People are motivated to refer to you for their reasons, not yours. High “I’s” refer because they are excited and want to be a part of things; High Theoreticals’ refer because the are educated; High Utilitarians’ refer because they feel like they got more than they bargained for, or it’s a good deal; High Socials’ and High Traditionals’ refer because they get emotionally involved, the Socials want to help rid the pain and suffering in the world, and the Traditionals’ if it is part of their belief system will often want to preach their new truth to their family and friends. High Individuals’ want to be seen as a leader and lead people to you, while High Aesthetics’ refer because they love personal growth and want their experience for everyone. Anyway about it the fact of the matter is most people refer because they want acknowledgement. In other words they want to be “thanked.” Some want to be thanked by the person they referred to see you, and some want to be thanked by the staff and the doctor.
Recognize that patients are not sales people and even if they do want to refer patients to you, most of them don’t know how to do it effectively. Therefore it is your job to make their job easier.
With that said, I would like to say that across the board I do see one thing in common with most people who refer a lot. Most people who do refer a lot do so because you have touched their soul; because you have touched them deeply and they are forever changed because of it.
When we deeply touch our patients they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to share their joy, excitement and knowledge with others.
Many chiropractors have a bad feeling or negative connotation around asking for referrals. We feel like a con man/woman or used car salesman.
The Jewish folk have a beautiful term which is to do a “mitvah.” It means to do a good deed.
When we allow one of our patients to share their excitement and their good feelings with other people we are actually doing a mitzvah. If we don’t receive their gift, if we don’t give them an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves and be a part of our mission; we have done them a terrible dis-service and begun to break the relationship.
One of the great differences between doctors who have the majority of their patients refer their friends and family, and those who don’t, is due to this principle. Those of us who have practices full of happy, thankful and inspired patients are motivated from within to share this gift with their loved ones.
There is really quite a bit to discuss around referrals but I will touch on a few concepts.
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The major reason people refer is because we went above and beyond. As Seth Godin describes in his book “The Purple Cow” we give our patients a “remarkable” experience. In the book by Blanchard and Bowles “Raving Fans” they discuss the concept that the kiss of death to any business is “satisfied” customers. What we want is Raving Fans! Raving Fans refer and can not be taken away by our competition. I strongly recommend reading that book. You can also check out another article I wrote called “Red Carpet VIP Treatment.”
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Obviously there are many reasons why people do not refer. They were not happy with your service for a myriad of reasons. They had to wait, they did not feel any results, they had a bad experience with you or your staff etc. Another article worth reading is “Assertives vs. Non-Assertives.” A classic reason why patients will not refer is if you are an Assertive doctor you might render yourself offensive. You may use scare tactics, or bully them into care. People will put up with that but they will not want to refer family and friends for that type of behavior. Classically the Non-Assertives might render themselves ineffective, in other words the patient is left dazed and confused and they really have no idea what it is you do, what they need or why they would refer!! (Again, I highly recommend that you read “Assertives vs. Non-Assertives and figure out which one you are… and yes, you can be both of them!)
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Window of opportunity. Know that there are classic windows of opportunity where people not only will refer but will be happier because you gave them the opportunity to do so. In essence when they are happy. As soon as they sign up is a great opportunity to give an offer to check their entire family… of course there are very specific ways to do that. (Review how to get families in from your LAASR Course.) When they feel good for the first time, re-reports etc. My basic rule of thumb is you should not have to ask for referrals, but once you are ready to ask for a referral, in other words once the window of opportunity is opened, you really want to know how to ask for referrals and close the deal!! This is what my “No Stress Secrets to Easy and Instant Referrals course is all about.
This will give you the foundational information. Come to our next call with questions and I will help customize this for you. And consider doing a mitzvah and giving your patients an opportunity to give their gift of referring patients to you. (Review “how to ask for referrals” from the L.A.A.S.R. course.)
Russ Rosen, D.C. – Jan 27, 2003
