People Need To Feel A Sense of Power

I think we all know that most people don’t like change.   But it’s not really “change” they don’t like, it’s being changed they don’t like.

If you look closely, you’ll see at the very core of this resistance is our need to feel in control…our need to feel a sense of power.

“When our sense of power is threatened, we often resist ideas, concepts, theories and proposals that we would otherwise welcome with open arms.”

High pressure sales techniques are a great example of this point. I think we’ve all experience a high pressure technique at one point in time or another and for most of us, this sales style is repulsive and I would hope that we all know better than to try and use them ourselves.

With that being said, unless we consciously and intentionally address the issue of power in our persuasion efforts, we run a really, really high risk of generating resistance to our sales pitch without ever realizing it.

Now, the truth is, you have to have a certain amount of pressure in any sales situation, otherwise, people would never act.  They would simply hear our words and move on.

But if you’re not careful, you can apply too much pressure and end up robbing the other person of their sense of power.  …and when you do that, they hear what you say and then move on.

So the question becomes, how do you balance these in such a way as to provide your prospect with a sense of power and still remain effective in your attempts at getting them to take action and buy what you are selling?

The answer is pretty obvious…

Rather than deny the other person a sense of power or choice in your proposal, emphasize it.

Let the person know they have the ultimate power to decide and that you won’t try and talk them out of their decision once they’ve made it. The decision to sign up for care, to join the practice, to participate in the care plan, is theirs and theirs alone.

In reality, this is the only ethical way to approach any sales situation.  Anything other than granting the person the freedom to choose is going to seem forceful.  …and force leads to resistance.

I know what you’re thinking, “But doesn’t giving up our power and handing it over to them reduce the chances of them starting care?”  Possibly.  But that’s a risk that must be taken.

Here’s the deal, when we voluntarily choose to do a given thing, our level of commitment dramatically increases.

I know this might be a little taboo to say, but I’ve spent spent some time over the last few months studying cults and how they get people to become such dedicated, loyal followers. It’s quite a fascinating subject.

One of the things that cults do to ensure their followers are dedicated to their group, is they emphasize to their potential converts that joining the cult is 110% voluntary.  Cults will go to great pains to point out to these potential converts that their decision to join the group is voluntary and then go to even greater lengths to remind them of this fact as time goes on.  This way, if the convert ever begins to doubt their commitment to the group, just being reminded of the fact that they joined voluntarily, often makes the doubt vanish.

So, while there is a possibility that stressing the importance of choice can be risky, it’s still better and more effective that the alternatives.

Giving our prospective new patients the opportunity to choose allows them to feel in control of their health.  It also stands to strengthen their commitment to making the choices that they do.

I often hear about Chiropractors that tell their patients, “I’m not even going to accept your case unless you schedule your entire family to come in for an exam.”  I don’t like those high pressure tactics.  I understand the concept behind it, and although I think the intentions are good, I believe patients ultimately feel “forced” into bringing their entire family and force always leads to resistance, now or later.

I prefer to give people the information they need to make a wise health care decision and then ultimately give them the control in making that final decision to start care or not start care.

If they choose to not to start care, I dust the dirt off my shoes and go to the next house and knock on their door.  I don’t try and twist their arm and get them to sign on the dotted line.

Now, if it’s something like, “I can’t afford the care.” or “I don’t have time.” I’ll handle those objections and do my best to make it work for them.  …but I don’t spend a lot of time with them on that.  I’m not going to resort to scare tactics and try and force them to start care.  It’s their decision and their decision alone.

The ones that do start care and have done so voluntarily, make much better patients anyway. They’re happier, they refer more, they appreciate their care and they’re just more pleasant to be around.

The last thing I want is a bunch of ungrateful patients in my office that feel like I twisted their arm to get them in there. lol

Well, this concludes our seven part series on  “7 Hidden Addictions Every Chiropractor Needs To Know About.”  I hope you found this post valuable.  If you did, please “like” this post in the comments section below.  Also, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and I’ll answer them for you.