Editor’s Note: With this issue we are introducing a new column on practice building, which we consider an especially relevant topic at this point in time. We welcome guest writers: a diversity of background and experience, ranging from more experienced Rolfers with thriving practices to those just starting out, will serve well. What has worked for you, and why? What pitfalls should be avoided? What are some important elements to focusing and re-focusing your practice? If you feel that you have something to share on the subject of practice building, please contact column editor Robert McWilliams at [email protected].

 

When I initially trained at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration in 1980, the formal business training I received was very simple: pay my quarterly taxes, get an accountant and remember to pay my dues to the Institute. Yet, we were entering into being small business owners responsible for a number of activities that included marketing, accounting, negotiations, real estate/office space acquisition, developing referral networks and brand development to name but a few. This is the first in a series of articles that will investigate aspects of business practice to help you discover how to be more successful at running your personal small business.

In 1980, those of us entering into the bodywork field through the conduit of structural integration found little in the way of competition. Massage therapy was still developing as a distinct field. There were other somatic practices, but the practitioners were few. Contrast that to the crowded marketplace for somatic services today. Craniosacral-biodynamic-biomechanical-myofascial-somatic-movement-(etc.) integration specialists surround us in the marketplace. Even within “Rolf world,” as I like to call it, we have numerous claims to Dr. Rolf’s legacy. So, how do we compete in the at-times-muddy waters of the somatic complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) field? How do we stand out and discover our niche? At one level, this is a public awareness/relations question, and would entail an analysis of how the various forms of structural integration, and Rolfing in particular, position themselves against other forms of bodywork. In the meantime, we need to make a living. Many aspects of business practice that I coach colleagues on range from budgeting and public speaking to office design and marketing principles. However, I believe that understanding and mastering personal branding is one aspect that each one of us could begin to develop that will help energize our collective movement and practices.

Branding can be described many ways, but I think of it as a promise: a promise of the value of the service; a promise that the service is somehow better than the various competitors; a promise that must be delivered to be successful. Branding develops an image – with results to match. It is the combination of tangible and intangible qualities that create a unique brand. Historically, branding was targeted at products. BMW, Nike, IBM, and Rolex are examples. However, branding isn’t just for products anymore. Think of Oprah, Tiger, Schwab, or Bono. One word and most of us know who they are.

Branding, or self-branding, since we are talking about us as individual practitioners, is essential to developing your private practice through the application of business principles. It helps define who you are, how you are special and distinct, and why clients should work with you. It is your reputation. It is about creating a name for yourself, highlighting what sets you apart from others, and describing the clear and significant value you add to help address your client’s specific issues. This will allow your referral network, those clients and providers who send you business, to understand who you are and what you have to offer. Many management consultants actively promote the idea that we as individuals are the presidents of our own companies: Me, Inc. In other words, it is ultimately not being a Rolfer or structural integrator that will set you apart. It is actively defining and actively participating in your business practice.

Creating personal brands is very much like creating any brand. We must decide the brand elements, give meaning to them, position them, communicate the meaning, and then manage them over time. An underlying assumption of personal branding philosophy is that each of us has unique gifts and a distinct purpose in life. What follows are some guidelines for establishing and honing your business practice through personal branding.

 

Reflect on Who You Are

 

Personal brands are a direct reflection on you. To identify our personal brands we must ask ourselves, What do I do that makes me different than other bodywork or CAM professionals? You must identify your greatest strengths and noteworthy personal traits and technical resources. Do you have training, such as a psychological or physical medicine background, that qualifies you to treat within a structural integration context? Have you pursued osteopathic trainings, cranial-visceral-biomechanical or movement work that has changed your approach to “the Recipe”? Did you grow up in the community where you practice? All of these elements help define you. One’s personal brand then emerges from the search for identity and meaning, out of which comes an awareness of personal strengths and talents. It also involves determining one’s brand elements – making conscious choices about the colleagues you associate with, your personal appearance, your diet, the location and style of your office, your way of speaking in public and in private, etc. It is telling the world about yourself through visible cues.

Ultimately, who you are will determine the type of clients you attract. For example, I work in the city of my birth, Alexandria, Virginia, an affluent and conservative suburb of Washington, DC. I became interested in dealing with pain issues early in my career partly as a result of nagging sports injuries and an apprenticeship at a local hospital. I also realized that to afford to live in the expensive DC area I needed to make an above-average living, so I needed to position myself to members of the professional community that could afford Rolfing. The demographics of northern Virginia combined with my personal interest caused me to focus my personal business strategy and vision. Developing that business vision determined my practice location, office logistics and decor, personal presentation, professional affiliations and training orientation.

 

Identify What You Do

 

I know we often think we know exactly what Rolfing is and how we practice it. However, it is helpful to actually write down your area of most profound professional interest. This reflects the nature of work one wants to do in life. It involves asking the questions “What do I do that adds clear and significant value that can be measured?” and “What am I proud of?” It is useful to have examples from your practice that illustrate the value you generate. You want to be able to say these to your clients, colleagues and yourself.

However, personal branding is not creating a false image. It is realizing your values, and learning to make those values relevant to your (potential and existing) clients and professional referral sources. In my practice, many of my clients present complex pain issues. I do not necessarily push the benefits of the Recipe philosophically. I speak to their desire to feel better and how Rolfing can interface with both their problems and the other clinicians in their health-care world. This has the effect of creating trust with the client and referral-source clinicians who understand you are cognizant of your interface in the “treatment” equation.

