Have you ever felt like you’re doing everything right in your clinic, yet you still don’t have the practice you envisioned?

What if the missing ingredient isn’t more marketing, but a clearer bridge between where you are and where you want to be? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Michelle Wendling, chiropractor and business coach for wellness practitioners.

Michelle shares her refreshing approach to building a practice that actually fits you and not someone else’s version of success. We dive into how to stay curious instead of fearful, how to communicate your value so patients understand their progress, and how to support them through stressful seasons. Michelle also breaks down simple systems that help acupuncturists create practices that feel lighter, more aligned, and genuinely sustainable.

What you’ll learn:

  • How to reframe success so your practice matches your personality and values
  • Simple ways to communicate patient progress that strengthen trust and retention
  • How acupuncturists and other wellness professionals can guide patients through stressful seasons with care

Find it quickly:

  • 3:41 – Meet Dr. Michelle Wendling
  • 7:34 – Finding your business recipe
  • 10:25 – Stay in the curious and reframe your stories
  • 21:08 – When you want to make more money
  • 25:14 – The four step patient conversation for growth mindset
  • 34:06 -Booking clients for the holiday season
  • 42:41 – Michelle’s definition of success

Mentioned in this episode:

🎙️ Listen to Episode #115: How Acupuncturists Can Rethink Success with Dr. Michelle Wendling

💙 This episode is sponsored by Jane, a clinic management software that’s here to make practice life a little easier.

Ready to get started? Use the code ACUSCHOOL1MO for 1 free month at jane.app.

Subscribe to the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

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Transcript:

Michelle: Welcome to the Acupuncture Marketing School podcast. I’m your host, Michelle Grassic, and I’m here to help you get visible in your community. Take marketing action with confidence, and get more patients in your practice and more money in your pocket every week. We both know you’re a talented, passionate acupuncturist and that acupuncture has the power to change lives.

So let’s dive right into this episode and talk about how you can reach more patients.

Welcome back. Today I’m talking with Dr. Michelle Wendling, a chiropractor business coach and practice strategist who helps wellness professionals build the kind of practice that actually feels good to run. Michelle has been in the chiropractic industry for over 20 years, and she owned a thriving practice in Denver, which she eventually sold so that she and her husband could spend two years traveling the country in an rv.

With their cats. Yes. A woman After my own heart. Now she coaches chiropractors, acupuncturists, and wellness practitioners on designing businesses that match who they really are instead of following someone else’s version of success. In this episode, we dig into something so many practitioners struggle with.

Why we talk ourselves out of the things that we actually want and how to finally build the bridge between the practice you imagine, and the practice you have Right now. We talk about why most practitioners follow someone else’s recipe for success and then end up with someone else’s practice. How to stay in curiosity instead of fear and why it changes everything.

The mindset traps that keep you from marketing consistently. How to communicate value so patients understand the results they’re getting. The simple four step patient conversation that boosts retention organically, and the power of naming what your patients truly care about. Their real outcomes, like gardening again or going on vacation.

Pain-free. This conversation is full of practical insights you can try today. Michelle is so generous. I think you’re gonna get so much out of this episode. Let’s dive in. This episode is brought to you by Jane, a practice management software, an EMR that’s here to make clinic life a little easier. Running a health and wellness practice means managing a lot of moving parts.

That’s why I love how Jane helps bring a bit of calm to my busy day by allowing me to set a schedule that works for my business. I can customize treatment types and times, locations and staff availability to keep. Everyone organized and the clinic running smoothly. If you need to send intake forms or appointment reminders, Jane can automate those too.

Helping patients show up prepared and on time and when it’s time to pay. It’s all taken care of. No extra card swipes or billing cleanup later. One thing I personally love about Jane is how simple it makes documentation. I used to dread charting at the end of the day, but with Jane’s templates and AI scribe, I’m able to finish my notes quickly and still feel like my notes are really thorough.

It’s one of the reasons I walk out of the clinic on time now in the evening, which you know is a pretty big deal. If you’re looking for software that cares as much about the business side of your clinic, as you do about your patients, head to Jane app slash demo to learn more. And if you’re ready to dive in, you can use my Code Accu School one mo for a one month Grace period, apply to your new account.

And of course, I will put the link and the code in the show notes to make it easy for you. All right, let’s get into this episode with Michelle. Hello, Michelle. How are you? I am so good, Michelle. It’s fun to have Michelle. Michelle. It really is, isn’t it? Thank you so much for joining me today. Before we dive in, why don’t you take a minute to introduce yourself to the audience?

Sure. And thank you so much for having me. This is so much fun. My pleasure. Thanks for being here. I love being on podcasts and talking to you is just such a pleasure. So it’s easy. So I’m Dr. Michelle Wendling and I have been a chiropractor for, oh my gosh, like almost 20 years now, and had my own practice in Denver.

