[00:00:00] If you're looking to grow your business as a registered dietitian, you've come to the right place. If you're not sure what to do or what steps to take next so that you can create flexibility and freedom in your life, then you're going to learn a lot from tuning into our podcast here at Dietitian Boss.
[00:00:17] I'm Libby Rothschild, the founder of Dietitian Boss, a fellow [00:00:20] registered dietitian and business owner. And in our podcast, I share the highs and the lows, and I talk all about how to grow your business. Get it started. And I interview our clients to date. We've had over 200 interviews from clients who share their journey on our podcast.
[00:00:36] Dietitian boss.
[00:00:37] Libby: In today's episode, I'm going to review some [00:00:40] tips and tricks to help you build out your services for your dietitian practice. Now, you might already have your services built out, but you're feeling insecure about what you're offering, or you have A desire to create services, but you don't really know where to start.
[00:00:57] Libby: So if you resonate with either of those scenarios, today's [00:01:00] episode is just for you. So firstly, why is it important to have services? Well, people need to have an option to know how to pay you and how you can help them pay you. With the transformation, for example, they might want to help their children learn how to overcome picky eating so that they can grow.
[00:01:17] Libby: That would be in the life cycle slash pediatric [00:01:20] space. Or maybe you're helping people overcome symptoms with a chronic disease, or you're helping people with weight management or food, freedom, body, positivity, et cetera. So even if you don't know exactly yet what your specialty is, you want to have an option to help people on their journey so that they can experience that transformation.
[00:01:38] Libby: So the first tip is you want to start [00:01:40] simple with core and specialty services, a core offering. Now you might not have heard that term before. That means that you're starting with the basics. So you have a core offer that you sell people typically for dietitians. That includes an initial consultation and a followup.
[00:01:55] Libby: You might be familiar with that in the insurance model. You can absolutely start with [00:02:00] something as simple as this for cash pay as well. So that means that you are offering the core service, aka the bread and butter of what you're offering. And that should be really straightforward to start with. So a specialty service, meaning once you're comfortable, then you can start introducing things that highlight your, your unique experience.
[00:02:19] Libby: So once you're [00:02:20] familiar with, let's say your specialty, like sports nutrition, eating disorder, pediatric, et cetera. Then you can focus on highlighting how you help people through your core offering with a focus on your specific target audience. But remember, if you don't know yet who your target audience is, meaning sports, dietician, or eating disorder, or prenatal [00:02:40] people, then you just want to start with having a core offer that people can pay you for.
[00:02:44] Libby: So that would be an initial session. And follow ups. I don't want you to stay there forever. Now you can absolutely expand beyond the initial consultation and follow up, especially if you're in a cash based model. But I want you to know that starting there is really normal. I walk you through exactly how to [00:03:00] price your services and when to increase your services for your price point.
[00:03:04] Libby: In my membership called the library. If you want to learn more about the templates, the tips, tricks, and the education that we offer you along with our coaching, head over to dietitianboss. com and join the library today. It's our affordable monthly membership. So when it comes to your core [00:03:20] offering, I want you to focus on What your clients ask for the most.
[00:03:23] Libby: So if they're not asking for anything, I want you to start talking to people and having conversations about what they struggle with. Of course, ideally you're going to be talking to people within your specialty or your niche, and you want to think about what can you solve in terms of their biggest pain point or the biggest problem.
[00:03:37] Libby: For example, if you're helping moms and they [00:03:40] really struggle with time and they're trying to help their kids grow, but their children are picky eaters and then you want to come up with simple solutions to help them with balanced meals that are going to help them with growth to overcome that picky eating, right?
[00:03:52] Libby: So you want to learn what is the struggle that people have related to nutrition. But this is something that you always want to be keeping in mind. So you don't [00:04:00] just want to ask once what people's struggles are. You want to constantly be asking that throughout the duration of you being in private practice, because that's going to help you create a better offer and learn how to market your services more effectively.
