thinking about transitioning to a cash based practice so that you could just focus on helping your patient instead of figuring out what codes and how to jump through hoops, and then you’re in the right place.

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Disclaimer: The following is an actual transcript. We do our best to make sure the transcript is as accurate as possible, however, it may contain spelling or grammatical errors.  Due to the unique language of acupuncture, there will be errors, so we suggest you watch the video while reading the transcript.

If you are tired of dealing with the hassle of insurance, the paperwork, the, it’s taking too long to get reimbursed, sometimes even insurance companies saying that you have to jump through these hoops and even taking your reimbursement back. and you’ve been thinking about transitioning to a cash based practice so that you could just focus on helping your patient instead of figuring out what codes and how to jump through hoops, and then you’re in the right place.

But how this is Chen and your six and seven figure practice makeover mentor@introvertedvisionary.com and your host for the AAC show today. And today we’re gonna talk about. Just from having a lot of experience with helping our acupuncturists and other holistic health practitioner clients transition from an insurance based practice to cash-based practice, I’m gonna share with you some pearls of what has helped our clients with that transition well, so that you can apply if you’re thinking about transitioning to cash based practice or already planning on doing so.

So the, there a couple things in terms of. Certainly. Let’s first talk about some benefits of cash based practice, and then let’s also have a look at some of the biggest challenges to transitioning and what to do about it. So some of the benefits are that you don’t end up having this waiting period.

You could get paid right away. Also, you don’t have to have either yourself spend time on this admin stuff or having to hire a biller or someone to chase after claims and different things like that. No more cat and mouse kind of game, right? so many benefits of, or being able to, to transition, but what are some of the.

The challenges to to transitioning that I often see, So one of the things that I hear is that but if they’re used to paying for insurance, then once I transition to cash, then they’re not going to be staying or that I want to still be affordable. And by the way, in terms of if your patients are used to paying for insurance and you’re afraid that they’re, they won’t end up continuing to work with you.

I’m going to share with you a couple of practical tips that will help you with this. But the most important thing is if you have a way of attracting new patients in the door, even if you some patient. Don’t end up staying with you, you will still have a patient flow of of new patients willing to pay cash if you know what you’re doing.

And then as far as the concern about, I want to still be affordable. So I think it’s very important for you to be in alignment with your own practice philosophy and if there are still reasons where you really want to accept insurance and keep doing that, but there’s still. But some of the shortfalls of that is you may need to see a higher volume of patients in order to be sustainable in your practice.

Or you need to hire or things out like billing or have higher expenses related to that or your time insanity, right? So there’s a trade off with that. So it’s just a matter of you choosing what’s most in alignment for you and then. If you’re not liking it, explore other options like transitioning to cash’s practice.

But some of the other things that I hear are, But what about the economy? So even during the start of the pandemic and when people were freaking out and being concerned about how, I’m not working right now and not making money, things like that. In, in terms of potential patients in that situation, even during the start of the.

When potential patients might have been in that situation or there was just this fear about things there were still acupuncturists who were doing just fine with cash based practices. In fact, some of our clients who are, were completely cash based, were doing great during even the start of the pandemic, during the pandemic and even, and also now as well too.

There’s always a, at any economy, there are people who have the ability to pay cash there. Are there gonna be people who may not be able to afford it? That might be true, but there are always, in any economy, even if there’s a recession, there’s always people. Who are able to and willing to and open to paying cash and interested in seeing you in your cash based practice.

It’s just a matter of being clear about the who you would really like to be helping. So let me share with you three tips to transitioning to a cash-based practice. And I feel like the very first one, Is very key. When I, when you hear me say it, you’re gonna think, Oh yeah, I know that.

And then you might think, Oh, I’ll just skip a scope, but what about the next one? And and yet I feel like this one that I’m about to share with you is one of the reasons why a lot of acupuncturists don’t do it is just mainly because of this main reason. And is the distinction between those who don’t do it and who do it.

What’s the distinction? is being really confident in your abilities as an acupuncturist and in that you’re totally worth, people paying you even if it were cash based practice. So when you are able to show up from that place of confidence and that sense of where you are really the expert. and a both in the knowingness that you’re an expert and in that you are good with your clinical skills, then it’ll make it an easier transition to you having a cash based practice if you’re still feeling like you’re.

Not that good clinically or you are, You have a lot of fear coming up around this then in terms of how to transition, then maybe it’s not time to do it yet. You really owning that energetically is going to be the key to everything else I’m gonna share with you beyond this as well. . And then the second thing is and also I was gonna mention related to the first thing, cuz otherwise how come there are acupuncturists and other holistic practitioners we’ve helped who’ve come straight out of school, they’re totally fresh grads and they start off with a cash based practice.

In fact I have a, an acupuncturist client who just did that in the last two months and she is at 12 patients a week, and she could be seeing more actually. But she does go and goes to where they, the her patients are. So she’s more limited with being able to travel and that kind of thing.

That’s her preference right now. But There, otherwise she has the capacity to see more, and she has a hundred percent cash based practice straight outta the school. People are totally happy to pay it. So why is it that, that some fresh grads can do that, but then some acupuncturists are have been in practice for 20 years and are still afraid that if they were to transition to a cash based practice and then people won’t, will stop coming.

So that’s why this confidence factor and you really owning that your expertise makes a big difference. So then the second thing is to carve out your differentiating factor and what is your differentiating factor? What’s your specialty? By the way, specialty doesn’t mean that you always have to focus on.

One particular kind of health issue or anything like that. It’s just really looking at what differentiates you and how can you help people see that you are the one to go to, whether it’s in your community, whether it’s for a particular kind of a health issue that you’re the go-to person to go to, whether it’s for a certain kind of patient experience too.

So have you ever thought about that? What is your differentiating factor? Of your practice that makes your practice the experience of a patient coming through your clinic different than the experience of other people going to other acupuncturists. And if the reason for that is it’s either unique or it’s very, Like it’s something that people really want then, and you also are able to communicate that in such a way that people feel like, Oh, I just have to go see her, or I have to go see him.

