Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Andre Wright and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

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Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Andre Wright and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:20
Connections, the show where relationships become
0:23
opportunity and trust becomes growth. I'm your
0:27
host, Michael Foreman. In many industries, people
0:30
make buying decisions carefully. In healthcare,
0:33
they make them personally. Patients aren't just
0:37
choosing a service, they're choosing someone
0:39
they trust with their well -being. and behind
0:43
every thriving practice is a network of relationships
0:46
most people never see. My guest today works with
0:51
healthcare professionals on marketing, digital
0:54
visibility, and expanding their practices. We're
0:57
talking about how referral relationships really
1:00
work, how credibility is built long before someone
1:04
becomes a patient, and why communication and
1:08
connection often matter more than promotion.
1:12
Whether you're in healthcare or any relationship
1:14
-driven profession, you'll hear how trust, consistency,
1:19
and reputation create steady growth over time.
1:23
So let's get into it. I'd like to welcome to
1:26
the podcast Andre Wright. He's been in business
1:30
for quite some time. We've actually become friends
1:33
over the time, but I want to find out how you
1:37
got where you are today. Welcome, Andre. Thank
1:42
you so much, Michael, for inviting me on the
1:44
podcast. It's a pleasure. I started with a Google
1:48
-affiliated company in Arizona. So they hired
1:52
me actually to help them drive growth for their
1:57
local marketing companies, these local SMBs.
2:00
I don't know if you remember. Going on the map
2:03
and you'll see these little icons and see where
2:06
these little dots companies trying to grow. That's
2:09
what they hired us to do. That was back in 2010.
2:14
They hired us, a group of us, and we were reaching
2:17
out to these small, medium business operators
2:19
and try to help them to grow on the Google Maps.
2:22
So that's how the career started in the digital
2:25
sphere. So I started with them. The company is
2:28
now called Teletech. It's a Google -affiliated
2:31
company. How it works, just to explain again,
2:34
is Google would give us a list of companies that
2:37
they know that they need online growth. And we
2:41
would work behind the scenes to help them with
2:42
Google AdWords and SEO plans so that their business
2:47
can actually grow. grew online. So that's where
2:50
it's all started. That's how I got in the digital
2:52
field. I have a master's in business administration,
2:56
and that was like my first look into digital
3:01
marketing. So I did that up until 2014. And then
3:09
my last thing there was I was actually managing
3:12
a team of about 30 AdWords certified professionals
3:14
doing what I started doing there. timeframe,
3:19
I developed great experience of working with
3:22
these small medium, these healthier practices.
3:24
And from that point, I'm like, you know what?
3:27
I believe I could start a business based on this.
3:31
I could start a business based on my experience,
3:34
helping these small private practices to grow
3:37
online. And in 2015, my family and I, we moved
3:41
from Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona. To Atlanta.
3:44
And I work for this company as their search marketing
3:48
manager for just a year, a brief stint. But the
3:51
idea was always to start my own business. So
3:53
I started the business end of 2015, 2016, called
3:57
The Right Consult, where we... We focus on driving
4:01
visibility for local businesses. So at that point,
4:05
when I started, I was doing it for not focused
4:08
on healthcare at that point. So we were all over
4:11
the spectrum. We were doing it for roofers, plumbers,
4:14
each of our companies. And it was working, but
4:18
we found a sweet spot with health and wellness
4:20
practices. And our portfolio started to grow
4:23
in that era. And then we decided to niche it
4:25
out in 2018. We decided to niche it out, and
4:30
we started to just focus on health and wellness
4:32
practices since then. And now we're in 2026,
4:35
so eight years going on. We're just focusing
4:37
on healthcare practices, and that's where I'm
4:40
at today. That sounds great. That was quite an
4:43
adventure, I would say. Okay, a little bit of
4:46
a rollercoaster ride, but we're getting there.
4:48
Okay, let me hit you up with some questions.
4:51
In healthcare, people don't just choose a service.
