Networking Is Still One of the Most Powerful Ways to Grow a Physical Therapy Practice

I’m always surprised when I hear a business owner say that networking doesn’t work.

I don’t think the problem is that networking doesn’t work. I think the problem is that most people don’t really want to do it.

“Networking Doesn’t Work” Usually Means Something Else

If we’re being completely honest with ourselves, networking can be uncomfortable. You have to introduce yourself to people you don’t know. You have to tell people what you do. You have to walk into rooms where you might not know anyone. You have to put yourself and your business out there without knowing exactly what you’re going to get in return.

For a lot of people, that creates anxiety. They’re nervous about sounding like they’re pitching themselves. They don’t want to come across as salesy. They’re self-conscious about walking up to a stranger and starting a conversation. Sometimes it’s easier to convince yourself that networking “doesn’t work” than to admit that you’re uncomfortable doing it.

I understand that feeling. But if you want to build a business, particularly a local business like a physical therapy practice, you have to learn to get past it.

Some Responsibilities Come With Ownership Whether They Fit You or Not

There are certain responsibilities that come with entrepreneurship whether they match your personality or not. You might not love looking at financial statements, but you still need to understand your numbers. You might not naturally enjoy managing people, but once you start hiring employees, you have to learn how to lead. Networking is no different.

You don’t necessarily have to become the loudest person in the room. You don’t have to turn yourself into some stereotypical extrovert who walks around handing business cards to everyone. But you do have to become comfortable meeting people, building relationships, talking about what you do, and helping other people understand how you can help them.

That’s part of owning a business.

Why This Matters More for Physical Therapists

I think this is especially important for physical therapists because most private practices are inherently local businesses.

Think about what we’re actually trying to build. We need people in our communities to trust us enough to send us their friends, family members, athletes, employees, teammates, and patients. That trust becomes much easier to establish when you’re actually part of the community you’re trying to serve.

You should know the trainers in your area. You should know the gym owners. You should know coaches, physicians, other healthcare providers, local business owners, school administrators, youth sports organizations, and community leaders. You should be going to events and meeting people. You should be making introductions and finding reasons to collaborate.

Digital Marketing Didn’t Replace Knowing People

Somewhere along the way, digital marketing made business owners believe they could skip this part.

We can run ads now. We can build funnels. We can automate follow-up. We can post content on Instagram and LinkedIn. We can rank on Google. We can create incredibly sophisticated systems for generating and nurturing leads, and I believe strongly in all of those things. We use them at Evolution, and we teach many of them at PhysioGrowth.

But none of those things eliminate the value of actually knowing people.

In fact, I think they work better when you have both.

The strongest business isn’t choosing between a great digital presence and a great local network. It has a great digital presence and a community full of people who know the owner, know the business, trust what they do, and are willing to recommend them.

If you want the digital half of that equation built out properly, start here: How to Market Your Physical Therapy Practice: 10 Strategies That Actually Work.

Networking Isn’t Soliciting

The mistake is thinking networking means constantly asking those people for something.

That’s not networking. That’s soliciting.

If you walk into every relationship thinking, “How can this person send me patients?” people are going to feel that almost immediately. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being worked over for referrals.

The better approach is to reverse the entire equation.

Start by Figuring Out What You Can Give

This is where the principle of reciprocity becomes so important in business. If you want to build a network of people who are willing to help you, become someone who helps other people first.

• Maybe you have a patient who needs a great personal trainer. Send them to the trainer you met last month.
• Maybe a local business owner is looking for an accountant and you know a great one. Make the introduction.
• Maybe a youth sports organization needs help with an injury-prevention seminar. Offer to do one.
• Maybe another business is holding an event. Promote it. Show up. Bring people.

Sometimes the thing you give has absolutely nothing to do with physical therapy.

That’s actually the point.

You’re not trying to manufacture a transaction. You’re building a relationship.

Relationships Compound

Over time, those relationships begin to compound. People learn what you do, but more importantly, they learn who you are. They see that you’re willing to help. They see that you follow through. They see how you treat people. Trust starts to develop naturally.

Then one day someone at a kid’s baseball game says their back has been bothering them for six months.

Or an employee at a local company tears an ACL.

Or a trainer has a client whose shoulder pain is preventing them from lifting.

Or a physician has a patient who needs a physical therapist.

Your name comes up.

Not because you asked for the referral that morning, but because you spent months or years becoming someone they trust.

You Can’t Measure a Relationship on the Day It Starts

That’s the part of networking people underestimate.

They look at a networking event and ask, “How many patients did I get from this?”

Maybe none.

That doesn’t mean the event didn’t work.

You may have met one person who introduces you to someone else six months later. That introduction might eventually lead to a corporate contract, a relationship with a sports organization, a referral source, a new employee, a business partnership, or twenty patients over the next five years.

You rarely know the value of a relationship when it begins.

I’ve seen this repeatedly throughout my career. Some of the most valuable opportunities I’ve had in business did not come from sitting in an office trying to figure out how to generate another lead. They came through relationships. One person knew another person. Someone made an introduction. A conversation created another conversation. An opportunity appeared that I never could have predicted when the original relationship started.

That is the power of a network.

What It Costs to Build Without One

When you’re building a business without a network, you’re essentially trying to push the entire thing uphill by yourself.

Imagine trying to build a practice where every patient has to discover you independently. You have to generate every lead. You have to create every opportunity. You have to convince every person from scratch that you’re worth trusting.

Now compare that with building a business where 50, 100, or 200 people in your community know you, understand what you do, trust you, and genuinely want to see you succeed.

Those people become an extension of your business.

They talk about you when you’re not in the room. They introduce you to people you never would have met. They send opportunities your way. They tell someone who needs help, “I know exactly who you should call.”

There is tremendous leverage in that.

Don’t Use Technology as a Place to Hide

And yet I see business owners trying to do everything themselves. They’ll spend hours obsessing over an Instagram post but won’t spend an hour having coffee with another local business owner. They’ll spend thousands of dollars on advertising before walking across the street and introducing themselves to the businesses surrounding their clinic.

There’s nothing wrong with advertising. There’s nothing wrong with social media. There’s nothing wrong with funnels, automation, SEO, or any of the other tools we have available to us.

But don’t use technology as a way to hide.

If you chose entrepreneurship, at some point you chose to put yourself out there.

That doesn’t mean you have to change your entire personality. Introverts can be phenomenal networkers because good networking has far more to do with listening, curiosity, generosity, and follow-through than being charismatic.

But you do have to participate.

You have to show up.

You have to talk to people.

And, most importantly, you have to help people.

Many Hands Make Light Work

There’s an old saying that many hands make light work. I think that applies perfectly to entrepreneurship. Building something alone is incredibly difficult. Building something with an entire community of people pulling in the same direction is completely different.

You don’t need everyone in town promoting your practice. You need to consistently build real relationships with good people and become the kind of person they want to help.

Then do the same thing for them.

That’s networking.

It isn’t a trick for getting more referrals. It isn’t collecting business cards. It isn’t going to one event, shaking ten hands, and wondering why your schedule isn’t full the following week.

It’s the long-term process of becoming connected to the community in which you’re trying to build something.

Where to Start

If you’re serious about growing a physical therapy practice, get out of the clinic:

• Meet the people around you.
• Learn about their businesses.
• Learn what they’re trying to accomplish.
• Look for opportunities to help them.
• Make introductions.
• Create value without immediately asking for something in return.

And then keep doing it.

If you want a more structured version of this — who to build relationships with, in what order, and how to keep track of them — read: How to Build a Physical Therapy Referral Network That Actually Sends Patients.