Life By Design | The Podcast For Chiropractors

In the drive to gain every advantage, it’s common for new chiropractors and docs struggling, to start their practice or make the switch to an open concept arrangement. The assumption is that the best and biggest practices (which are not one in the same) are built on an open floor plan in the check-up area. Is this true? Is the open concept practice the best approach to garner practice success? Is the open concept style even right for you? On this episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors we give you the pros and cons of the open style practice layout so you can decide if it’s right for you! What We Covered Open concept can be great, we wouldn’t have it any other way, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for you. There are plenty of successful offices with semi-open and fully closed spaces. Why do you want to operate in an open concept practice or change over to one? There’s a misconception that it’s ‘one of those things’ that busy offices do and it’s what makes them busy. Make sure your practice layout matches

Do you spend hours every week creating what you think appears to be great content? Your videos are full of valuable tips and instruction, your blog posts are detailed and well researched, maybe you host a podcast every week that takes hours to prepare for... but no one is showing up at your door asking for help! With the exodus from television and radio to social media, the marketing climate has changed drastically and it's likely you haven't followed suit. 1. Information is available and it's free. 2. Your market doesn't want to be bombarded with more content they don't care about. 3. The same old recycled chiropractic ads just won't cut it anymore. On today's episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors we give you a blueprint to help your transition into making content that people care about AND content that motivates them to seek your help. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Stop the road to insanity and start down the path to creating professional, authentic

I'm not sure there could be a more important topic than the one covered on today's show. It's the NUMBER ONE character trait I personally see in successful people that is missing in those who struggle. I'm not just talking about Chiropractors...I'm talking about ALL PEOPLE. My suggestion is to listen closely to this episode, and if you've realized you're deficient, take immediate action to start building this trait. What trait am I pointing out? Integrity... aka doing what you say you're going to do! More specifically carrying out the appropriate action steps with regards to your own lifestyle blueprint.  If you have big plans for your practice and hopefully your life, you know a healthy lifestyle...fuel, training, sleep etc. all MUST play a central role in giving you the physical and mental resources for success. Are you consistently meeting all your requirements? If not, why not? What are the challenges holding you back? The great news is after 15 years of entrepreneurship I've faced many of my own challeng

The marketing landscape is changing rapidly.  30 years ago is was direct mail, then came email marketing and finally social media has taken the world by storm... Facebook, twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. We've repeatedly made it known that while the tactics and best places to grab attention may change, marketing principles do not. There will never be a time when positioning, differentiation, segmentation, knowing your target market or follow-up are not at the centerpiece of your marketing plan. Yet, that hasn't stopped chiropractors from chasing the shiny penny from one social media platform the next using the same old marketing tactics (and some new sleazy ones too).  It's not that social media can't be a valuable asset in your marketing arsenal..at this point in the game, it's going to need to be a foundational component. That said, there's a way to use social media, there's a method to the madness that can yield some insanely incredible results for the chiropractor.  On today's episode of Life By Design F

Don't be frightened..."The Chiropractor's Curse" is not one that needs Harry Potter to break the spell, it's something you can tackle yourself if you know what to look out for. Our profession loves the next shiny penny and I mean LOVE it. We're constantly in the search for it and when we find it, we snatch it up like it's gold...until it's magic wears off and the search for a new one ensues. This cyclical activity that dominates the marketing radar for most chiropractors keeps them attentive to new ad tactics popping up on Facebook, new ways to bot social media followers, click-bait, bait and switch tactics...essentially anything that looks and appears new and claims to deliver 100's of new patients. Aside from the obvious fact that even if it did work, the majority could never process that many new cases properly. It also soaks up the time and energy that could be allocated towards building a lifetime strategy and follow up systems to support it. In today's episode we give you tools to avoid this trap and bu

Handling objections is generally one of the least liked components of a successful practice. I say successful, because without handling objections, your chance or growing and developing the practice of your dreams is nil. Zero. Zilch.  Love it or hate it, that's just the way it is and the sooner it's realized the sooner your practice can move the needle. The question is how to do you best handle the types of objections you would get in practice? It could be at day 2 during the agreement, maybe you're getting push back on the daily visits or no one wants to come to your workshops! As much as there are some tactical steps and conversation frameworks that would benefit you to know, it this one, single piece that outperforms all the rest... Surprise, surprise, it's mindset. However, the mindset I discuss on today's episode is not the head-space you would typically hear. "Fake it til you make it" or some variation. It's building your foundation by developing your self-esteem and knowing where your line in the san

“Welcome to a new era of marketing and service in which your brand is defined by those who experience it.” - Brian Solis Times are changing! In days past you could depend on direct word of mouth from your clients. People trusted the word of their friends and family more than any other source. Now... 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2017, with 12% looking every day 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations Positive reviews make 73% of consumers trust a local business more This new landscape makes gathering 5 star reviews from your clients more important than ever before. If you're like us, we hate the trend of bribing our patients to leave a review. We want them to want to leave a raving statement about how much they love us and our team. Unfortunately, your competitors don't care. They're willing to compromise their values by giving away the farm just to stack their online review platforms with glowing comments regardless of whether they are fully

