April 18, 2022

Growing Your Network of Non-Professional Referrers

Growing Your Network of Non-Professional Referrers

A non-professional referrer is any business or individual that has the ability to refer a patient to you, but will not be writing you a referral nor will they require a written report. We dig into how to develop win-win relationships with this valuable ne

Examples of Non-Professional Referrers who can have your business cards, clinic info brochures and help raise awareness of your practice include:

 - Shoe stores
 - Sport stores
 - Pharmacies
 - Gyms
 - Massage Therapists
 - Health food stores
 
Don't limit yourself to the obvious - think outside the box.
 - Real Estate offices (new people moving to town)
 - Hotel & Motels (be added to their directories)
 - Legal and Financial businesses (Referrals and paid talks)
 - Coffee Shops: Big Opportunity - 1) Sponsor Coffee, 2) Voucher for patients.

Treat them as well as your professional referrers
 - Add them to your database
 - Send them your newsletter
 - Give them bottles of wine
 - Invite them to lunch, dinners, info evenings

Important to note with shoe stores
 - More than likely they already work with another podiatrist in the area, so don't immediately give them bundles of business cards, brochures etc. until you establish a bit more of a relationship.
 - Don't be afraid to ask them, "who do you currently refer to"
 - If they say no one, OFFER in-house training, etc.
 - If they decline, more than likely to do work with a podiatrist already.

Most importantly, these relationships need to be reciprocal, not just one-way traffic. Focus on creating value for them as well and make it be win-win.

To learn more about how to grow your practice, check out more episodes of Podiatry Marketing at https://podiatry.marketing