E749 | How To Build An Amazing Clinic Reputation

Building a Rock-Solid Reputation for Your Physical Therapy Practice

In today’s competitive landscape, especially amidst challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, building a reputation that stands the test of time is essential for any physical therapy practice. In this episode of our podcast, Dr. Danny shares powerful insights on how to cultivate a practice known for its integrity, community involvement, and exceptional client experiences. Let’s explore these three pillars that not only help clinics survive turbulent times but thrive under pressure.

1. Integrity: The Foundation of Enduring Loyalty

Dr. Danny highlights how maintaining high integrity can be the key to lasting client loyalty. He encourages business owners to imagine a respected figure looking over their decisions, guiding them to always prioritize what’s right for the clients.

This approach becomes especially vital during uncertain times. By consistently acting with integrity, Dr. Danny’s clinic garnered trust and support from its patients, even when the pandemic created significant challenges. This underscores a fundamental truth: a strong reputation isn't built overnight but rather through a series of principled actions that prioritize long-term trust over short-term gains.

Actionable Tip: Consider implementing a “client-first” policy. When making decisions, ask yourself, "Is this in the best interest of my clients?" This mindset can shape your practice into one that clients trust and support.

2. Community Involvement: Your Network of Support

A practice isn’t just about what happens inside its four walls—it’s also about its role within the local community. Dr. Danny stresses the importance of being actively involved in your area, whether that means participating in local events, partnering with gyms, or building relationships with schools and other organizations.

Being an authentic, engaged member of the community creates a network of support. It enhances your visibility and fosters organic referrals, as people are naturally inclined to support those they know and trust. Dr. Danny’s experience shows that community involvement can be a powerful engine for growth, driving referrals through word-of-mouth and creating a positive local presence.

Actionable Tip: Reach out to local organizations or sports teams to offer workshops, free consultations, or educational sessions. These activities not only showcase your expertise but also foster meaningful connections within your community.

3. Exceptional Client Experience: Turning Appointments into Highlights

The client experience goes far beyond the treatment itself; it’s about creating an environment where clients feel genuinely valued. Dr. Danny challenges practitioners to transform each appointment into the “best hour of the client’s week,” focusing on making every interaction memorable and enjoyable.

When clients eagerly anticipate their visits, they’re more likely to return and refer others. From the moment they walk in to the follow-up after their session, every touchpoint should communicate care, professionalism, and a welcoming atmosphere.

Actionable Tip: Implement small but meaningful practices that enhance the client experience, such as sending personalized follow-up messages, celebrating milestones, or simply creating a comfortable and friendly environment in your clinic.

Putting It All Together: Building a Practice for the Long Haul

By embracing integrity, community involvement, and a commitment to exceptional service, you set the stage for a practice that not only weathers difficult times but also flourishes. Dr. Danny’s journey serves as a blueprint for how these pillars can transform your approach to business, turning clients into loyal advocates and your practice into a trusted community hub.

Take the Next Step: Reflect on how you can incorporate these pillars into your daily operations. Whether it's enhancing your community presence, revisiting your approach to client interactions, or reaffirming your commitment to integrity, every small change can lead to a big impact over time.

Ready to Reshape Your Practice? Tune in to this week’s episode of the PT Entrepreneur Podcast for an in-depth discussion on building a reputation that stands the test of time and helps you grow, even in uncertain conditions. Your journey to a more resilient, respected practice starts today!

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Ready to elevate your practice? Book a call at the link below with one of our expert consultants today and start your journey to delivering unparalleled physical therapy.

Podcast Transcript

Danny: That's not the average person. Okay, that's a rare thing to come across. And when somebody does, it's so damn rare that it is absolutely attractive to other people around you. So if you can be that person in your community that is incredibly high integrity, does the right thing for everybody and does not compromise on that, you're going to be just fine.

Hey, are you a physical therapist looking to leverage your skill set in a way that helps you create time and financial freedom for yourself and your family? If so, you're in the right spot. My name is Danny Mattei, and over the last 15 years, I've done pretty much everything you can in the profession.

I've been a staff PT. I've been an active duty military officer physical therapist. I've started my own cash practice. I've sold that cash practice. And today my company physical therapy business helped over a thousand clinicians start growing scale, their own cash practices. So if this sounds like something you want to do, listen up, cause I'm here to help you.

What's going on? Dr. Danny here with the PT entrepreneur podcast. And today I want to share how you can develop a rock solid relationship in your practice. In short, Podcast. This is coming off the back of a conversation I had with somebody that asked me about our clinic and how we ran our clinic during covid this which honestly was the hardest time i've ever had running a business.

So we were in a very um just I would say affected area, you know the area we had a lot of restrictions around our business our practice There was a lot of uncertainty Honestly, anybody that was running a in person business during that time we had no idea what to do. No idea.

It was such a scary time. You didn't know what your staff should do. You didn't know what you should do. You didn't know what options there were going to be for your business. All kinds of stuff, right? But I can tell you like the businesses, I have friends that are like our own restaurants. And in particular, those were, it was really challenging.

