EP124: 23 Ways to Market Your Practice in 2023 with Sachin Patel

Hey Sachin, and welcome to the Perfect Practice Podcast. It's my mission to use this podcast as a platform to help holistic, heart centered practitioners transform the world. I think we can all agree that the world needs more of what we have to offer now than ever before. And I want to take all the information and all the knowledge and experience that I've gained over the years and leverage the community and the contacts and the mentors that I've had over the years and share some of the most valuable nuggets that I've picked up over those years. I also want to bring special guests on so that they can share their valuable wisdom and knowledge with you as well. Each episode is going to be packed with valuable nuggets of information to help you grow both personally and professionally, all while moving you towards more impact and more freedom. I'm excited that you're here. I'm excited that you want to grow and learn. So let's jump right in. Hey friend, it's Achin here. Today I want to talk about 23 things that you can do to up level your practice, to reach more people, to have a bigger impact and make the world healthy, happy and whole through the outstanding work that you do. Now, the assumption here is that you do meaningful work, that you're passionate about helping people. However, you're struggling to find ways to help more people learn about what it is that you do. And trust me, no matter how many people you help, you're always going to feel that way. And it feels like there's this carrot dangling in front of us that we always want to reach towards. And so if that's you, you're looking for more ways to help people, you're looking to make this year more impactful and you want to make the world healthy, happy and whole, then keep listening and I think you're going to pick up a few things that can be really helpful for you. Now, I'm going to unpack 23 things, but I want you to know that each of these 23 things can be unpacked even further. And certainly there's a lot more to each and every one of them than the few minutes that I'm gonna focus on each one. My hope today is that you get one thing that lights you up and inspires you and you take action on it. Because it's not about doing all 23 of these things, it's about doing one to maybe three of them that excite you, that enable you to feel thrilled and feel a sense of exhilaration and at the same time, help you feel like you're actually getting something done. I want you to find something in your zone of geni, something that allows you to feel like you're making a difference in people's lives. So marketing, as one of my favorite mentors, Joe Polish, will say, is storytelling. And really, it starts with the story that we're telling ourselves before we start telling our story to others. So if you're struggling with that, I would suggest that you listen to my podcast called Mindset Mastery. It's podcast number 42 of Perfect Practice, because that's where I really break down how to overcome some of our limiting beliefs and challenges that we might be facing that prevent us from actually putting ourselves out there in the world. Now, these 23 topics, none of them, they're in no particular order, and none of them is more valuable or important than the other. But I do want you to know that the one that resonates with you is the most important one for you to focus on and go down that rabbit hole. So, first and foremost, if you are an online business, or even if you're not, it's probably a good idea to have a website. A website that is. Is easy to navigate, that's concise, that explains what you do, who you are for, how you solve the problem that the client wants solved, and that you help people in a uniquely different way than what they've tried before. So your website should be easy on the eyes. It should be mobile friendly. It should be a website that's easy to schedule from, because that's ultimately what we want people to do. And it should also be something that speaks volumes for you and of you. So what that means is that our picture should do a lot of talking for us. Our color palette should be something that makes people feel calm and at ease. The navigation that we have should feel simple and clean and easy for people to go through, because that's how we want them to perceive your business. If your website is clunky, if it's outdated, if it's convoluted, well, guess what? That may not be the right first impression that you want to make on people. Your website should also have a pixel. And if you don't know what a pixel is, then I invite you to just Google it and find out. Because anyone who lands on your website, we want to be able to retarget that individual. So make sure you've got some of these things dialed in with your website. We actually do a whole training on how to create a perfect homepage for your Website, So there's that that's available to you. But I want you to evaluate your website. Are you proud of it? Does it get the message across? Do the pictures speak volumes of you and what you do, and is it clear to people what next steps that they should take? And of course, are we pixeling people and retargeting them? Because we know that they were interested in what we help people solve. Next is you want to use social media to share information about your practice, including updates to your services, new programs that you're launching, testimonials you wanna be sharing those case studies from your practice, educational content, and really like the life that you live. Right? As functional medicine practitioners and health coaches, we live a pretty interesting life. We do things that most other people don't do, and we take for granted many of these things. So your social media can be a great platform to introduce people to your lifestyle. It can be a great platform to introduce people to the way you look at the world, the way you operate in this world. And it can be a great source of inspiration as well. Number three is write articles or blog posts about what it is that you do. You know, blog posts can be great for backlinks, blog posts can be great for education and positioning you as an authority. And you never know what can come from a great blog post or article that you've written and who might see it and