EP054: The State of the Union for Marketing Functional Medicine with Uli Iserloh

Welcome to the Perfect Practice Podcast where we share the most innovative strategies to help you build a successful functional medicine business, attract your ideal patients, serve your community, and get paid what you're worth. Each episode is packed with practical steps that you can take to immediately grow your influence and serve more people. Our mission is to share golden nuggets from successful practitioners, technology experts and innovators from around the world. Your host, Sachin Patel, is a functional medicine and success coach, international speaker and best selling author. He's calling in all his favors to bring this information to you so you can create your perfect practice.

Okay, brother, looks like we're live. Hello everyone. Welcome to Perfect Practice. Today I have a very special friend, a dear guest, and I said that the other way around. I have a very special dear, a very special and dear friend, and a very special and dear guest, Uli Israel. Uli, thanks for joining us today.

Hey, super excited to be here. Always great hanging out and connecting and sharing our nuggets here. So I'm pumped.

Well, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. You know, time is the most precious asset that we all have and I want to make sure that everyone who's tuning in, whether you're watching this on the Facebook Live or whether you're listening to the podcast episode, that you get tremendous amounts of value out of this time. So what we're going to be discussing today is not another, you know, strategy. I don't think that Willie and I talked about this before the call. I don't think any of you need another strategy. What you need to do is strategize. And people have strategies, but they're not strategizing. So we're going to talk about that and how to get out of your own head, get out of your own way. So the good news is that it's in your head. The bad news is that it's in your head. But we're going to work on shifting that because the world needs you now more than ever. Willie and I know that, you know, we're tired of playing small. We want to all play big because the world needs you and us now more than ever. So we're going to be calling this the State of the Union Address for Functional Medicine. And we're going to take a special focus on marketing and messaging because that's what Uli and his team do best at bigboost. So thank you once again, brother. I appreciate you sharing some of these powerful insights with us today.

Yeah. And you know, I think, you know, the reason why we're talking about marketing is because marketing, your practice is really the key to unleashing the value of all your clinical training, of all your years of education, of medical school, of credentials, of accreditations. And, you know, unless you really tell the people what you can do for them, and if you're known as an expert, then it's very difficult to extract the full value of this. And ultimately it's all about our patients, that they don't get the help that you and I could provide to them and make their life different.

I totally agree. So let's get right into this. Let me know from your experience, what is the thing that's holding people back? So when I say holding them back, I want to be a little bit more clear. Holding them back from taking all this powerful, powerful information that they have and expressing it into the world. It's not technology, it's not cost, because technology has become easier and easier to use and the cost has gone down drastically. What you could do now, for $100 a month, you'd have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in software development to be able to even have access to it. So we've got to really leverage our resources and our time because there's never been a better time. But what would you say, aside from those two things which we know are not accurate reasons to stop you from getting your message out there? What do you find is that big stumbling block for people?

Yeah, I think it's this notion of being consistent in your marketing efforts, that we live in a very noisy world. People are inundated with messaging all day long. And it's not just us in functionally integrative naturopathic medicine, it's all kinds of other consumer brands that are vying for people's attention. And so for people to pay attention and actually take action with you. The important part is really that you cut through the noise and you are seen for your voice. And so consistency of your marketing efforts, the repetition of your messaging being consistent with what you say. So you keep saying the same thing over and over again, that it ultimately lands for people. That is really the key. And in part that requires that you show up yourself and you, you know, it's personalized, one on one outreach, but there's also a technology component and frameworks around it that structure this and make it easier, that allow you to create more content per week, that you get more content scheduled, that you are everywhere. And you know, again, it's about relevant content that is really relevant to your audience. You know, how can you help Them the relevant content that is positioning you as the expert that you are. It's about frequency that you're showing up enough so that people actually start to pay attention to you. You can't just show up once and hope that that moves the needle. And then ultimately it's about omnipresence. You have to be everywhere where your consumers are. And again, doesn't have to be difficult. Technology is very practical now that you can schedule with a click of a button to multiple platforms. So I think it's these three things taken together being consistent with your marketing approach and making this a priority.

