Doctor referrals, which bring in new patients, are one of the most potent patient acquisition strategies. But do you know how to approach a doctor’s office for referrals? Here’re some quick tips.
1. Focus your conversation on referrals: When you approach a new doctor, be direct, and just request him or her to refer patients to your practice. It won’t sound pushy if you’ve earned it by building a reputation for providing quality services to patients.
2. Leverage compliments: If a doctor is pleased with your care quality, thank them, and ask them to refer more patients to your practice who could benefit from your service. However, you won’t succeed in getting positive feedback from doctors unless your service quality is above and beyond your competitors. So, keep working on improving your care quality, which will help build a positive reputation for your practice. This positive reputation will encourage doctors to refer patients to you.
3. Set goals: If you’ve been thinking about maximizing doctors’ referrals, the simple answer is to be consistent. Set short-term goals for setting in-person meetings with referring doctors.
4. Be specific: When asking for referrals, be specific about what kind of patients or cases you’re seeking. Tell referring doctors who your target audience is. This will help them refer to the right type of cases your way, and you won’t be wasting time on referrals that aren’t the right fit for your services.
5. Develop a doctor referral system: The law of the universe is that you’ll get what you give. Pay it back by referring patients to physicians with who you have a referral business. Doctors will be more inclined to give you referrals in exchange for referrals.
6. Expand your network: Make the most out of networking opportunities. Every time you attend a local networking event, make it a goal to talk to at least three doctors. Tell them about your services, achievements, patient reviews, and your practice’s USPs. Ask them to visit your practice or have a look at your website. After the networking event, make sure to follow up to keep the communication lines open.
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