Then you it’ll make it a lot easier for you to transition into cash base practice. And they’re not just comparing you like, Oh wait, but my insurance covers this. They’re feeling like I just need to see you. And so this could. Also there, there could be, as I mentioned, it could either be that you become, decide to really carve out like this, I’m the go-to acupuncturist for particular health issues.

Or it could be the patient experience whether it’s like you can always get seen within x number of hours. Maybe that’s your differentiating factor, right? That maybe it could be that they don’t have to travel, that you go to them. Maybe it could be that you are the, you’re just the go-to acupuncturist within this kind of, this vicinity in, in, in the area.

So it could also be how you showcase your credibility factor. So one of our clients who has a cash based practice, Whenever someone would call at her front desk and then they weren’t really sure if they cuz yeah, they weren’t really sure if they wanted to book with her. One of the things that her receptionist says before they hang up the phone is, go check out all our five star reviews on Google.

So that’s an example of where a contributing factor to your credibility factor. So how clearly are you showcasing your credibility in whether ways like reviews or in how you describe your clinic and how it’s different or in how you’d describe your story and journey and your expertise. Those are all aspects that make up your credibility factor.

That’s really important to help you with transition more seamlessly. And then the third key to transitioning to a cash based practice smoothly is having a way of explaining to people in such a way that, that they they like they’re totally willing to pay cash, right? So where you are able to be prepared with what to say.

To and the right visuals that support it too. So when we work with our clients and get a few key visuals in place and then make the transition, the patients, the existing patients also are able to. Not only like verbally hear it from you or experience from you about how you’re like the person they wanna still keep seeing, but also what’s happening in terms of what do they see on your walls?

What do they see in what you give to them that makes them just see this clinic, or see you as an acupuncturist as this is the place I still need to go to because. , there’s nobody else who does it like this, right? So do you have visuals in place that really differentiate your practice?

And I found that when we get these in place with, in working with our clients, it makes a huge difference in transitioning to cash based practice. Now, the fourth thing, a bonus tip here is. , you can also consider offering other kinds of products or services too that can help support cash flow in the practice as well.

So these could be either additional streams of income related to supplements, herbs, or there could be products that you feel like are beneficial for your patients or even just a lay public. It could be ancillary services, whether it’s, for example, an acupuncturist client of ours is doing point injection therapy and she end.

Making additional income stream by adding that on top of the acupuncture treatments. We have clients also offering other types of anular services that are in alignment with the rest of their practice, whether it might be microneedling or it might be having other practitioners in the clinic like are doing, fertility clinic and offering our Vigo massage.

And then there are also. Opportunities for, even things that don’t require your time. For example, maybe they’re, you feel like foot baths or sauna is great. Ionic fit foot baths or saunas or, that kind of thing that you end up having at the clinic, which can also help support your patients and cash flow.

And that can also. Be helpful as you’re transitioning to cash based practice, although for most of our clients in that timeframe of transitioning focusing on one main thing, which is about. Being able to have good communication with your existing patients so that it’s a seamless transition and that most of your patients do end up staying with you is the most important thing to focus on.

And then also with bring in new patients that are willing to pay cash and this is what it is. So some of, sometimes acupuncturists tell me they’re like But I’m still a little afraid that if I go all cash then I’m just not gonna have enough patience because that’s just how it was.

And how I, I used to track people through insurance companies. And so part of it in looking at this is by thinking about this, it’s like radio weights. If you are sending certain radio signals at at a frequency, let’s say it’s like 89.5, right? Is what you’ve been sending radio waves at for insurance, then you’re gonna keep attracting the insurance patients because of what you’re doing.

But if we just tune your frequency to 94. Nine . And then your, all your communication, all your messaging, all your radio waves are all about that, whether it’s in what you say, what people see also in your marketing and your communications with, then you’re attracting a different kind.

Of patient who is at that different wavelength. And so that’s what we need to get in place. And then you will be able to feel really comfortable with transitioning to cash based practice. And it doesn’t have to be hard, It doesn’t have to feel like you, you just, you keep putting it off until you get so.

Frustrated by having to deal with the headaches of insurance or having to stay late. For example, I know an acupuncturist who has a busy insurance based practice, he stays late every day to do charting and then and billing related stuff. His family’s not really seeing him like he has kids, and his wife is when are you gonna come home Earlier?

Because you’re missing your kids growing up, right? So you know, you don’t need to wait till it hits that point, because once it hits that point, you’re already burnt out. And then wanting to transition is just not as good of a place to be. So why not be able to plan ahead and then. Especially at the start of the year, it’s oh, is this a really good time to actually transition?

It is one of the moments of start of the new year. So new things on new practice, new you, new energy, right? In terms of, or evolution and reinvention. So if you are in a place where you would like help with transitioning to cash based practice, or if you would just like free six and seven figure practice makeover tips that can help support the growth of your practice so that you could grow with less stress and have a practice that you’re proud of, then go to introverted visionary.com, then go to introverted visionary.com and look around or book a free chat with us and happy to help you further.

Till next time.

So there are two types of virtual visits…

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Disclaimer: The following is an actual transcript. We do our best to make sure the transcript is as accurate as possible, however, it may contain spelling or grammatical errors.  Due to the unique language of acupuncture, there will be errors, so we suggest you watch the video while reading the transcript.

Would you like to have a virtual practice but you’re not sure how to structure your visits? Or you currently already have a virtual practice, if would like, is to flow better and help your ideal patients or clients get the best outcomes possible. Welcome, this is Chen Yen, your six and seven figure practice makeover mentor at introvertedvisionary.com. So there are two types of virtual visit. Number one is that you might be treating them in more of a practitioner patient kind of a relationship.

And then so they are considered your patient and maybe you have seen them in person before. And then you’re just having the virtual side of the connecting, going done virtual. And then and then some of you may be completely telehealth, and of course you need to check with the loss of your state and profession about that and how it’s kosher or not.

