Discover how to leverage
the power of networking to build your practice.
By Jennifer LeClaire
If Stephen Covey were to a write a best-selling book about the highly effective
habits of chiropractors, networking would surely be atop the list.
Of course, there are already scads of popular books on the power of business
networking. That’s because the most successful entrepreneurs in any industry
understand that cultivating your community network is just smart business. In
the case of chiropractic, it is also good for the industry.
From government officials to school board members to chambers of commerce, savvy
chiropractors are making the most of relationships that help them make the most
of their practice.
With the right approach, you could find yourself speaking at special chamber
meetings with a captive audience of potential patients or bending a local legislator’s
ear about important industry legislation. Indeed, if your goal is to win patients
and influence decision-makers, networking is a winning strategy.
“It’s all about connections. The more connections you have the more
power you have,” says Dr. John Madeira, a chiropractor and principal of
Madeira Success Strategies, a coaching/practice building program in Hershey,
Pa. “Powerful people know powerful people. If you can get the endorsement
of politicians and local businessmen, it gives your practice more credibility
in the community.”
The Chamber Strategy
The chamber strategy could give you access to many of the local politicians
and power brokers. The first step in executing this strategy is to join your
local chamber of commerce. Joining, however, is not enough—you have to
get involved if you want to hobnob with the community’s movers and shakers.
“What can you contribute to the chamber in the way of time and talents?
Like any networking group, the chamber requires commitment and involvement to
attend the many functions they offer,” says Wally Adamchik, a leadership
speaker and consultant at 9G Enterprises, a national consulting firm in Springtown,
Texas.
Beyond offering free adjustments at your office on a special night, you may
also choose to sponsor a visible chamber event. Adamchik says sponsorship can
be a cost-effective way to raise awareness of your practice in the community.
Of course, you need to choose your sponsorship wisely. If your practice focuses
on wellness, you may not want to sponsor an all-you-can-eat barbecue contest
to benefit a community development project.
There are many different committees for which you could volunteer. Committees
are where you will come face-to-face with public and school officials who have
also volunteered their time and talents. If you work your way into an event
organizer role, it will give you an opportunity to get acquainted with members
of your target audience. You can interact with the big wigs naturally from your
role as an event organizer, explains Jim Stroup, a senior consultant of Bosporus
Business Consulting, a management consulting firm in Sacramento, Calif., and
author of “Managing Leadership.”
“Getting active in the chamber is really an effective and straightforward
way to position yourself as a solid member of your area’s business community,”
Stroup says. “In just a few years you’ll find yourself approaching
the inner circles of that community, becoming a bedrock member of the chamber,
and a name that is known and respected in the political and educational communities
as well.”
Getting Political
If you aren’t meeting the political powers in the chamber, you may choose
plan B: call them up or visit their offices, says Jim Anchors, D.C., former
chairman of the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners. “After all, politicians
are voted into office by John Q. Public,” he says. The more relationships
they forge within the community, the better their chances of reelection.
“It may sound strange, but all you have to do is just call up your local
politicians and talk with them. It might cost you some money—a donation
to their campaign—to forge a relationship. Look at it as a building process,”
Anchors explains. “You start with a politician and grow with them. It’s
amazing how their power develops the longer they are in politics.”
If you can get a picture of yourself shaking the hand of the senator, mayor,
school board president, or some other local power broker, it adds credibility
to your practice. Of course, those politicians may also refer you to their associates
and your practice could become known as the place in town legislators go when
they need chiropractic care.
Wielding Your Power
Sometimes networking is not just about immediate patient referrals. It’s
about favorable public opinion for the long haul.
If you have a relationship with legislators, you can call and express your opinion
when a bad piece of legislation comes down the pike that would hurt the profession.
Simply tell them, in a respectable manner, why you are not in favor of their
position, Anchors explains.
Anchors recently demonstrated the power of one-on-one lobbying when Senate Bill
1955 came to the fore last spring. The bill would allow small groups to create
their own insurance plans that ignore state mandated inclusion guidelines. As
such, the mandate on insurance carriers to consider chiropractic patients fairly
would be severely compromised. Chiropractors across the country e-mailed their
senators and collected signatures on petitions from their patients. Anchors
called his state senator personally.
“I had to delicately tiptoe around it, and be respectful of his position,
but I explained to him how detrimental the bill would be not only to chiropractic,
but also to other specialty groups. The bill was eventually defeated,”
Anchors explains.
Community-Building Tactics
If lobbying is not for you, and you don’t have time for the chamber, don’t
despair. There are countless other ways to network in your community that don’t
require as much of a time commitment on your part. You can write letters to
the editor for a small time investment. You can get active in your local place
of worship. You could even sponsor or coach a little league sports team.
Still, ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D., principal of Diamond Associates, a management
consulting firm in Santa Clara, Calif., says the best way to get referrals is
to give something of yourself—to become known as a person worth knowing.
This could help you stand out from the chiropractic pack.
“The operable word here is activity. You need to be active in an ongoing
way. Networking is about relationship building, it is not a ‘slam bam
thank you ma’am’ mentality,” Diamond says. “This is
especially important in a competitive field like chiropractic. It is through
these community relationships that you build solid business relationships.”