Top 5 Tips for Building Partnerships

Over the past few weeks, I have been writing about my tips for gaining clients. One aspect that I did not mention was on building partnerships with other health/medical professionals (or any professional for that matter). I had touched on this in week 2 of my full-time practice; however, today, I wanted to go a bit more in-depth.

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!

5 Tips for Gaining Clients in Private Practice (Part Two)

Welcome back to My RD Journey! If you read last week's blog, you will already know that this is part-two of my tips for marketing yourself and gaining clients. (Click to read last week's post). I hope part one gave you a few good tips to get started with marketing within your business. One thing is for sure, marketing yourself and your services is a constant. Don't fool yourself into thinking that one ad will do the trick or one networking event will give you all the clients you need. For part two of my marketing tip series, I delve into more of my tips that revolve around the "constant marketing" idea. Enjoy!

#6 - Always Carry Business Cards
No matter where you go, always carry your business cards with you. I have handed out my card to clients on the train or even while waiting in line at the supermarket. You never know when an opportunity may arise for you to build a connection. I typically carry 5-6 cards in my wallet, so I always have some with me, and a small stack in my purse/work-bag.

#7 - Attend Networking Events
Make it a goal to attend some sort of networking event at least once per month. Join your local business associations or Chamber of Commerce to find events that would be worthwhile for you to attend. When going to networking events, be open-minded with everyone you speak with. Even if you think someone would not benefit from your services or even be interested, they may know someone who is. Also, don't just push your card on someone within the first few minutes of meeting them. Get to know who they are, what they do in business, and even goals they may have. I will often ask fellow business owners how they got into their current role and if they see themselves growing or changing in the future. Don't just talk to someone with the sole purpose of giving them a card and walking away. Make a more meaningful connection. Often times, I will wait until the end of the conversation to say, "I had a great conversation with you, would you like to swap cards so we can chat more in the future about ___?" Sometimes, I will even wait until the other person asks for my card, which almost always is the case. I also try to follow-up with a short email a day or two after the event.

#8 - Don't Be Afraid to Try Something New 
If you feel like you have been trying everything to get your name out there, you may have thought about paying for advertising. While my first paid advertisement was a total waste of money, I learned a lot about my business and future marketing campaigns. Before paying for advertisement, think about whether or not the ad will target your ideal client. My first ad was on a food placement at a diner. I don't even read those things and for some reason I thought it was a good idea to try my first year in business. Needless to say, I didn't get any clients after the ad ran for practically 4-months. Yet, I recently had the opportunity to run an ad in my local paper (FREE) and I gained 3 new clients the same day the paper went out. The second time around, my ad was much better and the paper actually reached clients in my area. Bottom line here is that just because something failed once, doesn't mean you can't try again. Be open to changing your strategy.

#9 - The Power of Word-of-Mouth 
I would say about 80% of my clients and 100% of my contracts have been from word-out-mouth marketing. It is oh so powerful! How people perceive their health and nutrition is often very personal (and emotional), so having a warm referral from a friend or family member will make it much more likely that they will use your services versus searching out another Dietitian (even if they are closer). I have spoken at conferences and had audience members refer businesses to me. I have done lunch-and-learns and had my facility contact recommend me to other partners for cooking classes. I have even had Dietitians recommend me to other RDs for help on starting a business. Do not assume that in order to get clients you need to pay for ads or marketing in some way.

#10 - Do Your Best Always
Tips #9 and #10 really go together in the marketing sense. Word-of-mouth marketing is so strong when you make a positive impact on someone. To put it simply, if you are good at what you do, your work/service sells itself. If your clients/partners see that you have a passion for nutrition and really go above and beyond for their needs, then they will have no trouble singing your praises. Take your role seriously in any opportunity you have, whether free or paid. Even if you feel like an event is not worth your while (once you have arrived), still strive to perform and show your best side. This includes the idea that you should not "burn your bridges" because I always find a previous connection resurfaces later in my business. I tell my interns and any new RDs I work with that, "You never know who is watching." As I mentioned previously, I have had a lot of big contracts form after someone recommended me after hearing me speak. Again, the person who saw you may not be your ideal client; however, who they recommend you to just may be. Bottom line, do your best, even if you think no one is watching (or reading).