4:56
They choose someone they trust. How does networking
5:00
in this field differ from networking in other
5:03
industries? It's even more so than any other
5:06
industry in terms of healthcare. Because if you're
5:09
choosing a doctor, you're going to scrutinize
5:12
more. You're going to go in depth on their review
5:15
more because this is your health you're talking
5:17
about. It's where you can get away with someone
5:19
maybe doing something messed up with your plumbing,
5:22
or you can say, you know what, I'll find someone
5:25
else. But if you go to a wrong dentist, a dentist
5:27
that is not fully qualified and the reviews are
5:29
bad, and then you have a bad experience, then
5:32
that could obviously impact your health. So even
5:35
with healthcare, with this as a backdrop, as
5:38
a healthcare professional, you have to ensure
5:40
that you prioritize trust. And that's where your
5:44
brand comes in play as a very important aspect
5:48
of what you do. Because when people are searching
5:51
for you, they go directly and look at what other
5:54
people are saying about you. So trust is heightened
5:58
for healthcare practices. And as a healthcare
6:00
practitioner, that has to be the top of the mind
6:06
of when you're doing branding and when you're
6:07
trying to put the best face out there. Absolutely.
6:11
And this falls right in line with your networking,
6:15
I'd say, mantra. You know, if they know you,
6:19
if they like you and they trust you, then they're
6:21
going to do business with you. And that really
6:24
falls. Everybody knows everybody. That's what
6:27
I believe anyway, especially where we live in
6:29
Georgia. Right. Everybody knows. Right. But everybody
6:33
doesn't like you. Right. So that narrows the
6:36
scope down just a little bit. And trust you,
6:39
that is such an important factor of whether you're
6:43
speaking to them directly, speaking to them in
6:46
an audience. If you don't have the trust that
6:49
goes into it, then you lost. You do. You do.
6:53
And while you're talking, what comes back? to
6:55
mind, I was in BNI for a period of time, that
6:58
VCP, visibility, credibility leads to profitability.
7:02
The health and wellness space, that is even more
7:05
important to have that credibility and as a practitioner,
7:09
because if you're not credible in what you're
7:11
doing, that's your business right there. So trust
7:15
is, glad you point out trust. That's where we
7:19
are today. And it's even going to be more important
7:22
in this AI arena and this new era, because this
7:26
new era where I know you, maybe I'm going, maybe
7:28
you have some questions about this and you're
7:30
going that kind of dabbling that direction, but
7:32
where you can get content all over the place,
7:36
where you have AI videos and all this type of
7:40
content out there, it's even more important that
7:43
you understand. Your practitioner and the person
7:47
behind the scene or the organization behind the
7:49
scene and what they're doing. That's why it's
7:51
important. I talk to my clients, my doctors all
7:54
the time that it's so important for you to be
7:57
out there. Put a face out there. They want to
7:59
see you. They want to know more about you. They
8:00
want to not just see in some post and hear about
8:04
you. They want to know you to build that trust
8:07
and loyalty. And at the end of the day, that's
8:09
what stands. Absolutely. And you have to realize
8:13
that AI is a tool, right? It's a tool that you
8:17
use. Now, like ChatGPT, now I know there's a
8:21
plethora of other programs out there, but let's
8:24
use ChatGPT. It scours the internet for your
8:28
information. Now, you know as well as I do that
8:32
all that information isn't correct. Otherwise,
8:35
it would be right. So if you don't have that
8:38
person that you trust, if you don't have that
8:41
face to face of that person, then what do you
8:44
really have? You just have a lot of information,
8:46
a lot of content, and 70 % of it may be correct.
8:51
But that means that 30 % is wrong. And you have
8:55
to make that decision. All right. And before
8:58
you touch the other question, and that's why
8:59
we are big on conversion optimization with the
9:03
same backdrop. Because sometimes clients, doctors,
9:07
they may be big on these, we call vanity metrics
9:10
and these KPIs where, hey, we're getting a lot
9:12
of traffic, a lot of traffic all over the place.
9:14
It's looking good in Google Analytics. But if
9:16
you're getting a lot of traffic and then it's
9:19
not converting, they're not the right customers.
9:21
They're not the right patients. Then you're losing.
