[00:00:00] Welcome to the Dietitian Boss podcast. I'm Libby Rothschild, creator of Dietitian Boss. After almost four years of sitting in my dimly lit windowless clinical office, I had enough. I wanted to feel like my work mattered, so I did something about it. I created a [00:00:20] program that empowers dietitians and nutritionists to create their own private practice from scratch, following my proprietary system.
[00:00:27] Before I did this, I had a private practice of my own while working a full time job, and I learned a lot about building relationships, marketing, and sales, and I'm so excited to be able to share my proprietary framework with [00:00:40] you.
[00:00:44] Hello and welcome. I'm here today with coach Heather. We're really excited to share with you sales strategies for dietitians and how you can sell your services to grow your dietitian business. So, in today's episode, we're going to give you 3 tips [00:01:00] and share some of our experiences and stories and working with our clients, because it's really important to prioritize sales and sales strategies.
[00:01:08] And we know that a lot of you get nervous when it comes to sales and feel uncomfortable, and we really want to reframe that sales is something that we all need as registered dietitians to create a profitable business and to [00:01:20] sustain our business. So without further ado, welcome to today's episode, coach Heather, super happy to have you here.
[00:01:27] Thank you for having me. Oh, I'm thrilled to have you and and share some of your experiences for those of you that haven't heard a previous episode with Heather. She supports coaching in our program, and she is not only a natural [00:01:40] path, but she had a private practice for years. And now she travels the world and you want to share just 30, 60 seconds about what you do now, Heather, for those that might not know you or need a reminder about how great you are.
[00:01:50] Oh, thanks Libby. Well, so now I live in Peru. I closed my brick and mortar practice and took this laptop [00:02:00] lifestyle to Peru, which I know a lot of us desire to be able to work from wherever, whenever we want. And in Peru, I have a retreat center there where we receive clients from all over the world to explore their own healing process and also to explore the beautiful country of Peru.[00:02:20]
[00:02:20] That's it's amazing. It's still on my list of places to go. Probably it'll have to be after I deliver my child. The timing is a little rough now, but I can't wait to visit you there sometime and amazing. So super happy to have you on the team and to have you here today talking with us. So do you want to kick us off then Heather with the 1st strategy of what you [00:02:40] suggest for dietitians in order to sell effectively?
[00:02:43] Yeah, absolutely. So the first thing we recommend that you focus on is defining your ideal client. So what does that mean? Who is your ideal client? When it comes to defining who your ideal client is, it's about looking at who they are, what [00:03:00] their problems are, how they're living and perceiving the and keeping that in mind when you are crafting your content and knowing what their demographics are, maybe what some of their goals are, what challenges they're going through and what [00:03:20] desires or outcomes they're looking for when it comes to working with you.
[00:03:24] Absolutely. And I think one of the biggest Mindset blocks that our clients have is thinking that the ideal client has to be perfectly defined, right? Because defining who this person is that we serve can evolve with time. And it only becomes more [00:03:40] clear as we start talking to more people, you don't even have to work with them, but then definitely.
[00:03:45] Once we start working with more folks, we can get a better sense of what I would call codifying our ideal client and getting a little more clear about what those problems are and the frustrations that people experience related to nutrition. Anything you want to add to that? Cause you were the [00:04:00] mindset guru.
[00:04:01] I, yeah, so that is there. I think there's two fears that we see when defining our ideal client and you hit on one of them. Libby, and the other one is that if they talk to this one specific person, that they're not going to be talking to all of the people. So [00:04:20] sometimes if you feel like you know your ideal client really well, but what if someone has a problem that you could help with that isn't that person and a fear that you're going to miss out on that opportunity to help them.
[00:04:33] But one of the mindsets that one of my coaches used to say is that if you're talking to [00:04:40] everyone, you're talking to no one. And when you talk to a specific person, what ends up happening is you're talking to everybody. Everyone will identify themselves within that specific person. That's how psychology works.
[00:04:52] If you think about like a favorite movie that you have, and there's a specific character in it, you're You probably don't have all of the [00:05:00] characteristics of like, let's say Princess Leia, but you might identify a piece of Princess Leia within you. So there's pieces like that of your ideal client that actually everybody can see a little bit of themselves.
[00:05:13] In that story of those demographics, those goals, those challenges, and those desires. Absolutely. And very well [00:05:20] said. Yeah, we've said it before and we'll say it again. You talking to everybody through a void, you really are talking to nobody. And that is more of a beginner mindset issue with our clients that come to us and have fears about their target market.
