Million Dollar Practice Habits

Hey there and welcome back. I'm Dr. Vince Leone, executive producer and co-host of the Practice Builders Podcast. With my partner in crime, Dr. Kyle Pankinen, we deliver proven strategies to help you grow fast, specialize with confidence, and build profitable staff-run practices. Let's go ahead and dive into today's episode now. Hello and welcome to the Practice Builders Podcast. My name is Dr. Vince Leone.

And I'm Dr. Kyle Pankinen. We're back for another episode together. This is a good topic we think we have for you today, and we're excited to announce it. So it's gonna be— Dr. Leone's gonna announce it 'cause he's always better at that than me.

Okay, fair enough. Let's dive in here. Our title is Million Dollar Practice Habits Every Chiropractor Needs. And Dr. Pankinen put this together, and I think this is a fantastic Um, podcast idea because this is something we've been really leaning into is, you know, how do we get to that $100K a month? And, um, how do we build the practice? And how do we grow decompression? And, and what are the key differentiators between doctors that are doing it and doctors that are not? And so I think this will be really tactical, um, as well as strategic for the doctors listening. So Uh, Dr. Pankin, we got 7 million-dollar practice habits. Why don't you kick us off with number 1?

Yeah, before— and as I do that, you know, docs, it's— you might think about developing a million-dollar practice, there's some talent involved with that certainly, but most people that— most docs that get to a million-dollar practice, it's the little things that they do daily or weekly On a consistent basis. It's not a stroke of luck. It's not an accident. It's built through habit systems, uh, just some discipline, some leadership, and kind of relentless focus. So number one, I think, is that million-dollar practices, they think like CEOs. Okay.

Mm-hmm.

They're not just They do more than just show up to adjust people and then go home. Okay, they block out time for planning. They work on their practice, not in their practice. There's a difference with that. And so you kind of got to develop the mindset, docs, that You know, this is— I'm here to help people. Yes, I got to do the technical components of adjusting exam and, and doing all those things that you're trained to do and good at, but you got to think outside of that. You got to look at your business as a whole. So million-dollar practices, they know their numbers. You could ask them any, any week, where are you at for the month? You know, end of week 2, I know exactly where I'm at right now and what I got to get to the last couple weeks. Weeks of May of 2026 to get to where I want to get for the month. They, they keep track. They think strategically. Okay, I did this this year. What do I need to do next year or even in the next quarter to get to where I want to get in my goals for the following year? They plan. They look ahead. And they think big. And I think that's— if I had to really boil this all down, what's a million-dollar practice versus a non? It's, it's the thinking. It's thinking big. It's, it's thinking beyond what you ever thought you could do or can do. And sometimes you just got to open up your mind. I always say that with people when I talk about praying. I think we pray too small.

Mm-hmm.

We should pray bigger. And I think in practice and in business, we think too small and we gotta change our mindset to think bigger. So that's kind of, I think, point number 1 is million-dollar practices, they think like CEOs, they think bigger, and that is a huge factor. So anything else to add to that, Doc? Otherwise you can go to point 2.