what opportunities that might open up for you. We've had people write a blog article and get book offers by simply writing that blog article. So if you like writing, then blogs can be a great way for you to express yourself. And, you know, hey, they can also go viral as well. Number four is offer educational workshops. These could be in person, or these could be online masterclasses or webinars about what you do and what problem you solve and who you solve it for. You're going to want to come up with a punchy title that hooks people in and helps them understand the problem that you solve and how you solve it. Webinars and workshops are a great way to educate people. It's a great way to build trust. It's a fantastic way for you to be able to express your ideas, to share case studies, and also expose people to your beautiful, bright heart and the work that you do. And of course, for the right people, it's a great place for you to make them an offer to get on a discovery call with you. Number five, I invite you to partner with other healthcare practitioners such as chiropractors, naturopaths, medical Doctors, you know, massage therapists, personal trainers. There could be plenty of other people that you can connect with in your region that can be great referral partners that you can send people to. And of course, they can send to you as well, even if they're not willing to refer people to you. I think it's advisable for you to get to know other professionals and it's the right thing to do because you never know when you might need to refer someone to them. So build a network of healthcare practitioners in your region locally that you can connect with, that you can refer to, and who are now a little bit more aware of what it is that you do. There's a great formula for connecting with these people, and I share that in a previous podcast, but I'll share it with you right now. It's really simple. What you're going to do is you're going to go on Google and you're going to search local chiropractor or best chiropractor in your town, and you're going to look at the ratings and you're going to identify who are some of the key players in your community and you can reach out to them and then make them an offer to have coffee with them or come and see them because you like to refer clients to them. So I might write a simple email like this, hey, Dr. John, I've been searching for a chiropractor to refer my clients to, and I hear that you're one of the best. And what I'd love to do is get to know you a little bit more and to share with you a little bit more about the clients that we help and support to see if it would make sense for me to refer them to you. I love to get on a quick phone call or have a coffee in person. If you're up for it, please let me know. So something really simple like that can go a long way. And chances are most people are gonna say yes to that. One of the things that I learned from a recent phone call that I did with a client of mine is that most people, they very rarely say no. Right? It's hard to say no to somebody. They'll either ignore you or they'll say yes. So don't be afraid of getting a no. If they ignore you, then so be it. You never know. It might go to their spam or they may not read their own email, or they may just not be the right fit for you. But chances are if they respond, they're gonna say yes. And when you Go in with a giver's gain attitude, a what's in it for them Attitude, where you can refer people to them and that's how you get your foot in the door. Then guess what? They're much more likely to want to meet with you. But if you say, hey, I've got a great program that I want you to refer people to, odds are that that's not going to get you very far. So go in with a what's in it for them Attitude givers gain mentality and watch the magic unfold. All right, number six is attend local health fairs and events to meet potential patients and promote your practice. So there's lots of local health fairs that might be going on or fairs that might be going on. And having a booth or a table at these events is usually very inexpensive and it gives you exposure to a local audience which might be highly beneficial for you. You can reach potential patients, you can, you can onboard people into an opt in or a lead magnet that you're offering. You can have a contest or some sort of raffle that you do to give away some great prizes. We've had some great success being at health fairs with our little five pound fat model and introducing people to a five pound challenge. That was one of our most successful local things that we did. And the table was actually complimentary in this case. And the most it would have cost us was a couple hundred bucks. So get out there, meet people, you know, you know, shake hands and kiss babies, as they say, and do it locally at health fairs and local events. There's plenty of them that are going on. And if you want to sponsor these events, it's usually very inexpensive to do so. And it can give you a lot of exposure in a positive light versus spending that same amount of money on Facebook won't get you very far. So keep that in mind as well. It's a little known secret that sponsoring these little events that are happening locally to you can have a big impact because usually the people organizing these events are movers and shakers and they may be able to connect you with other individuals. All right, speaking of social media, number seven is to run targeted ads on social media in your area so you can geographically target people who have a certain demographic or meet a certain criteria in your local region. And the cool thing about that is you're not spending money marketing to people halfway around the world who may never use you. Instead, when you use targeted ads, people are excited that there's a functional medicine practitioner in town because they may have Heard all the buzz about it, but they didn't know there was someone local in their area can do this. So your ads can even say that local functional medicine practitioner or functional medicine practitioner in Blank City. That could be a great way to hook people in and be like, oh, they're in town. I wonder if they can help me. Number eight, use email marketing to stay in touch with people. The fortune is in the follow up. About 