What marketing tip has helped you the most? Share with me how this post has helped you or share another tip you have for gaining clients!

5 Tips for Gaining Clients in Private Practice (Part One)

Whether you are new to entrepreneurship or even seasoned, you may wonder to yourself, "How can I gain clients?"

As a Dietitian in private practice, I often struggled with the best way to grow my clientele since my undergrad and graduate courses had little to no focus on marketing. You can do a simple Google search and find millions of results for the topic of marketing; however, I wanted to give a "tried and true" perspective. This is a combination of what not only worked well for me, but also, other dietitians in similar positions. While I am by no means an expert, I know that someone out there might benefit from my information. This blog is going to be broken down into a two-part series, so look out for the second round of tips next week!

#1 - Have an Internet/Social Media Presence
People want to know a bit about you before committing to your services. Some of my clients found me from a Google search and others have been passive followers of my Facebook page and suddenly had a need for my services. You can really run the full gambit with an Internet presence. I currently have a website, 2 blogs, Instagram, two Facebook pages, and Twitter profile. I also created a FREE listing with "Google My Business," which helps me to stand out a bit in search results. You don't necessarily need to use every social media platform nor do you need to do everything at once. The key is finding which is the best for you (and your clients) now. This means identifying where your clients frequent the most. I started blogging back in my undergrad, then created a website, and then added my FB pages. Take it one step at a time and build as you see fit.

#2 - Look for the Secondary Benefit
I feel that my blogs add to my credibility and provide some extra tips/resources to my current clients. My Instagram shows clients how healthy food can look (and taste) good. There have been times where I am out somewhere and a fellow RD or even an entrepreneur in an unrelated business will say that they read my latest blog and it was really helpful. I have also had food companies reach out to partner with me after seeing pictures I posted or blogs I have written. So, while you may not see single clients reaching out to you for counseling services, down the line, a new business opportunity may arise due to them reading your blog and seeing your work. So, do keep it professional, credible, and useful to your audience.

#3 - Build an Easy-to-Access Website
Ultimately, your website is one of the first things I would get up and running, especially if you are in practice already. Clients want to learn about you, the services you offer, and how to contact you when they are ready. When you create your website (or have a designer do so), make sure it is easy to navigate. I have had a few clients say they chose my practice because my website gave them the information they needed quickly (i.e. contact info, services, about me). You can certainly hire someone to build a website for you; however, I did it myself and I like that I can just pop in to update things whenever I want. I also chose not to include a pop-up ad on my website landing page because I find it annoying when I am looking for information and all these boxes keep showing up to get me to subscribe via email. This was just a personal preference for me; however, I would challenge you to think from your client's perspective when designing your website layout.

#4 - Be Consistent in Social Media Postings 
Whatever social media platform you use, try to be consistent in when/how you post. For my Facebook pages, I have a schedule of which days I post to which site (I have one for nutrition and one for RDs). I also typically post 3-4 times a month (Sundays) with my RD blog and 2 times per month (Thursdays) with my PorrazzaNutrition blog. I also have monthly themes (i.e. greens for March, holiday tips for Nov/Dec) and even daily themes (Motivation Monday), which can really help with content creation. When you recommend your blog or page to any client or fellow RD, you want to have content for them to see now and future content to keep them interested. Otherwise, why should they follow you if they won't get anything out of it? I also limit the number of "selling myself" posts to 1-2 per month. People don't want to follow you and hear a pitch every other day. Mix in your own work, general tips, blog/page shares, and your services to give a nice blend to your reader/audience.

#5 - Become an Insurance Provider
While you certainly don't need to be an insurance provider to have a private practice, I will say, it helps a lot with gaining clients. About 95% of my current clients use their insurance. It is a huge selling point for potential clients when I tell them I take insurance and the cost for them is little to nothing. When creating partnerships, a lot of the contacts (doctors, trainers, etc) I spoke with had verified that I accepted insurance before agreeing to send clients my way. I am also listed on each insurance companies' website, so when a new client searches for a Dietitian in my zip code, I show up. Now, there may be a few RDs listed in my zip code; however, as I mentioned earlier, having a good website with information about myself, links to my blogs with tasty recipes, and tips for the client could lean them towards choosing me from the list. It does take time to go through the insurance process and depending on your business model, you may not even want to go this route. If you are undecided on whether you should take insurance, I would suggest looking at what other RDs in your area are doing. If they all accept insurance and you do not, it can be tough to compete (I am only speaking in regards to one-on-one counseling, not other services). Also, if insurance is good in your area and no other RDs accept it then that could set you apart. I have seen practices thrive with and without taking insurance, so do some research and decide what you think will work the best for you.


