Jennifer McGowan had been a physical therapist for years when she got pregnant with twins. She already had 2 young daughters at home, so she began to realize that continuing to work in an outpatient orthopedic setting where she was responsible for seeing 3 patients per hour would become unbearable after her delivery. She knew she needed to find a way she could spend more time with her kids, treat patients on her terms, and make good money, so she started a cash-based PT practice. As you’ll hear, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she quickly pivoted to telehealth and then absolutely crushed it with online workshops/webinars (earning $3,500 with her first two webinars and Facebook Live events as well!)
In this interview, Jennifer shares her journey from employee to practice owner and what’s given her the best results to effectively market her practice. She explains her highly effective approach to selling packages during a discovery session, as well as pricing and referrals. You’ll hear how she uses workshops—both in-person and online—to reach her target and convert more than half of the attendees into paying customers! And we discuss what she’s learned since her recent transition to telehealth visits that allowed her to keep 30% of her existing business when the pandemic led her to close her doors in March, pick up new business in April, and once again be fully booked when most practices are seriously struggling.
More specifically, we discuss these cash-based practice topics:
- What it takes to feel qualified to specialize in a particular niche when you aren’t already a recognized expert in that area.
- How Jennifer juggled the responsibilities of having 4 small children at home while simultaneously starting a private cash-based practice.
- Where she found strong patient referral sources and what she does to encourage them to send her cash-pay patients.
- Why you shouldn’t expect an automatic flow of new business if you opt to lease space to or from a potential referral source…(and my story of how I got burned doing something similar)
- How she sells packages to new patients to improve program completion rates, overall patient results, and of course, cash flow.
- The huge advantages that came from choosing a practice niche that is vastly underserved so that patients are desperate for help, and factors you should consider when doing the same.
- How Jennifer launched telehealth to compensate for closing her doors during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and was able to re-fill her private practice in just a couple months.
- How she marketed a Facebook Live event that converted 6 of 13 attendees into new patients that will bring thousands of dollars into the practice.
- Clever tips to help motivate workshop attendees to sign up for a discovery session during the event, and maximize your ROI when hosting these workshops.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Interested in the cash-based private practice model?
>> Click Here to learn how to start your own Cash-Based Practice <<