[00:05:32] But then once you're able to get going and you start seeing folks That have similar problems. You'll realize the beauty of having a [00:05:40] crystal clear message that you develop for a certain type of person. So without going too much more into those fears, because we could do a whole entire other episode, which we have done many about that concept, we want to move on and give you a highlight.
[00:05:52] More high level strategies for sales, but I, I just want to say when it comes to people who are not your ideal client, of course, you have the choice. [00:06:00] It's your business. So if you want to serve that person, that's up to you. It will depend on your business model. So, if you're offering something like a group, and you have chosen to market that group as a group that helps lower a 1 C for diabetes or with food freedom.
[00:06:14] And then you have someone that comes to you and wants an opposite outcome that might not be appropriate to [00:06:20] serve that client, because that's not the best interest of the group that you've sold. And what you've promised for the messaging and the outcome in that group, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be able to offer them private coaching.
[00:06:31] Or refer them to another dietitian or practitioner. So there's a lot of options here and in terms of how you make decisions in your business. But I have noticed a [00:06:40] lot of our clients get ahead of themselves and worry about fears before they've happened in terms of what to do, if and when A, B, C, D all the way through Z happen.
[00:06:48] And I just want to encourage you that taking the first step and starting to think about the problems people have and have some common thread around that problem is really going to be. Step A. And if you can focus on that [00:07:00] now, that'll really help you get to step B without getting overwhelmed and anxious about step Z, which I get it, you know, we all do it, but the more you can focus on one step at a time, it'll help you get through this stage of clarifying the problems you're solving.
[00:07:13] Anything you want to add to that coach Heather? Just that when you refer people out that are not your ideal client, [00:07:20] or maybe they have a problem that you're not interested in solving. That really helps actually build your business and it's the best way to build a referral network. I specialized in cancer and my brick and mortar clinic and in my online business.
[00:07:35] And the more that I referred someone out for thyroid [00:07:40] issues to one of my colleagues, the more I got referrals back when someone with cancer walked into their office and they were like, Oh, Hey, I, I'm not a specialist in this. You should go. See Dr Paulson. So that's one way to approach this fear of like losing people if you refer them out because sometimes that's a money mindset that pops out, but it's a [00:08:00] great way.
[00:08:01] If you're working within a set of colleagues to. Build a referral network. And that's what I love about the dietitian boss network is that we're here to work together and support each other's businesses and you meet other dietitian bosses that might fulfill a need for somebody that's not an ideal client for you and vice [00:08:20] versa.
[00:08:20] Absolutely. Thank you for clarifying that and building your networking skills. helps when you're able to refer out and it really, at the end of the day, we're here for our customers. So we are doing a better service for them when we, if we're not a fit, do refer them to someone else who is, and it gives us a good reason to network with other practitioners, not just other dietitians [00:08:40] that might specialize in different things, but also, you know, other similar allied healthcare practitioners such as doctors, therapists, et cetera.
[00:08:48] So thank you for, for mentioning that. Heather, I think that that's something that is a helpful topic to remind the listeners about when it comes to growing your business. That inevitably will happen. It'll happen when you [00:09:00] start, it'll happen as you grow, and it'll even happen years into the business.
[00:09:04] And you're going to have to make these decisions and learn what is in the best interest of the customer and how to best grow your business. So that will come up time and time again. All right, I'm going to go into the second strategy, and that would be to develop compelling value proposition. And that means that [00:09:20] you're Able to as a registered dietitian communicate the value of what you provide, and this takes a little bit of work and some practice as well.
[00:09:28] So that means you have a clear and concise statement that outlines the benefits that your client can expect from working with you. So the way that I frame it in the dietitian boss teachings and my trademark system is that you come up with a problem that you [00:09:40] solve, a solution of how you solve it, and then the outcome.
[00:09:44] And so in working with the problem solution and outcome that helps you develop a very clear value proposition, and it's tied to the first tip that coach Heather explained, which is defining your ideal claim. Now, you might not figure out your value proposition right away, and that's okay. There's no [00:10:00] pressure to learn it tomorrow.
[00:10:01] But the sooner you can start working on it, the more clearly that you have, the better of a chance you have at resonating with folks who have that problem that you're solving. For example, a problem might be, I'm just going to give a few examples here and then Heather can give some, some context. If I'm missing anything, the problem might [00:10:20] be that somebody is not sure what to eat.