Really, really loved practice, you know, focused on referral based. Cash practice services, full body adjusting and loved every single moment of it. It was absolutely a joy of my life. Met my husband and he was like, Hey, I kind of wanna travel in an rv. And I said, well, that’s kind of hard to do with a full-time practice.

So we set a plan and in 2021 we sold my practice so that we could launch into a two year travel around the United States in an rv. What with our cat? Yes, yes. It was so much fun. It, it wasn’t a hard transition business wise, because I was already a business coach. I had been doing that for 10 years and now am continuing to do that.

But it was hard because loving on those patients was, it was hard to, to leave that piece behind. But now I volunteer in a lot of chiropractic forums and things so that I can continue to make that impact. Mm. You know, I had no idea that that’s how you went full-time in coaching. So two years around the United States.

I mean, that is an extensive trip. It. Yes. It was so fun. We moved about every one to two weeks. Okay. So if anyone has questions about RVing and the ins and outs of having internet during RVing Oh my goodness, yes. Asked are be happy now. So are you. I highly recommend it. Yeah. Are you in a permanent location now?

You’ve settled down? Yes. Okay. So we, we drove through Pensacola, Florida, fell absolutely head over heels in love with this place. And now we have Airbnbs and other properties in our house, and so we’re. We’re holding still for a moment. Okay. Before we move on, I have to say that I love that you brought your cats because my family and I will often meet on the weekends to walk at a local state park and it’s a campground as well.

And there’s so many RVs and of course tons of dogs. Whenever we see a cat sitting in the RV window, we’re like, yes, cat people. ’cause it’s not very common. Oh my gosh. Like maybe two people brought their cat this entire summer that I saw. So high five. Yeah, it’s not terribly common. The fun thing about an RV though, and this is the challenge of going back into a house, is it’s all windows, right?

And you go back into a house and suddenly you’re like, why are there so many walls? That’s so funny. Can’t this just all be windows? It’s something you don’t even think about until you, until you get into it. But, and of course the cats were absolutely loving. The sun. Yes. The windows. We always refer to the windows as cat tv, so Yes.

For both sides. Mm-hmm. You can watch the cat. Yep. And the cat can watch you. Exactly. I love that. Well, one of the things that you, well, okay, so let me, I’ll start over. So your website is be the best chiropractor.com. Correct. But you work with all kinds of wellness people, acupuncturists, everybody. And I love that your approach is really helping people dial into the practice that feels like it’s the best fit for them as opposed to the, you know, traditional expectation of success.

’cause sometimes that’s a good fit for people and sometimes it is not. Agreed. My favorite thing is, is figuring out with someone what they actually want. Hmm. Most people are using someone else’s recipe for success. And while they’re baking this recipe and creating this beautiful thing, when they get to the end of it, a lot of times it doesn’t feel like them.

It’s not them. And, and I jokingly say, when you follow someone else’s recipe, you get someone else’s pie. Mm-hmm. Right? And so if you’re, if you’re not following a recipe that’s truly who you are, you’re going to put in all this hard work and all of this trial and tribulation and blood, sweat, and tears. And at the end you’re gonna be like.

Wow. This is not exactly what I wanted, but I didn’t know that. Right. So starting at the very beginning and saying, alright, what do I really want? If I was Santa Claus, I always joke, I’m Santa Claus with a magic wand, so I’m half Santa Claus and half very godmother. And if you could have anything you wanted, ’cause people are like, well, I want this, but Right.

You hear the, but yeah. Oh, I can’t have that because it won’t work because of this, this, and this. And before they’ve even tried it, they’ve written it off. Right. And my, my favorite thing and my superpower is to figure out the bridge to get them from what they think they want to. Actual fruition to actually happening.

Ooh, I love that. Versus talking themselves out of it halfway across the bridge. I am so curious because I see this happen all the time, even in myself, right? Like, oh, I, you know, I’d love to buy that. Building on Main Street and renovate it into like six treatment rooms and a yoga studio, and then a, an apartment at the top.

A lot of these buildings are three floors, right? Like, so cool. And then I’m like, where am I gonna get that money? Mm. I have to write a comprehensive business plan and I have to take it to the bank, and then I have to convince this bank person that I’m a safe investment. And like all these things, it’s like, you know the steps, but you decide in advance like, oh man, I don’t, I don’t think it’s gonna work out, but So how do you help people?

Build that bridge. ’cause those, yeah, those thoughts are really real in your mind. Like, oh, the bank manager’s never gonna give me a loan. So I, I like the saying of, if you’re gonna make up a story, make up a good one. Yeah, I like that. Right, because you don’t actually know the future. Mm-hmm. And so I say worry and fear is essentially pretending you know, the future.

And pretending you’re psychic. ’cause you are not. I’m sorry. There probably are some psychics that are listening to this, but everybody else, not psychic, probably you. Everyone else, it’s probably not psychic. And so. Putting a roadblock in your way before you’ve gone and done the actual research. Most people do it because someone said they can’t.

