Accelerator Method: Proving Value Upfront (Part 2 of 5)

by · 28th July 2016

4.7/5 - (12 votes)

On this PT Profit Academy Tutorial we look at part 2 of the “Accelerator Method” which is helping 1000’s of PT business owners to tap into the “93%” of people who need some help from you – and who would pay for your services – if only they knew more about you…

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Part two is essentially about educating people about the value you can add to their lives, IN ADVANCE of them paying for your treatment…

The good news is that it’s really EASY to do, and we’re about to explain how…

If you missed part one of this “5” part “Accelerator Method” series, click here to read more about step one in the Accelerator Method, titled: Picking Your Perfect Patient. 

Lets do a quick recap:

The “Accelerator Method” is about helping you to access the 93% of people currently being overlooked by physical therapy owners in your town…

If you remember, we highlighted a study by Fritz and Childs which explains that just 7% of the people who visit their doctor with low-back pain never leave with a referral for PT…

…despite the evidence suggesting that PT is more effective in recovery time and COST.

The question for you to answer is not WHY is that figure so low…

…it’s :

“How do you get access to the 93% who are still left with back pain and have no clue what to do for the best”?…

This is a huge pocket of people – and when you think that there’s the same thing happening to people with knee pain, neck pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, traumatic brain injury, in need of home health services and sports injuries etc etc…

…it’s easy to see the OPPORTUNITY that exists if you switch your marketing and your communication to these people, that all of your competition are currently OVERLOOKING – and under-serving.

My clinic – the Paul Gough Physio Rooms – experienced explosive growth in new patient acquisition when we switched our attention to this group, that I’ll refer to as the “93%”, using what is now referred to as the Accelerator Method…

Lets dive into the teaching:

So we’ve picked your perfect patient (re-capped in this article)…

…the next thing we have to do is educate them on the VALUE of how you can impact their life so much that they’ll want to pay your for it.

Doesn’t it make sense that if you want people to pay out of pocket, fund their “co-pay”, and even just give up their time, it has to appear to be worth it for them??

And at very least, they have to PERCEIVE that it’s going to be worth it…

…because in the beginning, something called “perceived value” is all that matters.

Meaning, no matter how good you think you are – or how good others say you are – if they don’t think you are the right fit for them, your Marketing won’t work.

And no one is ever going to give you time or money unless you prove value first VIA your marketing (…especially NOT when the cost is more than $100).

Fact: You and I make “impulse purchase” decisions”, and your prospects do too – if the cost to them is below $100 – but as soon as it goes over $100 – (which most PT sessions are these days) – they have to really think about whether it’s going to be a fair exchange and represent real value.

That “thinking about it” as the investment in PT increases, is what is currently the OBSTACLE to most clinics being as successful as they could be…

To highlight this… lets think about someone who is CONFUSED, SKEPTICAL, who can’t understand why their doctor didn’t mention PT or why their friend or work colleague is suggesting the “cheaper” chiropractic alternative or to see a massage therapist – that person is going to be very reluctant to pay you money EVEN though they will benefit from what you do.

All of these things are going on when people are thinking over their options – and it’s YOUR job to help them to see why their best option is YOU…

You’ll do that through this style of Marketing covered in the Accelerator Method.

So the only thing you have to do is first ACCEPT that this is what is holding people back from coming to see you…

…then figure out a way to WIN despite this situation.

How do we do that?

We do that by PROVING to them through communicating in such a way that the person is able to understand what you REALLY do (…not what they’ve been told, or led to believe, what we do!)…

…then, show that we understand them…

(Like no one else)

…that we’re able to connect and engage with them…

…that we “get them”…

…that we appreciate they may have been let down in the past by another provider who made a promise they didn’t keep (and still keep their money)…

AND, most importantly of all, that we know it may take a little time for them to TRUST themselves – and us – to make a decision about giving us their $700 or however much their contribution is.

As the COST of health care – and the COST to the patient OUT OF POCKET increases – which it will – never has it been more important to figure out how to do this NOW.

Now, what is great about this pocket of people (who are nervous and even skeptical about PT) is that IF you do take the time to educate them…

…to HELP THEM…

…to hang in with them and help them to make a better, more educated and more informed decisions about their health…

…is that they’ll LOVE you forever.

Meaning, they’ll look for ANY reason to come back and see you.

Why?

Because no one else does this type of thing, as most businesses are “too busy” being “busy” to recognize this need that must be serviced BEFORE they enter the treatment room.

So, another HUGELY significant advantage about creating systems that helps educate the consumer to make a better, more confident decisions, is that you acquire customers for life.

It’s another reason why the Paul Gough Physio Rooms is so successful…

We’ve created systems that educate our patients to see the value of what we do – and when the penny drops, they stay with us and recommend us to everyone they know.

It’s allowed us to charge higher prices than anyone else in town…

..compete against a free socialist health care system…

…and, has many of our patients ASKING what else they can buy from us which makes our cash up-sell process as valuable and profitable as the actual physical therapy service.

And all because we take the time to educate through a simple series of pre-written emails, videos, phone calls and letters mailed to their home which helps them to decide for themselves what they should do next…

We never have issues with missed appointments…

…people have no problem booking out a full plan of care, paying in FULL, in cash, and we never have to ask for referrals…

…they do that for us automatically.

There’s never been a more significant addition to my business than working exclusively with customers EDUCATED about the VALUE that my PT skills add to their life BEFORE they show up.

Contrast that with how most patients arrive at a PT clinic – UN-educated because their doctor didn’t take the time to tell them about WHY they should get PT and how valuable one actually is…

…it’s all “here’s a script, go get some PT, come back if it’s no better – close the door on the way out”.

Is it any wonder so many doctor referred patients resist paying their co-pay these days?

Once you’ve created the SYSTEMS to educate and prove value it becomes very easy to raise your rates…

…but we’ll do that later on in the process as the next step in the Accelerator Method is to “GET NOTICED”.

And that’s what we’ll cover in the NEXT tutorial – how you get the attention of your ideal patient both ONLINE – using things like Facebook and Google – and OFFLINE – using things like newspaper ads or postcards.

We’ll talk through that part of the Accelerator Methodology, next time.

To get more info, go here…

– Accelerator Method: 6 Simple Steps To More Patients and Higher Profits >

Until then, if you’re new to my work, go here next to receive more business education from me:

– Click here to subscribe to my email list and I’ll send you more Physical Therapy Business Education >>>

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About Paul Gough

PAUL GOUGH is one of the top Marketing and Business Coaches in the physical therapy industry and his Systems are helping clinic owners all across America run more profitable clinics. He is a published Author, Newspaper Columnist and before his stunning success in business was hired by top professional soccer teams. HIS SUCCESS STORY is one that inspires many pt's around the world - at the age of 26 Paul QUIT a high profile job in professional soccer to begin his own clinic. He had NO money, NO business or marketing skills and NO experience - and yet now owns and runs 4 pt clinics and has a proven track record of growing a physical therapy business from 0 - $2m in record time.
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