The other day, my wife was at the gym when she bumped into an acquaintance. They started talking about things and my wife asked this lady what she did for a living. After stating that she was a psychotherapist, she told my wife that she had caught wind that I was an acupuncturist in the area. As my wife confirmed this to be true, this woman’s immediate response was, “Does he struggle to make a living like every other acupuncturist I know?”

My wife laughed and said that actually I have always enjoyed a successful practice and that I actually do business consulting for other practitioners. Hearing this, the psychotherapist proceeded to tell my wife that many of her clients come to see her for therapy because they are body workers and healers who are really stressed out because their practices are struggling.

Now, this story struck me as both kind of funny and kind of sad. What so many practitioners still don’t realize is that they need solid business and marketing skills if they are to make a living in the healing arts. Getting therapy, or cutting out gluten, or spending your time doing guided imagery– all of these things are great, but you still need to understand the nuts and bolts of practice building if you want to have your own business.

The point here is that you actually get to the root source of your distress. If you feel the need to seek therapy because your practice is stressing you out, what is the real cause of this? Yes, you do need to work on letting go of limiting beliefs. But how much of your stress is caused by the fact that you really don’t know how to get patients in the door or how to retain them? How much of your stress is caused by the fact that you don’t have the right systems in place that yield consistent and predictable results? If you don’t face this stress head on, then you can get all the therapy in the world and it’s only putting a bandage on the real problem.

If you read my free report (on the home page of www.buildyourdreampractice.net) you’ll see that I talk a lot about gaining the business skills necessary to run a business. You can be a great practitioner but without the right knowledge, you’ll struggle. Many practitioners have to learn this lesson the hard way. They are frustrated for many years before they finally see that they have to invest in a new kind of knowledge and understanding.

Don’t let this be you. Get the help and support you need now to take years off your learning curve and save you a lot of heartache and frustration. Sure, keep going to therapy if that is helpful for you.. but round out your support by learning how to effectively manage your practice.

Kevin Doherty, L.Ac.

The success of any business boils down to 4 essential components. If you have all 4 of these in place, congratulations! It is likely your practice is generating a solid 6 figure income for you year after year. If you have any weak links, your whole business model can lead to stress, instability, and severe problems.

1. Lead generation– There has to be a constant stream of new people hearing about your practice and taking interest
2. Lead conversion- A certain percentage of these people must become patients
3. Patient Retention– Low turnover equals more stability
4. Per Patient Revenue–Must make enough per patient to have a financially viable pratice

Now, we have heard from a lot of practitioners who seem to think that all of their problems are caused by poor lead generation. They just aren’t getting enough new patients in the door. Believe it or not, however, we have also worked with practices who only get 3-4 new patients a week and are still seeing between 100-180 patient visits per week and are grossing $3-500,000 per year!

How could this be? Well, their patient retention is very high. And they charge more per patient than their competition. They are using a specific methodology in their patient education and marketing that sets the stage for higher quality, more compliant patients. This can be done in a very ethical and honest way that helps the patient experience the deepest potential of the medicine you offer.

We are interested in putting together a teleseminar series that walks you through the details of each of these 4 components of practice success with a particular focus on patient education and retention. If this sounds appealing to you, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at info@buildyourdreampractice.net and let us know what your needs/wants are.

Kevin and Dominic

If you are an acupuncturist looking for ways to grow your private practice, I encourage you to do a little market research and see what other acupuncturists are doing to market themselves. If you surf the web or look at various display ads, you’ll probably notice rather quickly that most acupuncture marketing pretty much looks the same way, has the same phrases, and conveys the same impression. The problem is that the conventional ‘website as brochure’ or ‘ad as brochure’ type of marketing has the same end result: It simply does not work and is a poor return on investment.

Most acupuncturists make one massive error in the way they approach marketing, one that could profoundly undermine their ability to generate new leads and qualified patients for their practice. The most common mistake is that pracittioners talk about themselves intstead of their patients. Just about all of the ads and websites I have researched are guilty of this marketing blunder. The ad will say something like, ‘Balance Acupuncture, In practice 10 years, specializing in allergies, located in downtown Denver’, with a picture of the business logo or some other fancy graphic.