Right. And so that, so they put the roadblock there. Oh, Bob said, I can’t. All right, well, let’s just go with Bob being the guru of all things, knowing, which is very unlikely. But what I like to do is stay in curiosity and I help people like, well, let’s see what, what might make that work? What might make that manifest for you?

You know, what if, what if this, I like to play the what if game because a lot of people have the right answers already in their head, but they’ve just decided it can’t be real. It’s too good to be true. I love that one. Mm-hmm. It’s too good to be true. I can’t work 10 hours a week in my office, make good money and have a good impact on my community.

It’s not possible. Really? Huh. Interesting. Let’s see if it is possible. Let’s, let’s walk down that path. Let’s run the numbers. ’cause I’m a very. Concrete numbers, statistics. I have spreadsheets for my spreadsheets, but by doing that, you can then prove to yourself it’s possible through the numbers. And then go, okay, it’s possible.

Let’s go. So it, you know, you always hear the saying that you tell the universe what you want. Mm. And the universe figures out the how you need to get out of the way. Gotcha. Yes. Get out of the way. I love this, and I run into this a lot from a marketing perspective with my students, where they know the answer.

They know they have so many good ideas for marketing things they could do, but somewhere inside they do not believe. That it’s going to work or they think it’s not going to work for them. They’re like, oh, I’m not expert enough, or I could try to create this thing, but what if it doesn’t feel professional or X, Y, Z?

And so then they do nothing and they come to, or they don’t do nothing necessarily, but Right. Like they’re, they’re very tentative. They never commit to their marketing. And then they come to me and they’re like, tell me what to do. And I’m telling them ideas. That they have already had. And sometimes I’m just like giving them permission more or less and saying like, yeah, that is a good idea.

I have seen that work. And they’re like, oh, okay. And they don’t. They don’t need my permission. I always tell them that too. I’m like, not that you need my permission to do any darn thing, but I’m gonna say the words in case it is a trigger in your brain. That’s helpful. Right? Absolutely. Well, and people are always looking for validation.

If you think about it, once we graduate from school, we’re no longer getting validation, right? We’re not getting grades. Right. We’re not getting confirmation that the answer was right. We’re just. Hanging there, winging it until retirement. Exactly. And, and so if you haven’t built up enough internal validation along those lines, sometimes it’s good to get it externally, which is so awesome that you do that for your students.

Yes. And I think that’s, that’s really the role that a lot of business coaches play. I don’t know if you feel that way as well, is confirming for people that their ideas are actually good and that the risk is probably low. And you know, like you were saying, like. Tell the universe what you want, and then the universe will make it happen.

I think an important caveat for that is like. You can’t control the way in which the path unfolds. ’cause we are often really stuck on this idea, like, I wanna buy this three story building, renovate, blah, blah, blah, and I must do it in this particular way. That is the only way that makes sense to me. And then things start happening that are not on that path and you’re like, it’s fallen apart, it’s never gonna work.

I’m not gonna move forward when you have no idea. Maybe it’s just a roundabout way. Of arriving at something similar or the actual goal. Yep. And practice makes permanent. So the more often you can stay in curiosity, the more likely you are to be open to those opportunities that show up. You know, and, and something as simple as, looks like it’s gonna rain or it’s not gonna be sunny today, or whatever.

Instead come from a place of, I wonder if it’ll rain. Hmm. It’s a different feeling. It’s the same question. It’s the same idea, but it’s a different feeling. So if you can train yourself to always go to the, I wonder if. Yeah. All of a sudden it becomes possible as opposed to impossible. And that’s the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset.

Mm. You, you know, you know all about that stuff. So I, I just think that’s cool. If you can stay in curiosity than the possibilities are much more likely to show up or, or to be seen. They’re there, they’re there, but they’re much more likely to be seen if you stay in the curiosity box. So, yeah. Yeah. I was.

Working with a marketing client. Recently we were talking about sending like introductory letters to MDs and just sort of like trying it as a low cost thing. I mean, how much does it cost to print two pieces of paper and buy stamp, right? Like mm-hmm. A dollar and right. One of her thoughts was, well, I can’t send letters to these MDs because they are the neighbors to an acupuncturist where I used to work.

And I know that person’s really talented and they probably have a good relationship with these providers at this orthopedic place. And so they already have an acupuncturist that they probably refer to, so I don’t wanna send them anything. It feels like stepping on her. Former boss’s toes and I was like, you don’t know any of that for sure.

Like you don’t know if they refer to her practice just ’cause they’re right next door. And maybe they do okay, but what if, what if they have some patients who are not in that town and you are actually closer to the patient’s home, right? So if they say like, oh, I don’t wanna see someone in Geneva, and they’re like, oh, well actually I, I think I might know an acupuncturist in Auburn.

