(This was originally scheduled to be posted much later this month. But because of the feedback on “What Stops You” I’ve decided to share this today. Read the second reason below, and you’ll understand why.)

I recently received an email from a practitioner in Ireland, asking me to check out his website. He’s using Adwords to get traffic to his site, but is getting very few results (I cover Adwords in “The Faucet”, but he hadn’t bought the book yet.). As far as I could see, there were two main reasons why:

1. His Adword ad was about himself. It basically put his name and contact information in the ad. Patients are never interested in you as a practitioner, they’re interested in what you can do for THEM. So I suggested a change in the ad. Instead of the first line being his name, I told him to try Considering Acupuncture? with a few more lines.

The second reason is more important….

2. His landing page was wishy-washy. Among other things, it said “To discuss if, and how, acupuncture can help you…”

Hold it right there. Medical doctors will rarely say “if” or “try”. They act sure of themselves - like an authority. Not only that, they are actually taught to use and emphasize their position of authority. Doctors almost always wear white lab coats when they don’t need to, just to maintain their authority.

We all know that acupuncture is so effective, you have as much of a right to act sure of yourself as an MD. Just talk with doctors, and you’ll see that so many of them are thoroughly frustrated with their ability to treat patients. AOM fixes conditions that doctors can only treat, and often simply can’t help at all. (Treating symptoms is NOT the same as curing the condition.)

True, you can’t guarantee a cure. But everyone knows that no treatment is guaranteed. So that doesn’t mean you should act unsure of yourself.

I’m sure to some people, I seem picky here. I’m not. In Never Market Again this is covered in two places - the Authority Principle is explained in the Cialdini Principles Appendix, and Wishy-Washiness is covered in The Slippery Slope (especially Not Giving Hope and Saying “Try”). I also have a section on “How Effective Marketing Helps Existing Patients” where I explain how good marketing helps reassure patients that they made the right decision.

I suggest checking your website and materials, to see if you not only sound sure of yourself, but obviously expect patients to trust you with their health care. If they can’t trust and have confidence in you, why would they visit you?

You have the right to be confident, even if you’re not perfect.

Think of it this way:

When is the last time you or any of your friends have visited an MD and been overjoyed with the results? (In my case, never.) How many people have visited an acupuncturist and been overjoyed?

Many… but not enough!

That’s why we need more confidence… and more marketing! If you’re not marketing, you’re HIDING from people you could help. Where’s the sense in that?