And then the second possibility of virtual visit is that you are type of virtual visit is that you are coaching them on more and educating them on mindset and health kind of education. So there is no. Provider patient kind of relationship here, it’s strictly on educating, it’s strictly on teaching and perhaps coaching.

And those are the two types of virtual visits that, that I see are most common. And so what, how can you structure the flow of these visits? So the first hot tip is to. At the beginning of a visit set a strong intention for for the visit and what to expect. So certainly some of the PR principles that if you’ve had a brick and mortar practice apply if it’s virtual, but sometimes because you’re not used to what a virtual flow would look like, then you’re wondering how best to.

Communicate it and communication becomes, and setting expectations and inspiring becomes even more important because that dimension of being with you in person isn’t there. So the. First is setting the intention of the visit and letting them know what to expect today. So that way your patient or client feels really grounded in what to expect instead of just starting off in a visit and talking about things.

One important thing is to set the intention and expectations for today, and then at the end of the visit summarize what’s been covered. Many times in a treatment, in person what has happened, they can experience it and feel it. And and maybe sometimes you, for you don’t always think to summarize what you did to today.

But it’s even more important if it’s in a virtual relationship to, to summarize what happened, acknowledge the progress that’s been made, and then ask them. So this is really key. So this is something that, this next thing I’m about to share is something that is often overlooked because as a clinician, it’s easy.

Just bring up what you saw was had shifted for them or what to ex, what to expect perhaps next time and that kind of thing. But even before then, if you’re able to ask them to share what stood out for them and then solidify your next step recommendations, then it helps the, your.

Patient or client be able to verbalize that and settle into another level of owning that and feeling that from the visit instead of you just bring up what, what stood out for you about that session for them and the Also using powerful questions throughout your visit. So this is a second hot tip.

What, how do you structure the visit? So I shared with you this overarching idea of structuring and what to say at different moments in time, beginning and then at the end of your visit. But then what are some powerful kinds of things to ask or say during your visit? Consider asking questions that might be powerful questions, for example, saying things like, what will having that do for you?

What’s important to you about that? So these are kinds of questions that can help your patient or client. Reflect on things more especially if a virtual visit may not be as quite experiential as in person in the way that you have imagined, in the way that you’re used to in person. So certainly a virtual visit doesn’t mean that, that people don’t have an experiential shift.

It’s just that the shift typically is a little bit different than an in person experience. Another kind of a phrase would be saying, Oh, something like this. Imagine if X, Y, Z. So when you are sparking belief changes, how can you weave in words that paint a picture of that for them? One of the things about virtual visit many times in terms of the practitioner’s role and how it shifts compared to a brick and mortar in person role is that there’s likely even more within a virtual visit where you are able to like that the.

Part of the value is sparking belief change or inhabit kind of change. And so what you can, whatever you could say to inspire to also hold them accountable for those shifts can really make a difference for a patient or client. Cuz how many of you have ever thought, especially if you don’t have a virtual practice, ci, you’ve thought.

What can I actually do in a virtual visit that people would find beneficial? Cause I just, I, I need to see them in person. There’s, I don’t see that I can really give much value in a virtual visit. And sometimes we don’t think about how some, the most significant shifts that a patient or client can make has to do with the lifestyle changes that they’re making in between your visits and.

So it, but sometimes those are the hardest things for a patient or client. So how can you help them ha have better outcomes Because they’re actually motivated, inspired, and they are sticking with the lifestyle changes that you are recommending for them. And Also the, Have you ever had a, discussing the, at the begin, also at the Beginning of each visit, like at the next visit, always discuss the commitment.

So what was the previous commitment that your patient or client made? What and verbalize that. So last time we discussed you X, Y, Z. And then talk about the progress with that commitment. And this accountability piece might seem so trivial but still crucial because have you ever had that experience or maybe either you had a coach before, like in sports or something or a teacher in school where you had to be accountable to whether it was just even turning homework in.

Then did you notice you, you then worked on the homework and turned it in. Whereas if you didn’t have homework to turn and you probably wouldn’t turn it in, or if you have had a coach you were responding to, or a coach, sports coach who made you do 10 pushups every morning then you did do those pushups.

Whereas if you, and maybe someone watching you right, doing the pushups, then you were more likely to do it. Same thing with your patients or clients when you can hold them accountable. There’s huge value to that. That way your patients or clients are held accountable even if they didn’t feel like it.

Final couple hot tips is are this, so remember that. Because I think one of the things about a virtual practice and virtual visit situation is especially at first feeling like, Oh, I’m not sure if I’m really giving enough value here because I’m so used to treating and then they’re feeling the treatments being having shifted.

And and so is this feeling. We need to give in, in, in each visit. So we need to educate them about as much as possible because we’ve got this time allotted. So we need to put everything in that visit as much as possible. And guess what happens? Patient or client gets into information overload and feels so overwhelmed.

And then sometimes then they don’t end up rebooking or, have this that ever happened to you before where you if you’ve had a virtual Practice, you’ve noticed that, oh, maybe I said too much in that visit. , right? And so remember that information overload is not helpful. It’s actually the right balance of, because it can overwhelm people and people can tend to only absorb so much each time, even though we wanna give so much each time.

And so it’s helpful to, it’s an art and a skill. To be conveying what is important to convey in that container and enough to help them move forward with an important shift. So when shifting from a model of treating people to helping people online and perhaps missing the treat treating component, remember that the value of the visit is not just in fixing people.

So think about what are the most significant things that will spark lasting transformation and focus on that in, in your visits. If you are in a place where you already have a virtual practice or thinking about getting it, shifting into more of a virtual practice, either hybrid brick and mortar and virtual practice model, or maybe even a hundred percent virtual so that you have that flexibility to travel anywhere or work from home and not have to.

