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Acupuncture Today – October, 2022, Vol. 23, Issue 10

Get the Most Out of Your Industry Pitch

By Nell Smircina, DAOM, LAc, Dipl. OM

Have you been keeping up? In my June article, I dove into introductions (think a 30-second "elevator pitch") and then in August I expanded on that, knowing that you all would have compelling introductions which would get people to ask for more information.

Since August was all about storytelling, now it's time to review one of those two story templates: your industry pitch.

Let's look at how to properly prepare to use your industry pitch to hone in on the ideal patients for your practice. (Spoiler alert: It's not actually targeting the patients themselves!) As a reminder, your industry pitch includes three key elements:

  • Conflict
  • Resolution
  • How you fit in

Customizing Your Pitch

This pitch gets changed not just based on the individual speaking, but more importantly, based on the audience receiving this information. Why does this have to be customized? Because it's more powerful! We take pride in the individualized approach we take clinically with patients, so why should our approach with reaching those patients to bring them into our practice not also have nuance?

Start With These 3 Steps

  1. Who is your ideal patient?
  2. Who does your ideal patient already trust? Who do they already financially invest in?
  3. How can you provide value to those people (the ones your ideal patient already trusts)?

Example Time

  1. My ideal patient is someone who just had surgery – let's get specific and say a cosmetic surgery. (Later on, I will do another article on how critical this process of identifying your ideal patient is.)
  2. My patient already trusts their plastic surgeon and is already heavily invested financially.
  3. I can provide value to a surgeon by taking on the burden of walking their patient through the recovery process, while promoting optimal healing and decreased pain.

Crafting the Pitch

Let's stick with the surgeon example. Think about solving their problem. What is the conflict? Resolution? How do you fit in? Try this on for size; again, one of my personal examples:

Conflict: Surgeons want optimal recovery for their patients and recognize the importance of that care, but they are busy and hyperfocused on their actual area of specialization: doing surgery!

Resolution: Surgery can and should be your focus, as long as you have the right team in place to shepherd your patient through the recovery process. This is possible!

How you fit in: PIQUE Health's team members are here to help your patient through the recovery process. We coordinate your patient's care with your office and take on the day-to-day with your patient after surgery, so you can focus on what you love: surgery.

The Ultimate Goal: Influencing People Who Can Influence Others

You can always pitch directly to patients. My hope is that you are comfortable talking to patients directly at this point. But to multiply the impact of our pitch, we need to influence people who can influence others on our behalf. This allows for trusted, pre-qualified, appropriate referrals into our practices. So, who do your ideal patients already know, like, trust, and invest in? Happy pitching!


Click here for more information about Nell Smircina, DAOM, LAc, Dipl. OM.


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