[00:04:11] Libby: The second tip would be to create packages that, you know, I'm a fan of packages, especially for cash pay, because packages are going to be a higher price point, a longer term [00:04:20] commitment, and you're going to be able to earn more income as well as give better care. So, packages can help you build. Bundle your services.
[00:04:27] Libby: So what that means is that you're combining your services into easy to understand packages. So you're going to offer a package. Maybe you're going to name it, but don't get too caught up on the name. It could be something called kickstart. That's a pretty common name for a [00:04:40] basic package that can include, an initial consultation, a customized meal plan and follow up sessions for a duration of time. So maybe you're offering 6 sessions for a 3 month period. So there's an expiration date with a certain amount of between check ins, or you have a weekly meal plan, or you create a meal plan for up to X weeks, right?
[00:04:59] Libby: A 12 [00:05:00] week meal plan program. So that would be more of a longer term committed package that you could offer for your client. Clients now, because you're offering something longer term that can, and you're offering that ongoing support, you can, that merits a higher price tag. Now that is something that you probably aren't going to start with.
[00:05:17] Libby: You're probably going to start with your core offering being an [00:05:20] initial and follow ups, but I want you to know that offering effective packages is a next step. You can also provide tiered pricing. So that would be standard, a basic standard and premium. So the basic would be the lowest cost standard could be something in the middle and then a premium.
[00:05:37] Libby: You can even name the basic standard and [00:05:40] premium besides the words basic standard and premium. That would be more customized to your audience. And that could really help people with your brand recognition. And then you're going to let clients choose based on their needs and their budget. And you're going to give them clear value at each level.
[00:05:55] Libby: So, for example, a basic might include an initial and a follow up. A standard might [00:06:00] include a bundle. So you might say you can buy five sessions and they expire within, say 45 days, and then the premium might be the package we just talked about, and that would be longer term commitment, three months, that includes more, that would be the initial follow ups, maybe you have six sessions total meal plan for, let's [00:06:20] 12 weeks in between support communication for up to, let's say one or two check ins a week that exceed no more than 15 to 20 minutes a week, something like that.
[00:06:28] Libby: So you're creating clear parameters and boundaries on that premium package, but you have three options. So people can choose based on their budget and needs, and they might even choose a basic and then later upgrade to a standard. So you're giving them [00:06:40] options. Again, I don't recommend that you start with a tiered pricing.
[00:06:43] Libby: I think it's a little bit more complex. So I do think you should start with something just. One offer, keep it basic. And then once you get enough demand and feedback, that's when you're going to build out the tiered pricing strategy. So again, start simple, let your services evolve with time, with experience and [00:07:00] with client feedback, because you absolutely want to deliver excellent customer service that doesn't necessarily mean you have to have an abundance of.
[00:07:07] Libby: positive testimonials because not everybody is willing to leave those. They might feel awkward, but you do want to get some feedback and that can include people telling you how your sessions have helped them overcome their struggles, how they've learned and evolved with you, et cetera. [00:07:20] Now the third tip would be to use promotional rates to attract clients.
[00:07:23] Libby: This is probably my least favorite tip. tip, but it is something I want you to know about. So that can include limited time offers like running promotions. For example, you've probably seen black Friday a lot. It can also be new year, new you packages. You can do a birthday package. So on your [00:07:40] birthday, you can offer limited time deals.
[00:07:42] Libby: So for these. Special occasion promotional rates. You can promote this across social media, your email marketing and your website to maximize visibility. Now that would be the marketing piece of packaging your services. Now, I think you want to choose a simple option and [00:08:00] clarity's key. So let the clients know exactly what they're going to get and why it's valuable.
[00:08:04] Libby: Something we've done here at Dietitian Boss is we've offered an annual membership, which means you're buying the year's worth, not month to month. And you get two months off if you buy annual, but you also get a call with me. And we've tried before to have you receive a call with our coach Heather. [00:08:20] So that would be a promotion that we offer a limited time deal where you can get the membership, but you also get a private call.
