and ask someone you don’t like, they just may be good friends with other people similar to them and boom, you’re in for trouble.
- Be sure and thank patients or clients who refer someone to you. A cute thank you card (easily bought at Staples who you can create your own and print them on blank card stock from Staples) with a hand written note inside that is sent out immediately will show your appreciation of your patient or client’s efforts. Many practitioners include a $5 Tim card or Starbucks card or something similar to say thank you in an instant gratification sort of way.
While some colleges frown on this enclosure, it is pretty much considered normal business practice and therefore acceptable. (Just don’t go overboard on this – it’s a token of your appreciation of their work on your behalf.)
While there are several other ways to target the market precisely, the above is an easy solution that very often lifts your spirits when applied.
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