Then the Global Financial Crash hit and all of a sudden, my private practice crashed as well. Almost overnight, I went from super-busy to an empty diary. I was idle. I was mortgaged up to my neck, my children were in private schools, I had a lease on 2 cars and my income had fallen off a cliff.
I tried various marketing strategies: free consultations, open events, leaflet drops, newspaper ads. I laid off staff to cut expenses and developed a scarcity mindset. Nothing really seemed to help. I needed to attract more patients, or my clinic would run out of cash.
I read every marketing book I could get hold of, I went on business courses, I hired a business coach, I hired a web designer. I found out quickly that I needed to pay attention to my website.
I realised that I understood my patients better than anyone else and I was the best person to write relevant content. Generic business coaches could only take me so far.
I decided to take ownership of my own marketing.
I also discovered the power of video and story telling. I have always had an interest in photography, and I turned that interest into videography.
I invested in a good camera, audio recorders and made dozens of videos in my consulting room. This early "taking head" is still my best performing video with over 1 million views. Although I haven't seen a patient for nearly 18 months and my clinic has been closed for 12 months, this simple video got nearly 5K views in the last 28 days.
I invested in a professional video for my home page. I cringe at it now, but this one video gave startling results. As a result of that, I developed an interest in Youtube, video and making content for my website.
I learnt the hard way how to attract private patients and now that I no longer treat vein patients myself, my mission is to help doctors in private practice to attract patients to their practice or clinic.
It's not easy, but I can provide a proven road map. I am now helping doctors start and grow their own private practice based on over 15 years of "learning the hard way".
I can help you too!