[00:08:26] Libby: And we don't, Always offer that. So that's a way we've done it. Is that you get more value for special occasions. So we might run that promotion, let's say once a year, but you can also run promotions much more often. You could offer [00:08:40] discounts. There's so many different ways to do it. But you have to create boundaries.
[00:08:43] Libby: So the problem with these types of promotional rates is that a lot of clients will come later and still want you to honor it. And so you have to hold your ground and be fair to everybody. So if you say that the promotion ends on X date, then you should honor that for everybody. Because if people find out that you're honoring it for some people and not others, that could be [00:09:00] perceived as unfair practice.
[00:09:01] Libby: The fourth tip would be to develop your membership or subscription models. Now, that's what we've done. I can tell you that hands down. That is the most requested service that our clients want us to help them with. So that would be consider creating. You consider creating a membership program where clients pay you a monthly fee for continuing access to your [00:09:20] services.
[00:09:20] Libby: So, Packaging a membership means that you are selling content. You could also sell community. So you're creating a space for people to come together and network and you can also sell coaching. You can find a way to have coaching offered inside of your membership.
[00:09:34] Libby: There's so many different ways to offer a membership model where people are paying a [00:09:40] monthly fee. But what you have to do is find out what is it that they want in that membership and how can you create ongoing value that they would stay with because what you're looking for with a membership, let's say if you're doing a weight loss membership, Is that you want people to stay in the membership, but you have to offer value enough for them to say, and if they don't stay, that's called churn.
[00:09:59] Libby: And in a [00:10:00] membership, if you have high churn, it costs a lot of time and money and energy for you to constantly be feeding new members into your membership model. So you want to find a way to keep your churn low, which means that the people inside of your membership are staying long term. So that's an important thing to keep in mind.
[00:10:15] Libby: So you want to start with a basic membership. If you are going to create a membership model And [00:10:20] then you can gradually add more features to the membership, such as you can do calls like we do live calls. We do sometimes spotlight calls. We'll do extra private calls for clients, but we don't guarantee that.
[00:10:31] Libby: But we'll offer bonuses. We also will offer guests. We're having a guest come in and show some behind the scenes. Operational work she's doing. So she's showing [00:10:40] some spreadsheets, how she's calculating finances and her group practice, and then that's available live to our members and they can watch the replay.
[00:10:46] Libby: We also have content that shows you how to package your services in depth, templates to speed up time, all sorts of things in the marketing and as well as the operational side to help you grow your business. So if you want to have a membership that [00:11:00] helps your clients think about what is it that you're helping them with and what can your membership look like?
[00:11:04] Libby: Offer that would be valuable enough for them to pay ongoing. Now, the next step would be to promote wisely. So there are special events and workshops that you can host and that can showcase your expertise. So that could include you doing a webinar, right? So you might want to host a webinar and then [00:11:20] market to people in your email is to sign up.
[00:11:21] Libby: You can also use social media, people sign up, and then you see from the signups, how many you can convert into paying customers. Now, keep in mind that you're not going to convert everybody, but this is a really good way for you to build. Your audience, it's a way for you to create community. It's way for you to get feedback about how you communicate your offer and the value [00:11:40] of what you sell.
[00:11:41] Libby: And then of course, once you get conversions, people are purchasing your product or service, and that's going to help you earn income. You can also create a referral program. Where clients can earn discounts for bringing in new clients. So let's say that you have some type of affiliate or, or you have a discount service where if somebody recommends you, they [00:12:00] get X amount off or they can get a bonus, you just give them cash or you can apply it to their next service with you.
[00:12:06] Libby: I would probably recommend giving them cash, but you can look into different ways that add value to your audience. Then there's of course, social media marketing. So you can expand your reach and connect with potential clients on social, but you don't want to spread yourself too thin. So [00:12:20] a lot of our clients have given us feedback that they can get a little overwhelmed.