And the patient’s like, oh, okay, that’s, that’s actually where I live. Like, exactly. Right. Just that open-mindedness, the curiosity. Like what good could come of sending this letter? Who knows. Maybe nothing. Yeah, exactly. Maybe it’ll be perfect. Right. And again, writing a good story. The story could be She is so good at what she does.

She’s so busy. Yeah. She needs help. Yeah. Let me offer to take some of that patient overflow. By writing these medical doctors and giving them a second spot. What if all these patients are just waiting for care? Mm. Yeah. Wouldn’t that be lovely to get more of the community under care? There’s just so many, like you said, there’s so many positive story spins you can make on that.

Yeah. And it takes practice. ’cause we’re good at writing. It does stories. It does. I love the idea that the human brain is a meaning making machine. And then we often. Make crappy stories, right? We make, we make negative meaning out of so many things we do. Well, I love, like, here’s a great example of that because this is something I had a conversation about just last week, which is somebody said, I have no new patients.

I love that one. I have no new patients. And I went back and I opened your schedule and I was like, okay, so you had 12 new patients that is not no new patients. And she’s like. Well, yeah, but normally I have 24 or whatever it was. Right. And, and I said, okay, but you just made meaning out of something. Mm-hmm.

That doesn’t actually have meaning. Yeah. So stop it. Yeah. Because she was like, okay, my business coach, her name is Ildy, and she always says, add the word already. So instead of saying like, oh, I only have 12 new patients, say, oh, I already have 12 new patients. Right? Like, I’m on my way. I love that. Yeah, I love that.

And add the word yet if it’s something that you want yet to come that hasn’t yet manifested. I love wordsmithing things because it changes how your brain interacts with the verbiage. Mm. And it changes the feeling in your, in your heart center as to, you know, whether it’s feels like an uplifting energy or draining energy.

Just those little things. So that’s a great one. I like that one. So I, I’m really curious, do you have people who come to you and they just are. Probably burnt out, I would imagine, or maybe very, very new. And they are not sure what they want. Like how do you help them figure out what do they want? Well, so one of the things to start with is, is what is it?

You really get joy out of? How to get more of that. It’s kind of like I, again, I go back to the recipe idea mostly. ’cause I’ve just been doing a lot of talking around recipes. My husband’s a foodie and he loves to cook French food and yada yada. So we’ve been talking a lot about recipes and just got back from France where we took cooking classes.

So that’s amazing mind. But if you look at it and you go, okay, what in this recipe do I really love? What in my practice do I really love? Okay, great. How do I do more of that? Mm-hmm. Because it is hard to say, oh, five years down the road, what exactly is my vision gonna be? Because there’s so many moving variables, one of which being you.

Mm. Once you get into practice and you start doing it, you start realizing it’s not exactly as you imagined. Like six months before practice started, right? And then a year down the road you go, okay, well. This is the part that really drains me and this is the part that really lights me up. And if you do a good job of filtering the things that drain you, either delegating them or eliminating ’em all together.

Mm-hmm. It’s amazing how many things we do in practice every day that you actually don’t have to do. And if you don’t have to do it and it’s sucking your energy quit. But we do. We do it because someone said we should or we have to, or that’s how it’s always been done. Right? So first step is, is to, your answer to your question is figure out what really lights you up.

And then from what really lights you up, you start creating a recipe of more of that. Mm. And then you fill in the spots that feel like holes, like, well, okay, but this isn’t making me money yet. Okay, well then let’s put some price tags on that so we can make money at this. Mm. Yeah. I did notice on your website that you help people make more money from what they’re already doing.

And implement systems, so I’m sure people wanna hear about that. I, I call it practice enhancement. It’s your practice only better. Yeah. That’s all. Okay. Because it’s your practice, it’s your vision, it’s your goals, it’s, it’s what you want. All I do is look it over, see where you’re leaving money on the table and help create things to keep that money from falling through the cracks.

It’s really fun. It’s almost instant. So within a month or two, you start seeing the income going up as opposed to going, oh, I gotta get more patients. Ah, this, I gotta that. Yeah. It’s not always that. Sometimes it’s something simple in your office that you just haven’t been doing, that you didn’t know about.

Ooh. So that. It’s really fun. It’s, it’s so fun because once the energy inside you starts to shift, the monetary value shifts as well, almost, almost instantly. It’s so fun. So I would imagine this is more than just telling people when they need to raise their rates. Can you give other examples? So the number one thing to do if you want to make more money is really figure out the value you bring to the table and how to articulate that value to your people.

If people come in and they get great results, but they don’t actually understand that the great results are connected to the things that you did. I had a patient one time come in and say, well, my headaches are gone. I think it’s ’cause I’ve been eating blueberries. And I was like, wow, have I been sucking at my job?

Right? Because she didn’t recognize all the care and the things we had been doing to impact the headaches because I hadn’t tied it together for her. Because in my mind it was obvious, right, why the headaches were going away, but in her mind it was not. Acupuncture is one of those things that’s so subtle too.