So let me paraphrase that a little bit for people and if I may add my $0.02 or contribute to the conversation, here's what I want to make very clear to people is you don't have to be everywhere, okay? Because that can be scary for people. So if that scares you, that's okay because you know, that's kind of trippy when you think about being everywhere, literally. But what I think Uli meant to say is that you can be anywhere else you want to be. So I'll give you an example. I just spoke at an event and Uli would be proud of us. What we did was we geo targeted people in the zip code that I was in to see certain videos from me. So you can get very specific geo targeting. So I wasn't everywhere. I was in that room and I had four or five people come up to me and tell me, man, I see you everywhere. I'm like, no, I'm not. You need to be where other people are. And so when Uli says everywhere, I know what he means. But I just wanted to clarify that for everybody is being everywhere is expensive. Being in the right places is very strategic and very efficient, which is the opposite of what we used to have to do, right? So the marketing has gotten very targeted, very efficient, very measurable. So it's easy to quantify. And you can build rapport with people in a way like you've never been able to before now. Being an expert means you have experience. That's how people define. An expert is somebody who has experience. So, you know, don't think of it as marketing, but think of it as sharing. Sharing all the amazing work that you're doing in the world. You know, sharing people's stories anonymously. Of course you can use their circumstances and, you know, high level overview of their case. But that's what's going to position you as an expert, is you sharing your experience. And the word doctor means teacher. So it's our namesake for us to be doing that. And if you don't want to do it online, then you've got to be doing it in your community. And guess what? People will find you in your community online, because that's where people are nowadays. They're congregating online. And you can again, access those specific people who are more likely to take action. And so there's never been an easier time for us to be efficient and effective and strategic. And that's what working with someone like Uli will do for you, is it'll give you strategy and he will help you strategize. And. And so this is much easier than many of you might think, and so much more effective than many of you might think. And it can happen in a very short period of time. It doesn't take long to build up that status. And guess what? Here's where your greatest advantage is as a practitioner is that many people are not doing this right. So I go into a room of whenever I speak at a conference, these are the most progressive doctors out of all of us because they're here to learn, they're here to grow. But only 1% of those people are probably going to take any action. So guess what? You can be that 1%. It's never been easier to be the 1%. You know, now you know ever before. Now is the time to be that 1%. So what have you found, Uli, is the mental blocks that practitioners have. So we can break this down from a cost standpoint, we can break this down from an efficiency and ROI standpoint. But, you know, even knowing that, what do you think still holds practitioners back?

Yeah, I think I maybe call it the practitioner's curse. That in a way, because you're a medical detective, you are thriving on figuring out what's wrong with the patient, and you can figure literally everything out. You extend this technology and marketing as well. And so you're trying to solve everything yourself, not recognizing that that is maybe not the best use of your time. So I think this do it yourself mentality is kind of dangerous if this is not really contributing to your business. I always say it's like if this new skill of, let's say, building a website is actually making you money down the road, then yes, you probably should learn it. So that's what we do at Big Boost Marketing. We monetize that knowledge. But for you as a practitioner, you will probably never build another website again. So what's the value of that knowledge that you acquire when you do it? Yourself, People always say, oh, just going to spend a couple hours. But before you know it, it's like, you know, tens of hours are gone and this becomes the world's most expensive website. So just like, I hope you're not studying the tax code and trying to figure out how to file your own taxes. You know, you go to an accountant. I think the same should be true with marketing and technology, partnering with somebody that has been there, that has done exactly this, that has helped other practitioners just like you with exactly what you're looking to do so that you can be assured that, that this person, this agency, can really help you.

I really love that. World's most expensive website, right? So, you know, one of the things that came up for me is kind of this conversation that I could picture you having is, you know, somebody. You quote somebody on their website and they're like, oh, my God, it's. It's whatever it is. And usually it's, to the right person, it's tremendous amounts of value. And the person who doesn't just get it yet is that number is always going to be bigger than they want it to be. Right? Is this, Is that, hey, guess what? I've got a doctor that can do it for you, but it's going to cost about five times more. I can see a confused look on their face and be like, yeah, it's you. So don't build your own website. Have an expert do it right. If you want to be good at anything, be good at what you're good at. Right? Don't try to get good at something else. That's what Joe Polish would call half for you. Having a website, it doesn't have to be even micro sites work really well right now to have something that you can build over time, but get it up and running. And so that when people are looking for you, when they see your Facebook stuff online, when they Google you, when they see you on social media, they're going to look for a website. So you need to have that online presence. Otherwise you can't be an expert unless you have some sort of legitimacy. So why don't we talk about this? It wasn't on our agenda necessarily, but I think it came up for me. So I wanted to ask you this. What is your take on a big website and a micro site these days? What would you say is a strategy moving forward for 2020?

