Tip # 18

So Valentines Day is over (as far as marketing and promoting are concerned). Did you flood your office with new patients during this huge promotional opportunity or did you let it slip by? The answer of course depends on whether you were prepared or even knew that this was a huge promotional opportunity and if you did know, did you psych yourself and your team up to take advantage of it.

Opportunity presents itself everywhere. It show up in many different shapes and forms but there is a constant involved here - your ability to recognize it and then to take advantage of it. Before you can take advantage of an opportunity - you have to be prepared. Some opportunities are very visible - like a promotional holiday and others you just have to create; ie: the old patient you see walking in the supermarket who you reactivate. Some come knocking at your door and others you have to seek out. You have to recognize this fact and become good, or let's say great at being able to take advantage of either.

High volume, wildly successful offices are masters of both. They are marketing machines. They not only capitalize on opportunities which present themselves but they also create opportunity - either way, they are prepared.

Tip # 18 - Be Prepared

To prepare for opportunity is a continual effort (note the word effort) and requires that you study and practice. You have to:

Believe that opportunity exists and develop an attitude that if it is not knocking at your door (which it rarely does) you will go knocking at its. As Hannibal said when he was crossing the mountains, "we will find a way or we will make a way." If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. There are very few standouts in any field. you have to want to be one of them means you have to work or prepare harder than the others, you have to work smarter than the others and you have to train yourself to not only see and create opportunity but more importantly, you have to prepare yourself on how to seize it when it show up. That requires significant training in many different areas including marketing, public speaking, computer graphics, writing and communications, sales and selling, confrontational ability, self-confidence, goal setting, organization, future planning, focus, technique, visualization... They have mastered the Creative Principle.

Opportunity often shows up as hard work in disguise. It has been said that when the student is ready - the master will appear. Keeping that in mind let's look behind the meaning - When you begin to study and master the techniques to preparation, your self-confidence goes up and the more you practice what you learn, you ability to greet opportunity will rise or the level at which you grow to will determine the level of opportunity you will be presented with or will be able to see. High volume offices are no better than you are, they are just more prepared so they are trained to see opportunity where you may not be and they have perfected their ability to turn opportunity into new patient appointments.

So how do you create opportunity?

You plan for it and you plan for it well in advance. This is where a marketing calendar come into play. A marketing calendar gives you an outline and an organizational plan. Consider it an opportunity creator. If you do not have one, just email me at drcagen@citcom.net and I will send you one free of charge, just pay for the shipping. This is a $49.95 value, yours free just for asking. This is an opportunity! Did you see it and will you take advantage of it? I am offering 5 of these calendars to the first five doctors to reply to this offer. There are a limited supply and this opportunity will run out when the supply does on on Feb. 14th, 2010 whichever comes first.

So right there in the last two lines were a few tips. I created an opportunity for you and I put a limit on it. But, more than that, if you take advantage of this offer I am prepared to parlay this into another opportunity. If you take advantage of this opportunity, you will see what I am talking about.

Other things you can do to prepare yourself to create and capitalize on opportunity are:

Join a Toast Masters group in your area - They will teach you to prepare, organize and deliver high quality talks.

Read books and listen to motivational books and tapes. Train your mind and your actions for success.

Attend Chiropractic conventions and seminars. This breeds camaraderie.

Learn your scripts word for word. When you have a script and use it you create an air of professionalism and you are always secure in the words both you and your staff are using. This is training!

Create a goal journal and create daily success questions to keep you and your team focused on the mission. The Ultimate Success Journal for Chiropractors is the best tool available. Why waste time and effort recreating a tool which is readily available? www.successfuldc.com

Hire a coach......

The list could go on and on but for today, let's just end here for now.

Tip # 18 - Be Prepared

Successful DC offers high quality, inexpensive success tools and coaching for chiropractors around the world. Visit www.successfuldc.com to learn how to turn your practice into the practice of your dreams.