Yeah. It’s so important to give people cues of what they’re feeling, what to expect, so that when they leave the office, they have a solid framing of what’s coming. And it, you know it, it’s like the example of if you look outside and you go, my gosh, look at all those red cars outside. Yeah. Everyone who looks out that window is gonna see red cars, even if there’s more blue cars, right?

Because you told them that’s what to see. And so when you create value for what you’re doing and then set the stage for the patient to recognize the value instantaneously. If the money goes up mm-hmm. Your schedule will fill, I mean, I, I could go for days on systems as to how to increase your retention and make sure that your schedule’s always full and make sure no patients fall through the cracks and all of those things.

I could, you know, I could talk at nauseam on that stuff, but the big picture, the big overview is create value for what you’re doing. Say the value out loud. Mm-hmm. Yeah. If people are like, oh, they know they feel better. Yeah. But. Do they really know? Do they really get it? You know, let ’em know, tie it to it and give it in simple terms so they can tell others.

And then you have referrals, yada, yada. Yeah. But you tell them to see the red cars and when they look outside, they’ll always see the. Red cars. That is so funny about the blueberries. My goodness. The blueberries aren’t hurting, I’m sure. Right? Please keep eating the blueberries, not for other reasons. Yeah, I do.

I do see this in acupuncture. Even after 15 years in practice, I will have a reminder of like, I need to be better about. Communicating like you feel better because of the acupuncture, right? Like yes, I know you’re taking supplements. Yes. I know you’ve been going for walks. Yes, I know X, Y, Z, but like. Your pain was consistent until the week that you started coming here.

Right. But we, we really do assume it’s obvious. Taking a quick break to remind you about today’s sponsor, this episode is brought to you by Jane, an all-in-one practice management software and EMR that really does make clinic life easier. One thing I personally love is how much time it saves me on documentation between Jane’s customizable templates and their new AI scribe, I’m able to finish my notes quickly and feel thorough, which means I actually leave the clinic on time in the evening.

Jane also handles scheduling. Intake forms, reminders, and payments, so everything runs smoothly in the background. If you want software that supports both your patients and the business side of your clinic, head to Jane app slash demo. And if you’re ready to sign up, use my Code Accu School one mo for a free one month Grace period on your new account.

And of course, I’ll put the link and the code in the show notes to make it easy for you. All right, let’s get back to this episode with Michelle. Do you recommend then like following up with new patients or having like an, I met an acupuncturist lately who has an email funnel for new patients and it’s like educational and what to expect and the purpose is retention.

Yeah. So I would say things like that can be very helpful. Mm-hmm. Uh, if you think about yourself, how often do you open and read a full email though? Right. But, but when you’re face to face with someone, they’re listening to you. Yeah. You have a captive audience and the best thing you can do is, is share with them that they do the four steps.

If you want to know. First thing is, is where they were and where they are now. Okay. So in other words, what it took to get them here. Gotcha. Right. So on the first visit, you’ll only have where they are now ’cause you don’t know where they were. Mm-hmm. Right. But after that, you always have kind of a series.

So it’s, it’s where they were, where they are now. What you’re going to do and what’s next. Hmm. And if you do those four things on every visit with every patient, they always see the path of where they came from, how much better they are, what you’re doing to impact that, and what they get to be really excited about coming next.

And get really good at dangling that carrot of the really amazing, like not only are you gonna sleep better tonight, Mrs. Smith, but I suspect with ongoing care. This is going to be the impact on your life. Mm-hmm. You’re, you’re not gonna be as scared to go on that cruise with your husband. Right. You’re gonna have the most beautiful rose garden ever, because you’re gonna be able to get up and off the ground as easily as possible.

You are going to be able to sit through any number of the long soccer games that your son has and cheer very loudly. Yeah. You Right. So you’re tying the what’s next to things they already get excited about in their life that they want. Rather than saying your pain will be less, nobody even knows what that means.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. I’m high fiving you through the Internets. This is actually, I feel like this is so rare for people to talk about, like this concept of going deeper. ’cause this is partially marketing, right? When you’re positioning these statements for a patient, you’re appealing directly to the outcome that they want in their life.

Right. So a lot of times when I’m teaching acupuncture marketing school, what happens is I’ll say, okay, on your website you wanna talk about the experience that the person is having now. And how they, their goal, like how they wanna feel afterwards and they’re like, well, they’re in pain and they want to not have pain.

I’m like, okay, truth that is true. And why? Why? That’s a start. Why do they want to get out of pain? And they’re like, well, obviously pain’s terrible. Like, okay, also true, but like, we need to go deeper. What are their values? Yeah. What is the pain limiting in their life? What kind of stress or anxiety is it putting on there?

Their life or their family or their mental health that they would like to see eliminated. What can they do when the pain is gone? And then they’re like, oh, then they can garden, then they can go to Disney World with their family, then they can go for a long walk, blah, blah, blah. Right? So I love that you are connecting it to a specific outcome that you know, that patient cares about, right?