I know, I, I— the only thing I'd add is the CEO is really the visionary for the company, right? So in other words, if you want to build a million-dollar practice— or by the way, even if you're at $20 grand, you want to go to $50, right? Or you're $50, you want to go to $75. I mean, all these principles are applicable, uh, but as CEO, like, the whole point of that role is this is the visionary. This is the one that's looking down the road 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. They have The, the plan, the, the vision that is big enough that people, their team, can then— their dreams can be fulfilled within that vision, if that makes sense. So your vision for the practice needs to be big enough so that you attract the team and develop the team that can fulfill their own personal visions within yours. So, uh, that's, I think, what Dr. Kyle was talking about in terms of the Thinking big. And, you know, look, um, we're only on this planet for a short time, really. So why not kind of go as big as possible, help as many people as possible, um, you know, and create as big a life for yourself as possible? Maybe you'll get all the way there, maybe you'll get 75% there, but it will— you'll be much further along than if you said, oh, I just want to increase, you know, I just want to increase by $5,000 a month, or, you know, increase 10% this year, like that type of thing. So Thinking big, and then strategically having a plan to get there. And I think the numbers is a big deal too. You know, the numbers and the consistency, right? Because I think I've had over 500 coaching calls at this point, pretty much since 2018. I've been on a Q&A every Thursday with our clients. So there's something to be said for consistency, doing something week in, week out that you just build. You build momentum, you build skill sets, they compound. It's like being in the stock market. You know, it's time. In the market, not timing the market. So the consistency and then the numbers, right? So if you don't know your numbers, so new patients, revenue, visits, all that type of stuff, um, just the basics, frankly, if you don't know those numbers, well, you kind of don't know where you're at. So how could you know where you're going? Um, and that's what I've said, big, big, you know, difference between doctors that are really doing well and those that are not. The ones that are, they always know their numbers. Dr. Pinkerton has always known his numbers. So, um, so that's number one, very Very good point. Thinking like a CEO. Number 2 is really obsessing over patient experience, and this is huge. And I feel like a lot of doctors really don't do this at all. Um, but, uh, what is the patient experience like in your office? Um, and we talk about here at Specialized Practice is creating a wow experience, and what that It does not mean you need to build the Taj Mahal of practices and you need to expand and do this, that, and the other. It's really about being efficient with the patient's time, delivering a world-class exam so you know exactly what the problem is and have the confidence to recommend the proper protocol for them. Cleanliness. I remember walking into our patient bathroom one time and I was horrified 'cause I hadn't been in there in years.

Oops.

Yeah, oops is right. So we dumped about 15 grand Yeah. And you go in that bathroom now, then it's like, you know, you could eat off the floor. So, um, cleanliness is huge, right? Because first impressions last a lifetime. Um, your ROF is organized. You know, if you, you know, if you're trying to sell $4,000, $5,000, $6,000 care plans and you're using the old 5-minute ROF that you do with chiro, um, it's unlikely that you'll have a success rate in terms of enrolling patients into care, any decent success rate, because, I mean, these patients are considering paying you hard-earned money. So they need to have a very well-structured ROF so they understand what it is that spinal decompression does and how is it going to create that transformation for them. Modern advanced technology. Patients expect Um, you to keep up with time, the, you know, the latest advancements. Um, and they will gravitate towards that. You know, that's why, uh, all of our doctors invest in, you know, obviously decompression tables and lasers and shockwaves, because these are the tools that are getting patients the best results the fastest. Like, always keep this in mind, like, patients want results fast, as fast as humanly possible. So if you can condense that time frame, uh, by investing in technology, I think that's huge. Um, and if someone— if you just kind of deliver the experience that patients have in every other chiropractor's office, um, one, they're not going to refer. Uh, 2, they're going to expect to just use their insurance because it's like every other chiropractic office, right? But if you're different and unique and better Well, then it starts to make more sense that they would want to be expected to invest with you because you've created that experience within your practice.

Yeah, it's really— it sums up what you were saying earlier, the wow factor. Patients aren't going to refer for just a kind of average ho-hum experience, but if they see the wow factor, they feel the wow factor. With you, the staff, the office, the technology, the exam, Reportify, all that bundled together, that's a patient that's gonna refer, that's a patient that's gonna follow recommendations and sign on for care plans. So good work. Point number 3, million-dollar practices, they sell outcomes. Not visits. And I talked about this on the last solo podcast I did, so I'm not going to beat this too hard. But what is selling an outcome? Well, selling an outcome is saying we're going to help you to avoid surgery, we're going to help you to get your life back, whatever their condition is taking from them. We're going to get you— I know Dr. Leone, this is near and dear to his heart. If he couldn't golf, life would barely be worth living. I'll pay whatever.

Yeah, whatever.

$10,000, here it is.