[00:12:24] Libby: So when you look at your marketing, you don't want to create burnout. So think about what's realistic for you. If you're writing emails to your email list, And you're creating reels on Instagram, and you're focusing on continuing to offer services to your clients, you can feel a bit [00:12:40] overwhelmed. So I want you to start with what feels manageable, gather feedback, and then build your marketing strategy over time.
[00:12:45] Libby: And this is what we help you with inside of the membership by saving you hours. A time and energy inside of our membership called the library, because not only do we have roadmaps for you at your unique stage of business, we give you a quiz so you know what your stage is when you enter our [00:13:00] membership, but we also offer live coaching so we can help you with any issues that you have at the time, which saves you a lot of energy and angst.
[00:13:07] Libby: So we do invite you to join at dietitianboss. com, check out the library. Do you want to find a balance in your marketing efforts, which can be challenging because you have to test things and see what works. So you want to [00:13:20] focus on the channel that's going to work best for you and build gradually to maintain enthusiasm and effectiveness.
[00:13:25] Libby: And the way you do this would be testing different platforms and looking at your metrics. For example, if you're sending emails, are you doing that regularly? What's your open rate and your click through rate? And then can you do more of what's already working? So let's say Instagram is [00:13:40] working well for you.
[00:13:40] Libby: Maybe you want to do more of what's already working on Instagram and you do want to run a promotion and you want to try to get people from your audience to join a webinar from using your Instagram community. So you really want to look at what's already working well based on the metrics. Now the next step would be to offer flexible [00:14:00] payment options.
[00:14:01] Libby: So you can offer installation plans, especially if you're doing a package. So that allows clients to pay for larger packages and installments to make your services more accessible. You can offer package discounts, so if you have, you can offer upfront payments for a series of sessions. For a comprehensive package, and that can be [00:14:20] helpful.
[00:14:20] Libby: So if they're purchasing your biggest package, and they're paying all at once instead of installments, then you can offer them a break, meaning that if they pay for the installments, there's a slight percentage increase versus if they pay all at once. You want to communicate the benefits of paying upfront early, such as overall savings or the convenience of prepaid services, right?
[00:14:39] Libby: [00:14:40] Because a lot of people, I don't know about you, but when I'm paying for something ongoing, it's kind of a pain. I have to put it in the budget. I forget when it, when I'm done with my payments, it's just an extra hassle. So if you pay for something all at once, then you know that you are done paying for that service.
[00:14:54] Libby: So you want to make sure you let your audience know that to incentivize them to pay in full. Well, the next step would [00:15:00] be to focus on customer service and sales skills. Now, this is the most important tip where I said my least favorite would be the discounts promotional rates. My most favorite tip would be customer service and sales skills.
[00:15:14] Libby: So customer service is especially important. As you grow your business, you're getting more and more [00:15:20] customers and you're trying to focus on scaling. Customer service is really crucial, especially when you're growing your business. It's important when you're starting out as well, because you're going to need to figure out your voice and how you communicate with your clients.
[00:15:32] Libby: But as you grow, you're going to have more difficult situations where you're going to have to be decisive about how to provide Really fair care [00:15:40] that aligns with your values. So you want to focus on making clients happy. That's really important. And you want to ensure that they have a positive experience, but not everybody will, some people won't have a positive experience and that's important for you to look and ask yourself why.
[00:15:53] Libby: What happened? Are you attracting people who aren't the best fits, or is there something about what you're doing that isn't [00:16:00] aligning with their experience? And whatever the issue might be, the sooner you can recognize what the disconnect is, the sooner you can fix it. I remember not everyone's always going to be happy, but you want to have the majority of people with a positive experience.
[00:16:14] Libby: And when it comes to sales skills, you don't want to stress over having the perfect offer from the get go. That's probably [00:16:20] the biggest mistake that dietitians make is they stress about having something perfect, but they haven't even focused on their first 10 or 50 clients. So it's going to take a lot of time and experience and feedback for you to find that perfect offer.