90% of people buy after 90 days. So if you don't have a good retargeting strategy or nurturing strategy with email, then guess what? Most people are gonna forget you or ignore you, or they're gonna buy from somebody else who they might perceive as caring more than you do. So once somebody's on your email list, if you've already got one, keep nurturing these people, keep educating them, keep informing them, keep inspiring them, and do that through consistent email marketing. If you don't have an email list, then all the gurus out there will tell you it's worthwhile building it. Getting people off of social media platforms, getting people from conversations to email is a great way to stay in touch and connect with them. All right? Another business that you can connect with. So for number nine is to connect with other businesses, not just other professionals, which we talked about in number five. But number nine is how can you connect with businesses that you can co partner with and really co collaborate with. So this could be fitness studios, health food stores. These are people that you can easily refer clients to, and they can refer clients to you back and forth and they're not competitive with you. Right. You know, sometimes if you're referring to another practitioner, depending on the mindset of that practitioner, they may view you as competition. Right. Whereas if you're working with a personal trainer or referring to a personal trainer or collaborating with one, you're not competing. You know your audience. The person that you're targeting is somebody who is looking for your services. Right. So if they're seeing a personal trainer, chances are they're interested in personal wellness and you can help them unlock a level that their trainer may not be able to. If people are shopping at a health food store, they're raising their hand and saying, I am willing to invest a little bit more in my food and my wellness than the average person is. You should be known at the local health food store. I know you can get your products at wholesale price, but I encourage you to actually go to the health food store, be their number one referrer, get to know the staff there and buy products from there, okay? You don't stock everything that they do. So buy a few products from there and become friends with the reps that work there. This is a great way for them to get to know you, for you to get to know them. Even asking the question, hey, what's the number one product that you guys sell could clue you in into some of the challenges that people are facing locally. And then you might even follow it up and say, hey, have you ever considered doing a workshop? Right? So maybe they say, hey, our number one complaint that people come in with is fatigue. Hey, have you ever had somebody come in and talk about fatigue and actually do promotions of the products that they should use locally? You know, that could be a great way for you to get your foot in the door in a situation like this. All right, so connect with local businesses. Yoga studios, personal trainers, fitness studios, health food stores are great examples of that. Number 10, offer discounts or promotions to attract new patients. Hey, nothing wrong with offering a discounted discovery call, or nothing wrong with offering a low cost discovery call to get people on a phone call with you. Because that's where the magic takes place is if they can jump on a call with you. And there's lots of different ways that you can offer promotions. You can offer a free call with a coupon code at the end of a webinar. You could offer a free call with a coupon code on social media. You could do a free call promotion through email. So there's lots of ways that you can promote and offer discounts to people to attract new patients. You can even offer special discounts on supplements, right? So you might even say, hey, I've got a special coupon code or special discount code for those of you who are purchasing supplements, I love to share that with you. That could be a great way to keep people in your ecosystem, keep them buying products from you. Or it could be a great way to attract new patients. All right, number 11, use online directories and review sites to promote your practice and encourage patients to leave reviews. So you can use online directories and review sites such as Google or Yelp and let people know how helpful these reviews are in helping other people learn about your practice. You know, usually if I'm referred somewhere, the first thing I do is I Google that business and then I look at the reviews. And of course, we generally tend to read the five star reviews and also the one star reviews and find a happy medium. But make sure that you're encouraging your happy clients to write reviews for you. And that way It's a great way to promote your practice and it's a great way to share other people's. You can take screenshots of people's testimonies of your services and you can also share that on Facebook, Instagram, or other sites like TikTok, for example. Number 12 Create a referral program to encourage current patients to refer their friends and family to your practice. So you know, as always, you want to follow the rules and laws of your state and of your scope of practice, depending on what designation you have. But a referral program, a point system, however you want to do it, can be a great way to encourage others to refer their loved ones and their friends to your business. Number 13 attend local networking events. So one of the things that I did for many years is I attended BNI and I also joined the local Chamber of Commerce because it's a great way for you to meet other professionals, to build networking skills, and to have a giver's gain attitude. There's lots of people that you'll meet, and usually what I find is the people that are attending these meetings have reached a significant or some level of success in their business and they're always willing to help and support up and coming businesses. So leverage that to your best opportunity and watch the magic unfold. It was one of the best things that I did early on because it helped me get out of my comfort zone, network with others, practice communicating my message, and I had lots of great coffee and lunches and meetings with individuals to learn