9:24
And that's how conversion optimization is so
9:26
important. so that we can fine -tune, look at
9:29
all the information out there, fine -tune what's
9:31
happening, and ensure that potential patient
9:34
is connected with that practitioner the right
9:37
way, and they can book an appointment and they
9:39
could get that business. So I just wanted to
9:41
point the importance of comfort. Absolutely.
9:43
Listen, you point all you want. This is your
9:46
show. Okay. What does a healthcare professional
9:50
say? or avoid saying in a first conversation
9:54
that immediately builds credibility. They don't
9:59
want to talk about their failures. They don't
10:01
want to say, you know what, a client came there
10:03
the other day and the operation, this, we would
10:06
try to do a root canal and it just never worked
10:08
out. You don't want to, you know, obviously you
10:10
want to stay away from that. And I would say
10:13
what you want to put forward is that credibility.
10:18
Anything that has to do with that, that strengthens
10:20
your credibility, right? We always push your
10:23
ratings, your reviews, the testimonials. You
10:26
want to have that on your cart. When they go
10:29
into your dental practice, you want to see that
10:31
somewhere up front. Your text messages, your
10:34
email communication, you want to highlight some
10:37
of those testimonials. Potential patients and
10:41
prospective patients, they want to hear what
10:44
the other patients experience. They want to hear
10:47
about you and how you deal with them. So as a
10:49
practitioner, what you have to do in promoting
10:51
your business, you have to highlight that. Because
10:54
we as humans, we're copycats, right? We want
10:56
to be associated with the success stories and
10:59
with the doctors that are actually, that they're
11:03
credible and doing well. Yes. You want success.
11:06
You don't want to suck wind. So I understand
11:08
that. Okay. Many practices rely on referrals,
11:13
what you were just talking about. What relationships
11:16
actually drive consistent patient growth behind
11:20
the scenes? I would say, and even from my experience
11:25
as a company, since we have been established,
11:27
I would say we get 80 % of our new clients, they
11:32
are from referrals. They're from existing clients.
11:35
Referral is important in such a way that it's
11:38
always the best thing when your clients tell
11:41
your story. Because when your clients tell your
11:44
story or when the patients tell your story, going
11:47
back to testimonials, that heightens that credibility,
11:51
that heightens that trust. So I would say in
11:54
terms of referrals and the importance, you want
11:57
to ensure as a practitioner, you want to ensure
12:00
that you treat every patient well. follow up,
12:03
ensure that they have that white glove treatment.
12:06
Same with business owners. You want to ensure
12:09
that your clients, they're satisfied. Don't just
12:12
try and nickel and dime them and try and just
12:14
get your money and then take it from there. Because
12:16
you may get the money, but at the end of the
12:18
day, you may lose business in the back end because
12:20
they're not going to refer you. So that relationship
12:23
upfront is so important. And you have to nurture
12:26
that. You have to nurture that. And so that...
12:30
obviously in the future, they will be your biggest
12:32
cheerleader. Absolutely. There's a book that
12:35
comes to mind. It's called Raving Fans by Ken
12:40
Blanchard. And I used to buy 15 copies at a time.
12:48
I used to be in the mortgage business and I used
12:50
to hand it out to my realtors and say, look,
12:53
this is a 45 minute read. Read this book because
12:56
it'll give you the base of customer service.
12:58
And if you follow these guidelines, you'll never
13:01
go wrong. And he wrote the One Minute Manager
13:06
and things like that. But Raving Fans, if you
13:09
can pick it up, that is the book to pick up just
13:13
to start out with customer service. But yes,
13:16
everything you said is right on the money. Of
13:18
course. I want to touch before you jump in the
13:22
next question. One of the things that we find,
13:25
and I'm just going to talk from the healthcare,
13:27
health and wellness perspective, is that traditionally
13:30
doctors rely a lot on referrals only. They rely
13:33
on that. So we have to, what we push and what
13:37
we discuss with them, and most of the time is
13:39
that... In today's age, you have to have a multifaceted
13:43
strategy in terms of digital strategy. You can't
13:47
just rely just alone on referrals. Because I
13:50
always say, hey, what if someone is new in the
13:53
era and they're looking for a dentist? They don't
13:56
know anyone. What are they going to do? They're
13:58
going to search for dentists in Alpharetta, dentists
14:01
in Johns Creek or Roswell. And then guess what?