Be tied down to renting office space and being tied to having staff and that kind of thing as much, then I, but you’re not really sure how to go about it. You’re welcome to, to check out our website and reach out to us at introvertedvisionary.com. So introverted visionary.com and till next time.

And so how can you navigate this so that whoever you’re talking to will actually end up deciding to come in for treatments, if it’s really the best fit for them and it, if it could really help them?

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Disclaimer: The following is an actual transcript. We do our best to make sure the transcript is as accurate as possible, however, it may contain spelling or grammatical errors.  Due to the unique language of acupuncture, there will be errors, so we suggest you watch the video while reading the transcript.

Do you get discouraged when you hear money is tight? I can’t afford it or things like I don’t have the time for, and this is Chen Yen. You’re six and seven figure, practice makeover, mentor at introvertedvisionary.com and your host for the acupuncture American Acupuncture Council show today. So this can be something that when you hear you, you think, oh, I could so help this person.

And so how can you navigate this so that whoever you’re talking to will actually end up deciding to come in for treatments, if it’s really the best fit for them and it, if it could really help them? So let’s talk about this, that there are couple of key things that can help with this. The first thing is that it’s really important, cuz how many of you feel like you don’t wanna be pushy?

Go ahead and tie like this. If you feel like you don’t wanna be pushing, cuz you’re not alone with that. And one thing about this is that I was actually thinking about this one day. I. I just had this click that. You know what there’s actually no pushy a leader out there. There’s no one that says, oh, you’re pushy.

Oh, wait, you’re not pushy. Oh, wait. You’re pushy. So it’s really about how can we come from the person’s highest good in how we help our, or talk to our potential patients or clients. And if we can be in alignment with that, then we can’t control whether someone might feel like we we are being pushy or not.

How do, can you navigate when someone says to you, money is tight or I can’t afford it. So how many of you tend are feeling like you’re hearing this more or maybe just about the same or less than before. Go ahead and type in the comment and below, and I’m curious, I’d love to see, as far as the money is tightening the first thing too that’s important is to really help whoever you’re talking to, to feel heard.

So for example, what acknowledging that they said that whether it’s, I understand or empathize with their, what they’re saying, and then the next step is something that a lot of. Acupuncturists and other holistic practitioners end up skipping over bring up and which is. Finding out more about what they’re really thinking and why is this?

Because when someone says money is tight or I can’t afford it, why does someone say that? Sometimes they truly can’t afford it. But sometimes it’s because they don’t really know how you could they haven’t really Brought into the idea of coming to you for treatments or that this is the best approach for them yet.

So they might say that because they’re not really sure yet. And. And then cuz have you ever paid for something that, that it, maybe you even were looking for this one particular thing, but then I, you didn’t think it was the right fit. So thought, oh, you even mentioned to someone that you couldn’t afford it, but then you might have turned around and bought something that was even more expensive.

So you the truth was you had the money but that whatever you were looking for, you didn’t feel like it was the right fit. So you just said you couldn’t afford it, but you really could afford it. How many of you has that ever happened to you before? The first step is to find out what more about their situation and in terms of whether they’re interested or, they’re ready to move forward.

It’s just that money is a consideration or so what you can say is this something you wanna do and money is a consideration, or you’re not really sure yet. So that way they can tell you more about how they’re really feeling about the treatment that you’re recommend. Then what you can say next is you can say, let’s talk it through happy to answer any questions for you.

So what kind of, what questions or con considerations or cons you could either say considerations, or you could say concerns, what questions or concerns are you are you having, so then you could understand more about where they’re coming from, and then if there’s something that they aren’t as educated about yet, or then you can educate them about that.

But if you never ask that question then and you jump to the conclusions that they can’t afford it, then you would never know that. So that’s really important and can help you. The other thing is that depending on what the where you are at in the conversation and how the conversations is going, sometimes it’s about being very direct with people.

For example, it could be mentioning that mentioning this so you can write this down. We will pay for what we prioritize to be important. The truth is when you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. When you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. And then just leave it at that. And then you could say it’s up, but it’s up to you.

and again, if you are truly coming from that, person’s highest good. Then what you say will land for people and really help them think. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from. Acupuncturist and other practitioners, for example, this one acupuncturist was telling me that she had a patient of hers tell her that I can’t afford it.

And then she drives off in this really nice car. And sometimes people need to be reminded about the importance of their health and that’s what you’re there for. So if you truly have Their best in terms of you feeling like you’re recommending what’s truly best for them in your heart, then you saying being direct will actually help them think so.

Now let’s talk a little bit about the consideration of, I don’t have time. So this is something where how many of you sometimes hear this? I, the, I don’t have time to come back once a week or twice a week, or, once a month, I’m so busy. The times that you have just don’t work for me and then you start thinking, oh wait, maybe I need to go change it around my calendar, make myself more available at this time so I can fit them in or right.

And the again, this is a similar similarly you can bring up. So there, there are two, two reasons why someone might say that they don’t have time. One is that they are really busy and then they’re not really seeing the value of what you’re recommending in terms of them coming in for treatments as a higher value to what they’re doing with their.

And so this is another scenario where either it might require them understanding the importance of getting the treatments and how it’s going to help with their health and how important that is. And if it makes sense, too, you could also bring in the truth is that when, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.

Sometimes even, people like us, right? Clinicians who really care about our health, even ourselves, we need to be reminded of that sometimes when we get busy as well and let alone our patients or potential patients. So now the very important thing here is, remember how I mentioned to you about how how many of you are concerned about being too pushy.

Here’s one hot tip. So that is in, in terms of, if you are already thinking about how can you help them understand or educate them more about this. So they get it more before you say things like are, is this something that you wanna do? But money is a consideration or saying things like the truth is if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything before saying that.

It’s really important for your potential patient or patient to feel heard. So the first step is to acknowledge them, whether it’s whatever they said to you, like I understand, or whatever they say and really, feel into understanding them from where they’re at.

