There's a widespread lie in the chiropractic world - If you've been in practice for any length of time, you've probably heard it more than any other so-called "practice growth" strategy. That lie, of course, is "Asking your patients for referrals is the best marketing you can ever do!"

Of course, like most things that seem too good to be true, this is a strategy that falls apart when you try to bring it out of "Theory-Land" and into the real world.

You can certainly generate a LOT more referrals in your practice - but if you use the wrong strategy, you run the risk of putting your existing patients in an uncomfortable and awkward situation, alienating these patients, and still getting no new referrals

Why does just asking for referrals fare so poorly?

Most so-called practice growth experts don't seem to understand that you walk a VERY fine line in your practice - Yes, it's a business, but first and foremost, it's a place where your patients come to improve the quality of their lives.

Most practice growth programs & trainers seem to forget this critical first part - and try to force feed you with marketing strategies that may work elsewhere, but would be disastrous to put into place in your practice

However, the generic "asking for referrals" strategy doesn't even fall into this category - because just saying to a patient or client in ANY business "Can you think of anybody that you might be able to refer to me" is an awful strategy EVERYWHERE.

What you mean … And what they hear

When most chiropractors say “Can you think of anybody who you could refer to my practice?" the underlying message from THEIR point of view can roughly be translated as follows:

"I'm so glad that I've been able to help you over the last few months/years. Every time you come in, I can see the difference between now and your first visit. I just want you to know that if there is ANYBODY in your life who's going through what you were, who is in the pain that you were, that I'll do my best to help them, like I've helped you. I don't know if we'd be able to achieve the same level of success, but I'll do anything I can to help them on the path to optimal health."

Unfortunately, more often than not, when you ask for referrals, your patient doesn’t hear that. Instead, he hears: "Can you think very hard, and rack your brain, to find a way to bring me more money? What you're paying me isn't enough - I want more."

Now, that's not a question you want to be putting to your patients, is it?

How to ask for referrals… And GET them

One of the simplest and most effective ways to ask for referrals is to follow the LSR model of referral generation. Its LaSeR focused and will give you great results.

LSR stands for Limited, Specific, and Regular. Before we look at these elements, though, let’s look a little closer at why most referral requests fail.

Important considerations for any referral request

You have a LOT of expertise, and can help treat any number of conditions - But most of your patients will ONLY think of you in terms of what brought THEM in.

Think about it this way - If I were to ask you "Do you know anybody who needs an accountant?" You would probably tell me "Sorry, no, can't think of anybody."

But what if I asked you "Do you know anybody who's started their own business within the last 3 years? Do you know anybody who has kids entering university? Do you know anybody who's going through a divorce?"

These are all people who might benefit from speaking to a skilled accountant - but asking for them in this SPECIFIC way makes it much more likely that you'll be able to think of somebody who fits SOME of these criteria.

Can you see how this applies to your patients?

Okay, so now let’s look at L, S, and R (out of order) as they refer to referral generation.

Specific

The idea here is to pick 1 or 2 things that you treat frequently, and ask your patients if they know anybody who is suffering from those ailments.

For example: "John, before you go, I wanted to ask you - Can you think of anybody in your life who suffers from migraine headaches?" Then wait. Give him time to think. If he says no, you can ask "Do you know anybody who's suffering from arthritis?" Again, give him time to think

You can explain that you're asking because while you've had great success in treating many patients for those conditions, you know that there are many more people who are suffering through them needlessly - and if that's the case with any friends, family, or co-workers of John's, you want to do anything you can to help.

Limited

Decide that you're going to spend a month asking your patients about these specific conditions, and only once per patient within that month - So if you see John again in 2 weeks, you won't ask him then, because you asked him today.

Regular

This means that you want to change the specific thing you're asking about on a regular basis - Usually, every month or two months works best.

That way, you can ask all of your patients about potential referral opportunities in a much more effective way, and you can ask them a number of times over the course of a year.

Bringing truth to the great lie

The LSR model for referral generation is one of the ways that you can help your patients bring in MANY more referrals to your practice - without putting them in an awkward position, and without putting your relationship with them at risk.

The great lie of "asking for referrals" is that you just have to ask - Like the best lies, it has a kernel of truth to it. The LSR model is part of what they don't tell you - namely, that unless you ask in the right way, you're likely to do more harm than good.

Want to learn more?

Referral Generation is one of the many strategies covered in Real World Growth Strategies for Your Practice – an exciting new marketing program for Chiropractors. To find out more, e-mail info@svachiro.com. For additional resources, visit www.svachiro.com

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Shawn Veltman is a marketing consultant and the creator

of the highly acclaimed ‘Real World Growth Strategies’ program

for Chiropractors. To find out more, e-mail info@svachiro.com

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