Gyms, physical therapy clinics, like these in person businesses, like that, they got really challenged. And the ones that came out and were still around, they had the best. Reputations, they had the best brand that they'd built. And when I was chatting with my friend about this, it was interesting because he actually saw the complete opposite.

Like he, he's in the wine industry and ironically, everybody stayed home drinking, spending their stimulus checks. And so his business actually was like crushed. Like they, they had PR year that year. And I was like, no, man, we got hammered. Our business was down like 50 percent that year.

But we didn't let any staff members go. We came out the other side and the business bounced back. It was even better the next year. We had a PR month the following year and it's continued to grow ever since. It's one of those things where if you really look at.

your reputation your business's reputation, there's a few things you can really focus on to to drive an excellent reputation for your business. And this, these are not easy things, but these are things that everybody can do. So when we look at this, the very first thing that you can do is you can have high integrity and do the right thing every single time.

And this is. Something for me that I always think about is for you think of somebody that's really important in your life a family member a friend a mentor of some sort whatever And imagine that person was just like looking over your shoulder When you have to make a decision about whether you want to do this thing or not do this thing, and Whoever that person is Their opinion of if you it's very important to you like this is not a person you want to disappoint It's a person that's You know you want them to be proud of you and the decisions you make, the way you interact with people, the things you say yes and no to this could apply personally, but in the business sense, this is what I'm saying, how you deal with people, how you respond to things the decisions you make with like the way you may charge somebody or not charge somebody, the way that you handle a difficult conversation or a difficult employee it's being consistent and doing the right thing every single time.

With no, when nobody's watching, just imagine that somebody that's really important to you is watching. That is the most important thing that you can do because you only get one reputation. And if you look at it that way, as, as literally, it's this thing you have to protect, it's this thing you have to, make sure that you maintain.

That, that is really, it's in this invisible thing that dramatically affects your business and your likelihood of success. Because most people are absolutely selfish. Period. They're super fucking selfish every and it's the most infuriating thing for me When it comes to dealing with people are selfish generally And it's you have to force yourself to not be selfish You have to force yourself to care about other people to care about the long term positive effects that you're trying to Have with other people and make decisions based on long term that sometimes hurt in the short term.

That's not the average person You Okay, that's a rare thing to come across and when somebody does, it's so damn rare that it is absolutely attractive to other people around you. So if you can be that person in your community that is incredibly high integrity, does the right thing for everybody and does not compromise on that, you're going to be just fine.

Granted, that's also one of the hardest things you can possibly to as simple as that sounds, because in the moment, like in the moment, you do better believe there's things that I wanted to do, like that I, made different decisions on that financially were not the right move for us in the short term.

But we didn't say yes to those things. We played a long game. We focused on, providing. Value at a fair price with people that we worked with and here's what we saw during kovat when our clinic got shut down, I had our a handful of patients that literally reached out to me directly And they said danny, we'd like to buy a package of visits we know we're not going to be able to use them We just want to make sure that we can support your clinic, you know in some manner so that you're in a better place because we know that this is going to be a tough time for you That doesn't come from having a bad reputation You That comes from doing the right things for people and providing a true services valuable to them and helping them achieve the things that they want in life.

And that was actually a really surprising thing for me. I didn't expect to see that. I definitely didn't reach out to people and ask anybody to, pre purchase a package or something. It was just organically, it happened and it's not like they knew each other. They just thought, this is a business we want to support.

We want to see them do well. It's no different than somebody deciding that they're going to go to this restaurant that they really like, and they're going to get takeout. Three days a week because they're trying to support these restaurants that are essentially unable to have people You know sit down indoors or anything like that, right?

So that is the biggest thing you can do is do the right thing for people over and over again With regardless of what the short term consequences are for you Be an avid local member of your community would be number two So be involved in your community be involved in the niches that you want to work with People can sniff out a fake from a mile away if I, I spent a lot of time in the CrossFit world I've trained a lot of CrossFit gyms.

I worked for them. I taught the movement mobility trainer course. I've been in that world for a long time. And if you think you can just go into a CrossFit gym because you think you're gonna get patience from them, and that's just all it's going to be like, there's not going to happen. It's not going to happen.

It's like runners. If you want to go to a running group, it's going to be very obvious whether you're a runner or not, like there's certain verbiage they're going to use. There's certain, types of clothes that they wear. There, there's certain apps that they use consistently. And Like those things only come from people that are like a part of the community.

You can't just show up in a running group and just be there because you're hoping you talk to me about why they're hurt And then you're going to get a patient out of it. You've got to be a part of the community So figure out what you want to be a part of then be a part of it Maybe it's you know, your kid's school.

Maybe it's your community in other ways Maybe it's a you know a group that you're associated with a non profit or a church or some sort of community Group that is important to you. Be a part of that, and just people knowing who you are will actually help your business because they're going to know who you are as a person.

And they're going to want that business to succeed. And because of that, they're going to refer people to your business, or they're going to talk in a positive manner about your business. And those are the things that are happening in the background. You don't even realize. And they're very, they're very viral in many cases, depending on the person and their their status as a.

Influential person in terms of, people trusting the recommendations, but you don't know who those people are sometimes. And being an active member of a community, being like helping other people and not asking for anything in return, like that, you should do that anyway. But if you're a business owner, that's going to help your business.