[00:16:33] Libby: You want to build your confidence and skills by selling what you offer at first. Again, that initial and follow up. can be a [00:16:40] great option. And don't be afraid to increase your prices as you gain experience and confidence. And that's really important. So I have a whole process of how you can increase your prices with time and what that looks like.
[00:16:53] Libby: So you don't have to think or worry about what makes sense for how to increase your prices. That's available inside my membership over at dietitianboss. [00:17:00] com. So I would say that after a certain amount of sales would be a good time for you to increase your prices. So you don't want to stay at the same price for years and years or for hundreds and hundreds of clients.
[00:17:11] Libby: You want to think about increasing your prices for what's fair for your clients, but also what makes sense for your business. So again, you want to start simple and focus [00:17:20] on delivering excellent service. Your skills and prices will evolve as you grow a sales skills is important because you want to learn how to effectively talk to somebody.
[00:17:29] Libby: And you're also going to want to be able to understand who is a good fit for your program. And you might not know that. At first, you might know some basic things like somebody who's ready, has confidence and is willing and [00:17:40] motivated, but you might not realize other issues that might make the difference.
[00:17:43] Libby: Then the good fit or not, and that can take some time as well. For example, you might have a program for body image and you realize that you are accepting people that have had a history of eating disorder and they're not a great fit versus people who have disordered eating. And you're going to have to get really clear with what criteria you [00:18:00] choose for your program.
[00:18:01] Libby: And that goes for group programs, goes for private coaching packages. Anytime you offer a product or service for any of your clients. Now, finally, I want you to evaluate and adjust regularly. So when it comes to client feedback, gather feedback and refine to improve your services based on what they need based on what your clients need.
[00:18:18] Libby: And you're going to learn that from email, social [00:18:20] media conversations, interactions, and you can explicitly use surveys. Not everybody will fill those out, but there's a lot of mechanisms you can have in place where you can learn about feedback to improve your services. Now, the next tip would be to stay flexible.
[00:18:35] Libby: You want to make sure that you're ready to adapt your offerings as you learn what works best and what [00:18:40] doesn't. So you don't want to get stuck on what you think works. You want to focus and evolve on what your clients need. So schedule regular reviews of your services to stay ahead of trends and make adjustments as needed.
[00:18:51] Libby: Now that might be every month, but typically. Definitely every quarter. Take a look at some numbers. How many people are you enrolling? How many people are [00:19:00] retaining or staying with you? How many referrals have you gotten? How many happy customers do you have? How many complaints have you had? And start to realize trends inside of what you're seeing with your services and how you can make appropriate adjustments.
[00:19:14] Libby: To effectively build out your dietitian services, I want you to start with your simple core offerings. [00:19:20] Create straightforward packages and focus on excellent customer service. Use promotional rates to attract clients as needed and develop flexible payment options to make your services accessible.
[00:19:30] Libby: Remember to market wisely. You know I'm a fan of social media, but you do have to manage your efforts. Build gradually and adjust based on feedback. So if you are [00:19:40] ready, To enhance your service offerings, I do invite you to join our membership called the library. We'll see you next time.
[00:19:47] Looking for support to grow your dietitian business or even get started, I invite you to join the library, our monthly affordable membership that shows you exactly what to do every step of the way so that you can create the business [00:20:00] of your dreams. Not sure if it's the right time, the membership gives you an option to.
[00:20:05] Go at your own pace. We have modules, a roadmap to show you exactly what to do and monthly live calls, as well as new content that we release every single month based on requests inside of the library. We have four stages of business. So whether you come in [00:20:20] getting started or you want to enter the membership and grow or scale your business, we have the appropriate resources for you.
[00:20:26] And our team, including myself available to answer your questions, head on over to dietitianboss. com and check out the library today. We'd love to see you there.
