When we treat a patient, it's
best to think of the patient as an evolved consumer, who
does business with other establishments in your community.
The patient is therefore a 'client' at the local gym, enjoys
the chicken salad at the Greek restaurant across the street
from Joe's, has had the same dentist, Dr. Stanley since 15
years and uses Charlie Schmidt, the friendly neighborhood
accountant.
It takes a great deal of time,
money and effort for you as a practice owner to get a
patient, treat them and build trust with them. Other
businesses do the same, and have a list of clients that they
have worked with. These businesses are known, liked &
trusted by those clients.
This little detail is very instructive from a referral
generation point of view, since it underlines the importance
of having your own 'syndicate' of referral sources. If you
can build, control and nurture your own syndicate (with you
at the helm), you can derive all the benefits of referral
generation without the associated hassles and costs.
The best way to do this is to offer to endorse other
businesses to your patients, and ask other businesses to do
the same. This allows you to spread your wings by reaching
more individuals in your community through endorsements
instead of traditional advertising.
You should have at least 10 local businesses that are an
active part of your syndicate. Also, it's best to create
your own syndicate and hand pick the team members instead of
joining existing syndicates like the local chamber of
commerce and local business networks (which may or may not
be active and motivated to help each other).
When forming your own syndicate, you want to identify and
invite successful local business owners, since they can
potentially give you access to several thousand individuals,
while the non-business owner will have a significantly
smaller network.
Here is how you can go about it:
1. Compile a list of the top 30 professionals or businesses
in your community. Be selective and choose only the most
reputable businesses. A good place to start is owners of
pharmacies, accountants, attorneys, gym owners, massage
therapists, health spas and restaurants. Think where your
patients go to and work go backwards from there. You'll
start off with the professionals you know personally and
then you'll get them to help you in rounding out your list.
This will be your core team of 30 business owners.
2. Create this list in an organized format - an excel sheet
with names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and emails (if
available) for easy reference. You have now built your own
'syndicate'.
3. Approach this list by phone call / letter to introduce
yourself and the concept of building a 'referral network'.
Tell them you would like to make them a part of your
'syndicate' and that the function of this group is to help
each others businesses by encouraging referrals.
4. Inform the 'team' that you will make copies of this list
and send them the updated version on a regular basis. By
circulating this list, you are not just helping grow your
own practice, you are also helping these business owners
build their own businesses through referrals.
5. Each time you send an updated list, you will educate the
'syndicate' about your work and how you can help both them
and the people in their network. Over time, they'll
understand your practice more deeply and will know exactly
when to refer people to see you. Because of the regular
contact, you are going to be at the forefront of their minds
and they'll want to refer to you because you are helping
them.
6. Expand your role with the 'syndicate' by making special
offers in your correspondence, by profiling other members
and their offers to the group, and by helping them develop
their own syndicate with you as their preferred physical
therapist.
In this manner, you can transformed a 'consumer' of another
business into a 'patient' of your business and help other
local businesses do the same.
To learn more about private practice and marketing you can
visit Nitins' websites at
addnewpatients.com
where you can download his free 4 step formula on how to
attract new patients, increase referrals and grow your
referral network with a simple 4 step plan and
physicaltherapywebsite.com where you can download a
free book on physical therapy marketing.
Last revised: May 15, 2011
by Nitin Chhoda, PT, DPT