14:04
Whoever shows up. That's what they're going to
14:06
click. And they're going to go to their website
14:08
and they're going to learn more about that doctor
14:10
and they get that business. I just want to touch
14:12
the point that although referral is good in this
14:15
day and age, you have to have a multifaceted
14:18
strategy. You have to have a digital footprint
14:20
and you have to have, now my wife's in web design
14:24
on the corporate level, right? A hundred pages
14:28
as a website. And the importance of having the
14:32
first impression when the customer first goes
14:36
into the website and sees you, you have three
14:40
seconds either to make it or break it. Yep. And
14:44
so that digital footprint is so important. So
14:47
you have to put a little money up front. You
14:49
have to make it look nice and everything else
14:51
like that. But your content is very important
14:54
and your referrals, your reviews, everything
14:57
else. It all has to be there. Yes. Because otherwise
15:00
they're going to click right through the list.
15:02
Definitely. And not only that, your message must
15:05
be uniform and clear. So while you speak on referrals,
15:10
while you present yourself online on these different
15:13
channels, it has to be uniform. And again, that
15:16
goes back to the trust we're talking about. It
15:18
goes back to the credibility. Yes, absolutely.
15:21
Absolutely. Okay. How do doctors and providers
15:26
unintentionally limit their growth by focusing
15:29
only on marketing instead of relationships. I
15:34
see that too. I see that. And that's the other
15:35
side of what we're talking about, just focusing
15:38
on referral and not the digital side. But yes,
15:41
we have seen some doctors based on our audits
15:44
and all that. They do a lot online. They do a
15:46
lot of Google ads, SEO. They're big on YouTube
15:49
and all that, but they don't build the connections.
15:52
For instance, a chiropractor client, they don't
15:54
build that connection with a sports medicine
15:56
doctor or pain management clinic. They don't
15:58
build that referral, which that referral network,
16:01
which would limit. them from scaling that practice.
16:05
It is so important, again, to have that multifaceted
16:09
approach to not only to healthcare practice,
16:12
but to business on a whole, where you touch all
16:14
the different areas, not just focusing on the
16:17
digital side, but yeah, build that referral network
16:19
because at the end of the day, people like who
16:22
they love and trust. And Michael, I want to tell
16:24
you, if someone, if a customer comes to me and
16:27
say, hey, I know Michael, and I'm going to want
16:30
to deal with Michael. If some... Or maybe I said
16:33
it the wrong way. If you send someone to me,
16:37
more likely they're going to want to do business
16:39
with me, right? Because they know you and you
16:43
know me. And that whole circle creates trust.
16:47
Absolutely. And I would be putting my reputation
16:49
on the line for it. So if I'm that trustworthy
16:55
and they trust me, they would undoubtedly trust
16:58
you. You know, that's the way it works. But you
17:01
must have a person in your office or in your
17:05
sphere somewhere that handles those relationships
17:08
because in this AI world, through Zoom and through
17:13
everything else, you don't have that relationship.
17:17
You don't have that touch. You don't have that
17:19
person -to -person relationship. And you need
17:22
somebody to gently finesse that relationship.
17:26
Even if it's like once a month, you need somebody
17:29
to go over that relationship with you. Okay.
17:33
Agreed. Where does digital presence support trust?
17:38
And where can it actually weaken it if it's done
17:41
poorly? That's a great point. And we spoke about
17:45
the, even touching back on the website, we spoke
17:48
about it before. Just imagine there's a potential
17:51
client out there and they're searching, they
17:54
want to know more about your business, right?
17:56
And they can't find your website. They put in
17:59
here, you gave them a URL, they're searching
18:01
or it's loading or it's just non -existent. So
18:03
that's a turnoff right there. That's a trust
18:05
issue. That's a credibility issue because it
18:08
tells them that, hey. You you're in business,
18:11
but you don't see it as important to to have
18:13
a website to cater for people who are actually
18:16
searching. So that's a red flag right there.