The only thing that I would, wouldn’t say that I understand or Frame that I get that is I don’t have the money or I can’t afford it. So instead of saying, I understand you don’t have the money. Or I understand you can’t afford it. Why would I not reinforce that? It’s just because people say that for different reasons.

Some people say it because they can’t afford it. They truly can’t afford it. Some people say it because they can’t afford it, but they don’t really. See that this is something they wanna do yet. Like they’re not sure yet. And or they don’t see the value in it or they don’t trust in you enough.

And that’s why they’re just saying I can’t afford it. And that’s why it, if someone says that you don’t need to reinforce that for them, because it may or may not be true. So what you can say in that situation and what I like to say or recommend our clients say is if it resonates with you, is that I understand money is a, it sounds like money is a consideration for you, right?

And then you can talk things through. Okay. So as far as here’s another hot tip, as far as the here’s one of our clients, she’s actually an, so she’s an acupuncturist. And then she says that she likes to, to work this into the conversation. And so you could listen in on this and then see if it resonates with you.

And if it also matches up with what’s happening, then you could also incorporate it in your visits or conversations by phone. So she says that she likes to break up to people that at the end of the day, It. She only wants people who are happy to be here. So if it doesn’t feel good to you, then it’s and then this isn’t the time for you to do this.

However, if it feels good and it’s something that you wanna do, let’s talk it through. So it’s let’s talk through your XYZ. Let’s talk it through to see if we could work it out together, because once you leave, then I can’t give you any other information. So if there’s something that I can talk through, then let’s talk through it.

So once you leave, so it could be once you leave or once you get off the phone, once you get off the phone, then I can’t give you any other information. So if there’s something we could talk through, let’s talk through it. So really energetically with this, it’s about being committed, but not attached, being committed to help them.

But not be attached to them. Seeing. So energetically holding that space for your potential patient or or client. So do you ever have other kinds of concerns that people bring up like, but you don’t accept insurance and then that’s the end of the conversation or I need to for some of you who may be Offering things like packages or things that could involve spouse, like fertility kinds of things.

Do you ever get people saying, oh, I need to talk to my spouse. So do you end up feeling like, Ugh what do I say to this? And what and so if these are, and other kinds of considerations or concerns sometimes trip you up as far as how best to hold the energy, how best to hold the space for whoever it is that you’re talking to.

And what to say, right? And so if that’s something. Has been a challenge or you would just like to. Having more mastery with withholding the space, then feel free to, to check out our website@introvertedvisionary.com and you can go to the about button and then the contact button and just message me there.

And I’m happy to give you a template that a script, as far as what you can a framework of what you can see if it resonates as far as how to navigate. For example, the insurance kind. Situation which can come up in a practice often. That way you’re not in a place where it’s do you accept insurance?

And if you don’t accept their insurance, or if you don’t accept insurance at all, then that’s the end of the conversation. So how can you navigate that in, in an authentic way? And that feels good to you. So yeah, so feel free to, to just message me there@introvertedvisionary.com. And and click up out and then contact us and happy to send that to you.

To you educating people and really holding the space for their highest, and if it’s not the highest good for them in terms of what you feel like would be good for them, then refer them somewhere else or suggest some something else. And that will allow you to To have the space to continue to attract people who are really the best fit to, to work with you.

So look forward to hearing how this goes, and till next time.

What’s the update on inspiring MD referrals into your practice

Click here to download the transcript.

Disclaimer: The following is an actual transcript. We do our best to make sure the transcript is as accurate as possible, however, it may contain spelling or grammatical errors.  Due to the unique language of acupuncture, there will be errors, so we suggest you watch the video while reading the transcript.

So, What is the number one way? What’s the update on inspiring MD referrals into your practice? This is Chen Yen, six and seven figure practice make-over mentor at introverted visionary. Your host for the American Acupuncture Council live show today. Attracting new patients is a. It’s a so nice to be able to have referrals coming into the practice because it just feels good.

And you could focus on helping your patients instead of worrying about where to find them. And when it comes to medical doctor referrals, Ma many medical doctors have a lot of patients within their practices and we’d be willing to refer if they knew about you and also understood how you can help, but what would be the best way to develop those relationships and then be able to actually inspire those referrals.

So the first thing to think about is what is the trifecta. So when we look at the trifecta, I want you to think about. Either a particular provider you would like to be getting referrals from, and that way you don’t have to be doing as much marketing in your practice. So it could be a medical doctor.

It could be a nurse practitioner. It doesn’t have to be limited to medical. Doctors could be PA. PTs. We just had an acupuncturist. Client of ours get quite a few referrals from a PT office just the other week. And so think about what holistic practitioners also conventional practitioners could medical practitioners could be good sources of referrals for you then consider.

The trifecta. So what is the trifecta? So once you’ve decided on who you would like to be sending you referrals, then we need to think about how can we inspire them in these three Trifacta areas. Number one is what. How is their level of connection with you as a person, because have you ever thought about this?

The people you tend to refer to, they’re probably people you have some kind of a connection with, it’s probably not someone you don’t really like. So that level of connection with the person can also determine the frequency and whether they refer. Or not that’s one aspect of the Trek trifecta.

You can think about this by drawing a triangle by the way. Or just thinking about it in your head. So the second key area trifecta is what. Is there trust and understanding of your modality. Now you might think of this first as oh, okay. So they need to trust in acupuncture, working for their patients, but it’s not just limited to that.

It’s also about. Are they clear about what situations are good are most helpful to be sending their patients to you for it, because they’re not going to send all their patients to you, but in what particular situations would be good to send it to you for acupuncture. And do they feel comfortable with it?

Because a lot, the truth is a lot of medical doctors and conventional medical practitioners are concerned about loss exceeds. They don’t want to refer someone, a patient to someone and then really don’t know what they’re doing with them. And then there’s some issues with the patient and a lawsuit comes up, like they’re concerned about that.

So how can you help them be able to feel comfortable with safety and efficacy? If they don’t feel like it’s going to be safe and effective, they’re not going to refer. So that’s a second aspect.