Like the reason they came in is not just, I have knee pain, but I want to be able to garden, and the knee pain is stopping that from happening. Right. Well, and, and you know, the billions and billions of dollars that is spent in research for these pharmaceutical company ads. Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah. And what they’ve shown human nature is they want to see the ultimate outcome.

Yeah. If they can put themselves in the ultimate outcome and connect emotionally with that, they are all in. Mm-hmm. So you won’t ever see a video on TV about eczema that shows the skin with eczema and the skin without eczema. And that’s it. Because that’s not the result. The result isn’t getting rid of the eczema.

What they want is to feel good in their skin. Mm-hmm. To be able to show their skin, to hang out, to be touched. Yep. Right. Those are the things, if you get to that place, you’ll get goosebumps and you’ll get a smile on your face when you get to the place that moves your patient. Yeah. When you get there, like, oh my gosh.

Not only are they gardening, but they’re gardening with this rare rose that only they can grow that came from their grandmother. You know, like, oh, when you get there and it gets all ooey and gooey inside, you’re there. You nailed it. That’s it. Then you write it in your note and you refer back to it. Okay?

Because six or eight weeks from now, when she comes in again, you may or may not remember the room. For sure. Yeah. And your notes will, and people always, that’s super high customer service. Yeah. I think people also forget how uncomfortable they were to begin with and they really minimize how far they have come and you know, they’ll be like an eight outta 10 initially, and then if you get them down to like a three.

It’s eight weeks later and all of a sudden they’re unimpressed. They’re like, well, I still have pain. I’m like, okay. Like you’re, you’ve had so much change and improvement and you are able to do your activities of daily living, which you were not able to do before, like putting on a belt, like reaching behind you for the seatbelt, blah, blah, blah, whatever it was, and they just forget because they feel better.

And they’re like, I don’t even wanna think about where I was. Well, and that’s human nature. Yeah. The brain actually has a natural immune system that helps you forget the discomfort you had before, which is why people have a second child. And my mom has told me that so many times. Right. That cracks me up always.

But the, but the, it’s natural and it’s ingrained and it’s wonderful. Like the guy breaks up with you and almost immediately you start thinking. Oh, well he wasn’t really good for me anyway, and Sure. Oh, look at all these opportunities I have. Right. Exactly. And that’s normal and natural. But it is a good idea as a practitioner to say.

So you know that shoulder pain is gone, which is wonderful. And look at how much more movement you have. Mm-hmm. Now you’re able to almost get up and down with the floor without even using your hands, which is a sign of health and wellness. So this is what we’re gonna do today and this is what’s next. So by starting with the where they were and where they are now, that ties that in.

’cause you’re right, Michelle, I have had patients who are like, doc, I’m not getting any better. I love this conversation, doc. I’m not getting any better. And I’m like, alright. Uh, how’s that shoulder? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That hasn’t hurt me in some time. Yeah. Those headaches. Yeah, I’m good. Are you sleeping pretty good?

Yeah, sleeping’s pretty good. Yeah. But, but my pinky, my pinky pain still hurts. You know? You’re just like, what is happening right now? Yep. Because you are right. You have to remind them of where they came from. Oh my goodness. And then, yes, I’ll work on that pinky pain for you. So you are advocating at the end of every treatment, you said, remind them of where they were.

And where they are now. Talk about how you are going to get them into the future vision and then mention whatever that is. So four steps? Mm-hmm. Yep. Okay. And it mostly, it’s at the beginning of the visit, you know, Hey, how’s it going? And here’s the thing, if you, if you want people to focus on the pain and discomfort, ask about that.

Okay. If you’d rather them not focus on the pain and discomfort, ask what you want them to actually focus on, which in my world is we always ask what’s better? Okay. What’s better today? I like that it takes them out of the, what’s wrong into the what’s better, which is a growth mindset. Right? It also asks them to notice something that’s improved.

When you start noticing change or difference, it puts you in the present moment. Mm-hmm. Right? So now you’re no longer stuck in the I’m broken. I’m broken, I’m broken, I’m broken. Yeah. And remember, whatever question you ask a patient or client. They think about all the way there. ’cause they wanna be able to answer your question.

That’s so true. So if you’re used to asking what’s wrong or what’s broken, the entire 15 minute drive to your office, they’re going over what’s wrong and what’s broken. Mm-hmm. Which energetically not ideal. Right? I never thought about that. But if they know you’re gonna ask what’s better? They’re going over what’s, I do feel better.

I do have more breath. I did sleep better last night. Whole different feel. Oh, I love whole different energy. So at the beginning you ask what’s better? Then you remind them just for a moment. You don’t dwell in it. Like remember when your shoulder hurt and you were miserable and you could barely breathe?

Yeah. Well that’s not you anymore, right? You don’t do that, but you remind them like, great, so that shoulder pain is mostly gone. Wonderful, and that lower back, still no issues. I love that. Today we’re gonna work on X, Y, Z. Then you do the work and at the end you say, you know, we worked on X, Y, Z. What you’re going to get from that is.