Yeah, ultimately, what we have to recognize is that your audience, your tribe in your community, they're judging you based on the content that they see, whether it's content on social media, on your website, in your email marketing. And so what you put out there attracts a matching audience back. So the key is really to be clear, what is it that you want to be known for, known as, and have matching content with it? I know as integrative medicine practitioners, you maybe you could address any number of diseases, but in your community, what do you want to be known as? What do you want to be number one in people's mental filing cabinet when it comes to a specific point? And so your website needs to accomplish this. I always say that the people that want to already transact with you, that have been referred to you from other providers or from friends, they just need very simple a phone number, an online appointment scheduler to get in touch with you. So I don't think you necessarily need to serve those people specifically and exclusively. You should really focus on the other 98% that are not yet ready to partner with you and show them that you are the one that they've been looking for all along. And for them to recognize it, you have to really point out your unique differences. You know, when somebody makes a decision on partnering with a practitioner, A versus B, they're looking at their website, they're looking at the social media, and they're trying to see, well, the prior that I currently have, I'm not happy with, who do I go with next? So they need to see how you're different from what they're currently experiencing so that they can consciously choose you. And in the absence of a website, in the absence of social media, the person that has some content out there will always be number one. There doesn't have to be perfect, doesn't have to be extensive. So I think as long as there is a foothold, something that says you're legit. And let's face it, a website says, okay, you know, if you're a real practitioner, you have a website. Doesn't matter if it's five pages or ten pages, but you know, you have to start somewhere and you have to be intentional about what you want to commute, you know, so people understand this is the person I've been looking for, this is the person I need right now. And so usually I say there are some core pages that you start out with, homepage about page services, etc. But then you can sort of talk about things in a way that are relevant to your audience. And I think ultimately the goal is to always build the relationship. You're not trying to score on the first date, you're just trying to go on a series of date and have people realize how amazing you are. And so the goal of a website is really to get people on your email list so that you can then nurture them with email, video, etc. You have a way to connect with them. You turn a one to many conversation into actually a one to one conversation. At least you have the capability for that.

I love that. And here's what I want everyone to know is that you want people to choose you both consciously and unconsciously. So part of your preeminence strategy and everything that Uli's talking about is that you want people to, when they think about it, they know that you're the right person. But we want to get to a point. And that's what your marketing does for you, that's what your messaging does, is it basically in a positive way haunts people and it gets you into their unconscious mind. And then working with you is an unconscious decision which is a million times more powerful than a conscious decision. So that's one thing that we all want to work towards. And again, this strategy is going to help you get there faster than anything else that I've ever seen and I've ever known. And certainly if there is a faster way, then that's what we're going to be sharing with you. But you know, get your presence up there. You know, some of you might have like a great talk that you did in the community and putting that on your website can build so much preeminence for you. Some of you are five to ten videos away from having some amazing content on your website. And that's all people need. I mean, if your content resonates with people, they don't need to read a thousand pages, they just need to read one or two. And if you say the right things because you're speaking from your authority, from your power, from a place of love, they're going to know that you're their people and you're that person they need to work with again, consciously and unconsciously. So make sure when you design your website, you know, there's three things you take into consideration is the design, of course, that's how it looks, the development, which is how it works and kind of how it looks as well. And then the copy, what does it say? And copy isn't just the headlines, but copy is, you know, when, when people see you, that's a copy, right? It's a copy of your body. Language sends a message. You know, most of our communication is actually visual. So the body, the language that you're putting out there in the world. The majority of it is, you know, how you're projecting yourself into the world. And videos can do that on your website. And so you. They don't have to be super long, but they have to project a message. And if you can do that, you can get your website up and running so darn quickly. It's actually just saying this makes me want to go build a website and prove to people that you can knock it out in a week. It doesn't have to be this very drawn out process. Because it's technology and because it's code, you can always recode it. So if you create something better and you want to add to it, then by all means go ahead. And if you want to redo something, then by all means go ahead as well, but put it out there. And I just can't stress enough how important this is, that we all kind of make a commitment to ourselves and our communities that they need this now more than ever. You know, there's this important tipping point and we've got to stop sitting on the fence. Some of us are just climbing that fence, some of us are on top of the fence and we can see a better world. But now we've got to jump in and take action. And that's what we want you to do. Hopefully, after this listening to this call and podcast, I want you to take some sort of action. And it doesn't have to be massive action, you know, it doesn't have to be like this epic thing that you do. Go out there, put your message out there, step into it, and don't overthink it. Because that's another thing people do and make it happen. And you know, Uli is somebody who can make it happen very quickly. Tell me, Uli, if you had all the, all the content and materials, how long do you think it would take to put the website together?

