Reaching Corporate America with Chiropractic

Today’s Chiropractic

March/April 2003 Cover Story

Written by Pattie Stechschulte       

Dr. Sean McWilliams’ move into the world of hands-on care put him in touch with the need for healing at today’s business…

 

Not so long ago, Dr. Sean McWilliams was a construction worker in Pennsylvania who gave great neck massages.  That all changed one day when he was massaging his friend’s mother’s neck.  She casually told him that he had great hands and should be a chiropractor.

 

“It was the strangest thing, a light went off inside me and I got excited about it.  I didn’t even know what a chiropractor was at that point,” said McWilliams.  “I called a couple chiropractors in my town and they told me that it was an amazing healing art.  I did get discouraged after they showed me what I needed to do to get into the school, but my dad told me you can do it if you put your mind to it.  Then God just sent some great teachers in my life.”

 

When McWilliams graduated from Life University in 1995, he decided to stay in Atlanta and open his own practice.

 

“I have always been and entrepreneur, so I thought, ‘How can I make money?’  I started a small company where I used to go to a few corporations and provide onsite chiropractic care.  I was doing pretty well, but unfortunately I lost both of my contacts in the same month,” said McWilliams.  “I had nothing at that point.  I was adjusting people out of my house.  I just go to the point where I said, ‘There has got to be a better way than this.’”

 

A good friend told him about a chiropractor in Kissimmee, Florida, who sees 1,200 people  a week – Dr. Ben Lerner.  McWilliams called him and Dr. Lerner invited him down to visit his practice.

 

“One thing led to another and I wound up working for Ben for about a year.  That’s really what changed my life.  I had the majority of the skill sets, but I didn’t have the discipline or the business sense on how to truly take care of people,” said McWilliams.

 

Second Chance for Success

McWilliams returned to the Atlanta area three years ago to try again.  He opened another practice, but this time he had a clear focus on the type of practice he wanted and the techniques and procedures established to make it happen.

 

“One of the biggest things I got to see when I was working with Ben was they really did a lot of chiropractic biophysics.  Being that I was doing a lot of the exams, I really got to see a technique,” said McWilliams.  “It was one of the techniques that made the most sense to me.  I found that people really understood it because it had a tremendous amount of objective findings that you could monitor and measure.”

 

In addition, he instituted several practice management techniques based on C.J. Mertz’s teachings that Dr. Lerner used in his office.  Helping with those measures was his new office manager and friend, Julie Thomas, who ran a Mertz practice in Florida.

 

“We just worked the system that we already knew was successful at 1,200 visits a week.  Basically, it is a basic outline of people coming in, finding out what their needs are, taking them through a very thorough exam, and monitoring a lot of objective results,” said McWilliams.  “When people come back in, we want to spend time looking at their films thoroughly, going over all their findings.  We put a very nice presentation together for their care plan when they come back, including a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation.”

 

They invested in a digital projector at a cost of $2,000, but he believes it is one of the best tools he has ever bought for the practice.  “When you can go out and do presentations, you can tailor that presentation to that group very quickly and very easily.”

 

McWilliams believes that the exam is the key to reaching the patient.  “I feel it is every chiropractor’s responsibility to make sure that people receive the most thorough examinations they have ever had in their lives.  I want people leaving my office more educated, because the better you can educate yourself about your body, the better you will take care of yourself.”

 

“We take them through a lot of normals and abnormals, we explain spinal degeneration, we show how we go about doing corrected work, and we talk about time frames.  We go over their findings and ask them questions so they can repeat it back to us.  I want people to be able to give it back to me, because I know if they can, they can educate others about it,” said McWilliams.

 

Judging by the numbers, it looks like their philosophy has been very successful:  Between 85 and 90 percent of the patients they initially see return for care after their consultation.

 

Creating a Niche in Corporate Care

Another piece of advice Lerner instilled in McWilliams was to be involved in the community by doing two events in each month. 

 

“We looked at different avenues to figure out what was going to be our best return for the energy that we spent and money that we invested into different marketing programs,” said McWilliams.  “We rented kiosk space at North Point Mall for two months at a time.  We were successful with it, but I found that after two months, everybody was just so worn out because they are really long days.”

 

He realized that he needed to find a better way to reach people.  “I love to speak and educate people, so I needed to figure out a way of talking to 50 people at one shot,” said McWilliams.  “I thought that everybody has a lot of stress, so why don’t we do stress free days for companies.”

 

Since most office workers have to sit all day at their computer, he developed a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on the effects of sitting in a chair and its effects on nerve pressure and subluxations.  Then he contacted the human resources director at a small company where one of his patients worked.

 

“I put together a really nice packet with a biography of myself, testimonial letters from our patients, companies that we have worked with, community events, charity events and awards we were presented with which helps build credibility immediately,” said McWilliams.  “The packet should sell you;  you shouldn’t really have to say anything.”

 

He said the director was very receptive after he explained that it would be a benefit for the employees and that it would only take ten minutes.  They allowed him to return a week later to do the stress free day – at a time during which he could offer free chair massages, talk to people about chiropractic and check their posture.  Since it was a community service, they did not charge the company for the visit.  The human resources director simply sent out an email and had people sign up for a specific time during their planned follow-up visit. 

 

On his side was proper planning.  Prior to his actual visit, employees have already filled out a “stress test” worksheet, and his research about stress and chiropractic is clearly presented to the HR directors.

 

“Before arranging the visit, you need to check on their exact insurance benefits so there is no confusion.  We actually make it one of the slides during the presentation,” he said.

 

“We try to do at least one presentation a month and stick to smaller companies of 100 or less employees; usually you only have one person you have to deal with.  We usually know somebody within the company who was a patient.”

 

A sure-fire way he uses to get in to see the human resources director is to bring lunch when you present your packet of information.  “It is easy, and most people don’t turn you down.  The educational program needs to set the stage.  It needs to be practiced and polished.”

 

McWilliams’ practice-building technique works.  He’s been able to provide corporate care days for such high-profile companies as UPS, Canac Kitchens and Baths, Harry’s Farmers Market, AMLI Properties (and apartment company) and three area schools.  He’s also had success growing his patient base by offering new patient’s family members a free check if they make an appointment within 7 to 10 days of their family member’s first visit.

 

Lessons Learned

Following his entrepreneurial instincts and business skills learned from fellow peers, McWilliams has created a very successful clinic in Roswell, Georgia within only three years.

 

“As long as the chiropractors are doing a great job out there with objective findings and good education, not using gimmicks – it might take a little bit longer to build your practice, but I think you are going to build a really rock solid foundation and become a leader in your community.”

 

Plus, he adds, “It’s amazing watching people transform their lives.”