Better sleep tonight, more energy tomorrow. Less stress from your in-laws because we centered your cortisol. Got that down elevated. Your serotonin, dopamine, got those up. And with ongoing care, your in-laws won’t bother you at all. And road rage will be a thing of the past. Right? So you’re letting them know what’s going on now and what to expect next.

So yes, when you do that piece. Shows the whole path to them. It’s fun and they know why they’re there. You are a miracle worker in-laws are never gonna bother a person anymore. Some people would pay so much money for that. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Yes. You’d be like, wait, are you treating me or you’re treating my in-laws?

Like what’s, and yes, they need an attitude adjustment as well, but chiropractic and acupuncture both. Reduce cortisol. Mm-hmm. Increase serotonin and dopamine. Yep. I was just thinking the not a protocol would be perfect for that. We often, we’ll do a little like December campaign about holiday stress, and we always talk about like, hosting people is stressful, running around, spending lots of money on food and gifts and trying to make everything perfect is stressful traveling in the winter in bad weather.

It’s stressful, right? So like if you are trying to enjoy the holidays and having a really hard time, you need acupuncture and like not a protocol in the ear is the first thing that I think of. It just like really knocks the edge off of that cortisol. Right? So that Yeah, it just takes everything down a notch.

Yeah. It’s legit though. Your in-laws will aggravate you less ’cause you’ll have acupuncture brain. Yeah. You’ll be further from threshold. Yes. Right? Yeah. And so it takes more irritation before you go over that edge and start screaming and yelling, running outta the house. Absolutely true. I love it.

Absolutely true. Very nice. Yeah, I think that, so that’s one thing I always recommend to every client. It really, any chiro I talk to is the holidays are coming. Find out whether it’s a joyful time or a stressful time for people. Yeah. If the people say it’s a stressful time, you treat them more, not less.

’cause people say, oh, the holidays are so busy. It’s very stressful for me. I need to reduce my visits. Mm-hmm. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. You need to increase your visits. Not reduce your visits. Yes. So that you can handle everything life throws at you. Yeah. Would you recommend having that conversation with them pretty early so that they can get things on their schedule?

Because I find that once people are in that fight or flight mode, like in early mid-December, they can’t even make the best decision, which would be like, oh, I know acupuncture, chiropractic makes me feel much better. Brings my nervous system down a notch, but they’re like, I can’t. I don’t. I don’t have time.

I can’t make this work. It’s like you can even feel the vibration of their nervous system while they’re telling you that they can’t come see you when they need you so much. Absolutely. Well, the short answer is twofold. One, patients should know that on day one, mm, period, this is not about their pain. This is not about their discomfort.

The cool thing is pain and discomfort’s just gonna go away. We could do that in our sleep. Right. Let’s be honest, we are so good at eliminating symptoms. It is not even funny. But the piece they don’t get is the fact that it reduces cortisol, increases serotonin and dopamine, and really gets to that yummy spot in their life where they can handle anything, right?

And so by telling them that on day one, day two, day three, just little bits, you know, it’s not like you sit ’em down and like, here, watch this video. I’m gonna make you waste your life for 45 minutes while you watch a video about something you don’t care about. Right. You don’t do that, but you let them know, you know, Hey, you’re gonna have less stress this weekend when you travel from this adjustment.

People are gonna be like, oh, great. But then, yes, starting in October is typically when you start asking people. Gotcha. The holidays are coming up. Are they fun? Not fun. You can have your front desk ask them. Yeah. And patients will be honest. Oh, they’re fun, or, yeah, they’re terrible. I hate them. Okay, great.

Well, let’s double up on your visits. So smart to start that even in October. So we’re filming this at the end of October, so, and it’ll probably go live in a couple of weeks. So it is time, it is past time, so get on it now. Yes. Yeah. You know, it’s, it’s wild. It absolutely never occurred to me to start asking people.

Early to get on the calendar for December and end of November too. Right, because Thanksgiving is also hugely stressful for some people. The travel, the prep. Yes. Yep. Yes. I’m a firm believer that every patient should be scheduled out for at minimum three to five visits at all times. Oh, I love that. At minimum, because you will need the visits based on what you can see going on with their body.

It’s not like you’re psychic, but you have so much great experience, so you know. It’s not like in two visits we’re gonna reassess the whole thing and like change the whole world. Come on people. We don’t do that. Right. You reassess on every visit, but you understand that there’s some kind of a pattern that their body’s going to need.

Mm-hmm. Just keep them scheduled for that pattern so that they can get to that goal that they want. Mm. I’m so curious. Do you recommend that people do packages, memberships? Neither. I would say. Whatever lights them up. In my office it was pay as you go. I never did any packages. Memberships. Okay. That’s what we do.