[00:10:22] Right, that's a big problem. Misinformation around nutrition. And then the solution would be, you might want to follow plate method and the outcome would be lowering a 1 C below 6. 5 for someone who has diabetes. Right? So that is 1 example of how you would think through the process of [00:10:40] developing a clear value proposition.
[00:10:42] So there are many other ways that you could do that, right? You might want to create a value proposition around food freedom, around pediatrics, you know, growth nutrition, around sports nutrition. But I wanted to give you a sense of how we help you think through value proposition. The value proposition that you offer as a registered [00:11:00] dietitian and a big piece of that will require that you're having conversations with folks learning about their wants and needs and then practicing your analytical skills and documenting them.
[00:11:08] Now, we have a market research tracker available inside of our library inside of our training programs, but you can start with a simple Excel sheet or pen and paper and just start jotting down. What observations are you noticing from people who have [00:11:20] nutrition problems? And how can you draw some parallels and patterns between what people are telling you to narrow down what you want to focus on and specialize in as a dietician?
[00:11:28] Coach Heather, am I missing anything in this tip for the sales strategies? I think it's really important to highlight what you already said, Libby, which is that this changes over time. And as you get to know your ideal [00:11:40] clients, More and more deeply. So like you said, it doesn't have to be perfect right out the gate on.
[00:11:48] You can start really simply one of my mentor, Sam Horne, she recommends doing a, like a folding of the paper or lying down the paper [00:12:00] and saying what the problems are, and on the other side, what the solutions are, what the problems are, what the solutions are, what the problems are, what the solutions are, and sometimes if you're having a hard time defining your value proposition or your benefits, yeah.
[00:12:13] Looking at the problems and the outcomes that you're going to deliver with that [00:12:20] problem helps make it clear in your head. And then that makes it clearer in your sales calls or in your social media content, or in how you talk to somebody that you meet at a friend's house or in the grocery store or wherever you bump into someone who has a problem that you can solve.
[00:12:38] It really helps to have [00:12:40] these ideas clear in our head. And then we can go to that value proposition more easily. And what I love about what you shared there, Heather, was the pros and cons list or, or the side by side, the problem and solution or the problem outcome. If we're looking visually at like a two column approach, if you're writing it down, that is a form of a [00:13:00] mental model.
[00:13:00] So you're really using your brain to write that diagram and visually see. And for a lot of different learning styles, it's a really helpful way of approaching this, the problem. This is writing it down, looking at it. And then having that mindset where, you know, as you said, Heather, that it can change and it can evolve and it can, that your value proposition can [00:13:20] get better with time.
[00:13:21] So we should work with what we have and we have it. And as we talk to more people and get more clear our messaging becomes more clear. So it's all about having the courage to get started with writing things down. But I really love that, that illustration, right? That visual illustration. And again, in our program.
[00:13:37] We do give you a market research tracker, and we give you [00:13:40] formulas that you can fill out and fill in the blanks to make it really easy for you and exercises to, to answer this as well with our support. So to tie it all together, we've got one more tip for sales strategies, and it really connects the dots between tip one and two.
[00:13:54] Can you share what that last strategy would be Heather? This is my favorite strategy. And it's the strategy [00:14:00] for all of us who don't want to be salesy don't really feel comfortable with sales. And. I don't really feel comfortable with like, Oh, I like my business. And I'm going to sell it, sound like a car salesman or something.
[00:14:14] So the number three strategy is to establish a relationship building [00:14:20] process. And it's actually my favorite part about dietitian boss and working within the dietitian boss strategies of teaching you guys how to do a sales process, because it's absolutely the. This is of being salesy when you are genuinely curious and [00:14:40] interested in what's going on with somebody and genuinely wanting to support them and help them with their challenges.
[00:14:47] You're not a salesperson. You are empathic. You are compassionate. You are supportive. And that's really more in the style of probably why you got into health [00:15:00] care to begin with, why you became a dietitian. You wanted to help people, right? So this can be Done in several ways, you can create content that helps people and maybe it's free content.
[00:15:13] Like we teach in the library how to make eBooks that are maybe free or maybe paid for, or [00:15:20] it could be your content on social media and it can be through blog posts, emails, newsletters. There's lots of ways to distribute free content that helps you build a rapport and a relationship with your ideal client.