Yeah.

No, I mean, you, you have to connect with the patient at a level that goes just beyond selling them packages of visits or a decompression program and connect and find out What is their pain? What is it taking from them?

Yeah.

Be it something in their job, their relationships, their hobbies, and so forth. So they're really— what they're doing is they're buying an outcome that they want to get to that connects to their life, and they're buying hope that this is the Protocol. So if you can connect with them on a level that gives them hope, gives them some confidence that you're the person that can hopefully deliver for them, then you've connected and you have a patient that is likely to move forward. And so you have to get beyond just seeing it as, this is a decompression program, we do 24 visits and we do this, this, and this. What do you think? No, there's more to it than that is what we're saying here.

Uh, well said. Totally agree. The best analogy I heard on this, uh, in terms of like quote unquote selling the outcome versus, you know, the like the destination. So the destination is the visits, the decompression pulls, the laser visits, this and that, whereas the outcome is what they're going to achieve. What's the transformation? So the analogy that made a lot of sense to me is like, hey, You know, back when we had travel agents, we don't have those anymore, really. But anyways, if you wanted to go to Tahiti and you went into the travel agent and they start saying, oh, okay, so this is going to be amazing. You're going to get on this plane. You're going to sit next to this large individual. They don't smell that good. That's okay. They're going to get you peanuts and maybe a little cocktail. And then you finally get to Tahiti. No, what you want to talk about is— What's it like to be on the beach, right? What type of fruity drink am I going to have out there? What is the water like? What does that feel like? You sell the outcome and you sell what is life going to be like on the other side. That's what they buy. That's— they don't— nothing else, because all the other stuff is just— it's just a means to an end. So keep that in mind. And now, million-dollar practice habit number 4. They protect their time. And I see this as, um, probably one of the ones that doctors struggle with the most. And this is where we, um, we've covered this in a past podcast. Um, the creating the not-to-do list, I believe, was the title of that one. And so, you know, the one thing we never get back is time, and we've heard that a million times, but are you actively Protecting your own time? Are you actively having a morning routine that sets up your day for success? Are you investing in yourself with proper nutrition, exercise, planning? Are you delegating those low-value activities and focusing on your own high-value activities? Again, I would go check out that other podcast because we go into great detail on how exactly to create your not-to-do list. But what happens is if you don't do this, then you will be pulled into all the minutia, right? All the, you know, paying the bills and turning on the lights and cleaning the tables and, you know, doing this and that. Whereas if you start to isolate the high-value activities that actually, when you lean into those, they grow the practice, they give you energy and allow you to strategically continue to build. versus the activities that could very easily be delegated. They drain your energy. They need to be done, but certainly not by the owner. If you protect your time, if you value your time, then other people will value it. If you do not, other people will not value it either. So that is definitely a million-dollar practice habit of doctors that grow significant practices. Are fairly ruthless with their time. Hey there, it's Dr. Vince, and if you're getting value from this episode, please make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode. And if you know another doc who's ready to grow their practice, share this with them. It might be exactly what they need right now. Thank you in advance, and now back to the show.

Yeah, I think you actually did another podcast, Dr. Leone, called I think was it Protecting the Thoroughbred? I did a while back. Yes, yes. That was somewhat. Somewhat along the lines too, but it's, it's investing in your own self-care, exercise, and nutrition like you touched on. Those are really important parts, not only protecting your time but protecting you, because without the, uh, the CEO, in essence, the practice doesn't run. And so we need to be in tip-top shape.

Yeah, and I think it comes to just really quickly on that, it comes down to energy. Like, if you're trying to create an extraordinary practice, you're going to need a lot of energy in order to do that. So if you are, you know, if you don't have the energy, if you don't feel like you can really lean into that growth, you know, the things that are needed for growth, it's just not going to happen, right? So if You're the owner. So if, if you're not getting it done, or at least creating the plan and, and delegating the things that need to be done, um, it doesn't happen, right? So all that kind of ties into energy, like what, what is your battery level at?