about their stories and ended up helping a lot of them as well. Number 14 use online marketing tools such as SEO to improve your website's visibility in search results. So if you're not using SEO, then I encourage you to evaluate that. If you've checked off a lot of the boxes and things that we're already doing, SEO could be a hidden opportunity that is awaiting you that you haven't fully leveraged just yet. Number 15 Create promotional materials such as brochures and flyers. You know, these could be digital flyers as well to help people understand what it is that you do. Usually an infographic is an excellent way for you to be able to visually depict the services that you offer and how you deliver those services and how those services are not just better than what else is out there, but how they're different than what else is out there and what other people have done. Number 16 host a meet the Practitioner event. You could have an Ask me Anything event. You could have a open house event to introduce yourself and your practice to your community. So this could be, it doesn't have to be a masterclass or it doesn't have to be a training, but it could just be an open house where people get to learn a little bit more about you and they get to learn a little bit more about what you offer people and how you are a positive influence on your community's health and wellness. Number 17, offer free health assessments or consultations to potential patients. We do free discovery calls all the time or low cost discovery calls all the time because it allows us to practice, you know, communication skills. It allows us to do reconnaissance and understand what people's needs and wants are, where their troubles and challenges are, and it also helps us in getting new patients onboarded. Number 18, use patient testimonials and success stories on your website and on social media to demonstrate the effectiveness of, of your program. So you want to use social media as a powerful agent to communicate your case studies, to communicate your success stories and the testimonials that you have from helping people in your practice. Number 19. You know, one of the things that we've learned over the last few years is how much people value telemedicine services. So as much as people like one on one when it comes to their health and when it comes to their time, they still value telemedicine. Telemedicine because it's a great way for them to save time, energy, money, gas, transportation, time off work, et cetera, et cetera. So make sure that people know that you work with people remotely. I get people asking me all the time, hey, do you know someone in such and such town? And what I realized is that they actually wanted to work with me, but they just didn't know that I offered virtual or telemedicine services. So if that's what you offer, then make sure that people are well aware that you work with people remotely so that they can work with you. And you're on their short list of practitioners to work with. Number 20, partner with local gyms or wellness centers to offer functional medicine services. So when you work with a local gym or when you work with other wellness centers, they may not offer the services that you do. So see if you can connect with a local gym and do a workshop there. See if you can connect with a local wellness center like a yoga studio, and see if, if they'd be open to allowing you to do a workshop there. Plenty of wellness centers in your community, chances are they don't offer functional medicine and chances are their clients are asking for it and you could Be a great referral source for them. Number 21, use paid advertising. So if you've mastered organic marketing or you want to reach more people, then print ads and online ads, even banners and billboards, believe it or not, can be a great way to promote your practice. Find what works for you, but never discount the impact that direct marketing can have. Print marketing can have. Even sending cards in the mail, which is something that we do, can be powerful and impactful because it dimensionalizes you and it makes you more real to people when they see you in multiple different locations and multiple different formats. Number 22, you can create a loyalty program to reward and retain your current patients. So how can you gamify your results that your clients are getting? Perhaps if your program is centered around weight loss. When they lose a certain amount of weight and they celebrate it, they get points. And those points can then add up to free products or free services that you offer them. Creating a gamification process that can be a powerful way to increase retention. And it can also be a great way for you to be able to have some fun. Clients love being celebrated and they love celebrating, especially when it's their mentor or their practitioner who's honoring them for the work that they've done. Believe it or not, we've actually had people complain that we don't celebrate them enough. So, you know, never discount how powerful that can be. People love being recognized and acknowledged, and chances are they're not being recognized or acknowledged in other areas of their life. Number 23. Last but certainly not least and again, this list could be quite extensive, but consider speaking at local events or conferences to raise awareness about functional medicine. So go on eventbrite and see what other events are happening locally. Join your local chamber of commerce and see what events are happening. There might be some opportunity for you to speak there. There's lots of opportunities in your local community, in most cities for you to be able to speak and share what you do. And because there's not that many of us, we usually have a very unique and amazing perspective on health and wellness that I know most people would deeply care about and love and would love to know more about. So there you have it. 23. At least 23 things that you can do to market your practice in 2023. A lot to unpack in each and every one of these, but find one of these that works for you. Start where you're at and then keep growing, keep evolving, and keep spreading your message. I hope this helps and I hope you this helps you attain that next level of growth and impact that you're looking for. Here's to an amazing 2020. Sat.