Tip #1 - Do Your Research
It is a good idea to do a little recon before you reach out to any medical office, gym, health center, etc. Spend 3-5 minutes browsing their website or Facebook page. Get to know their mission, clientele, offerings, etc. This initial research not only prepares you for the connection; however, it can weed out companies that do not align with what you are doing. Say you find a health center that pushes a lot of supplements and has a nutritionist that gives out meal plans. If you do partner with them, would you be fighting an uphill battle? Do you agree with the types of meal plans they are promoting? How about the supplements? There is no harm in checking out the company and making the first connection; however, just be mindful of whom you are aligning yourself and your business with.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when an individual (or company) reaches out to me to partner (or utilize my expertise) without doing any research on myself or my business. I have had companies misspell my name or think I work in a different field (i.e. clinical or food-service). With a quick Google search, you can find out a lot about my business. It is off-putting to me when someone says incorrect information about my practice that is clearly stated on my website. It makes me think they didn't do their research and that this relationship is not truly a priority for them.
Tip #2 - Make a Meaningful Connection
Make your first impression with any potential partner a meaningful one. Now, this doesn't mean swinging by the place of business with your business cards and just dropping them off. Send an initial email or call-in. Schedule a good time to come in to speak with the owner, office manager, or doctor. During this time, discuss what you offer and how that could benefit the facility. Be clear about your expectations and how referrals or services will be rendered. Bring your business cards, but also bring samples of your work (i.e. newsletters, handouts, flyers about services, etc). These could all be things that you leave at the facility, which could bring clients to you.
Tip #3 - Offer a Freebie
As I just mentioned, newsletters or flyers about your services could be great items to bring by an office or health center. Often, companies will want something else for free in turn for sending clients your way. Offer to do employee lunch-n-learns for nutrition or offer free seminars on Diabetes for the patients (in-office). With both of these situations you could be handing out business cards and touting your services. A sample conversation could be, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today to brainstorm how we could work together to help patients lead healthier lives. I appreciate your willingness to leave my cards at your main office desk. Another service that I could offer to you and your facility would be my lunch-n-learns (or seminars). This would increase not only patient knowledge of _____, but also, help to get the word out about nutrition counseling. This, in turn, could improve patient outcomes and save some time for you and your staff (as in less education in the room)."
Tip #4 - Follow-up
After your first connection, schedule a date to follow-up. You could discuss a date/time to follow-up at the end of your initial meeting. An example could be, "Thanks for taking the time to meet (or talk) with me. I can plan to follow-up in a week if that works well for you." If a potential partner says they will follow-up with you after the meeting, I usually wait 1 to 2 weeks (max) before sending an email or making a call. Sometimes, people just get busy and forget. Other times, I had individuals who were not interested in my services and simply neglected to call and let me know. So, you take the responsibility to check-in and move forward with building a connection.
Tip #5 - Communicate Frequently
One of the ultimate keys to building a lasting partnership is effective and frequent communication. This could be done in-person or via email or phone. Discuss how things are going. Are the referrals working? Has there been any feedback (positive or negative) about the services? Is the partnerships still worthwhile? What things need to change? When you have that open dialogue from both ends of the partnership, it sets a higher standard for both parties and shows the level of importance. I always think about how communication is essentially nurturing the relationship, whether it be personal or business-related. If you don't communicate, you can't address issues or celebrate successes that will ultimately improve the partnership.
What tips do you have for building lasting partnerships? Leave a comment and let me know!
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