100%. That leads us into 5th. So million-dollar practice habit number 5 is these docs, they build teams around them. They're not islands unto themselves. You can't do this alone, docs. There's just no way. So what does this look like? It's training and building staff around you and becoming the, what I like to say, the master delegator in a sense, where you know you have your certain roles, certain things that you're good at. And then everybody else, everything else then can be trained, can be delegated for. And this is going to free you up to focus on your most high-value activities, the things that give you energy, the things that you enjoy to do and that you're really good at. And you also have to— one thing I've learned with my employees over the years and We've had the fortune of having several staff now that we've had for 10+ years, is I try to get them to see what they're doing is more than just a job. I try to get them to see that this is a calling. You are making an impact in people's lives, and you are giving them, in many ways, helping people get their life back. And by alleviating pain and helping them move better and all these different things that we do in a chiropractic office. And when they start to see that, oh yeah, I do contribute to this, I'm giving something back to society, I'm benefiting people, I'm making their lives better, then they start to get a sense of pride and a sense of accomplishment in them.

Yeah.

And they see it more than just, oh, this is my job I go to to provide for my family. No, it's more than that. It's a calling. They're much more likely to have a higher job satisfaction and to stay with you longer if you can get that through into their heads. So you gotta build a team, but you gotta inspire them as well.

Yeah, and you're an excellent example of that, Dr. Pankinen. I mean, you built a fantastic team that has stuck with you a long time. You know, the old saying, Rome wasn't built in a day. It wasn't also— it also wasn't built alone. And so there's nothing that is more detrimental to the growth of a practice than staff turnover. It's so disruptive. You are obviously then having to go out and, you know, interview, then hire, then train, then integrate. I mean, it's just a, you know, it's, it's very challenging. So, um, building a team, absolutely crucial to, uh, million-dollar practices. And then Million Dollar Habit, practice habit number 6 is they market consistently and not emotionally. And this is certainly a topic very important to me. I mean, we talk about marketing a lot on this podcast and within our group because the bigger or the more people that know about your practice, the bigger your practice will be, right? That's the old saying. And it's as true in the '70s when Dr. Jim Parker said it And it's just as true today. So marketing consistently and now not emotionally. In other words, not seeing something tank, a campaign on Facebook tank, and then all of a sudden you're just going to turn off all the ads. Marketing works. The biggest companies in the world all do extensive marketing. So why would it be any different for a small business? And it's not. That's the reality. So practice can get to only so high in most situations with referrals alone. And so you need to expand your reach. And that is one thing that the doctors that do the best, they lean into paid marketing in addition to referrals. So again, we have other pods that go deep into what, you know, the what and the how of the marketing side of things. But we just want to emphasize that You know, if you're trying to get to, or, you know, even, even add $20,000, $30,000 a month or get to $100K a month, you are going to need to lean into marketing and do it through the peaks and the valleys. Because here's what happens, um, you know, doctor, you know, joins, uh, or signs up with the marketing agency, it goes well for a few months, and then it starts to decline. The doctor says, oh, marketing doesn't work, turns them off. You know, quits the agency. What they didn't— what they weren't able to then realize is that there's always peaks and valleys with marketing. That's why we'd like to have multiple channels going so that they can get evened out. But, you know, once you go through a valley, if you have a good agency, well, they're going to— okay, well, we need to refresh creatives or go at this at a different angle or whatever. And then all of a sudden you start climbing the mountain again. Now it's doing well again, and then you're going to hit another You know, valley. It just— that's just, that's just reality, right? Marketing doesn't work 100% of the time. If it was— if it did, everyone would do it because then it would be a total no-brainer. But the reality is, um, if you just do it consistently and you have good teams around it, you will benefit greatly from that investment, usually at a minimum 3 to 1, but usually more like 4, 5, 6 to 1.