And you're going to be a part of a community in that community. People are going to, they're going to want to see your business do well. And that reputation is going to go a long way. Because people ask their friends about businesses, that's just the way it works. So you can't fake being a member of a community.

The last thing is to focus on your client experience. It's the focus on not just the outcomes that you get, but to focus on the way you make people feel while they're in there. If you create an environment that is enjoyable. One of our friends, Jeremy Dupont, who owns a company called patch does a lot of marketing for the cash based world, super smart guy.

Go check his stuff out. Especially on Instagram. He has, he's really cool training that he's that he's doing on marketing. But he said the last time I talked to him about his company in his cash practice called ripple in Boston. And he said, we want the hour that people come in to spend with us to be the best hour of their week.

Like it's an enjoyable time. Yes. Some of the stuff that we do is challenging and maybe it's a bit uncomfortable, but like they're going to laugh while they're in there. They're going to talk about the things that they like to talk about. You're going to ask questions and listen to them and just be a part of, Them having a great time the people at your front desk the other staff members that are there like It's like the cheers environment of clinics Like if you can create an environment that people love to come to That they want to come and stop by and say hello Even whenever they don't have a visit like that is such a good sign that you've created an amazing place And the reputation you build from that of it being a enjoyable place a place that makes people feel better not just like physically But honestly just like they feel better when they know oh Sweet.

I get to go to this clinic today. How many people feel that way about physical therapy? Jesus Christ. Nobody feels that way about physical therapy. It is a burden. You're like, crap, I'm hurt. I've got to go to physical therapy versus if you have an awesome place where people are like having fun Oh, this is awesome.

I'm going to go to physical therapy. Like I cut out of my home office. I get to go to physical therapy and then come back and finish up my day. That's the best part of their day. If you can build that, if you can engineer it. Patient experience to be on par with the clinical outcomes that we expect people to be able to get for folks like that's a check the box.

You're a great clinician. Awesome. Check the box. It's a level playing field. Everybody's a great clinician that's going to go into a cash based practice. And if you're not, you're going to struggle there more than anything. Doesn't matter what your customer experience is like. Your outcomes have to be on point.

And your customer experience, you have to have both. And if you can have amazing outcomes and you can make them feel great and enjoy what they do with you, hey, they're going to want to come back. So that's amazing for your recurring business, right? You don't have to find as many new people, but also they're going to have such great things to say about your business.

They're going to rave about it. And that's your reputation. And your reputation means referrals as well. Referrals mean free marketing. Marketing is happening without you having to go out there and, grind for it or spend money on it. Ads or anything like that. This comes down to like it's the most compounding thing you can possibly do is Effectively build a great reputation that people are sending their friends and family your way pre sold to work with you Talking about how they once they love it And then they jump right in and they get an amazing result and then guess what you get the same thing that comes from those People if you deliver on that reputation on that promise from the person that sent them their way So that comes down to you doing the right thing for people You All the time, every single time, no matter what the short term consequences are for you being an active local member of your community, you can't fake it.

You got to literally be a part of your community to be considered a part of the community. It's pretty common sense, but I see it all the time where people are like, Oh yeah, I'm going to go, I'm going to join this gym and I'm just going to get a bunch of patients from it. Nope, you can't join the gym and not be a part of the social events that the gym does as well.

Like you got to be a part of the community. And I know that's a lot of time and it's whatever, but like being a part of community is time intensive. That's the way it works. And then the last thing you got to deliver an amazing customer experience, make it the best. Hour of their week when they're coming in to see you and that is going to snowball your practice Better than pretty much anything else that I could possibly talk to you about.

So Hope this helps you build a rock solid reputation because if you want to have a great business You have to focus on the people you have to focus on Doing the right things for them being a part of their community And then delivering an amazing service that makes them feel like they want to be there every single day And it's the best part of their day if you can do that Business is going to do just fine.

Hey, peach entrepreneurs. We have big, exciting news, a new program that we just came out with. It is our PT biz part time to full time five day challenge. Over the course of five days, we get you crystal clear on exactly how much money you need to replace by getting you ultra clear on how much you're actually spending.

We get you crystal clear on the number of people you're going to need to see and the average visit rate you're going to need to have in order to replace your income to be able to go full time. We go through three different strategies you can take to go from part time to full time. You can pick the one that's the best for you based on your current situation.

Then we share with you the sales and marketing systems that we use within our mastermind that you need to have as well. If you want to go full time in your own practice. And then finally, we help you create a one page business plan. That's right. Not these 15 day business plans. You want to take the small business association, a one day business plan.

It's going to help you get very clear on exactly what you need to do. And when you're going to do it to take action. If you're interested in signing up for this challenge, it's totally free. Head to physicaltherapybiz. com forward slash challenge, get signed up there. Please enjoy. We put a lot of energy into this.

It's totally free. It's something I think is going to help you tremendously as long as you're willing to do the work. If you're doing the work, you're getting information put down and getting yourself ready to take action in a very organized way, you will have success, which is what we want. So head to physicaltherapybiz.

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