Sources for referrals are right under your nose. Learn how to identify and reach out to these hidden jewels in your practice

Did you ever hear the story “Acres of Diamonds?” It is about a farmer who sold his land to pursue his fortune during the gold rush. The farmer spent his entire life searching for gold that he never found. Back on the farm, the new owner stumbled on a strange-looking rock. These rocks were all over the place. They turned out to be diamonds, and his farm was full of them.

Most chiropractors are sitting on a diamond mine, but, like the farmer, choose to seek their fortunes elsewhere. DCs should use a systematic approach to getting referrals and harvesting the diamonds that exist within their practices.

Three main reasons to seek referrals are:

1. referred patients are more profitable because you incurred no advertising cost to acquire them;
2. referred patients are more loyal because they are bound to you by two relationships (you and the person who referred them to you); and
3. these patients are more likely to refer other patients because they have been through your referral process.

Know Your Sources
So the question is: Who is most likely to refer patients to you? Identify these people, and do not limit yourself to getting referrals from your patients (although this is by far the best source of referrals for your practice).

Here is a short list of possible referral sources for your practice:

• Patients. This is by far your best source of referrals. They know the quality of care you provide. Your past and present patients should form the foundation of your referral efforts.
• Vendors. Both current and former vendors can be an excellent source for referrals. They already know about you and your practice, how you work, the kind of person you are, and the type of patients whom you work best with.
• Employees. Your staff can and should be an outstanding source of referrals. In most cases, they are the first and last point of contact with your patients, which puts them in a perfect position to request referrals from them.

The front desk staff should use a four-step approach for getting referrals:

1. Determine value. Ask patients if they are feeling better, and then ask what part of the procedure gave them the greatest relief from pain.
2. Gain permission to ask for referrals. Make the request important by saying, “I have an important question to ask you.”
3. Reduce the chances for rejection by asking, “Can we brainstorm for a minute? Can you think of anyone you care about who could benefit?”
4. Make suggestions by helping them visualize people they know. Say, “I know you’re active in your association, perhaps we can start there.”

To encourage your staff to ask for referrals, have a monthly referral contest with the winner receiving a $25 gift certificate.

• Other health care professionals. Networking with other health care professionals allows you to cross-refer patients. Contact podiatrists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, and nutritionists and ask them if they can meet to discuss ways to grow their practice.
• Neighbors, friends, and relatives. Most of them work and all of them have friends who can be sent to you.
• Fellow members of associations and religious groups. These are like-minded people who share similar views. They know about an important aspect of your personality, and because of the common bond you share, they are more likely to vouch for you to their friends and associates.
• The media. Identify the media outlets that reach your target market. The media is always looking for experts to provide and verify valuable information to their following. You and your practice could be featured in an article. You could be the expert the media turns to when they need a quote on some current health-related topic. Do you have a unique story idea? Maybe you have identified an intriguing trend? Let the media know and they will let others know about you.

Don’t Be a Best Kept Secret
Once you have identified the best sources for referrals, the next step is to make a referral request. This can be awkward and uncomfortable. The best rule of thumb in asking for referrals is when value has been given and value has been recognized. If you follow this rule before you make referral requests, you will find that whomever you ask will be much more open to giving you referrals.

If you do not feel comfortable asking for referrals, you can use a softer, more indirect approach. At the end of an appointment with a patient, when value has been given and recognized (in other words, the patient has said that they are feeling much better), just before you part you can say, “Bob, please don’t keep me a secret out there.” This phrase works so well because the patient knows that you are asking for a referral without being pushy.

Make it your parting tag line whenever you are with anyone who can refer patients to you. Also, include it in all of your written correspondence. For example: P.S. Don’t keep me a secret. Consistently using those five little words will do wonders for your practice.

Never limit yourself to just one method of getting referrals. To truly harness the power of word-of-mouth marketing, you must incorporate several referral methods. Three other ideas for you to try are:

1) Send handwritten thank-you notes to patients who have referred other patients to you. Most people are not used to being acknowledged, much less thanked, by anyone who has Dr in front of their name.

2) Place “refer a friend” cards (Figure 1) within arm’s reach in every examination room. When the patient says something positive about the quality of care you provide, thank them for the compliment, hand them the refer-a-friend card, and say, “It is only through word of mouth that we get really nice patients like you. If you have a relative, friend, or coworker who you would like to refer to this office, we would consider it a pleasure to care for them.” In many cases they will fill the card out with one or two referrals and leave it at the front desk.

3) Send quarterly letters to all of your patients describing a case history of one of your patients. Interview the patient and include his thoughts on the quality of care that you and your staff provided. Cover a different patient condition each quarter. This will accomplish a couple of things for you: 1) educate your patients about the health conditions that you treat, and 2) help develop top-of-mind awareness, so when they or someone they know has a health problem that you can treat, they will think of you first.

One of my clients was fed up with spending his weekends and off-hours doing free spinal screenings. It was time-consuming and without producing great results. He had enough people in his network of friends, family members, associates, and patients that sending a quarterly newsletter made sense.

Together, we created a series of custom-designed postcards mailed out each quarter describing the outcome that a patient had received through chiropractic care. Included at the bottom of each postcard was a referral request.

By the end of the year, the quarterly newsletter, along with his other activities to gain referrals, more than replaced the new patients he was getting from the spinal screenings. The best part was he was getting higher quality patients, and he was able to spend much more time with his family.

Referrals are a large percentage of every successful chiropractor’s practice. The first referral from a patient is always the hardest to get, but you will never get it if you do not ask.

Remember, the rule of thumb for asking for referrals is to make a referral request only when value has been given and perceived. When you do get a patient referral from someone, do not forget to make a big deal about it. Thank the person for giving you the referral. And the more methods you have in place to get referrals the more successful you will be.

Ed Forteau is president of Win/Win Professional Marketing & Sales Association and is known as a strategic marketing coach. He can be reached at (989)-831-5910; winwinpro@earthlink.net;   www.strategicmarketingcoach.com.