What marketing tip has helped you the most? Share how this blog has helped you or share another tip you have for marketing yourself and gaining clients!

Stay tuned for next week's blog Part Two of Gaining Clients in Private Practice with 5 more tips!

Second Week in Private Practice - 3 Partnership Tips

This week definitely felt more comfortable for me being in private practice. It started to feel like my career and less like I was on a vacation from the full-time job I left! I focused a lot on building partnerships and reaching out to different facilities to find out if they had a dietitian they referred to already. Two major things I learned were that I should have looked back at the business plan I made in grad school for my practice and that I should have thought more about who/what I wanted to target before spending time researching every facility in my area (thank goodness for my intern). This week, my plan is to develop a more clear marketing and outreach strategy so my efforts are more targeted.

Although it was close to the holidays, I wanted to make some connections now in order to prepare for January when more people want to lose weight and eat better. I reached out to about 30 different facilities this week; however, I only spoke with about 5 that could have been potential partnerships. Three places let me know they already had a Dietitian and the rest didn't get back to me. My plan is to reach out to those companies next week. Below are the things I learned this week while trying to build partnerships:

1. You can't expect to partner with everyone. 
As I just mentioned, I started by gathering a list of practically every gym, doctor's office, community center, you name it, in my area. After a few calls and emails, I realized that this was a terrible strategy. I needed to narrow down my focus first and I began to think about the facilities that I would want to partner with. Fitness centers and community centers were ones that I felt would make great connections and they also may be a little easier to speak to if they were individually owned versus with a large corporation. I also realized that you don't need 30 partnerships to be successful. I already had 5 good ones from the last year or so and that drove a nice amount of clientele to me. I don't want to spread myself too thin and not provide a quality interaction or service to those I do end up partnering with.

2. Think about the method you are using for outreach.
When I first thought about reaching out to companies/doctors' offices, my plan was to just call around to everyone on the list I had developed. I planned a short blurb of what to say when I called. I realized that it was hard to just cold call without knowing who to speak with and when you would get off of hold. I decided to send an email first with a short description about myself and reason for contact. I linked my website and contact information and stated I would follow-up in person. This initial email helped me weed out those who already had Dietitians and also narrow down the correct contact person. I have heard from other Dietitians that they prefer to just show up in the office and try to speak to someone. Depending on how you present yourself, either way could work just fine. One thing to remember here is that in any initial contact (whether it is email, phone, or in-person) be sure to state how the partnership can benefit them.

3. Prep before your meeting with potential partners. 
Before I went in for a meeting with any potential partner, I did a more involved investigation on their company. Who are they? What do they promote? Do they have a well-developed website (could help to market having a Dietitian)? I did a little bit of research before my initial contact to be sure they would be a company I wanted to align with. I always came to a meeting prepared with my business cards, short flyer about myself and my services, and list of questions. I also brought my resume with me as a back up. I get comments from people on how young I look, and I had a few people act condescending because of that. If anyone questions my experience for being so young, I pull out my resume and show them the organizations I am a part of, my education, and past working experiences. Usually, that does the trick :) Dressing very professional (blazer and all) and being clear and concise in how I spoke also helped a lot.

With any type of new partnership, I always found that it was best to be honest about all of my concerns up front. I didn't want to spend my time building a relationship without fleshing out all of the details that could later harm the business. When I met with different people, I also thought about any red flags during the conversation and how this may impact a business relationship later on. I like to tour any facility before making a commitment and thinking/asking about if the clientele are really interested in nutritional services.

There is a lot to think about with building partnerships; however, the more prepared you can be before the initial meeting the better. Also, don't commit to anything at the first meeting. Gather notes and review at home (or in your office) all the pros and cons to the partnership. Often in meetings something sounds like a great opportunity (and some people can be quite pushy about it); however, putting it on paper later can show you that it won't be as beneficial for you! Lastly, be okay with the fact that sometimes you just need to walk away.