Yeah, I mean, it could be as little as a week or two weeks. You know, at Big Boost, we actually have done a lot of the research on behalf of practitioners. So in many ways we know your avatar better than you probably know it yourself. And so we have templated solution that we then customize and personalize to your needs. But I think when you have clarity about what your message is, who you want to serve, everything starts to fall in place. And I think that is one of the key things that both Sachin and I help practitioners with. Get that clarity on how you should be seen, how you want to present yourself. And from that flows Everything what you post on social media flows from that, what you put on your website. And here's the news flash. The content that you put out on social media, that's the content that you put on your website. It's not like building a website and social media. It's the same thing, it's the same message. It should be the same. And so video content is super powerful. So once you have that clarity, then just map out a series of videos that are sort of foundational videos that really showcase why you're different, how you're different, what you do, produce those. Again, authenticity is the key here. So, you know, use your smartphone, have a lapel mic. It doesn't have to cost more than $20 to get great videos going in today's world and then hire somebody to edit them, put it together for you. But you will never really find your voice unless you start speaking your voice and try to experiment and see how it resonates for you and your audience. Right? It's like for me, I've been doing this now for maybe a year and people are always surprised how late. I started with video marketing and in the end I just decided, okay, I need to get out there. And in the beginning it was awkward, but practice makes perfect. And you will develop, you know, what you're saying, what you're known for. It feels natural. And before you know it, you will come across as a very elegant speaker that you probably already are based on your training and your talks. But it's just getting enough of this content out there and you speak way faster than you write. So if you can do video, that is really the currency in 2019. In 2020, this is the most information rich medium that you can have. So you can repurpose a video into a podcast, you can repurpose it, you can transcribe it, turn it into a blog. So there's so many things that you can do with it. But beyond the efficiency gain, the most important part about video is that nothing connects like hearing somebody speak, seeing you on screen. And as Sachin said, you know, subconsciously, people start building a bond with you. The more you show up in your feed, in their lives, the more relevant you are, the more they start to like you. And you know what, you know, people really respect consistency. So there's examples of people that do nothing else in marketing other than a daily video. And I'm not saying it has to be daily video, but that's all they did. And that fills their practice. They have a wait list of three months and they're just known in their community as a guy that does these videos and has, you know, this opinion about things and, you know, slowly but surely this person is educating the audience why his way may be the right way for certain conditions.

I love it, man. You're speaking my language. So with that being said, what would you say is a way for people to overcome being on camera? Because that's actually easy, right? Like, how long does it take to record a five minute video? Five minutes. I mean, we already, unless we're overthinking it. But what would you say to somebody who does have that fear of being on camera? I know you and Jen do a lot of work on this with clients. What's coming up for people that's giving them breakthroughs? I love for somebody to have that breakthrough moment if possible.