18:18
That's a big red flag. Or if you go on a website
18:21
and it has nothing to do with what the doctor
18:25
does, it's all over the place. It's not it's
18:28
not legible. It's not it's not clear. It's not
18:31
giving them the information that they need. And
18:33
that could turn off a lot of people. and from
18:36
your business. So that's why, as you mentioned
18:39
before, we mentioned that digital footprint,
18:41
that digital, we call it digital front door,
18:43
that business when you're not sleeping, that
18:46
website, it needs to be laid out. It needs to
18:49
speak your language and it needs to communicate
18:52
with your potential clients. And that's how you
18:55
strengthen your business digitally. And also
18:58
one little thing I want to add to that is that
19:01
you have to make it easy for them to contact
19:03
you. So you have a well -designed website that
19:09
loads fast, right? But that point of contact
19:12
that has to be readily accessible saying, okay,
19:15
I'm just going to call him. I'm going to use
19:18
a chat box. I'm going to do something, but I'm
19:20
going to contact him somehow. And all that has
19:23
to be laid out and they have to look at it and
19:26
see it. Probably what we say in three seconds.
19:29
Yeah. You have about that long. To find out,
19:32
say, you know what? I don't like this. I don't
19:34
like this. I'm turned off. Next. Because people
19:37
right now don't have that sense of, I'm just
19:41
going to, okay, I'm going to take my time. I'm
19:44
going to go through it. People aren't like that.
19:46
They want to go through it. They want an answer
19:48
right away. No, we're quick. Our attention span
19:51
is limited because there's information all over
19:53
the place. If you're a dentist, there are dental
19:55
practices all over the place. Your chiropractor
19:57
is all over the place. So we have no time to
19:59
search and understand who you are. You have to
20:02
make it easy for us. And that's why, just to
20:05
go back to one of our main things that we offer
20:07
is conversion optimization. That's important
20:10
because what we do for clients, we can assess
20:13
their funnel. We see how through a Google Analytics,
20:16
we look at that report. constantly assess that
20:19
report, see where the bottlenecks are, see when
20:22
someone lands on the website, when they're bouncing,
20:25
what's happening. And then my team and I, we
20:27
can go in and say, hey, we may need to fix that
20:30
form fill, that form on the homepage. Maybe we
20:33
need to put it on another page. Maybe we put
20:35
it at certain areas on the homepage so that we'll
20:38
get that. potential patient to click. So things
20:41
like that we do, our tactics are that we do through
20:45
a conversion optimization program so that we
20:48
can ensure that the process is seamless from
20:51
someone visiting your website to book an appointment
20:55
and come in your practice. Very good. How should
21:01
a medical professional follow up with referral
21:04
partners so the relationship feels collaborative?
21:08
instead of transactional? I would say just constant
21:12
communication. You don't want to reach out to
21:16
your partners when you're asking for a referral,
21:18
right? You want to continue to nurture that relationship.
21:23
You want to continue to learn more about their
21:26
business and just show that interest. It's just
21:29
that we could bring it back to... just networking,
21:31
right? Sometimes you go to networking events
21:34
and people just all just talking about their
21:36
business, just telling you what they want. And
21:38
they don't try to understand your side of business.
21:41
So the relationship seems one way and it doesn't
21:44
seem authentic. And that goes, that's the same
21:47
thing for healthcare practitioners and referral
21:49
partners. You have to show interest in what they're
21:52
doing and help them to scale their business and
21:54
constantly try to find out what's their goals,
21:57
what they're trying to do, how you can help.
21:59
how you can strengthen their business. You said
22:03
it, but you didn't say it. When you go to a networking
22:06
event or meeting somebody, you have to go in
22:08
with what's called a servant's heart. You have
22:11
to go in saying, what can I do to help you? Because
22:15
you have to understand the best way to do that,
22:17
ask them questions and have them talk about themselves.
22:22
Because one thing, you and I both know it, everybody
22:25
loves to talk about. themselves. So if you get
22:29
into a conversation with them, have them talk
22:31
about themselves. And I use something called
22:34
F -O -R -M, family, occupation, recreation, and
22:40
a message that we can get on the same level.
