There is no doubt that one of the hardest things to do in practice is securing high quality, high traffic screening events. One of the most effective screening tools we use is a health fair which could take months of effort to get set up. A local festival may cost a ton of money, but we get excited about our opportunity to be in front of a high volume of people. Then since we spent a significant amount of money to get into the event, we go ahead and justify more money so our booth looks great. We may go even further and hire greeters so we can cast a wider net. Then dream comes to a screeching halt with the worst words ever uttered at a screening.
Would you like a free spinal check?
With a question like this we immediately limit our audience. First, we lost our opportunity to engage our prospect by asking a yes or no question. With this question you allow the prospect to answer “no thanks.” Second, we are assuming that the public knows what a spinal screening is and when/if they should have one. Since only 12% of the population ever sees a Chiropractor, it is fairly safe to say that most don’t even know what one is. Lastly, we are not leveraging the context (environment) of the screening location.
Guy Kawasaki resurrected an article from last year that is packed with lessons of engagement and persuasion. Please read this story and learn how to effectively engage a prospect thought the entire sales cycle.
What I Learned Buying a Rug in Turkey
Tell us your opening question in the comments below,
Onward and Upward,
Dr. Darren White
6 Comments, Comment or Ping
Christiana
I am sure you already have the book he reviews in his blog called
“YES! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Persuasive.” He said it is one of the best books he’s ever read for business… love this guy.
GIVE US MORE!
Aug 15th, 2008
Brandon Harshe
Reading that story made me realize that being helpful to a prospective patient at a screening can generate the most success. Perhaps helping them find a particular booth, store, etc.
Aug 16th, 2008
Darren White
Brandon,
I used to know what isle every product was on in Rite-Aid, a local drugstore I did a lot of screenings at. There were times when the cashier would tell the customer to go “ask the chiropractor.” Worked out great and management loved having me there.
Darren
Aug 16th, 2008
John
I am a student at Life West and was wondering if any doctors would care to share what their opening statements are at screenings.
Sep 9th, 2008
Jo Sawatzky
I’m an intern at Life West. I do spinal screenings at a local gym. My opening line is, “What do you think the biggest indicator of future injury is?” I relate any answer they give to postural instability - including one man whose answer was “alcohol.” People like the question, and it gives me a sense about whether to continue the conversation so it becomes about them and not about me. I’m still developing the art of talking about chiropractic.
Nov 8th, 2008
Darren White
@Jo
I really like it. Very engaging and not what people would expect. Keep developing your art of talking about Chiropractic. This is why Door to Door campaigns are so powerful, they teach you how to talk…to ANYONE!
Darren
Nov 9th, 2008
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