Yeah, I can't emphasize that enough. It just— what do you hit on there? The consistency. So many doctors I see, well, I tried that for a few months, it didn't work. I guess I just— marketing just doesn't work for me, I guess. And that is— marketing works. You just gotta find what works for your particular clinic. And, and the multiple buckets that we talk about, you gotta draw some from each bucket. And there might be one month when one bucket is better than the other, but it's the consistency and sticking with it over time. And that brings us to our final habit of the million-dollar practice. These docs, they never stop learning.

Yeah.

They don't get stagnant. They don't say, well, I've been at this 30 years and I'm just gonna kind of coast out my last 20 and I'm just gonna Keep doing what I've always done. And, and that— your patients will sense that. You'll get bored, and you're going to get stagnant. So million-dollar practices, they— most of those doctors, very few will— they have coaches.

Mm-hmm.

There'd be— you'd be rare to find a million-dollar practice that didn't have some degree of coaching to go with that. They go to Seminars, not just online ones like a lot. They go to ones in person as well. Okay. And they attend masterminds where they're rubbing shoulders with doctors or colleagues that are kind of in the same area where they're at, that are trying to grow. And they're, they're maybe in a group with some doctors that are maybe a notch or two above where they are at, but that's the type, that's the group they want to get into. And so they're learning. As we've said before, iron sharpens iron.

Mm-hmm.

And you have to be around doctors that are— have either— that have been there and done that if you hope to get there as well yourself. So really, in a nutshell, your practice only grows to the level that you grow to. So there's no such thing as just coasting. If you're coasting, you're going backwards.

Mm-hmm.

You got to keep growing year after year up here in the, in the headspace. And, and to do that, you need somebody outside of you that's pouring into you— coaching seminars and mastermind-type groups. Otherwise, it's inevitable. It's just human nature. You're going to get lazy and you're going to get stagnant. So you got to have somebody, uh, you got to have a coach that says— like my basketball coach used to say in high school, he'd say, Kyle, what do I need to do tonight to light a fire under your butt? And that would always kind of like, okay, I get the message here, time to hustle a little bit more. And it's no different than in business, docs.

Well, I think accountability is huge, and Obviously, this is self-serving because I am a coach, but the reality is I have a coach. I've always had a coach. All the top CEOs, athletes, entertainers all have coaches. So, it makes sense to just model. If you're wanting to grow, if you want to get to that next level, if you want to, you know, really make something of your practice, do what other successful people have done and get a coach that has already done what you have done. Or want to do, sorry. They've already done what you want to do, and they're going to teach you how to do it. Like, that's, that's how you shortcut your path to success. But I think the never stop learning aspect of it is crucial, because if you are not passionate about, you know, improving yourself, improving your practice, and wanting to find out, you know, what are the latest trends or technologies that I can utilize and take, you know, take advantage of and install into my practice. Um, you know, it's— then you're like Dr. Kyle said, you're, you're just kind of coasting. And, and, um, you are either growing or you're regressing. That's, that's typically— it's not usually— don't stay static, right? If you're coasting, you're going to kind of slow to a stop eventually, you know. Um, so, uh, that is definitely a million-dollar habit that I've seen in our high performers. is they are eager to learn. And what's really cool is like the doctors that have been in practice for 30 years, the ones again that I see that are most successful, they're like, hey, I can always learn more. And these are the best, right? These are the ones that are really, really good. And they're the ones saying, I can always learn more. The ones that are like kind of not doing so hot, they kind of feel like they've kind of learned it all. And So, very clear distinction there. And I think that, you know, it's— and it's not something that, you know, like you can reignite that passion, right? But you just have to have that desire for growth.

Yeah. That is key, is that desire for growth. And so, if you're listening to this, I would just say this might be an overwhelming list. You're like, well, I'm not even close to a million. How am I ever going to— Pick 1 or 2 points that we talked about here.

Yeah.