[00:15:34] It helps them know. That you understand what they're going through and what [00:15:40] their problem is. Some other things that you can do in offering valuable content is to do workshops and webinars. But the thing that we really encourage you to do is to talk with. Potential clients to talk with them in the comment section of your posts to [00:16:00] genuinely ask them, how are you doing?
[00:16:02] What's your biggest struggle and responding to them in DMs or actually starting the conversation once they become a follower or once they engage in a post that you've made in social media. This, these are great ways to start. [00:16:20] building a relationship. So again, we're not approaching this to be spammy or to be cringe.
[00:16:24] We're just approaching this to be curious and see what's going on with somebody so that we can be empathetic and help them with the problems that they're experiencing. Absolutely. Well said. And this can be also one of the hardest parts for [00:16:40] dietitians, because if we're building relationships online, it might feel a little bit awkward, or maybe you are, have to brush up on some of your interpersonal skills, such as listening and facing rejection, right?
[00:16:51] Because when we do talk to people, we learn that not everybody we talk to is ready right now to talk to us. So can you talk us through just briefly as we wrap [00:17:00] up One or two tips to overcome the mindset of keeping going when it comes to building relationships to support business growth and sell strategies for our business.
[00:17:10] One thing is to frame rejection accurately. So if somebody's not replying to your DM, a lot of times that [00:17:20] feels like rejection. Like, oh, they don't want to talk to me. Oh, I'm overstepping. But if we look at our own DMs and our DMs, Instagram account or TikTok or Facebook, probably like I have some DMS that I haven't responded to in my account and sometimes I keep them unread because I'm waiting [00:17:40] till I have the time and space to read it and actually really respond and to have it unread helps me remember, or I'm busy and I had other things going on that day or the last couple of days.
[00:17:51] So I didn't, you know, Read that post and now it's buried under all these other posts and I forget that it's sitting there. So these are natural human [00:18:00] behavior. So if somebody doesn't respond to you, it's not because they don't like you or that you're being rejected. It could be for some other reasons.
[00:18:07] That doesn't mean. That you should follow up too soon or, you know, become overly persistent, but also to take the like air quote rejection with a [00:18:20] grain of salt. So that's one thing that I often have to coach our dietitian bosses through when they're taking that brave step of reaching out to people through the DMs.
[00:18:29] The other thing to remember is that the mindset of you're there to be of service And so we are trying to cultivate the mindset of [00:18:40] curiosity of what's happening on the other side of a conversation. And sometimes if we don't ask enough questions or we're not approaching a conversation with curiosity, then the conversation will dwindle.
[00:18:54] And I see that a lot of times with dietician bosses as well. What's awesome is that we do have [00:19:00] a DM framework and that helps keep things more. objective. And when you track things through the DM framework and check off which part of the framework you're in, you're able to more objectively say, Oh, I could have asked more questions here.
[00:19:19] [00:19:20] Or my typical response rate from DMs is 5%. And so this week I had an 8 percent response rate, so I'm doing really good. Or I have a 3 percent response rate and that's not as good as usual. Let me go back and review my questions. So anytime we can make things more objective and less subjective, less [00:19:40] personal, the more we can grow through things without taking things as like, Oh, I'm a failure.
[00:19:46] I'm not doing this good. So those are some mindset tips. Really helpful. And thanks for bringing up the DM framework because it creates, it's a tool. And so when we use tools from our toolbox in our business, we become empowered [00:20:00] and we start to reframe how we think about a situation. And it's less about rejection, but more about what can we do?
[00:20:05] Like you said, Heather, to come from a place of service and to learn new skills. And apply them. So thank you for bringing that up. And thank you so much for your time today. As always, it was an absolute pleasure to have you on air, Heather. And for the listeners, I invite you to join our library. It's a [00:20:20] monthly membership where you can get access to me and coach Heather through live trainings and Q and a calls and access to our library and guest speakers, as well as a community.
[00:20:30] You can learn more at dietitianboss. com and we'll see you next time. If you're looking for support to start, grow, and scale your dietitian [00:20:40] private practice, I want to invite you to work with me and my team. We have a few different options. Head over to dietitianboss. com and apply to have a conversation with somebody from our sales team to discuss your options for your budget and stage of business.
[00:20:57] Head over to dietitianboss. com and we [00:21:00] look forward to connecting.