For a high return on investment, offer nutritional supplements to your patients

As the public continues to seek alternatives to conventional medicine, the popularity of nutritional supplements has continued. But patients rarely receive expert guidance when they shop for supplements at their local stores. Chiropractors are continuing to take advantage of the demand and have been making nutritional supplements available to their patients. But DCs must educate themselves about the products, learn how to display the products, and determine how much of the products to carry, among other things.

To help DCs learn more about adding nutritional supplements as a secondary profit center, Chiropractic Products invited three experts to discuss what it takes to make it all work. Daryl DeLuca is vice president of Biotics Research Corp. Joseph Messino is director of sales and product training at Douglas Laboratories. Mike Scamarcia is director of sales at Standard Process Inc.

How can DCs adequately educate themselves about nutritional supplements?

DeLuca: There are numerous avenues for DCs to educate themselves on the effective use of dietary supplements. They can learn the basics from books such as Choosing Health by Mark Force, DC. The book is informative, and even includes a questionnaire and a key to help with nutrient recommendations. There are many courses and classes available. For example, the American Chiropractic Association’s Council on Nutrition has a program that can lead to a Diplomate in Nutrition certification for DCs. There are also numerous workshops and lecture meetings, and programs teaching techniques such as applied kinesiology and contact reflex analysis, that many find very useful. DCs can sign up for a Web site at www.holistichiro.com (view it at DrVarnas.com), which offers many effective tools along with a customized site that is a terrific value. For DCs who want to jump in with both feet, consider an ACA Council on Diagnosis & Internal Disorders meeting.

Messino: The best, most efficient way for DCs to obtain quality nutritional education is to attend both their state and as many national chiropractic association seminars as possible. There are educational seminars held by most of the major chiropractic colleges, and some of the state organizations draw from a national audience for attendance and speakers/educators as well. These seminars offer quality educators as well as continuing education credits. They also offer the opportunity to visit with many quality manufacturers in one room, providing the ability to view supplement and protocol choices to reinforce what they are learning in the seminars.

Scamarcia: DCs should take a well-rounded approach to become adequately educated on nutritional supplements. The most effective methods include attending local seminars and formal training programs, reading books and magazines focused on nutrition, and browsing the Internet. Sales representatives from nutritional companies can also be valuable resources. They have many tools that they can provide to help get a DC started.

How much is the initial investment in starting and maintaining a nutritional- supplement profit center?

DeLuca: DCs can implement a nutritional component in their practice for less than they spend each month on their daily latte at the local “yuppie-chino” store. Doctors can be financially very successful and improve their patients’ well-being simply by covering the basics: Bio-Multi Plus, a quality multivitamin/mineral; Optimal EFAs, a balanced blend of essential fatty acids; Bio-D-Mulsion, vitamin D3 in a highly bioavailable emulsified form; Chondrosamine Plus, broad-spectrum chondroprotective support for joint health; and Intenzyme Forte, proteolytic enzymes for inflammation and digestive support.

An investment of less than $250 would allow for four each of the above-mentioned products, definitely enough to get started. From then on, the products finance themselves.

Messino: The initial investment really depends on how specific and specialized the DC wants to be. Providing basic general nutrition that is beneficial to virtually all of his patients regardless of the specific individual protocols he may provide can be accomplished with a small investment. Some companies even provide general nutrition protocols in a convenience pack to simplify the offering. Also, unless the DC is interested in private-labeling or customizing his offering, most supplement companies require no minimums on house-labeled product, so the DC does not need to stock large quantities.

Scamarcia: Initial investments vary. It really depends on the comfort level of the DC, storage space, and staff knowledge. Typically, a DC starting out becomes familiar with a certain protocol from a company and tries it on a few patients. After seeing results, they begin offering it in their practice on a larger scale and advance on to using additional products.

What is the expected return on investment?

DeLuca: With few exceptions, DCs can expect a 100-percent return on their investment. You heard me right. A 100-percent return. Suppose five patients each day purchased three products (15 products total each day) with an average net of $27.50 per patient. Multiply that by 20 days, and the result is a net gain of $2,750 per month. That’s real money for real products that provide your patients with real health benefits, just by covering the basics.

