OK – I admit it – gulp – I have been watching the trashy Aussie version of “I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here” ( please keep this to yourself).
For those not familiar with this absolute GIANT of television programming – this reality show essentially sends a list of low level celebrities into the jungle – where they are slowly starved (so they become irritable and snarly to each other) – and made to endure horrible wildlife (ie snake) encounters.
Absolute riveting television – especially for a cricket fan like me – when the main celebrity is one of our greatest ever cricketers –Shane Warne.
Throw in a former Newcastle Knights (my football team) captain – who I have met a few times – ie Paul Harragon– and I find it hard not to watch this trainwreck of a show.
However – the show itself made me think about times in my professional life when I have felt so low and defeated that I just wanted to scream the words:
“I am a Physio – Get Me Out of Here”.
One of those times was at the end of a long and painful series of doctor visits to a medical practice located near one of my Sydney clinics.
Anyone who has endured the pain of a doctors visit – knows what I am talking about.
If you are lucky you have been able to lock in a time to meet doctor for the actual visit – however as you quickly find out – the doctor is rarely punctual and you spend an agonizing amount of time – waiting for the doctor to meet with you.
If you are not able to secure a set appointment with the doctor – the receptionist asks you to sit in the waiting room (next to the drug company rep who is at least getting paid by the hour) and hope the doctor finally has pity on your soul and gives you a few minutes of their time.
Then – when you finally get to meet the doctor – you nervously deliver your pitch about why they should refer to you – give them a referral pad (so they have something to place in their rubbish bin when you leave) – shake their hand and thank god that painful experience is over for a while.
Eventually realizing you never get a referral from them anyway.
Sound familiar?
It is times like this – sitting in the doctors waiting room – that you wonder how – after years of study and training – you ended up in such a painful and demoralizing situation – and wanted to scream the words:
“I’m a (insert your health profession) – get me out of here“.
The reason for this painful position you have found yourself in is actually very simple.
It is a classic example of “Push Marketing”
You are visiting random local doctors and effectively PUSHINGyour services onto the doctor – without really identifying if the doctor is at least remotely interested in what you have to offer their patients.
Whilst this approach can sometimes work – it can be soul destroying and very labour intensive.
What we prefer to do when marketing professional services like allied health is to use a concept called “Pull Marketing” – where we pre-select the referring doctors we want to target by getting them to raise their hands to show they are interested in what you offer.
Potential referrers then actually contact YOU and ask for more information about your products and services – reducing the hours of wasted time visiting doctors who are really not interested in your services at all.
So my challenge to you is to think about innovative and effective ways you can contact your local doctors with offers and materials they will be so interested in – they contact you for more information.
It may be a free assessment for the doctor themselves, a DVD, a report, or even a seminar or webinar that sparks their interest.
As Dan Kennedy says – you want to go from being an “Unwanted Pest” to a “Welcome Guest” in the eyes of the referring doctor.
To do that you must identify the frustrations of the doctor and present information on how you can help them solve this frustration.
This “PULL MARKETING” system can be very powerful – when done correctly – and it is one of the key areas I will be covering in my presentation “How to Increase Doctor Referrals – the Smart Way” – at the live referral marketing seminar in March 2016 in Sydney.
I hope you can make it.
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