On the other hand, I see doctors too often become focused on scripts, office policies, or promotions. While these need to be addressed, they are not the purpose of the practice. That is why I always stress the importance of getting one of your team members trained as a manager — even part-time. This allows you to delegate much of your management and marketing work so you can focus on results. If you focus on the quality of your care and get great results....your numbers

As chiropractic and natural healthcare professionals, you’ve always stood outside the medical matrix and big pharma oligarchy. In marketing terms, that’s positioning: you are positioned in the marketplace as providing natural, honest wellness for the whole family. In this climate, trust is your strongest marketing asset.

There are many approaches to effective marketing. But all of them start with the right attitudes. How's yours? How about your team's? I think we all need an attitude nudge or adjustment now and then. (Coaches can help!) The good news is that your attitude is something you can control. It is all yours. When needed, check and adjust those attitudes, and help more people. Cowboy boots are optional.

The type of marketing you do varies depending on the condition and circumstances of your business. If you are just beginning a practice, you must spend a large percentage of your time and budget on marketing, especially direct response marketing. If you have built up your business, the focus of your marketing can be more on retaining your patients, creating alliances, and world-class customer service and outcomes.

I don’t recall a single doctor telling me they wanted to be chained to their practice so they could never leave it. Nearly every doctor I’ve worked with wanted a business that was not entirely dependent upon their daily production or constant supervision. Michael Gerber (The E-Myth) wrote about the system-driven business. I talk about a Goal Driven Practice. In every case, the objective is the same: The business should not depend on the personality of the owner.

Positioning is a marketing concept that means borrowing meaning from things people already trust, admire, or desire—and letting that meaning transfer to your service.

He had his son focus on the phrase “green and clean.” Not rules or steps, but an image. A purpose. Over time, once his son truly understood that the end in mind was green and clean, he could do the job on his own. The lesson is simple: when the goal and purpose are clear, performance follows.

Below is a sample coupon you can use or modify to suit your situation. Wishing you, too, a healthy start to your New Year -- in business and in life!