Messino: Most quality supplement companies provide the practitioner the ability to earn a 50% discount off the suggested retail price. They can usually double their investment.

Scamarcia: Again, this is left up to the DC. Many nutritional supplement companies sell their products at a discounted rate to health care professionals, allowing them to mark-up the products up to 100% for sale to patients. Offering supplements can benefit your patients’ health and the success of your practice. Also, when patients start to feel better, they will spread the word about your practice to their friends and families, which again helps build your client base and increase your ROI.

What type of support should a DC expect from a nutritional-supplement company?

DeLuca: First of all, product orders should be taken, processed, and shipped by friendly, helpful staff in a timely manner. DCs should expect technical support for the products and their use. They should also expect patient literature for basic products (multiples, EFAs, etc). At Biotics Research, we provide CDs for the doctor to give their patients that help reinforce the need for healthy eating habits and explain why they should obtain their supplements from their doctor. Most of all, DCs should expect safe and clinically effective products of the highest quality, which is exactly why your patients should get their supplements from you.

Messino: DCs should expect clinical information whenever applicable. They should be provided complete product data information, including studies and references, and suggested protocols that eliminate the guesswork. They should have access to the company’s PhDs and technical staff for questions and issues.

Scamarcia: A nutritional supplement company should provide ongoing educational support in the form of well-trained sales representatives, seminars, and product literature. Additionally, a nutritional-supplement company needs to have an infrastructure that can complement the efforts of a DC’s office. For example, they need to provide you with tools to help you educate your patients and staff on the products. The company, along with their sales team, should provide technical and clinical support plus practice management techniques for your office.

What are the best methods of product display? How should a nutritional- supplement company help the DC with this?

DeLuca: The use of product and/or literature displays is really a factor of office layout. An office may have extensive counter space, but many have room for a simple patient-literature display at best. Often, doctors will request empty bottles for display. If they want them, they get them. Some space issues can be countered with framed posters (at Biotics Research, we provide them) which can periodically be changed out or rotated.

Messino: Since the DC is providing a product line that is superior to what his patients might find on a retail shelf, the product should be displayed differently. It has more prestige being held behind glass or in a dispensary not readily available to the patient. The DC should be prescribing the nutrition, not allowing the patient to “shop” his shelves.

Scamarcia: Most DCs that focus on nutrition have an area in the office that highlights the supplements they offer. They often keep them in a glass case within the lobby or hallway of the office. Others keep them behind the checkout area which is in clear sight to the patient. All in all, they need to be in a highly-visible area to encourage conversation. A nutritional supplement company can help with this by providing promotional tools for the waiting room that are targeted at getting the patient interested in the products. This will drive the demand to you for the product instead of you having to introduce it.

How should DCs decide how much to buy? How long is the shelf life?

DeLuca: It is never necessary for doctors to purchase more than they need for a few weeks. While some order almost daily, most of our regular clients purchase on a weekly or biweekly basis, purchasing enough to take advantage of our free shipping policy. Shelf life need not be an issue. At Biotics Research, most of our products have a shelf life of 1 to 2 years, and, generally speaking, we turn over our inventory every 90 days or less. However, we have a few products with short shelf lives. Those products are produced in very small batches every few weeks to ensure freshness.

Messino: Quality nutritional supplements should carry no more than a 2-year shelf life. Anything more may compromise label-claim integrity and require preservatives or unnecessary overages to be applied. The DC should be prescribing a monthly protocol and emphasizing compliance in order to get results. The products should not be in the patients’ possession any longer or they are not following the protocol and will not see results.

Scamarcia: There are several factors to consider when determining how much to buy. You should ask yourself the following questions: Is drop shipping to patients available? How much storage space do I have available? How long does it take to receive the product order? Which products/protocols do I plan to recommend to most patients (this could depend on the time of year)? How dedicated am I to promoting nutrition? How dedicated is my staff to promoting nutrition? After assessing these answers, you can decide how much to order. Most companies can send orders in one to two days so keeping an extensive inventory isn’t necessary. This will help keep stock rotated. Typically, shelf life can range from 18 months to 2 years, depending on product formulation. CP