On today's episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors we bring you inside a coaching call with Dr. Matt Pennetti. Matt has been a client for 12 months, has completed a full 2.5 intensive Training Camp and has made tremendous gains in his knowledge and implementation of the LBD Retention Based Practice Model. He's recently embarked on the exciting journey of opening his own practice along with his wife Lauren in his hometown of Denver! Given the new challenges that face a start-up, we decided it was the perfect time to revisit and expand on The Lifetime Care Map™ with specific emphasis on nailing 3 incredibly vital components... A single target market. A front end offer. The core product. Each one is important and plays a fundamental role in moving a prospect to a lead into a new client and ultimately to become a lifetime practice member. What we covered: Hear how "triaging" allows a client to clear brain space and get on with the most important tasks at hand. What is The Lifetime Care Map™ and how to cr

Whether we like or not, it's normal for patients to fall off track, be affected by their financial and scheduling situations, have challenges that need addressed or drop out of care all together.  In most cases, doctors or their teams simply let people walk away. I'm not suggesting you "twist anyone's arm" but without an honest conversation, do you really know what their ACTUAL concern is? What if they simply needed to be heard outside your regular check-up? What if they didn't want to drop out, but facing some life stress, didn't know how to react? What if they wanted to stay under your care for a lifetime but required a different schedule to make that happen. You can accomplish each of these without giving up the authority, credibility and trust you need to lead your community. Done well...the results can be more of each and a reinforcement of your patient's commitment to the process.  Done poorly or not at all...your patient is all but gone forever. The "Special Visit" protocol is a MUST have system in yo

Are you reacting to the current business landscape or are you ahead of the curve? Staying on the pulse of what is happening and what will happen is always a challenge for business owners and entrepreneurs…but one that needs to be successfully managed. After nearly 10 years of working with Chiropractors, coaching with some of the best entrepreneurial organizations and growing our own businesses, we feel confident in making predictions for 2018 that will help you be on the offensive this year! Enjoy this episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors. What We Covered More than ever, interactions are happening online and through automation, leaving the door wide open for more community development and personalization. We give you examples of projects worth adding to your initiatives list. Less and less simply a good product will do. There is a need for more emotional engagement and story telling, brand development and positioning.  We tell you what platform this works best on and some strategies to get you started

The bulk of the Chiropractic profession utilizes a practice approach that was built on the premise that subluxations are the cause of health problems and by correcting them, health challenges will improve or disappear. This concept has led to most of the practice styles and practice management models in existence. Some leaders, specifically Dr. Reggie Gold, recognized the contradiction of this approach and worked tirelessly to change it. He dedicated his entire life to creating a new model of chiropractic practice built on the simple principle that all human beings were better off not subluxated. Based on this idea…it didn’t matter what someone’s symptom or condition was, only if there was the presence or absence of vertebral subluxations. The concept is now recognized as Third Paradigm Chiropractic. Today’s episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors was born from a question we repeatedly receive… “I have an existing practice (purchased a practice) but it’s definitely not Third Paradigm. How do I transition

Do you think it would be valuable (and helpful) to have a conversation with one of the best and most skilled experts in the world at what you're trying to achieve? If you said yes, we agree! So when the opportunity to interview Perry Marshall, you better believe we jumped at the chance. If you're one of the seven people in sales and marketing (and since you're a chiropractor you ARE in sales in marketing) who don't know Perry Marshall, the knowledge and the principles he shared, could completely change your practice. Perry's rise to glory came through mastering and writing about how to use Google Adwords in your business. He is also the author of 80/20 Sales and Marketing, which is more than just a book...it is a way of looking at your business and focusing on the most important factors (the 20%) that bring you the best and most impactful results. The purpose of this podcast is to get Perry's take on crucial marketing and sales principles (which he applies to chiropractic) that you could plug into your practi

Thank you very much for all the amazing and positive feedback for The Life By Design For Chiropractors Podcast. It’s been an overwhelming and rewarding experience as well a wonderful opportunity to share our best content with you. That said, one of the questions we receive from time to time is “what about us?” That “us” is women. The challenges, struggles and difficulties that women face in chiropractic practice are unique and, since I’m not a woman, I will never fully appreciate or have direct experience in solving. The good news is right here at Life By Design, we have an extraordinary woman! Our guest today is Life By Design Director, Dr. Rachelle Jug. Since the birth of her two beautiful boys Ari and Vedran, Rachelle had decided her top priority was spending as much time as possible with them. Once Ari was 3 and Vedran 1, she began to consider stepping back in to practice. The decision was a difficult one, but it’s turned out to be incredible! You definitely won’t want to miss this episode of Life By Desi