22:42
I talk about husband, wife, sister, brother,
22:46
son, daughter, whatever. Youth sports. I love
22:49
getting on the youth sports because I'll talk
22:51
to them all day long. The recreation, they like
22:54
to go boating, skiing, surfing. Well, what do
22:56
they like to do? Have them talk about themselves
22:59
because as they're talking, that wall between
23:03
you is coming down and that trust factor is going
23:07
up. And once the trust factor goes up, then you're
23:10
in like Flint. But I always hit them with a line.
23:14
I say it's a line, okay? It's not really a line,
23:17
but... I look at them. After I finish, I say,
23:23
you know something, Andre, I like you. I like
23:26
what you do for a living. I like how you do it.
23:29
How can I make you more successful? How can I
23:33
be a good referral source for you? And if I did
23:37
my job correctly, you'll say to me, Mike, I don't
23:41
know what the hell you do yet, and you're trying
23:43
to make me more successful. Exactly. That means
23:46
I hit a home run. And that's all I'm after. Totally
23:49
agree. Totally agree. One of the things that
23:52
came to mind while you were talking is like being
23:54
on LinkedIn, like I would get like tons of emails
23:57
weekly. Andre, buy this from me. Buy this from
24:00
me. You don't even like in my post. You don't
24:03
interact with me. You don't know anything about
24:04
me. You want me to buy something. Same thing.
24:06
And that's one of the mistakes of people who
24:09
are trying to sell online. The whole psychology
24:11
of sales and promoting their business and trying
24:14
to gain people's trust. You can't just push sales
24:18
like that. You have to get to know the person.
24:21
The same thing with networking. Get to know the
24:23
person, understand what they're doing and show
24:25
some interest. Because guess what? Most of those
24:27
emails are just those in -mails. I just delete
24:30
them. I just ignore them because there's no interest
24:32
on my part. All I'm seeing, you're trying to
24:34
sell me something. That's it. You have to bring
24:37
value to the relationship. You have to, and the
24:41
way that I do it, I don't know if many others
24:44
do it this way. This is the way that I teach.
24:47
A lot of my clients go and do this. They bring
24:50
value to the relationship. If they want to connect
24:54
with someone on LinkedIn, if they're a roofing
24:56
company, I found an article. about asphalt versus
25:01
metal roofs. I think you'll find this interesting.
25:06
And send it to them. Do that two, three, four
25:09
times. And they'll finally respond saying, yeah,
25:11
Mike, this was great. This is good information.
25:13
And then you can move into, you want to have
25:16
a cup of coffee, you want to meet virtually or
25:19
something. Ease into that transaction before
25:23
you ask. Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. You wouldn't
25:28
want to just, if you're trying to get married,
25:30
you wouldn't want to just turn up to a lady and
25:33
say, hey, marry me. You want to build a relationship.
25:37
And that's the same thing with business. You
25:38
want to build a relationship, get the person
25:40
to like and trust you. I'm using that next time.
25:44
I'm telling you right now. I'm using it. Okay.
25:49
Practice expansion often requires new partnerships.
25:53
What networking habits help a provider grow without
25:58
losing the reputation or patient experience?
26:02
And to be honest, in the healthcare space, doctors
26:09
typically don't do a lot of networking. Doctors,
26:14
inherently, naturally, they're conservative.
26:19
I would say they're introverts. They would just
26:22
want to stay behind the scene and work on their
26:26
patients. But I have to encourage them. I'm like,
26:29
Doc, you need to go to these events. You need
26:31
to go there and shake hands and show that you're
26:34
a real person. Go there and just be involved
26:37
with your networking partners and just let them
26:40
know that you believe in them and you want to
26:43
build a relationship with them. So from that...