The problem with this is that nobody cares who you are until you show them that you can help them. Now, I want you to read that sentence again. If you fullly grasp it, you are on your way toward revolutionizing how you market your practice. Don’t even bother talking about who you are or what you treat until you’ve reach out to that prospective patient and said, ‘Hey, I understand what you’re going through– and I can help. Here’s how.’ If you don’t do this, you will lose about 95% of your prospective audience. This is why typical display ads don’t work and why your website may not be generating as much business as you’d like.

What we are talking about here is basic copywriting and sales skills. Amazingly, even most large companies pulling in millions of dollars in revenue don’t get this right either. They still focus on their product rather than the solution it provides. As a business owner, you are a problem solver for people. If you can show them that you have the solution they have been looking for, they will consider your services even if it is foreign to them as acupuncture so often is. If you can speak to your customer’s needs and engage in a benefit oriented conversation with them, you will gain an enourmous competitive advantage in your local community. As you create or review your promotional materials, please keep this in mind. People don’t want to be sold to. Maybe in previous generations this worked very well. Many of us are still caught in ‘old school’ marketing like this, where we go out and try to find prospects to sell our services to. In this day and age, people want to be educated first so they can make their buying decisions in a relaxed, non-pressure based manner.

Honestly, there is a very elaborate methodology to this process that is beyond the scope of this article. I encourage you to keep studying these principles as it will be necessary to ensure the longevity of your practice.

If you’re like most acupuncturists in clinical practice, you have been surprised by how challenging it can be to build and maintain a thriving acupuncture practice. Now, let me say up front that this is not because you lack solid clinical skills or a true passion for what you do. Most acupuncturists are very good at what they do and they love their work.

The problem is that you were never taught the right ways to market your acupuncture practice. Building a practice is largely based on how well you understand the ‘game’ of getting exposure for your practice. After this, it is essential that you have the right systems in place in order to fully leverage your time and to ensure that each patient’s experience in your practice is smooth and professional. Most acupuncturists I have worked with do not have a lot of the systems they need to guarantee their practice stability and growth.

So, how do you get exposure for your practice? Well, there are many ways you can do this. Many acupuncturists try to place a pretty expensive display ad in the local paper, only to discover in frustration that it was a waste of money. Advertising can work, but only if done in the right way. Generally, I recommend direct response advertising. This is when your ad has a 1-800 number or a web link you can send the reader to where they can get a free report or some form of information in exchange for their contact information. This approach works much better than just placing an ad in the paper that says ‘In practice for 10 years, specializing in allergies, located in ___,”

Aside from advertising, you absolutely need a website for your practice. There is a whole method behind creating an effective website that is beyond the scope of this article. When your site is set up right, in most markets you should be generating 2-5 new patients a week from it. You should also consider aligning with other practitioners in your area. As with everything, there is a science behind how this is done. You should also consider networking groups such as BNI.

Getting enough qualified leads to know about your practice is really just the first step and certainly does not guarantee your success. What if a lot of those leads aren’t converting into new patients? Or what if they only come in for 1 or 2 treatments and then they disappear? This is where patient education and systems come into play.

For now, spend some time learning about internet marketing and setting up a website that actually sells what you do and gets traffic to it. Do some inexpensive direct response advertising, and make strategic alliances with other practitioners. This will be a good start to marketing your acupuncture practice in a very effective way. To your success!

I will be offering a seminar in Portland, OR. on Sat. 11/8 from 9am-5pm called The Profit Explosion Practice Blueprint.
This is only open to a small number of practitioners as I want to go into some depth on this system and personally help each practitioner achieve their practice goals. If you live in the area or you have colleagues who do, I encourage you to check it out.

To register, go to http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/oregon.htm

I look forward to meeting you then!
Kevin Doherty, L.Ac.

If you are an acupuncturist, chiropractor, or massage therapist and are looking for ways to build a successful practice, we invite you to join us for this powerful 60 minute teleseminar:

The 3 Crucial Ingredients to Guarantee Your Practice Success
with Kevin Doherty, L.Ac. and Dominic Sembello, L.Ac., licensed acupuncturists and business development consultants.

