5 unconventional referral partners for therapists in private practice
Referrals are fundamental for therapists in private practice. And understanding how to manage and identify your referral sources is essential.
Summary
- Establish a comprehensive tracking system that monitors client sources, revenue per referral, and referral patterns by implementing intake forms with "How did you hear about us?" questions and using practice management software analytics.
- Create and maintain strategic partnerships with complementary healthcare providers in your ecosystem (such as physicians, dietitians, or physical therapists) by conducting regular online searches for local practitioners and establishing mutual referral relationships.
- Optimize your digital presence by creating a professional TherapyFinder profile and ensuring your telehealth or in-person practice details are clearly visible to potential referral partners and clients across all platforms.
- Develop a two-way referral network by maintaining an updated list of trusted practitioners for client referrals and regularly engaging with your professional network through periodic check-ins and relationship building.
- Leverage practice management platforms to streamline referral processes, enabling easy tracking of referral sources, automated reporting on referral-generated revenue, and seamless client exchanges between trusted healthcare providers.
In order to effectively and efficiently market your business and build your professional network to ensure a steady flow of referrals, here are four things you’ll need:
- A reliable method to track how many clients you get from referral sources
- An easy way to view insights about your referrals
- A simple way to track the amount of revenue generated by each source (for example, SimplePractice’s Referral Sources Report)
- A TherapyFinder profile so you can leverage SimplePractice’s in-product clinician referral feature
Getting referrals from other clinicians
It could be 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 health professionals, the first thing you want to do is conduct a quick online search. This will give you better insight into all of the other service providers who already serve your ideal client.
These clinicians can be seeing patients and clients locally to your area in-person, and they can also be seeing local residents via telehealth.
For example, if you run a fully telehealth-based private practice, and you connect with other practitioners who also run 100% virtual practices, you’re going to get more referrals for clients who already are comfortable with, and may even prefer, your business model.
The clinicians you reach out to connect with don’t need 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.
For example, if you’re a dietitian, like Adrien Paczosa, RD, LD, CEDRD-S, think physical trainers, personal chefs, physical therapists, occupational therapists—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 above to learn how.
How a referral strategy can grow your practice
You can start building your referral strategy with something as simple as adding a question to your intake packet asking “How did you hear about us?”
Including a question like this can help you maximize your efforts and make it easier to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing efforts for acquiring new clients.
Knowing where your clients come from helps you identify pathways to grow your practice.
Tracking referrals helps you see what’s working, what isn’t, and where there’s room to grow.
If there’s a specific primary care physician that’s sent you referrals 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 work best when they are 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.
Within SimplePractice, you have the ability to easily refer out to other clinicians within SimplePractice, and other SimplePractice clinicians can recommend you when referring out, all with a few clicks.
How SimplePractice streamlines running your practice
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant practice management software with everything you need to run your practice built into the platform—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing, to tracking and managing the referral process.
If you’ve been considering switching to an EHR system, SimplePractice empowers you to streamline appointment bookings, reminders, and rescheduling and simplify the billing and coding process, plus easily refer out to other SimplePractice clinicians, all in one place—so you get more time for the things that matter most to you.
Try SimplePractice free for 30 days. No credit card required.
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