And write that down and say, this is the area I'm going to start to improve on this month. And then maybe in the next quarter, work on the next one. And it's not going to be one big breakthrough. It's going to be disciplined habits step by step over a period of time. That's going to start to snowball.

Yeah.

And eventually lead to the million-dollar practice. That's kind of the— where most chiropractors, when you say, where would you like to get to someday? That's, that's kind of it. That's probably the pinnacle of our profession. And, uh, yeah.

So look, I think that's an excellent list, and I think like what Dr. Pinkham said is really astute. If you're listening to this and you're feeling a little overwhelmed, first of all, that's okay. But second, don't try to do everything at once. You know, like the doc said, just pick one. Like, we call them rocks, right? So that's from the EO system. But you pick one rock, maybe 2 per quarter. That's what we do with our clients. Pick 1 or 2 of these to focus on per quarter, right? So every 3 months, you're going to focus on 1 or 2 of these things. And start to get, you know, instill it, or sorry, install it, get better at it, get it going, and then you move on to the next one. Don't try to tackle everything at once. But what I can tell you is if you start to practice these habits consistently, like we've talked about, are you gonna see results tomorrow? No. But you will start seeing results probably within a few weeks. Like just small little changes, small improvements in outcomes, etc. And it will just snowball like the doc said, and just really have a positive flywheel effect. And you will get more and more excited about your practice, right? And which will allow you to reinvest and get, uh, and, you know, continue down this path. So, um, Million Dollar Habits, Dr. Pankinen, any closing thoughts on those?

Well, I think that's the fun part besides helping people, which I'm in the trenches treating people, and it's fun to see people get better. But I think the most fun part of being in practice is the challenge of continued growth year after year. You're in a sense reinventing yourself. And if you have a year where it's like, well, I didn't grow quite as much this year as the year before, then it's like, okay, Then you got to go back to the drawing board as that CEO and think big and strategically and all these things. And that, to me, that's one of the funnest parts, is the challenge and embracing the challenge of growing year after year. And so you just got to embrace that process, Docs, and just enjoy the heck out of it.

Yep, totally agree. You know, business It's like our version of sport, right? This is how we can compete in the marketplace. And I was listening to this podcast with this, his name's John Madsen. He, Suprahuman, I think was his company. It's a $50 million company. He's an ex-NFL player. He played for like 7 years or something like that. And he's like, this is how I compete in business, right? I like to go play pickleball. He's like, but business, like, this is my playing field now, and I love it. I love being able to compete and put the numbers up on the scoreboard. And so, you can, you know, if you, for those docs, and a lot of our docs, you know, they are past athletes. You know, you played basketball, I played football, and a lot of our doctors have been in competitive sports. And so, a lot of times you can kind of reignite that passion, that competitiveness, but do it through your practice. Do it through the growth, do it through serving people, do it through continuing to, you know, better yourself and get to that next level up and hit that $100K a month. It's 100% doable. It just takes consistency and instilling some of these habits and a lot of the other stuff that we've talked about on this podcast. But I think it's a great goal for all doctors. We would immeasurably improve our profession if more doctors were hitting $100K a month.

It would be transformative, not only for the individual doctors, but like you said, our profession as a whole. We would be flourishing. We would have huge acceptance within healthcare, within the large swath of the population, and it would be— it'd be the golden era in chiropractic.

100%. So That is a great note to end this podcast on. So that's Million Dollar Practice Habits That Every Chiropractor Needs to Hit That $100K Month. Um, so thank you so much for listening, and for Dr. Pankinen, I'm Dr. Vince Leone, and we'll see you all on the next episode. Take care. Hey, it's Dr. Vince again, and hope you enjoyed that episode. And if you're ready to grow your practice fast with high-value, decompression patients, then the Decompression Accelerator could be a phenomenal option for you. This is our 90-day sprint to help you scale with proven systems, staff-driven protocols, and full marketing support, and it's all guaranteed. Spots are limited. Head to www.decompressionaccelerator.com to learn more.