The Dark Side of Chiropractic Coaching
How I lost $15,000 in one day from a chiropractic coaching scam.
Have you heard this chiropractic trope before?
Doctor X is successful, seeing 1000 visits a week. If we dropped them in your less successful 100-visits-a-week practice, they could quickly double or triple it.
I used to love that. There was a time, early in my career, where I believed this. After all, they were the experts asked to speak at the big chiropractic seminar, not me, right?
Of course it's all nonsense.
For one thing, no one has tested this theory. It doesn't make rational sense. The owner of a busy business in rural Iowa couldn't show up in downtown Manhattan and succeed. In what other business would this be possible? Who would think this could work?
Enter the Chiropractic Practice Coach...
In the past 30 years, chiropractors have seen the rise of the practice coach, often semi-retired chiropractors who made their fortunes in the “Mercedes 80s" era, offering strategies that worked for them.
These are our Chiropractic Rockstars. The slick-suited, fast-talking, scrappy chiropractic coaches and consultants. They are better chiropractors than us. They vibrate at a higher frequency, read more Green Books at 4 am, and have magic pisiforms that can heal the blind. They’ve made lots of mmmmmoney too!
These Chiro-stars teach other chiropractors. They say all patients are the same. It doesn't matter where they live, demographics, insurance, or income. All you need to do is teach the principle of TIC, and all else will follow.
Want to know how? You can't call them, but they sell a coaching program to solve your practice problems for a small monthly fee.
Practice coaches and consultants are not unique to the chiropractic profession. We see them in the dental and medical professions as well. But, chiropractic "coaches" are unique. They see themselves as personal development gurus, too.
Paid mentorship and business coaching can be beneficial. I benefited from chiropractic coaching early in practice. I've spent over $100,000 on seminars, products, and personal development programs.
I’ve found the right kind of coaching helpful. I've learned a lot about myself and how to be a great chiropractor.
Chiropractic school and the real world have an experience gap. These coaches fill the void because chiropractic colleges don’t fully prepare new grads to be successful business owners. The key is to find the right program to invest in.
Some unethical coaches prey on young chiropractors, exploiting their fears and inferiority complexes by over-promising, under-delivering, and often misrepresenting themselves.
I recall being duped by one early in my career. After my first year in practice, I was drowning in debt and spinning my wheels trying to grow my practice. A practice coach sent an email newsletter I read regularly, offering a free phone consult, so I took the bait.
The promise of no cheesy gimmicks or spinal screenings drew me to his coaching program. I'd been screening twice monthly for a year and was burning out. They'd teach me to build a huge family practice based on referrals. He was a soothsayer to say the least - writing exactly what I needed to hear, at the right time.
When I called to learn about the program, he said it was proprietary information. I would have to prepay $15,000 before getting details. But rest assured, he could connect me with many successful clients who would vouch for his methods.
What should have been a huge red flag, piqued my interest instead. The two clients he referred me to raved about him, suggesting that I couldn't lose under his tutelage. Convinced, I paid the fee and joined his chiropractic coaching program, sight unseen.
I attended the first morning seminar with my then girlfriend, soon-to-be wife. I wasn't impressed. I was seeing around 100 visits a week and wanted to grow to 500. On break, I spoke to some clients and soon realized I was one of the busiest chiropractors there.
Over lunch, I asked the coach if he could point me to someone with a larger practice. He chuckled and said there were plenty in the program but they weren’t there that day. Red flag number two.
I asked about the program's size. He wasn't sure and said it's private. Red flag number three. After lunch, we left the seminar early and didn't return for the second day.
I called his office the following week to ask for a refund, but was told there would be no refunds for quitters. He suggested, "Maybe I was too distracted by the hot blonde next to me to pay attention at the seminar."
I was stuck and embarrassed for allowing myself to be deceived. I vowed to never seek out chiropractic coaching again.
I was out $15,000.