Never needed to, always had a wait list. Always had new patients scheduled out for two or three months. All the things you, I, I work with a lot of offices that love packages. That’s great. In a lot of states, they’re not legal, so you don’t need them. Membership, same thing. Make sure you’re not shooting yourself in the foot with a membership because.

Those unlimited memberships are silly. Don’t do those because chances are you’re gonna be resentful. But run the numbers, see what makes the most sense for you, and know your patient population. The cool thing is just like a recipe. There’s no wrong answer. Hmm. Yeah, I guess it would go back to helping the individual figure out what makes the most sense for them and feel like is aligned with their goals and their practice style.

’cause people will always ask me like, do you offer packages? Do you think that I should? And I feel, I agree. It’s very individual. Some people can very easily sell a $2,000 package and other people really struggle to even say the words. This is $2,000. Right. So I think it, it really depends on the person.

We don’t do packages at my office mostly because, well, so we do cosmetic acupuncture, which is in a perfect world, twice a week for five weeks or maybe once a week for 10 weeks. I do a free consult, and I don’t mind the free part. Some people charge for their consult where I have this conversation where it’s like, we’re gonna get you on the calendar for all 10 treatments, and if they’re on the calendar that.

It’s pretty reliable that they’re gonna come for all 10, right? So even though they’re paying one by one, they’re still likely to come. If they were to pay me the total fee for the 10 treatments, but not be on the calendar, I would not expect them to come for all 10. So for at least Feliz did our practice, it’s much more important for people to be on the calendar and not necessarily to have paid.

Great. Right. Well, and and as long as you’re not using packages or memberships is a way to trap, because that’s a lack mindset. Mm. Right. So be really clear on why you would like to do a package or a membership. And so when someone says to me, well, I wanna do a package, because then they have to come like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

They do not have to come. And that’s the, they can ask for that money back. Although I don’t think they usually do, and even if they did or did not do that, they would be resentful. Right. Do you want a resentful patient in your office? Absolutely not. How about instead, create value like you’re doing, Michelle.

Create value for what you do. Let them know what the path is. Mm-hmm. And, and walk with them along the path. And then they don’t need a package or a discount. And if you want to do a package, I say frame it as this is a gift for them. This isn’t something trapping them. Right. It’s just a give back. Yeah.

Which is lovely. Mm-hmm. And no strings. Yeah. And I think, yeah, people. People will often tell me I wanna do a package, because if they paid, they’re more likely to come back. And I think like, to some extent that is true, right? They made an investment and they have some skin in the game, so they are probably gonna come back and use it again.

I think it, it just depends on the person and their practice. The psychology is fascinating. Yeah. They might be coming for the wrong reasons, but they will come back. Right. And so then they won’t buy another package if it feels like the wrong reasons to them. Gotcha. Yeah. So it’s the framing. Yeah. Love it.

Well, I have one more question for you that I ask all my guests, and that is, what is your definition of success? Hmm. I love this question. My definition of success is choosing. What you’ve got in front of you. Hmm. And always being able to choose what you want to do with your life, what you want to do today, what you want to do next, and having opportunities and options open.

Is my definition of success. I don’t like to hold still very long. So for me, success is having the ability to be remote, be mobile, you know, live in Portugal for three months out of the year if I want to, or whatever that looks like to me. So for me, it’s having the option to say yes to the things that you really, really want to choose, and not living an obligation.

That to me is success. Mm. So nice. And at any moment you could just hop back in your RV with your cats and go for a drive. Any moment. It’s gonna be a sailboat. Next. We’re doing a catamaran next. So Cool. Yeah, very cool. That’s next. So love it. Follow that. Well, very nice. So where can people find you online if they’d like to work with you?

What are their options? How do they connect with you? Yeah, all of my coaching is a hundred percent customized, so I don’t really have anything where it’s like. Just go here, click this button, and all of a sudden you get cookie cutter coaching. Mm-hmm. That’s just not a thing that I do. However, if you go to be the best chiropractor.com, you can see a lot of things of how I work.

I have over 200 videos on my Patreon site, which are do it yourself videos so that you can. Know how to schedule patients out, how to do patient reactivations, all kinds of those things. I’ve got some podcasts out there as well. Not near as many as you do, my dear, but I have a few little bits of pieces of podcasts of a lot of offices hire me to get them out of the insurance model into it.

More of a cash model, okay? Things like that. So I’ve got a lot of information on that. But yeah, info at Be the Best Chiropractor. It’s a great email for me. And if you find my website or me on Facebook, you can reach me. And I never charged to talk to anybody. I’m just delighted to talk. If anybody wants to pick my brain, have at it.

I love it. Well, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks for the invite. It’s so nice to be here. Wonderful to have you. If you enjoyed today’s episode, I would love it if you took a quick screenshot and shared it to your Instagram story. Tag me at Michelle Grassic so I can see it.

I absolutely love resharing these. It helps more practitioners find the show and it means so much to me. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time.