“Will the patients come?”

Author: Sarah Zaheer, MD

When I started my DPC practice 3 years ago, there was one question that truly terrified me.

“Will the patients come?”

I consulted marketing experts, business coaches, branding experts, lawyers and even psychologists. That sounds fancy, but keep in mind that I operated within a shoestring budget. I read some books, skimmed through a lot and listened to some podcasts.  More than that I started observing all businesses I interacted with from a different lens. 

From all of that, these were some key reminders I jotted down for myself and have used them as my grounding and guiding mantras for not only my DPC practice, but just life. 

1.      You must be 100% clear on the value you are providing. 

This is so easy, but you must remind yourself every now and then. You are providing access to patients who otherwise would not be able to get timely primary care, no matter how great their insurance is.  This is just one point, there are many more items on this list and are perhaps a post on its own.  Remember you don’t need to convince anyone else of this, but you have to convince yourself. 

2.      You are responsible for the effort not the outcome

This is a lesson that I keep re-learning. I am responsible for making sure I am putting in my all. That is the part I can control.  How that is received and how it will play out is not in my control. I only focus on doing my part. In terms of marketing, I keep planting seeds in all my interactions.  They may grow, or they may not but I will keep doing my part.  I could have the best pitch, but if a lead does not convert to a customer- it is not always that the pitch is lacking.  

3.      Make authentic connections. 

See people as PEOPLE and not as potential clients. Engaging with the community is the only way to grow your practice, but it must be a meaningful connection. Make a genuine effort to connect with people.  Not only have I made wonderful new friends this way, but the rich conversations have also really expanded my worldview. This is already a big win, but somehow these connections have also set off a cascade of connections which has indirectly made my panel grow.  

4.      Find your own voice and listen to your own voice. 

I love listening to how other DPC doctors built and run their practices. I loved any and every piece of advice that I got, but it is incredibly important to not let the other voices drown your own voice. Your own intuition is the guiding force for this journey. Just because something worked for one doctor, does not mean that is the only way to set up your practice.

5.      Rejection is merely re-direction

This was my favorite. In the early days, I would sometimes get almost paralyzed by fear of failure, (or having to step out of my comfort zone) but this small mind shift made me actively seek this re-direction so I could get to my goals. 

6.      Abundance thinking

“There will always be more”

I found this image on Instagram ages ago, but I keep referencing it from time to time.  I will also add that the “abundance thinking” column describes the DPC community as a whole very well. 

7.      “Take excellent care of your patients, and they will market for you.”

This word-of-mouth marketing is the only foolproof way to grow your practice. My entire medical career pre-DPC involved restarting in a new town every 2 years or locums. Having restarted so many times, I realized that if I do my job with sincerity and integrity with no expectation in return, patients will continue to come. There is no shortcut to this. Fortunately, I was only new to being a business owner, but doctoring is something that I did know how to do. So, in other words, keep doing your actual job and do it well.