 

Positioning Yourself in the Marketplace

 

Now that you have reflected inwardly, it is time to gaze out to the marketplace. Can you identify the qualities or characteristics that make you distinct from your competitors or colleagues? This can create a positioning for you. Ask yourself, what have I done to make myself stand out? What would my colleagues or my clients say is my greatest strength? How do I address my clients’ problems that creates a niche that is sustainable in the long term? Do I articulate this message to my clients and colleagues? My suggestion is to have two to three “personal living brochures” – that is, messages of fifteen to thirty seconds apiece that verbally introduce what you do and who are. I tailor mine separately for clients with pain, for those interested more generally in Rolfing, and for professional colleagues.

While promoting brand You, everything that you do or do not do communicates the value and character of the brand. Consider the way you handle phone calls and messages, email messages, or the way you conduct your sessions as part of the larger message that is sent about a personal brand. Are you on time? Do you allow time for your clients to share their stories, both clinical and personal? Just as is true for products and services, good personal brands stand apart from others and create strong, favorable and unique associations. The aim of every personal brand is to be clear, distinctive, and easily understood. You want it to express a unique, compelling benefit that your clients can be anchored to, resulting in a relationship with you that is sustainable over time.

 

Personal Brand Management

 

The development of referral networks and strategies is an article in and of itself. One important piece of any personal branding campaign is word-of-mouth marketing. This refers to your network of friends, colleagues, and clients. Many consultants believe it is the most important and ultimately most reliable marketing vehicle that your personal brand can achieve. What these folks say about you is what the market will ultimately determine as your value. The personal brand must establish a place of trust and relevance in the minds of your referral networks. The more it is believed by people, the more it will spread throughout the market without pushing. To evaluate how brand You is doing, it is critical to obtain honest, direct feedback on your performance. The next step is to work to close the gap between who you are now and how you want to be perceived by others in the future.

 

Continually Add Value Through Training or Coaching

 

Building your brand begins with reviewing your past accomplishments and gaining strategically important new experiences, whether through education, mentoring or personal development. Your accomplishments and the continual refinement of your clinical resources are the foundation of your personal brand. It is a way to continually add value to your practice by noting the value you have added to yourself as opposed to just listing more services that you provide. For example, in my practice, my clients and colleagues know I have a strong commitment to continuing education. I announce my training schedule in advance. Clients wait-list to get in after my return, so that they can find out what I have learned.

To remain competitive and ultimately expand your business, you need to exceed being merely adequate. Refining your skills and spotlighting your experience are critical for your ongoing consequence in the marketplace. In attaining Rolfing certification, a minimum amount of education is necessary. However, to excel in your practice, you will need to complete additional education, training, or certifications. Getting additional education can greatly enhance your brand. If you are unsure if you need more education – and you probably do – seek out a mentor, someone highly respected in our or perhaps another field (who has branded himself or herself well), and ask for counsel.

I have found great support using a business coach. A business coach can work with you as both a consultant and a mentor. S/he can help you identify the difference between what you say you want and how you actually live it. S/he can work to motivate you to become a participant in the business you say you want to create.

 

Self-Promotion

 

You can have an amazing brand, but if no one knows about it, you are not going to have much success with your practice development. And no one has more reasons than you to promote your brand. Yet most of us are much more comfortable learning new techniques or perfecting our theoretical understandings than talking about ourselves and what we do. Does that mean you have to throw modesty out the window? Of course not! There is a fine line between bragging and promoting, and you would benefit from learning it. And, it’s always better to err on the side of promoting your brand than not. An expression my first business coach taught me was, “if people are not speaking about you, you do not exist for them.”

Don’t forget to promote your brand in your office with colleagues, friends and family. We often assume our clients know our accomplishments, but often times they do not. At year’s end, have a list of all you have achieved in the past year. Consider finding ways to let your clients know about your successes throughout the year. This can be included in a newsletter, web site or posted in your office.

 

Be an Expert

 

There are few things that build credibility in a brand more than establishing yourself as an expert in your field. There are a number of ways to do this. You could start by writing an article that showcases your knowledge and getting it published (ideally) in a noteworthy media or professional outlet. Consider self-publishing. This can lead to opportunities to do additional articles in the future. Seek out conferences and meetings where you can give speeches and presentations. Play up awards and other recognition that can help identify you as an expert. Publish a monthly ezine and/or newsletter targeted to a professional group or your clients. Get quoted by offering your thoughts, ideas, and opinions to journalists and reporters. Construct a professional web site where you can publish your articles and speeches

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Build Relationships

 

As I mentioned earlier, nothing in marketing is more powerful than a promotion tool called word-of-mouth marketing, or what people say about you. Thus, nothing is more powerful in building your brand than what your network of contacts – your friends, colleagues, clients (current and former) – say about you and your set of skills, education, and accomplishments. Keeping your network strong requires ongoing, conscious relationship-building. Keep in good contact with your network and be sure they know of your most recent successes. But the best brand-builders don’t stop with their current network; they are in constant network-building mode. Search out new professional associations as well as the growing number of online networking communities. Look for communities that might have listings for your work: churches and spiritual communities, hospitals and medical schools, and trade associations. Look around you and solicit ideas from people who know your work. Be willing to think differently.

 

Concluding Thoughts

 

Once you identify and build your brand, remember to continue to strengthen and protect it. There will always be competitors ready to discover and fulfill new markets needs. You are the founder and CEO of your brand, Me, Inc., and the more you do to cultivate it, the more successful you’ll be in having the level of practice and professional success you want.

We are very fortunate to be able to pursue structural integration as a career. I believe it is our responsibility to tell the world about the power of what we do. As we refine our personal business models and personal brands, we will help seed the ground for our respective organizations to cultivate greater public awareness of the work of Dr. Rolf. If we wait, as we have historically, for any of our organizations to fully promote and market Rolfing or structural integration in the world, we will hand off our personal responsibility to others. This is our work and our time.From Private Practice to Business Practice: Developing Brand You