TAPPED OUT...

NO WATER...

That's right - those of you who have been following our adventures in New Jersey, here is the next chapter.

After a long and busy day in New York City, we came home looking forward to a nice cool shower. And alas, there was no water for a shower - as a matter of fact, there was no water for anything (except bottled water for drinking).

This is just another example of my Green Acres mentality - oh, how I miss city life! I sound like I am suffering so, don't I?  Well the truth is, I am not, but this is proving to be quite the learning experience. As we move into the possibility of investing in real-estate, we are getting a crash course in what can go wrong and how to fix it!

Wait, stop the presses - I have just been notified that we have water now! The antique pump has been replaced with a fancy shmancy new one! 

I am off to shower. Yes, I know TMI (too much information).

Well that is what today's ezine is all about. The power of authenticity!

Many blessings,

Eric G. Schneider, D. Min. 
eric@theacupreneur.com  

The Power of Authenticity

I know that this is going to sound like a bit of a rant, so please forgive me in advance and take into consideration my intention and not just my actions. 

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are not essential to the health and well being of the population of the United States of America - so why do you spend so much time trying to prove it's effectiveness?

Because you think that is what will make people buy your services and become patients. 

Well, gang, it doesn't work that way - that is just a narrative you and the community might be telling yourselves, but trust me, it is not working. The majority of Acupuncturists are not making ends meet! 

Trying to "get" people to buy your services by telling them about the benefits and features of your practice won't do it either. That kind of marketing only leads to short-term gain - it is classic marketing at its worst.

Many practitioners feel that it is all about the treatment that they offer, or some special new skill that a teacher or other practitioner can offer. I myself spent years looking for the secrets of Tai Chi Chuan, only to find the secret boiled down to a lot of hard work and effort on my part, not some magical technique.

At first, that secret was just too mundane to bear - just plain old standing, intense form work, push hands practice and time?!  That was it?  Oh those mundane means to spectacular ends will getcha every time. 

I remember a great conversation between some Tai Chi experts about the efficacy of a particular type of Tai Chi Chuan in helping heal a broken back. The argument got quite heated, with a lot of "my technique is better than yours." Then a very funny Tai Chi master spoke up in a gentle voice: 

"Well, here is what we could do, let's go break some backs and do some tests and see which one is really going to be better at healing a broken back."

Well of course this stopped the conversation dead in its track - what was really going on here? Each had told themselves a story about the efficacy of their particular lineage and believed it - that made them all right. 

So what does work? How do you get more patients? Well first off, you don't "get them", you attract them. You attract new patients by telling them authentic stories. Stories that resonate with their own world view.

Let me ask you - here you are, an Acupuncturist telling someone of all the benefits of Acupuncture. Do you think that adds anything to the credibility of what you have to offer? If I have said it once I will say it 1000 times - stop selling Acupuncture and Chinese medicine! Stop telling people all of the features and benefits of your service and start telling people authentic meaningful stories!

Stop thinking that if you implement a bunch of marketing and selling strategies you will create a meaningful practice. You won't  - marketing and selling skills are part of a whole context known as a practice. In order for a practice to be successful, those efforts have to be put in alignment with the vision and purpose of the practice. 

Seth Gooden, author of All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low Trust World, says the following:

"Consumers are all different, but ultimately they want to be promoted, to be popular, to be healthy, wealthy and wise. They want to be pleasantly surprised and honestly flattered."

You are selling an experience! Focus on your patient's experience of you, your practice and your treatments. Share with them authentic stories about you, what you do and what your practice is about.

Many blessings to your success,

Dr. Eric G. Schneider, D. Min.