Let me start by saying: even if you’re an associate in a clinic, you are your own boss. You’re an entrepreneur. And if you’re reading this now, chances are you get this already.
But it’s one of the most common misconceptions I see among associates. So often they rely on their clinics to market and bring in the bookings (if this is you, it’s no fault of your own. I’ve found many clinics lead you to believe that their marketing will be enough and your schools don’t teach you otherwise).
Again – if you’re here now, I’m going to guess that whatever they’re doing is not enough to fill your schedule like you want.
Luckily there is SO much you can be doing to grow your own business within the clinic so you can be booked up now AND if you ever leave the clinic you already have your own business machine rather than having to start from scratchola.
HERE ARE THE BASIC STEPS:
1) KNOW YOUR NUMBERS
Before you start doing anyyyy “marketing” you’ve got to know where you stand right now. Think of building your practice like a road trip. You can know the destination but if you don’t know where on the map you’re starting from, how are you going to get there? You won’t know what route to take. You could VERY easily wind up going full speed in the wrong direction.
And I can’t tell you often this happens.
Here are some key numbers you’ll want to know to give you a sense of where and how to focus:
– How many bookings are you getting per week and per month on average?
– How many of those total bookings are with new clients/patients versus repeats?
– How many bookings per week and per month do you NEED to be seeing on to make the money you want?
Once you have even a rough sense of these numbers you can determine: how much you need to be growing each month to hit your goals and where you might need to focus your efforts (ie: if a big chunk 30%+ of your bookings are new people and you’re still not busy then you may need to focus more on retention)
If you’re not sure how to find these numbers, this will walk you through it.
2) START BUILDING A PERSONAL BRAND
These days people want to work with people, not big robotic companies or generic clinics. And more than that, they want to work with humans: practitioners who they know, like and trust.
That means you’ve got to stand out as your own personal brand rather than blend in under the umbrella of your clinic. It’s how people are going to know they want to work with YOU.
What do I mean when I say “brand” here?
Your brand is how people perceive you. It’s how you (and your marketing) look, what you say, how you say it, who you say it to AND…how you make people feel. It’s how you show up, gain credibility and set yourself apart from the sea of other practitioners so people think “WOW – they really know their stuff. I need to work with them”
No pressure, right?
Don’t worry…I’ve got you covered!
Here are a few considerations when starting to build out your brand:
– Who do you want to serve? In order to stand out and get people feeling all the feels
about you, you have to be specific so it feels like you’re speaking TO someone rather than
AT a whole lotta different people.
– What do they need and want from you?
– What do you stand for as a practitioner? What are your main messages?
– How do the people you serve want to feel?
– How can you reflect your ideal client (and how they want to feel) visually – in colours,
fonts and imagery?
3) GET YOURSELF OUT THERE
Once you’ve established who you want to serve, how you can help them and how you visually want to look, it’s time to start SHOWING UP.
This is often where I see practitioners get tripped up or nervous. Putting yourself out there.
This is the stuff you can see: social media, paid ads, workshops or seminars, videos, networking, media etc.
It can be scary for sure but you can’t get new bookings if no one knows about you and no one’s going to know about you unless you get yourself out there and meet people.
That waiting game with fingers crossed doesn’t work anymore.
You don’t need to be EVERYWHERE. Choose 1-3 places where you can show up consistently and where your ideal clients are also showing up (ie: don’t bother with Instagram if you predominantly work with seniors)
Start sharing what you do, how you can help and your main messages (from #2).
You may also find these resources helpful:
4) SET-UP YOUR SYSTEMS
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: it’s not enough to just “get yourself out there”. It’s generally not going to be effective at bringing in bookings because it’s only 1 piece of a larger system for generating leads and bookings.
I see it all the time that practitioners are posting like crazy on social media and then quit because “it’s not working” but it’s because they were missing the rest of the system.
If you get up to this point, jump into this free training where I walk you through my 5 step Gain system. THIS is the complete system to go from getting in front of people to actually filling your schedule (and without being cheesy or too techy)
5) STAY IN TOUCH
Once you’ve done all that to gain new bookings, you don’t want to lose them. The number 1 reason most people stop coming to see a practitioner is that they believe that practitioner is indifferent to them…that they were just a number.
So, show you care, show you haven’t forgotten about people by staying in touch and you’ll not only boost short term retention, but you’ll begin to create loyal, lifelong clients.
One of the best ways to do this is by growing an email list. Your email list is gold. It becomes your community that you own (rather than your clinic owning your patient files) and can take with you wherever you go.
Connect with your list regularly (at least once a month) to check in and help your community stay accountable, get better results and achieve the health goals they came to you for.
You may also find these resources helpful: 3 Ways to Re-Invigorate Past Patients
6) ASK FOR REFERRALS
This is one of the easiest things you can do but often gets glossed over because we assume our clients who like us will automatically provide referrals.
In reality, while 76% of patients are happy to give referrals, only 29% actually do because it’s not their job to remember to send you business. It’s your job to help them remember.
It doesn’t need to be sleazy or pushy (remember most people WANT to send you referrals). Simply making the ask a few times a year is all it takes to gain a steady stream of referrals.
Whatever you do, don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by any of this okay?
It may seem like a lot but I refuse to provide “fluff”. I WANT you to kill it and I want you to understand what it takes to do that. I also want you to know I’ve got your back. We’re in this together and I’m here to help you figure all this out.
If you ever have questions, come find me on Instagram or book a free strategy session with me and we can map this all out together. I DO not want you feeling stuck.
Also feel free to leave comments below. I always love to hear from you!
Talk soon!
-Kate
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