How to Build Your Private Practice with Referrals

Referrals are a fundamental piece of the marketing puzzle, especially when it comes to private practice. But understanding how to manage and identify your referral sources is the key to actually growing your practice.

In order to effectively market your business and build your professional network, here are three things you’ll need:

• An easy way to view insights about your referrals
• A reliable method to track how many clients you get from referral sources
• A way to track the amount of revenue generated by each source (i.e., SimplePractice Referral Sources Report) 

Getting Referrals from Other Practitioners

It’s easy to perceive other practitioners in your field solely as competitors, but they can actually be your greatest resource. If you don’t already have close relationships with fellow providers, the first thing you want to do is conduct a quick online search. This’ll give you better insight into all of the other service providers who already serve your ideal client. 

These service providers can be local to your area, or they can be telehealth-focused. It depends on the type of clients you’re looking for. By connecting with other practitioners who also run a 100% virtual practice, you’re going to get more referrals for clients who already are comfortable and even prefer your business model. 

They don’t have to be in the same profession as you. Think of all the different types of entrepreneurs and practitioners that fit into your ecosystem of work. If you’re a dietitian, like Adrien Paczosa, RD, LD, CEDRD-S, think physical trainers, personal chefs—anyone who can reliably refer clients that would be a good fit for you and your services.

But that’s just the first step. To build a referral network that’ll actually bring in new clients, you have to create a winning strategy that you can rely on time after time. Check out Adrien Paczosa’s video to learn how. 

Discover more How To videos from Adrien Paczosa here.

How a Referral Strategy Can Grow Your Practice

You can start building your referral strategy with something as small as adding a question to your intake packet like ‘How did you hear about us?’ This simple addition can help you maximize your efforts and make it easier to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing efforts for acquiring new clients.

Track referrals to understand what’s working, what’s not, and which sources could use some extra TLC. Knowing where your clients come from helps you identify pathways to grow your practice. If there’s a specific primary care physician that’s helped in the past, you may want to periodically reach out to make sure you stay at the top of their minds. Use your network of colleagues and fellow business owners to make your referral strategy even more effective. 

Remember, referrals always work best when it’s a two-way street. When you also have a comprehensive list of service providers who you can refer out to, that makes you a more valuable and effective practitioner as well.