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Business

How to Build Relationships With Local Businesses

It’s been one of those days.

Good, with plenty of sessions, but draining.

You’ve been with clients since 6 am.

You’re knackered and ready to shut off.

But you see a text come in from a number you don’t recognise.

“Hey! This is Emily. My physio, Steven Heal, gave me your number. He says you might be able to help me get back into the gym. Are you free for a chat tomorrow?”

“Oh sweet”, you think.

A potential new client, and you didn’t even have to post or run any paid ads.

It turns out Emily is perfect for you.

A few days after your consultation, she signs up for PT twice a week.

Although this example paints an ideal picture of how building relationships with other businesses can work, it is possible to build a connection with a local business that leads to you getting clients.

Why It’s Worth Building Relationships With Other Businesses

Other businesses have customers who are our ideal clients.

Other businesses have customers who would benefit from knowing about our services.

Other business owners want to develop connections with complimentary businesses (like yours) because they know partnerships can help them grow.

It’s also useful to have different ways of getting clients. I’m a big advocate of PTs diversifying their marketing methods, so it’s not just social media and the occasional organic referral you rely on.

And lastly, as you well know, running a small business is hard. Other SB owners get it. They want to support you. They are as keen as you are to connect and figure out better ways of building their business.

What Businesses Should a PT Partner With?

Here’s a short list of businesses I’ve seen PTs partner with:

• Yoga & pilates studios

• Running shoe stores

• Pubs & breweries

• Hairdressers & barbers

• Physiotherapists

• Osteos & chiros

• Nail salons

• Health stores

• Butchers

• Greengrocers

• Cafes

• Coffeeshops

• Restaurants

• Travel agents

• Estate agents

Basically… all kinds.

One of the keys is to consider your client base and target client. If you don’t train runners and don’t run yourself - it makes no sense to hook up with a running store.

But if you love Yoga or a bunch of your clients love Yoga, it makes perfect sense to discuss a potential partnership.

There are also some consistent businesses PTs should look to build out their referral network with, such as physios, therapists, podiatrists, women’s health specialists, and nutritionists.

How to Initiate The Conversation Around a Partnership?

• Referral

Ideally, you train the owner, a staff member or a long-term, valued customer. This gives you a clear way in.

It’s worth asking your current clients who are some of their favourite local businesses. You never know who is connected to a business that might be perfect for you to build a complimentary relationship with.

However, I understand this may only apply to a few of you. In which case…

• Approach

Put your brave pants on, walk in and see if the owner is available to have a chat about a partnership.

Something as simple as, “I’m a PT based out of [name] gym. I’m looking to establish partnerships with local businesses to which I can refer my clients. Your business came up as a popular one in my client base , and I’m wondering if we could put something together that helps us both out?”

You’ll need to consider how you can frame it so it benefits them and not just you (e.g. you’ve got a client list of 20 people and an email list of 100 you can promote their product or services to.) and having some flyers or business cards on hand is smart.

You can also initiate this by sending a cold email or by DMing on social media.

Imagine you received a message from a local business asking if you’d be keen to discuss a partnership. Chances are, you’d be more than happy to talk, and you’d appreciate them thinking about you.

They’ll probably be the same.

• Use & Build

The slowest of the three options, but one that may sit best with some of you.

Use the business (spend time in it, buy a product or service) and get to know the staff and owners.

I did this back in Dundee with a cafe called The Bach. I’d work from there 2-3 times a week and bring clients in for review chats. I got to know the staff and owners really well for 4-6 months, and ended up training one of them.

Intentionally build the relationship and play things slowly.

Over time, you can shift into seeing whether a partnership makes sense.

• Specialist Skill

If you have a speciality of some kind, for example:

-you’re a big runner

-you’re a keen yogi

-you know pain science & injuries or have a qualification here

-you’re qualified in pre/postnatal

Then, using this as a way to approach businesses that serve customers where your skillset can help makes a lot of sense. If you’ve been a runner for years, and you’ve helped some running clients get faster/ reduce injuries, etc, and you’ve got a running store near you, it’s silly not to approach this business about a partnership.

3 Ways to Get More Client Referrals From Other Businesses

1. Start up a partnership

You won’t get any referrals if you don’t start the conversation.

The first step is always the hardest but the most important, as nothing will come if it isn’t initiated.

2. Put out more flyers

I recently asked about the effectiveness of flyers on my IG stories and was surprised by the results. Of the 36 who engaged with the story, 11 said they’d successfully used flyers.

The most common way these flyers worked was by leaving them on the counter in other businesses.

3. Refer your customers to other business

Can you expect businesses to refer you clients if you don’t refer them business to them?

Help the small business world by telling your clients about businesses you love. Share their posts on your socials. Make a point of tagging them on your stories when you use them. Leave a review and DM them to let them know you had a positive experience.

Get Clients Corner

This Week’s Tip: Flyering

If you’re anything like other PTs, you’ll have a bunch of flyers sitting around somewhere.

As I mention above, I was surprised by the results of a survey from my IG stories this week.

11 PTs said they’d managed to use flyers to get clients.

When I asked each how they’d gone about this, the most common response was, “I walked into a bunch of local businesses and asked to leave a handful of them on the countertop.”

If you have 30-60 minutes and some flyers lying around, do this task over the next week.

Social Post

I hate to think of the hours I’ve spent over the years trying to figure out why a client's hip shifts during a squat.

Nowadays, unless it’s super excessive, I don’t pay much attention it.

This post from Alec Blenis states why.

Or, I certainly don’t draw huge amounts of attention to it might be a better way to put it.

I used to stop the session and spend 20 minutes trying things to ‘fix’ it.

Now, I note it, give some cues, add in some single-leg stuff and see where it takes us.

Pain changes things (obviously) but 99% of clients have no pain with a hip shift.

Thanks so much for reading.

Until next Friday, Stuart.

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