So the third chat trifecta. Is the third trifecta is what is the how are you staying in top of mind awareness for them? Because just because they have, you have a good conversation with them and it feels good and you think, oh God, I’ve got a connection now and they’re going to refer. It doesn’t mean that they’ll even remember you.

A few weeks from now, because many times doctors are approached by different people, whether it’s nurses, different vendors drug reps, all kinds of things and new people coming at them. And so if you’re not top of mind awareness that even if you do develop a relationship with them and they do know about you and they trust in you, if you’re not top of mind awareness, then.

They’re not going to refer as much, for example, why do you think that drug companies hire drug reps to go and talk to the doctors? Why not just hire them to do it once because, and I’ve worked at HR company before I’ve seen the insides of a drug company, and I know there’s statistics about every single time when a drug rep goes and talks to a medical doctor, there’s a prescription.

For that particular medication. Why? Because that doctor was reminded of that. So when you are top of mind awareness for the doctor, then they’re going to be more likely to refer. So those are the three key aspects of the trifecta. So then if you have decided who you would like to be getting more referrals from, or getting new referrals from a medical doctor or a provider, then consider rate yourself on a scale.

One through 10 for each of the aspects of the trifecta and with 10 being the highest that you’re, really solid on that with one being, being the. Then we could see how we can move you up closer to 10 for each aspect of the trifecta. That’s going to help you with inspiring more medical doctor referrals.

Now, another common question I get is what is the the best way? So what is the best approach to getting their attention and in such a way that they would refer. Now I will say low-hanging fruit for many of you is not. Cause one thing I hear is oh, I don’t like to just reach out to random doctor’s offices and cold call them.

That just feels really intimidating. And I think so one thing that low-hanging fruits is you could reach out to people for whom you have. And then I, but just because they’re pressed with how well you treated their one patient, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to refer and constantly refer either.

So one very important thing is. Circling back to the trifecta about trust in your modality and really understanding how it can help their patients and what’s particular situation. So it’s about how to educate them in such a way that they will end up trusting you enough to refer. That is going to be so key, and this can happen one-on-one with a provider.

It can happen where you educate them in their office. So for example, the acupuncture session is telling you. Client of ours. She ended up educating a PT office and I helped her with what to say and also what to bring. And she started getting referrals from that PT office. So having a good way, an effective way of doing that.

And then what. Also needs to happen if you would like to continue to get referrals without having to always be marketing, is, do you have a system in place that supports inspiring those referrals on an ongoing basis? It’s interesting because I have heard of practice management companies talking about oh, this is how to get doctor referrals.

You’ve got to write out your list of 75 or a hundred doctors in the area. Oh my gosh. As an introvert, that just sounds so like tiring, doesn’t it. And when our approach of it, because a lot of our clients are introverted, visionary acupuncturist who don’t really want to be. So outwardly and spending their energy that way, they like to be just, they would like to have relationships with fewer people and more in-depth relationships.

You don’t have to, the good news is you don’t have to be extending your energy out in an exhausting way. And to a lot of people, you just need to be very Like effective with a handful of providers. So having a, an approach that works with that, and then having a a, also a way of inspiring referrals beyond that initial connection.

Have, do you have a system in place that supports that? Do you have. Because when you do, then you will find yourself starting to get referrals from medical doctors and other providers. You will notice yourself that while you, for one, you’ll notice that the patients who come in through those relationships, it’s like they have listened to they’ll listen to you more than just because their doctor told them to see you.

Their provider told them to see you. So it’s very different than someone calling up and then saying, oh how much do you charge? And that’s the, in the conversation. Great. So it’s often at least our clients have shared with us. It’s so much nicer of a relationship. When you are getting referrals from medical doctors.

So one way of doing this in terms of getting a medical doctor’s attention is that our clients have been doing lately is to reach out to them through LinkedIn. Is one avenue. And but what do you say w what would get their interests? So I’m going to pop this in the chat and that way, or in the comment section.

So then that way you could click on the link and get, download the script and also get additional step-by-step training on how to attract more medical doctors referrals into your practice. So you can go. I’ll just give this to you out loud too. Is that at www dot? Get more MD referrals.com www dot.

Get more MD referrals.com forward slash linked in script. So www.getmoremdreferrals.com. Forward slash linked in scripts. I’ll pop the link below and you can click on it and get that exact script you could copy and paste and use to, to start developing relationships with providers. And for those of you who are in a place where you feel like you’re at a plateau, or you would just like help with this, because a lot of our clients tell us, oh my gosh, I’m so glad I ended up getting help with this from you, because I wouldn’t have thought of half these things.

And now I can just literally swipe. Paste or or just having an approach that works and starting to get those referrals, because we imagine if you actually had two providers sending you two patients a week, what would that do for your practice? It totally adds up. Doesn’t it. If you would like help with, as you can go to introverted visionary.com and request a chat with us and happy to see how we can help you grow faster with less stress.

So next week stay tuned for Jeffrey Grossman host of your show. And till next time and click on the link and I get your free LinkedIn script, download and start getting more doctor referrals.

Click here to download the transcript.

Disclaimer: The following is an actual transcript. We do our best to make sure the transcript is as accurate as possible, however, it may contain spelling or grammatical errors.  Due to the unique language of acupuncture, there will be errors, so we suggest you watch the video while reading the transcript.

It’s already a different time of the year, but you would just love to be, bring in more patients into the practice while you’re in the right place. And this is Chen Yen, six and seven figure practice make-over mentor@introvertedvisionary.com and your host for the American Acupuncture Council show today.

Let’s talk about this because there are three tips I’m going to give you today that can help you with bring in more patients when you with to have them. So one great way to do this, especially when you’re slow is to be connecting with your patient base by email and why email? Because it is. Low hanging fruit for you there it think about it.

