How To Interview Physicians To Gain Referrals

The Physician Profiling Principle

Doctors will now wait in line to speak with you

Referral relationships of the future will be based on the human principle of reciprocity.

Sure, its important to be a quality provider, and provide great results to patients.

But I am talking about something a little deeper – the REAL reason why referrals happen in the first place.

This is where the ‘physician profiling’ principle comes in.

The reason it has succeeded for over 391 verifiable physical therapists is because it is based on the psychology of referrals, rather than the ‘business value’ of a referral.

Every human being is programmed with a fixed action pattern. This involves intricate sequences of behavior, ranging from a simple act of kindness to complex relationships like courtships and mating rituals. A fundamental characteristic of human reciprocity is that the behaviors that compose them occur with a predictable sequence every single time.

For example, you hold open the door for an individual in a crowded restaurant. In most cases, the individual (a complete stranger) will thank you and greet you with a smile. At any other time, it’s likely that the same individual would not never have made eye contact with you.

Human behavior is, in many ways a sequence. It’s like a film playing in the background, the same scenes following each other in a (somewhat) predictable pattern. It’s almost like the same videotape is playing over and over again.

You just need to know when to push the play button to get the desired action.

With referral relationships between the physician and a physical therapist, the secret is simple. A powerful act of kindness / a well planned attempt to add value and provide recognition to the physician WORKS.

We are not talking an old-school lunch or standing outside the office waiting to speak with them.

What I mean here is a single, decisive act of authority and recognition.

When a physical therapist attempts to build (or renew) a referral relationship with a physician, the  relationship must begin with an act of SIGNIFICANT value that exceeds the expectations of the doctor. The goal should be to ADD VALUE to the doctor and his patients, not to extract it.

When you begin (or rekindle) a connection with a giving hand, you position in yourself as a provider with significant credibility. This creates the foundation for a significantly greater number of referrals during the life of the relationship.

You also leverage the power of the most basic of human behavioral traits; reciprocity. Most of us do not want to feel obligated to another individual. It tends to weigh on us until we do something about it. Reciprocal arrangements form the backbone of most relationships, business and professional.

Here’s How It Works

Before you begin, identify

a) Which physicians you will call
b) What their specialty is
c) How you can tie this in with your patients

When you start, the goal is to:

a) Get an audience with the physician
b) Have a reason to follow up
c) Start the connection with a GIVING HAND

The simplest way to trigger reciprocity in a referral relationship with the physician is to feature the physician as a provider of choice in front of your own patients. If you publish a newsletter, send e-mails, circulars or communicate with patients on a regular basis (an important strategy), you can approach a local physician and ‘offer’ to feature him as a provider of choice in your next newsletter. This is called the ‘physician profiling’ principle. Even though some physicians will not take you on this, the ones who do are likely to be important referral sources for you in the future.

In Referral Ignition, I teach you what questions you should be asking the physician. I also teach you how to take this concept to a new level and actually RECORD interviews with physicians and create full color audio CDs for less than $1.50 per CD, and I give you templates and free resources to get your covers created. Anyone who knows how to use Microsoft Word will be able to record, create, design and create professional quality audio CDs without ANY INVESTMENT in software or hardware.

There Is ONE THING You Should Know..

This strategy is so powerful, that it works AS IS. Don’t change the script or make it more complicated than it is. It just WORKS so don’t change an existing formula.

Use this principle with multiple physicians in your area (as long as they are not right next door to each other).

You can also use this with patients. Feature patients and their success stories in newsletters and brochures (with their written permission) and give them importance, recognition and appreciation. In return, the patient’s, particularly the ones with strong social connections and large circles of influence, will become human billboards for your practice.

Just use the script provided above, and position the request of as recognition for the patient and not a favor to your practice.

People don’t like doing favors, they like returning them. Start by being at the giving and you will soon find yourself at the receiving end of an endless flow of patients.

 

 


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