26:45
backdrop. I would say I don't think healthcare
26:49
practices, they network the right way. I think
26:52
there's an opportunity for healthcare practitioners
26:54
to be out there more. I think they, from my experience
26:57
working with these doctors over the years, I
27:00
think they are a little bit complacent in just
27:03
depending on their referrals, just waiting on
27:05
these referrals, not proactively going out there,
27:08
maybe have a practice the practice manager focusing
27:12
on maybe an event a week or or bi -weekly and
27:16
try to drive the growth that way i think there
27:19
is a great dependence on just inbound referrals
27:22
and i would say and so with that backdrop you're
27:25
right i think there could be an opportunity in
27:27
in that era for healthcare practices to actually
27:30
network more and even from we you'll see it in
27:32
the chamber you'll see most of the practices
27:35
are part of the chamber but they don't really
27:36
show up i was talking to I was talking to a potential
27:40
client earlier this week and they were like,
27:42
Andre, I know my doctor and I, this was an office
27:46
manager. We have wanted to do this for years,
27:49
but we just don't know how to go there and network
27:52
and put ourselves out there. And we're going
27:54
to try it this year. We're going to do it. We're
27:55
going to do it because it's important because
27:57
things are so competitive. It's so competitive
28:00
now. You have to network and create that referral
28:04
base and strengthen the referral partners. to
28:07
couple with your digital strategy. And that's
28:10
what I encourage these practices to do. Not only
28:13
build it from a digital perspective, but you
28:15
have to make it multifaceted. You just described
28:19
my ideal client. Those are exactly the people
28:23
that I go after, that I try to contact and try
28:27
to tell them, say, look, you are here. You have
28:32
to be here. to learn how to get along with people,
28:38
to network with people, because most of the time,
28:41
they become wallflowers. They'll go there, they'll
28:45
take a drink to the wall, and they'll stay there,
28:48
and they'll kick around until somebody notices
28:51
them or somebody says something to them. What
28:54
I teach them is how to... go out. Like when I
28:58
teach an introvert, a third of my clients are
29:01
introverts and I teach them how to go out and
29:05
really enjoy themselves. And if I were to say
29:08
that to one of your doctors or an introvert,
29:11
he'll look at me like I have six heads. I'm not
29:14
going to enjoy that. There you go. There you
29:17
go. And that takes repetition and be active as
29:21
a networker to really build that up, build that
29:23
confidence to know that you don't go in the room
29:26
and just stay in the corner. And you have to
29:29
engage and show that you're willing to learn
29:32
more about people and build that relationship.
29:34
You said it. They have to be willing to learn.
29:37
And a lot of them know they have to, but they're
29:41
not willing to learn. There's a big difference.
29:44
Okay. What mistakes do healthcare professionals
29:49
make when communicating their value to other
29:53
professionals in their network? I think, I mean,
29:58
I could piggyback again on. on trying to talk
30:02
about themselves, their credentials, and what
30:05
they have done in the past, and how big they
30:07
are in their era of expertise. But at the end
30:11
of the day, those referral partners also, they
30:14
want to see that you care about them. They want
30:18
to see that you have their interests at heart.
30:21
So the mistake that they oftentimes make is trying
30:25
to focus on themselves too much and their accomplishments
30:28
versus trying to find strategic ways to get them,
30:33
those partners to buy in and stay loyal to them.
30:36
Yes. And because honestly, nobody wants to hear
30:40
about you. Nobody wants to hear about my accomplishments,
30:43
the way I'm written up or anything else like
30:45
that. They don't care. They just have to. So
30:48
you're right. Okay. How can someone build strong
30:53
referral relationships with professionals who
30:56
serve the same patient population, but different
30:59
specialties? And it goes back to what we were
31:04
saying earlier. I would touch back on the whole
31:06
BNI phrase again, giver's gain, right? Giver's
31:11
gain. As a healthcare practitioner. How can you
31:14
put all that effort to give to that referral
31:16
partner? Let them feel good about themselves.
31:18
Let them feel valued. Show interest in terms
31:23
of what they're doing. And then they will be
31:25
your raving fans, as you mentioned in that book.
31:28
They will be your raving fans at the end of the
31:31
day. And that relationship could turn into something
31:34
great for your business. So it goes back to what
31:37
we have been talking about in being intentional.