Yeah, I think it goes back to what we said at the top of the call, that it's the mindset that really sabotages you. And what I mean by that is that it's our fear of being judged that prevents us from putting the content out there. Judged by peers, judged by customers, clients, patients. But ultimately, what you have to realize is that your role in the world is as a teacher and to serve your audience. And in order if you reframe the thinking as like, I want to serve my audience. You have so much knowledge in your head that even without scripting, even without taking talking notes down, you come across as very intelligent. And what you have in your head is so important for many people to hear. You know, we are in this ecosystem where everybody is in sort of lifestyle medicine, functional medicine, and we accept that that is common knowledge. But if you step out of that bubble, I'm pretty sure you know that how scary it is how little people know about health, about personal responsibility, about the many levers that they have to change their life. And I think that's what we need to be talking about. And nobody can do this better than you. Everybody has their own voice. You are unique. And so if you just come to video production from a standpoint of like, I want to serve the people in my community, I want to, I want to show them what I know. And it's not about bragging, it's really just they need to know this. We're changing lives with basic lifestyle changes. And, you know, you can't just drop it in once and then hope everybody gets it. It needs to be repeated. And this can feel at times like you're always saying the same thing, but people are only paying attention to a fraction of you know, what you see, they only see a fraction of your video. So you have to repeat and beat the same drum in order to get enough frequency out there to be for your message to be seen. So I think when you have this mindset shift of like, I'm here to serve and what I have is valuable and is game changing, I think that's really when you shift from, it's not about you, it's really about them, how you help them.

Yeah, we were talking about this before we jumped on the call. And one of the things we were discussing is that when people don't buy like a little widget that they don't need you, you know, nothing really happens. Right. Their life isn't ruined by buying stuff or not buying stuff they don't need, but their life is ruined by not buying things that they need or not engaging in services that they need. And so when somebody doesn't work with us because we're playing small, because we're not putting ourselves out there, because we, you know, we're afraid of our power. You know, that's what a lot of spiritual teachings teach us, is we're afraid of our power. And in fact, you and I had a conversation about this, that I've been playing small myself, and I'm not going to play small anymore. And I know you're committed to playing big. And so for those of you that are committed to playing big, you got to work with people who are committed to playing big. And sometimes that's going to, you know, that's going to feel really challenging at times. But it's in our challenges that we actually grow or we stay the same. And so if you're challenged by something, doing it will grow you, which is in the interest of your spirit and your soul and who you are and who you need to become. And so it should be a challenge, right? And we should look for things that challenge us every single day. So if you're challenged by doing a video, here's a little pro tip for you. Guess what? You don't have to share the video. You could just record it and do nothing with it. And you could bank this whole library of videos if you want. And when you feel the time is right, you can drip them out, or you can never drip them out and you can rerecord them. So if going live makes you uncomfortable, then, then guess what? Do it on your phone and you don't have to share it. Another thing I'll tell you and Uli will probably agree to this is that if we were trying to record the perfect interview and we were doing it offline, it would probably take a million takes, right? But when you do something live, you only ever. You only ever have to do it once you have one take. And you know, guess what? You have the capability of stepping up to the plate and knocking it out of the park and inspiring tons and tons of people just like I hope we are right now. So, you know, I love it. This is an amazing time for all of us to, you know, really step into that power and align with people who are also stepping into it and get our message out there. Get off the fence. Because when you're on the fence, you may as well not. You may as well be on the other side of the fence. You may as well have never climbed the fence because you see the potential, but you're not actually taking any action. And that's what I feel. Depression is. That's where I feel a lot of doctors when they get depressed or they get in a rut because they're not jumping in. And I don't want to think of this as a war, but this is what we're up against. We're up against a war with ourselves, and we're up against a war with the powers that be that are invested in people being sick. And so we need soldiers, we need troopers that have their armor. And your marketing is your armor. It protects your business from the downfall, but it also gives you confidence to get into battle and put your message out there.

And I would probably add to that that ultimately you are way more capable than you give yourself credit for. And you just have to be resourceful. It's not going to be perfect the first time, but it's better than nothing. And version one is always better than version none. And again, from the spirit of serving, you will get better. In fact, if you shoot a daily video and just for training purpose, what we found is after day four, people get over the hump and they feel more natural saying, okay, this is not that scary. And so just start practicing with whatever the flippers on there and jump in there. Not recklessly, but you have to jump in and move forward. And that goes with everything that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable. It's like hiring an agency, working with a different partner and trusting a partner with your website. But ultimately, when you look back, you will say, that was the smartest decision I did because. Because I can't do everything. I have a more important mission in life and that is serving patients. And so you want to build a team around you, whether it's in house or outsourced, that can help you on that journey go faster and really get the word out about what, you know, is game changing information and insights.