This call will be recorded so please do register even if you can’t make the live event and a recording will be emailed to you.

Go to http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/guaranteedsuccess.html to register

I’ve been reading the book The Answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith who are both multi-millionaire entrepreneurs who have built numerous successful businesses. I always find it helpful to soak up information from people who have achieved a high degree of personal and financial success, as it is one of the most powerful ways to dissolve stagnation and grow out of limiting patterns and beliefs.

One of the themes that this book touches on that I find fascinating (and definitely worth taking a serious look at if you are a business owner) is the financial set point, which basically says that each of us will inevitably return to a certain income range based on our inner beliefs and perceptions. In his book The Millionaire Mind, Harv Eker calls this the financial blueprint.

This is why you may have noticed that if you transitioned out of a job making $50,000 per year, you will very likely find yourself making roughly the same amount of money as an acupuncturist or chiropractor. Now, the sad truth is that 90% of us hover around the same financial set point for most of our lives (as we tend to do in all themes of life). In his book Power vs. Force ( a must read), David Hawkins proposes the idea that if the entire spectrum of human evolution were to occur on a scale of 1-1,000, (1,000 being a fully enlightened person), the vast majority of us never increase more than about 5 points — I think he said the average increase tends to be from around 200 to 205– in our entire lifetime.

Stagnation, habit and intertia are indeed very powerful forces that keep the majority of us weighed down in limitation. Now, I don’t say that to be negative; it’s just a simple truth if you observe the lives of most human beings. In fact, I say this as a consolation to you if you are experiencing frustration with your financial set point. It is helpful to know that you are not alone in this regard.

Of course, this begs the question, ‘how do I change my financial blueprint?’ Well, the good news is that it is absolutely possible to do this. The Answer goes into some depth on the field of neuroplasticity, which represents an exciting development in neuroscience that indicates the incredible power of the brain to change. Simply put, there is nothing set in stone when it comes to our limitations or shortcomings. We have the capacity to reinvent ourselves, to form new patterns of perception and action, thereby creating radically new circumstances in our lives. Whatever is limiting you right now– no matter how deeply entrenched or painful it may be– is temporary and can be overcome.

Now, when it comes to changing your financial set point, you absolutely have to be willing to step out of poverty mode. You have to start thinking in a new, more abundant way. Wealthy and successful people never say things like, ‘I can’t afford it’ or ‘That is too much money.’ They don’t quibble over little things. They put their minds on wealth generation and freedom. When they see an opportunity that will help them grow financially and personally, they find ways to do it.

Honestly, these are the people we love to coach! They are ready to take action. They don’t make excuses or pretend to be victims. They are willing to step out of their comfort zone to hit a new financial set point. And there is nothing better than seeing these people grow both financially and personally. It is exhilarating to be a part of. If this sounds like you, let’s talk. Send us an email so we can discuss how we can help you. The beauty of our coaching process is that it is truly comprehensive. We focus on working through limiting beliefs (which is one of my strengths as a coach) AND getting all the right systems in place to ensure your long-term success (which is where Dominic excels).

We also want to hear your own stories of moving beyond your financial set point. Email us at info@buildyourdreampractice.net to share any inspiring stories you have about breaking free of limitation in your practice. We’d love to hear your story and, with your permission, we may share your insights on our blog.

Kevin Doherty, L.Ac. and Dominic Sembello, L.Ac.

We are very close to opening our prosperous practitioner membership club which will be packed with a ton of great tips, strategies, tools, and templates to help you build your dream practice. We are offering this membership at only $19.95 for the time being as an early bird price, but it will be going up to $29.95 in the near future. If you sign up now, you can lock in at this lower rate for the life of your membership.
If you are an acupuncturist, chiropractor, energy worker, or massage therapist and are looking for effective and proven ways to market and build your practice at a very affordable price, then this has been designed for you. Go to http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/members to learn more.
Kevin and Dominic

If you take a close look at your daily life, you’ll notice that you are caught in one of two dynamics:

1. You are just getting by, trying to make it through the day and are inundated by stressful circumstances, boredom, routine, or habits

2. You are truly enjoying your life, spending most of your time in a state of appreciation for who you are and what you have, living your life free from limitation

If you were to be brutally honest with yourself and assess which one of these scenarios best describes you, which one would it be? Of course, the follow up question we all need to ask is, what will it take for you to shift into #2 on a consistent basis?

