5 Ways to Build a Thriving Weight Loss Practice You Enjoy - Part 2

Do you ever feel like you are working very hard and not getting anywhere?  You start each day with great goals and intentions and yet, at the end of the day you feel as if you spent all your time putting out fires?  You spend lots of money on marketing that is ‘sure to work’ and yet, you have little or no return on investment, let alone new patients?  

Last week I focused on income streams that don't rely on the physician and the lifetime value of your patients. Today I would like to share the next 3 ways to to build a thriving weight loss practice that you enjoy!  

Establish a Simple to Implement Multi-Media Relationship with Your Current & Prospective Patients

Who has time for that?  I get it!  Graphics, video, blogs and the many available platforms can be very overwhelming.  You may be paying someone a lot of money to do this for you and yet you see minimal return on investment.  Or the person/company doesn’t really understand what you promote to your bariatric patients.  Rather, they create posts around the Food Pyramid or other conventional weight loss information/recipes.  That’s why we provide you with an easy to use social media calendar in Bariatric Business Accelerator each month as well as provide you with weekly newsletters for your patients.

So, what exactly do I mean by a multi-media relationship?  I mean that you don’t have to be on every platform (although some automatically post to more than one if linked properly), you just need to know where your patients ‘hang out’ and communicate with them in a variety of appealing ways (written, graphic, video) with quality information about common questions they have as well as information you know they need to know (even though they aren’t asking). 

There are many ways to simplify this strategy and the process so it only takes a couple of hours a week (if you are posting daily).  You can batch content, repurpose content from one medium to another and create graphics with many easy to use online programs such as Canva.  The important thing is to start.  Begin by posting at least once a week and try to link back to your website as much as possible so you can benefit from the added SEO.  We started this early on before it was ‘cool’ and the assets created consistently bring people to our website so that actually, in 2020, I spent zero advertising dollars for our practice.  And when I do spend on advertising, I split test in real time by posting on social media and seeing what posts resonate and get the most engagement and then use those for ads.  Also, never forget to include a call to action (CTA) so people know exactly what they need to do next to connect or utilize your services/products. 

Create Systems and a Team that Consistently Runs Effectively and Efficiently

I recently did an in-depth training on each system listed below – it is one of the benefits within  membership or purchase it separately here.  As you know, systems are what creates predictability while preserving your sanity. I am talking about predictable outcomes, predictable revenue streams, predictable growth, predictable patient satisfaction, predictable referrals, predictable team performance and overall stability in an ever-changing world. 

Can you imagine that as changes occur (a given – especially now) you find you and your team in a position to simply tweak established systems instead of constantly having to create new ones?  Systems help you and your team pivot when necessary with a sense of proactive calm instead of feeling reactive and unsure of the proper path to take.

Here are the 7 systems I believe are most important. These 7 key systems include:

• Your Team:  hiring, onboarding, and building a loyal team that serves your mission with little/no turnover (including customizable forms)
• Your Marketing:  establishing YOUR practice as the leader in your market, attracting the patients you want to work with most while eliminating the need to feel salesy with consistent (fun) strategies that don’t break the bank
• Your Finances:  determining which metrics not only diagnose but predict the viability of your practice and get your team jazzed to be involved
• Your Revenue Streams:  creating additional sources of revenue that don’t rely on the physician and support your patient’s journey and often improving patient outcomes
• Your Retail Sales:  simplifying what to sell, how to promote and efficiently manage sales online and onsite
• Your Referral Program:  creating raving patient, community and physician fans that keep you top of mind when it comes to weight loss referrals
• Your Patient Education:  engaging patients so they are excited to not only lose weight but really understand how to keep it off for life

Let’s start addressing the system that creates the most frustration for you.  Then move on from there.

Put it all Together (Without Driving Yourself Crazy)

Anytime you are doing something new, you or your team may hesitate for many reasons such as overwhelm, analysis paralysis, desire to maintain the status quo, inadequate team resources and fear of change, among others.  Once you decide to move forward though, it helps to have a very clear vision, understanding of why you are making the change or addition and then putting together a plan that outlines what needs to be done along with a timeline and specific responsibilities.  It also helps to have a ‘leader’ of the plan who oversees effective plan implementation.  Although there will be tweaks along the way, it is much easier to stay on track if everyone is on the same page and really understand the motivation behind the change or new service/product. 

I like to call these ‘blueprints for success’ and they are separate from membership since they are in depth and very specific to your goals and situation.  While time consuming to prepare, they are extremely helpful for easier and quicker success.  Little changes lead to added motivation and results.  It just takes vision, knowing your ‘why’, doing your research, creating a plan and following through.  Let me know if you have questions or desire information on a blueprint for you and your practice. You can reach out to me at [email protected].