Awesome. So I know there's all these different platforms out there and it can be very overwhelming. I had my first call with Tim Grover yesterday, who's Michael Jordan's coach for 15 years, as his trainer and coach for 15 years, aside from Phil Jackson. And you know, one of the things that we learned from him is kind of a, you know, a no nonsense type of approach to make it happen. And we call these people cleaners and people who just clean up, right, they mop the floor with everyone else basically. And that's what we need right now, is we need cleaners to step up because we need a front line. Functional medicine needs a front line. And you know, I had dinner with Jeffrey Bland the other day at Mindshare and it was amazing. And he agreed. He said, you know, functional medicine doesn't have a clinical challenge. Functional medicine really has a messaging challenge. And so we need more people spreading this message. And sometimes it's going to feel like, oh, somebody else is already doing it and who am I to step in? But guess what? That person, person wants you to step in because that person can't help everybody. And they're going to need you to step in so they can help more people. And that's what I want to, you know, that's Yesterday I interviewed Dr. Osborne. That's what he wants as well. He wants everyone to step up. And this is a massive call to action. And of course your marketing and omnipresence strategy is going to help you do just that. And that being said. Oh, so Tim told us, aside from all those other things, but what he told us is that he doesn't get involved with Snapchat. He's not involved with Twitter, he's not involved with Instagram. He focuses on Facebook. He focuses on that one thing. That's my platform of choice. Uli, what's your platform of choice and what are you finding is trending well for practitioners to not just get followers but to get clients. I want you to tell me what you think.

Yeah, I think the strategy we're pursuing is mostly Facebook and Instagram. We do a lot of video content and visual content. So, you know, it resonates on those platforms and ultimately it's based on where your audience is. But I always think that with the scheduling tools that are at your disposal, I'm just queuing up one post and it goes to different destination. My assistant is doing this, so I'm just involved in the creation of the content, but then somebody else is scheduling it and takes care of the logistics. And then I just handle the comments that are coming back. And I answer comments once a day on all the platforms, so I'm not all day on social media, even though it may appear that way. And I just go From Instagram to LinkedIn to Facebook, answer the questions that are there, and then I'm done. And so I think we have to make sure that social media and all this technology is not taking over your life. Let's keep the focus on where we need to focus and have a team and a system around it that orchestrates how your content goes out, that helps you, how to be strategic with your content, what content should you publish, what's more relevant. And once you have that figured out, then there's a team that can really handle this and help out.

Okay. I love it, man. I love it. I love it. I love it. This has been amazing, brother. I know that we could jam for hours. So I'm going to have you come back on and we're going to maybe talk, like, a specific strategy that people can start using or a framework they can start using. But the first thing that they need is the mindset. They need to be inspired and fired up to help and serve their community. And that's the first objective is, how am I going to help as many people as possible? And then the next. The next thing they need to know is who's the person that can help me get this objective into action as quickly as possible and disseminate that information so that you can build that audience rapidly and quickly. And here's the thing, the most expensive thing is your time. So the longer it takes you to figure this out on your own, which I hope you're not doing, the longer people suffer. And not just a few people, but literally thousands of people are suffering. Millions of people are suffering because they don't know what you have to offer them. And so, Uli, thank you once again. I appreciate you, brother. I want to honor your time, and we'll have you back on again soon, and we'll make sure that we share a framework that people can start using. But get your mind right, folks. I'd love for you to wrap it up, brother. Let us know if there's anything you want to share with the audience and how they can get ahold of you, too.

Yeah, so that's, I think, a good conclusion. Ultimately, it's about taking action and be wise with how you spend your time. And you know you can't make more time. You just can choose to reallocate your time in a different way and be more strategic about that part. We have lots of resources on our website at bigboost Marketing, lots of guides, including how to attract, convert, attract, nurture and convert more prospects into paying clients. If you want to start there. And I'm sure in the show notes for the podcast, there's more links that we can give you. So that's probably the easiest way to connect and then follow me online. I'm Uli Isalo everywhere and thanks for watching.

All right, thanks everyone for tuning in. We appreciate you. And if this resonates with you, take some action. If you know somebody else that needs to hear this message because we need everyone, we need all the boats to rise with this tide, then let them know. Please share this with as many people as you can. The world needs you now more than ever. Love to you all. I love you, brother. Thank you, Uli, for, for being here and joining us and have an amazing rest of your day.