Your patients trust you the most because they have that connection in relationship with you. The other possibility of bringing in patients is to get new people, to hear about you and trust in you, which is likely a bit of a longer process typically compared to your existing patient base. And you could be Connecting with your existing patient base to, to encourage them to come back for treatments, to refer other people to you.

And then also to perhaps you might have other kinds of services or offerings that they may not even know about or not be as familiar with, so they could be benefiting from those two. So let’s talk about. If you did have a desire to do this. And I be pulling in patients from this what are some hot tips related to this?

So number one tip is that

it’s, I would say a lot of acupuncturists don’t do this right now. Because they’re busy. Like they don’t have a wit a consistent way of staying in touch with their patient base. Nine times out of 10. When I ask acupuncturists, if they stay connected with their patient base, it’s many times it’s no or infrequent or not consistent.

So the first tip is that consistency. Brings awareness about you. Consistency brings trust. So do you have a set. I have a schedule of communication with your patients by email. I, whether it is once a month, whether it is twice a month or more frequently than that, or do you just never do it or do you do it only when you think about.

So consistency can do so much for your practice, because just think about it there. What are some of the reasons why people aren’t coming in, or maybe not coming in as or not using your services to its fullest extent or referring it’s because they may not put the two and two together even, have you ever had times when you’ve helped patients with one thing and then they didn’t even realize you could help them with something.

It’s so obvious to you, but it doesn’t cross their mind that you could help them with a different kind of a health issue. And that might be the case for it. They might already have people in their lives, friends, family, people, they know who they could be referring to you, but because they don’t even put the two and two together about how you can help them.

They know they don’t even think about it. And how can you make them continuously? How can you educate them, make them continuously more and more aware about the benefits of acupuncture or for some of you who are doing other things like functional medicine, nutrition, and other kinds of creative things to how can you educate them about that consistently so that they start understanding more and and seeing you more referrals.

That’s tip number one, the second tip to bring in more patients from email when you are slow, is that is to not only educate in your emails, but also be letting people know. What you have to offer. So making an offer, that’s one of the biggest mistakes I often see. So I know an acupuncturist who was telling me, she actually sends out emails pretty regularly too, to her patient base.

And I, and then she said I wish I would get more. Patients coming in from my emails. And then I had to look at her emails and I noticed that it was missing many times. She gave a lot of good information, but many times it was missing a cause of action of. What step you would like your readers to take, whether it’s booking an appointment with you or taking you up on some kind of an offer you’re providing.

So having a good call to action can make a big difference at one that doesn’t make you feel like you’re being pushy or awkward or sales or anything like that you could see on me actually. And I’m happy to give you. PME. And if you see this, if you’re on YouTube then you can reach out@introvertedvisionary.com.

So introverted, visionary.com and then fill out a contact form and then asked me for it. I’ll give it to you. But if you’re watching us on other platforms than just private message me or comment below in the chat, and I’ll make sure that you get. R what you could be saying that would book more patients and or have people take you up on, on what you have to offer.

Now, when we talk about offer some of you might think I don’t know, I don’t do discounts or anything like that. So what do you mean by offer? I don’t think I can give an offer. So first let’s talk a little bit about that for some of you some acupuncturists are good with this. Like they, they do things like a new patient treatment specials.

And if you want to do that, then that could be an example of an offer. So we’re going to first talk about. Specials and different type of offering kinds of things. And we’re gonna talk about what if you don’t want to do anything special like that because you eat really are against discounts, which is totally fine.

But if you look at a new treatment specials, so some of you might think I don’t want to discount my fees with that, which is totally. I agree. I, for the most part I don’t always advocate discounting and think about. What hap what is. The value to you in attracting one patient, it’s a P a new patient who comes back weekly, or even monthly that could end up being, let’s say you charge a hundred dollars a visit.

If they come back weekly for a month, that’s $400. And over the course of a year, let’s say if they came in monthly, that’s $1,200 over the course of a year or so, is it worth it to you to perhaps give some kind of a treatment special and for the initial visit and then they end up being patients of yours.

And so it ends up bouncing out in the end. Now, as far as the other kinds of things, if you choose to give special offers at different times can be. You bring up perhaps about your herbs and maybe some of your herbs or supplements, maybe you are going to do some kind of a special about it. So could you explain more about how certain herbs can be good to keeping their cabinet If for, if they get sick or, being able to educate them on different herbs or supplements or products that you may have.

We have clients right now who are bringing in another stream of income from that, whether it’s herbs or supplements or products and you are between a thousand dollars a month to $10,000 a month and even more. And one of the strategies that one of our clients uses is. Be doing periodic sales of this very like at least quarterly sales with this.

And so he shares this with his email list with about it and brings in extra income from it. So that’s one, one other thing. No. As far as what, if you don’t want to give a savings and you don’t have to write and you no problem. And so what could it offer me an offer? It really doesn’t have to be anything crazy with discounts and that kind of thing.

It could just be you mentioning an aspect of how you could help people because. They might have come see for one health issue. It doesn’t cross their mind at all, that you could help them with different kind of health issues. So just simply by you educating people on a particular health issue and how acupuncture or functional medicine or nutrition or whatever you can help people with can help.

That brings that to the forefront of their mind. And I, you may mean more likely to attract patients because of that. The guy made a compelling call to action where it’s very clear, how are they going to take that next step with you? Are they going to book an appointment? And what to say there, so that it’s most effective.

And in having. Previous patients come in and also new patients get referred in. So again, if you want that, that the languaging, that’s helping our clients with booking more appointments through the email with that, then just private message me. Now let’s talk about. Tip about the third tip to bring in more patients by email.

So it is two in your emails. Have you ever felt okay, that sounds good, Chad but I don’t know what to say in my emails and I’m not a good writer or even if I am. Draw a blank about what to say, and then it might feel so time consuming to come up with something. So I just don’t do it, but would it be worth it to you if you were to share and educate and then be getting like, even if you got an extra couple of patients a week, Would it be worth it to you to be a bit busier.