I'm sure you've heard of the term "fake it 'til you make it"? While there's some merit in the concept (specifically taking action even if you haven't perfected your particular activity), far too often this line of thought will undermine your long-term success. Why? The reason is, you can't fake one of the most fundamental psychological states required for success in practice, sales and entrepreneurship...and that's confidence.  Authentic confidence, as opposed to the superficial BS that most people can see directly through, makes it very difficult for the person sitting directly across from you to deny your position or object to it. Therein lies the incredible value of The Assumption Play. Yet another play from The Chiropractic Sales Playbook that when developed, will yield tremendous, almost unbelievable results. Having this play in your repertoire is one of the central reasons some chiropractors can say the craziest things and still motivate and move people.  I would even go as far as saying it's THE MOST i

One of the absolute best parts of my "job" is working with chiropractors to help grow themselves and in turn, grow their businesses and leave a much bigger legacy than they had ever expected. BUT, I don't love working with every chiropractor (no offense)... What really gets me excited is to partner with driven, ambitious and hard working docs who are willing to put in the effort AND do the long work in order to get results.  I'm energized every time I get off a call with a doctor who is taking full responsibility for their success and only sees me as an assistant NOT the primary cause of their outcomes (good or bad). One of those chiropractors is Dr. Alex Ritza. Alex had followed Life By Design For Chiropractors for a few years prior to working with our team. He consumed the free content, gathered up piles of value (and implemented what he could) until he reached the point where he knew the next step was a more intensive relationship and what he hoped would be an extremely fruitful one. His situation is not u

Strategic planning for your practice is easily the most overlooked component of future practice development. Most docs we cross paths with dream up their vision when they start practice and yet only revisit it very briefly after an annual “spizzing” at their favourite chiropractic seminar. That’s not going to cut it… At least not if you’re serious about being successful and seeing your vision become a reality. If you want to reach your practice goals, you must systematically determine your needs, projects and the daily action steps that will move you incrementally closer to your vision. You need to enroll your team into the vision and assign actions that will get the most of out your A+ players. You need to stay on course and not fall prey to the trap of busyness that is keeping you from your dream. You need somewhere (and not a bunch of sticky notes!) to keep all of this information organized and at your fingertips. Say hello to The Perfect Practice Planner™. What We Covered The most important read prior to

Drug prescription rights, blood-work requisitions, diagnostic ultrasound, minor surgery?  Scope expansion has either happened in your jurisdiction, it's happening or it will very likely happen. Your solution...get ready. How in the world do you get ready? You begin by asking the fundamental question - is it good for your practice? Once you answer that single question, everything else will follow... If you don't you'll be subject to consequences that you will not like. What We Covered Why Kreso is happy about the potential effects of scope expansion in his market and what to consider when deciding whether you're for or against it. How your deficiency or sufficiency in self-esteem will be one of the primary determinants in deciding whether scope expansion is good or bad for you. The issues with diagnosis. Are we capable?  Do we have the training? What are the dangers? What are the upsides? MD's have a license to do almost anything but don't. Why not? Why wouldn't they if they could? Enjoy this episode! -- Jam

What is hyperclarity? Well, it's exactly what you think it is...being extremely clear. In the context of a Chiropractic practice, it means communicating in a way such that your patients will understand exactly what you mean with zero uncertainty. Why wouldn't a chiropractor or any health care provider (or any person) not want to do that? It most cases, it's not a case of not wanting to, but instead a case of not having the strength of character to see it through. What We Covered: The 5 reasons many chiropractors are unable to apply hyperclarity to their practices and how this negatively impacts their business growth and development. Mike introduces you to the "friend test". An easy to use thought experiment that can be applied to every single aspect of your practice. It can tell you very quickly if your systems are appropriate for your prospects or if they need to be fixed immediately. How hyperclarity is applied to the first phone call and how it can help you avoid some common visit one issues. Apply hyperc

This episode is an extra special one! I’m coming to you live from Life Con ’17…the annual live training event hosted by Life By Design. This years topic “The Chiropractic Sales Playbook” put a cap on our three year run addressing the trifecta of major areas your business needs to excel for long term success – Marketing, Sales and Retention. The concept of selling in health care is an especially sensitive topic and even more so in the Chiropractic profession. That made this first presentation so vital the outcomes for the rest of the event…I needed to set the stage for what was to come and ensure the attendees were interested in learning more and were ready to dig in to the content. What We Covered A way to view “selling” that requires only a simple shift in language but completely changes any business owner’s relationship with sales to a positive and profitable one. The actual, deep seeded reasons Chiropractors hate selling and why the premises are total BS. The fundamental traits that make up an extraordina

Welcome to Episode 50! It really is amazing just how fast time flies when you’re having fun and no question about it…this podcast is fun. At least it is for us and based on your feedback…it’s the same for you. Now, what exciting topic did we decide to cover on this historic episode of Life By Design For Chiropractors? Recall Systems!!! What? You read that correctly… The always entertaining, controversial and ground-breaking topic of recall systems. Clearly you can sense my sarcasm but truth be told this is one system that every doctor has a semblance of, however, in my experience it’s rarely exceptional. In fact, for the most part it’s in the doctors head and when numbers drop they also drop the need to make recalls on their team. Needless to say, this is not the ideal way to implement a recall system. As usual the optimal approach to this system (and all others) is to understand the purpose, outline a process, break down the steps, simplify and take action. What We Covered We do the math on why a recall sys