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4 Steps to More Physician Referrals
If your practice relies on referrals, the process of contacting physicians and making your case can be a daunting task. Here’s a quick-and-easy, 4-step action plan that makes referral marketing manageable...
Step 1: Specialize and Conquer
If you want to solicit referrals from established physicians, odds are they already have a network of one or more specialists in your field. So if you simply promote yourself to a referring physician as a “physical therapy practice,” you can expect to find yourself at the back of the line of all the PTs contacting that physician. Instead, use the classic "divide and conquer" strategy.
Pick just a portion of their referral business and sell yourself as the local expert in that niche. Perhaps it's an area where you have special training or are achieving excellent outcomes. It may be a niche that you know comprises a healthy portion of the physician's business, or one in which your competitor does not have a great reputation.
Then create a believable sales pitch for yourself. Generate outcomes and statistical reports from your scheduling and documentation systems that you can use as evidence. Call patients and ask for testimonials. Write down any specific education and experience you have in that specialty. Then create a letter, postcard, email, scripted voicemail message – anything you can do to reach that doctor -- that covers those points quickly.
Think about it – why would a physician call just any PT when the "golf injury specialist" is available to treat his patient's swing pain?
Step 2: Work top down, not bottom up
Buying lunch for a doctor's front desk staff is a classic example of "working up" the sales chain: the hope is that you will eventually get past the gatekeeper by appealing to her stomach.
A better tactic is to work from the top down. Send the physician an email or voicemail similar to this: (1) Hi, I know you may be too busy to talk to me, but (2) I'd like to offer your staff a valuable 15-minute session on how physical therapy can help patients with osteoporosis. (3) Just leave me a voicemail or email to let me know if I have your permission to set up a time with your front desk to come in toward the end of the day when things slow down.
Once you get the doctor's permission, you have considerably more leverage when you call the front desk: "Dr. Smith asked that I come in and briefly share some important information with you. We specifically agreed on doing it toward the end of your day. How is 3pm Thursday?"
Now you can market your practice with solid information…leave some brochures…and keep your lunch money in your pocket
Step 3: Solve problems
Ask yourself, "What are the three biggest problems a physician faces when referring a patient to a specialist in my field."
Based on your experience, you may know that physicians are disappointed with the summaries and reports they get back…they hate it when they have to prescribe additional visits and deal with the insurance company…or when their patients have a bad experience, it reflects badly on the referring physician.
Solve these problems with a monthly postcard or letter, each one quickly highlighting the problem and describing how you can solve it. Send samples of handsome reports created in your documentation system…share outcomes data that proves you consistently treat certain diagnoses with a below-average number of visits…or reprint testimonials from patients and physicians who are impressed with your service.
Step 4: Network, network, network
Scour your scheduling system for patients whose primary physician is on your marketing list. Call a physician who is already impressed with you and ask if you can use their name when contacting other physicians. Your odds of getting past the gatekeeper and reaching the physician increase enormously when you can say, "Dr. Brown's patient, Ann Smith suggested I speak with the doctor…" or "Dr. Jones from Memorial Hospital asked me to call Dr. Brown…"
Conclusion
Once you have all your information in place, you need to reach out to physicians. Our customers often ask us, “What’s the best way to reach physicians?” The one right answer is this: the best way to contact physicians is the best way you contact physicians.
If you are comfortable at networking events, go to them. If you’re good on the phone, dial them. If you like to teach and explain, put together a brief letter covering your niche expertise and mail/email/fax it. Start with the methods you’re most comfortable with.
By following these four steps to more referrals, you not only build referral sources, you cultivate a network of physicians loyal to you because they clearly understand what makes your practice different and why they can refer their valuable patients to you with confidence.
Good luck!
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