My experience is that the first step is always becoming acutely aware of the actual reality of our situation as human beings in the modern world. We actually have to see with total clarity all of the obstacles, forces, and layers of conditioning that are imposed upon us that keep us locked in a state of mere survival. While this may sound easy enough, it is a truly radical stance to take to become a fully empowered person who can simply observe the dynamics of our modern world without becoming identified with or attached to them.

A big part of life purpose is the process of overcoming various obstacles, external ones being conventional influences such as the media, religious dogma, and educational ideologies that conflict with the manifestation of our deepest nature, and internal ones being attachment to difficult emotions, negative beliefs, and the tendency to lapse into a habitual or rote stance with our daily life.

In the Buddhist tradition, it is often said that awareness itself heals. This means that we actually don’t have to necessarily ‘do’ anything with our problems and issues; simply paying attention to them in a state of compassionate awareness is itself a transformative process. Lack of awareness feeds our habitual tendency to ‘just get by’, assuming that our identities and the world we live in are set in stone and that we just have to deal with what we have in the best way we can.

Thriving, on the other hand, is a state of total self-empowerment where we renounce any tendency toward being a victim in life by subscribing to resigned beliefs such as, ‘this is just how life is’. Thriving takes a daily commitment to shake things up and never, ever take for granted the preciousness and poignancy of our human existence. It is a revolutionary act of acknowleding and then acting upon the sacred role we have to fulfill in this universe. In this sense, we stay ‘on our toes’, knowing that we are not here to just protect our own territory or to make ourselves more comfortable. We are here to help others.

If you feel that you are stuck in survival mode, you have to see that this is a choice. Now, when I tell this to a lot of my clients, they often don’t like hearing it. It may sound offensive. But to someone who is really ready to change, the realization that we can choose a more empowering life is incredibly liberating. Most of us, however, just simply aren’t willing to change. Even though we aren’t deeply fulfilled and free in our current way of being, we are comfortable. And there is a fear of stepping out of that security and into the unknown. Until there is a strong motivation to jump into uncertainty, we will stay entrenched in our current patterns. We have to get sick of mediocrity before we can evolve.

Of course, your practice is always the perfect laboratory to explore these issues. I have always found my practice to be a very concentrated version of how I am relating to life in general. Like it or not, it has always been the perfect mirror for how I am living my life. This is why I love coaching practitioners so much. When we focus on creating prosperity and success in their practice, it opens up their entire life. You can’t change your practice for the better without changing yourself for the better. It is amazing to me to witness the personal changes practitioners go through as they step out of their comfort zone and assert themselves as successful business owners.

Kevin Doherty, L.Ac.

P.S. We still have 1 slot left for the early bird special on our new Dream Practice Coaching Club. Go to http://www.buildyourdreampractic.net/coachingclubearlybird and enter the coupon code First10Club to receive a full $1,000 off the program.

Over the past few years, the demand for business consulting amongst holistic health professionals such as acupuncturists, chiropractors, and massage therapists has increased exponentially. While we are very happy to offer a high value service to help practitioners build successful practices, we also realize that there is only so much one-on-one coaching we can do.

The Dream practice coaching club is the perfect solution! Now, you have access to affordable one-on-one coaching over the course of an entire year with us. This is the best value we can offer, as we are throwing in as bonuses every ebook, product, and kit we have created. If you are looking for ways to market and build a thriving practice, then you have found the right place. To learn more about the coaching club, go to http://www.buildyourdreampractice.net/coachingclub.html

We look forward to helping you and your practice!
Kevin Doherty, L.Ac. and Dominic Sembello, L.Ac.