And that’s just being conservative error. If you do it. If you have a system in place that works, which many of our clients do because we give it to them. And so as far as the a a hot tip is what do you send by email? And then, so one thing that I would say is I recommend varying up the emails a bit.

So I’ve seen some acupuncture send out things like newsletters, and sometimes there are so many different things within that newsletter. And how many of you are really. Raise your hand or type in the chat in the comments section. Yes. Busy. Yeah. So then it’s, how many of you don’t open up every email, right?

Is that true? And so the, if you end up getting, imagine if you got a newsletter from someone all the time, and it was really long with different sections do you read. Probably not. So it’s helpful to vary the length of your emails. Sometimes it’s really short, super sweet and short. And then I with a way to, to book with you or pay you for whatever service that you’re offering or products or supplements.

So very up that the length of the emails, and then the other thing is. To be aware that there are different types of Buyers. So this is something that’s really interesting. And I, when I first heard about it, I thought, wow, I never really thought about it this way. So we all have different way we go about making decisions with what we.

Once you purchase. And this goes for, even if you don’t look at your patients as buyers, you just look at them as patients. They still, each one of them has their own viewpoint of how they go about making decisions. So I’m going to share this with you here in a moment so that you could apply it to your practice.

Even if you never send out a single email, this is going to help you within your practice. I’m going to show this to you. But those of you who do have interest in getting free email templates from us, as far as what, what has worked for our clients to get them busier. When they’re slow, you can go to www.new patients, introverted way.com forward slash templates.

So again, it’s www.newpatientsintrovertedway.com. Forward slash templates. And I’ll see about popping the link in the comment section as well. So let’s talk about the four types of buyers. So it will be showing up on the screen here in a moment. So this is really interesting. There are four types of buyers.

And as I share this with you, I want you to think about what you mean. So one type of buyer is the competitive type of buyer. These are the kind of buyers who they are pretty fast with their decision-making. They are logical. Also they tend to be deadline dancers, so they will they’re the kind of people who, if you ever.

Give people offers, like if you didn’t have certain specials going on, they’ll try to ask you if they can still get the deal, like after the sale is over kind of thing. And then the, they also are one of those people who try to test how late they can get to the airport and still make it on time. So if you’re you think you’re more of a competitive kind of a buyer go ahead and type in the chat competitive.

And then some of you might be in, in some of our patients would be spontaneous buyers. So spontaneous buyers are, they tend to buy from emotion and but they’re like spontaneous about their decisions. And then there are methodical buyers. So methodical buyers are buyers who. Tend to ask a question with another question, I, and need to know all the details I’d like to know all the facts and everything like that.

And sometimes they could be a bit slower in their decision-making. How many of you think you’re more of a methodical buyer? Go ahead and type into the chat methodical, or if you think you’re more of a spontaneous buyer, that type of chat spontaneous, and then the fourth type of buyer is the humanistic kind of a buyer.

So this is a kind of buyer who is more moved by. Bye stories and feeling go by feeling a lot and emotions. And so they might not make a decision as quickly as a spontaneous buyer would, but they still, they will feel it and then they will. And so how many of you think you’re more of a humanistic buyer?

Like you get motivated by hearing other people’s success stories and that. So this is something to keep in mind because why is this important for you and your practice and why is important, where as it relates to email, if you are, for example, let’s say you’re looking at emailing someone about who is a methodical buyer.

If those people want a lot of details about things. So if you don’t share a lot of details, then they might feel like they need to know more details. Great. And and then the humanistic kind of buyers is if you share certain things and it’s a lot of details, it might overwhelm them.

They might gloss eyes might glaze over and then they won’t, they will move forward or anything like that. What they need is to feel like, feel into it that they need it, or that feel that they They’re emotionally connected to perhaps, working for someone else or that, that kind of a feeling.

So what that means is that in what you send out, it’s helpful to vary up your emails so that you are meeting the different types of buyers and what they tend to want to know about before they actually make big. And so this is theirs. I also promise that. What could you do to share with you?

What could you do to be. How this could help you as far as the bringing in more patients by email, if you don’t have a list or if you don’t have any kind of email software. So here’s the thing. You, even, if you don’t have a list, you can, if you do have patients, even if you have 500. You could still do this in terms of some of the strategies that I’m sharing with you.

For example, let your patient base know about a particular kind of health issue and how acupuncture could be really beneficial for that. I also, you could be inspiring referrals within the practice. So these kinds of principles can still apply to your practice and you could either share them verbally, or you could be having what we talked about here in the email.

W what you send out. Okay. It could be in marketing materials. Instead that you provide within the office so physically you could give it to them. And I and at the same time, see if you can start connecting with your patients outside of just within the practice, because what about patients who haven’t been in, in awhile?

We had a client of ours, an acupuncturist who gave her an exact template of what to send. And she actually offered something that was a detox program and she made, it was like 3000 or $4,000 from one. Email. And she had someone who emailed her, who hadn’t been in her practice for over 10 years and she bought it and she’s, she was really surprised.

She was like, oh, I didn’t even know she would read my emails. So this is the power of having a way to stay connected. Even when your patients aren’t actively seeing. So if you have that writer’s block, or if you feel like it is just not enough time in the day to, to do something like this, even though you can see how this could be an avenue that can bring patients in for you, then grab the free templates that are promising you.

This is from our new patients from email system and you can go to www.new patients. Introverted way.com forward slash tablets. And then I download the templates and you start easing it in your practice. Whether you, you plan on sending emails or not, you could use elements of it within your practice to bring in more new patients into your practice.

So that way you could focus more on just helping people. Instead of worrying about where to find more patients. And if you’re in a place where you’re at a plateau in your practice, and you just know that you’re capable of so much more and you would love to have a practice. You’re proud of that. It’s fulfilling for you and making six and seven figures the introverted way.

Feel free to reach out to us at introvertedvisionary.com and happy to help you grow your practice faster with less stress. So till next time,