31:41
as a business or a practice owner to try to,
31:44
you know, focus on helping your referral partners,
31:48
show interest, not just want to sit back and
31:51
get those referrals and don't really care or
31:53
show little to no interest. So from that side
31:56
of things, I would say show intent, show interest
31:59
and be intentional in how you cultivate the relationship
32:02
with those partners. Very good. All right. Let's
32:07
bring this podcast full circle. If a listener
32:10
wants to create steady, relationship -driven
32:14
growth over the next year, what one networking
32:18
behavior would you recommend that they start
32:20
immediately? Fine. Understand your niche. Understand
32:26
your ideal customer, right? Understand who you're
32:32
trying to target. And guess what? You're going
32:34
to go where these people are hanging out. You're
32:36
going to go to these events where these people
32:38
are hanging out and then you'll meet them. Or
32:41
from, say, take it back to from a healthcare
32:44
practice. You're a chiropractor. Sports medicine
32:46
doctors could be a great referrals, right? You
32:49
want to go to events where these guys show up
32:52
or the environment where you find some of these
32:54
guys or some personal injury lawyers because
32:57
they will refer to you as a chiropractor. You
32:59
want to go in their arena. find where they show
33:03
up and build that and cultivate that relationship.
33:05
And then in the end, you can scale your business
33:07
that way. Because guess what? They would be the
33:11
best one to send you that ideal customer that
33:13
you're looking for. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
33:17
Andre, this was great. I loved having you on
33:20
as a guest. If somebody wanted to have you consult
33:24
with them, become a client of yours, or just
33:28
to say hello, what's the best way for them to
33:30
get hold of you? They could jump on our website.
33:34
It's therightconsult .com. That's T -H -E -W
33:37
-R -I -G -H -T -C -O -N -S -U -L -T .com. And
33:41
also my personal website, that's Andre E. Wright.
33:46
So andreeright .com. You can go there. You can
33:49
find information on me there. Or I'm active on
33:52
LinkedIn. Go to linkedin .com slash andreerightmba.
33:56
And then you'll find me there and just book some
33:59
time we can chat. And we could do right now what
34:02
we're doing, a free digital audit for practices,
34:04
just to assess what's happening out there, what's
34:07
your face like up there. And then we can tell
34:10
you how we could make it better for you, how
34:12
we can help your business scale. So yeah. Reach
34:15
out to us and we could have that conversation.
34:18
Fantastic. This conversation reminds us that
34:22
growth doesn't come from visibility alone. It
34:25
comes from credibility. And credibility is built
34:29
through relationships, consistent communication,
34:32
and trust you earn over time. Take one step this
34:36
week. Reconnect with someone in your professional
34:39
circle you haven't spoken to in a while. Not
34:42
to ask for anything. just to strengthen the relationship.
34:46
Those are often the connections that lead to
34:48
future opportunity. If you found value in today's
34:52
episode, make sure you like, follow, and subscribe
34:55
to Networking Unleashed, building profitable
34:57
connections so you keep practical insight on
35:01
networking and communication. And share this
35:03
episode with someone whose business depends on
35:06
trust and reputation. If you want to strengthen
35:10
your communication and build relationships that
35:13
naturally lead to opportunity, Visit foreman
35:16
.com to learn how I work with professionals,
35:19
teams, and organizations. So until next time,
35:22
build trust first, stay consistent, and let relationships
35:27
grow your business. Andre, thanks again. I can't
35:31
wait to talk to you soon. Awesome. And one thing
35:33
before I go, I just remember. So I have a book
35:37
on Amazon. It's called Visibility. growing your
35:40
business the right way. Any of you listeners,
35:43
you can go on Amazon, find that book and you
35:45
learn more, even more about me and what we're
35:48
doing. All right. Fantastic. All right, Andre,
35:52
I'm going to go to Amazon myself. All right.
35:55
Thanks, Michael. And it was a pleasure. And let's
35:57
keep the conversation going. You got it. Talk
36:00
to you soon. Well. Hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere.
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36:59
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such
37:02
insights today. And of course, a big shout out
37:06
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
37:09
and spending your time with us. If you're interested
37:12
in my digital courses, being coached or having
37:15
me come and talk to your company, just go to
37:18
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
37:22
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
37:25
being present. So take what you've learned today,
37:28
get out there and make some meaningful connections.
37:32
If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
37:35
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37:38
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37:40
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37:43
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