54. Addressing Client Urgency and Practice Growth

Join me as I share insights from Today’s Dietitian Symposium in Salt Lake City, where I learned valuable lessons about client urgency and how it can accelerate your sales funnel. Discover how presenting your core offer to ideal clients with urgent needs can transform your practice.

Key points in this episode:

• Client Urgency: Clients with severe, immediate health issues are more likely to seek and commit to professional guidance quickly.
• Psychological Factors: Fear, anxiety, pain, desire for quick results, and perceived risk drive urgent clients to act swiftly.
• Impact on Sales Funnel: Targeting urgent clients shortens the sales cycle, increases conversion rates, enhances client engagement, and improves retention.
• Identifying Niches: Focus on specific urgent needs (e.g., IBD, pre-diabetes, post-surgery recovery) rather than broad niches.
• Fast-Response System: Implement systems like dedicated contact channels, automated responses, and priority scheduling to cater to urgent clients.
• Referring Doctors: Establish strong referral relationships with physicians to tap into a steady stream of pre-screened urgent clients.

Client Urgency

Client urgency refers to situations where individuals feel a strong, immediate need to address a particular health issue. These are not casual concerns but pressing problems that require prompt attention.

For instance, a client with severe digestive issues causing daily discomfort is far more likely to seek immediate help compared to someone with mild, occasional bloating. The urgency here stems from the intensity and immediate impact of the problem on the client’s daily life. This urgency drives them to seek solutions more quickly and commit to professional guidance.

This concept is crucial for nutrition professionals because targeting clients with urgent needs can lead to more effective marketing efforts and quicker client acquisition. When a client has a pressing need, they are not only looking for solutions but are also willing to invest time and money to find relief promptly.

When you present your core offer to this type of client, you become a “must-have” versus a “nice-to-have” service.

Psychological Factors

Understanding the psychological factors behind why urgent needs prompt quicker decision-making and higher engagement can help you tailor your marketing strategies to better address your clients’ immediate concerns. Additionally, these psychological factors can be strong mediators of health behavior change.

Fear and Anxiety:

Clients with urgent health needs often experience fear and anxiety about their condition worsening. This fear acts as a powerful motivator, pushing them to seek immediate help. For example, a client experiencing severe IBD symptoms may fear long-term damage to their digestive system, compelling them to act swiftly.

Discomfort and Pain:

Physical discomfort and pain are significant drivers of urgency. Clients dealing with chronic pain, severe allergies, or debilitating digestive issues are more likely to take quick action to alleviate their suffering. The desire for relief can make these clients highly responsive to your services. Beyond physical pain, there may also be personal or psychological pain, such as I experienced on the symposium floor. There were so many dietitians overwhelmed and experiencing poor quality of life and work-life balance – I could see and hear the burden they felt trying to do all things in their practices.

Desire for Quick Results:

When faced with urgent health issues, clients often desire quick results. They are looking for solutions that can provide immediate improvement in their condition. This urgency to see quick results makes them more willing to follow your advice and commit to treatment plans.

Perceived Risk:

The perceived risk of inaction can also drive urgency. Clients may believe that delaying treatment will lead to more severe health consequences, which increases their motivation to seek help immediately. This perception can make them more likely to engage with a professional who offers timely solutions.

Impact on Sales Funnel

The sales funnel represents the journey a client takes from the initial awareness of your services to becoming a paying client. When you target clients with urgent needs, several positive effects can accelerate this process.

Shortening the Sales Cycle:

Clients with urgent needs typically have a shorter decision-making process. Their immediate need for a solution means they are less likely to procrastinate and more likely to make decisions quickly. This urgency can significantly shorten your sales cycle, allowing you to convert leads into clients faster. Instead of spending weeks or months nurturing a lead, you might acquire them as a client in days or even hours.

Higher Conversion Rates:

Urgent clients are more likely to commit to your services because their need is pressing. They are actively seeking a solution and are prepared to invest in professional help. This readiness to act translates into higher conversion rates, as these clients are more likely to move from initial contact to booking a consultation and starting a treatment plan.

Increased Client Engagement:

Clients with urgent needs are often more engaged and responsive. They are likely to attend appointments, follow your dietary recommendations, and actively participate in their treatment plans. This high level of engagement not only improves client outcomes but also enhances your reputation as an effective practitioner, leading to more referrals and positive reviews.

Greater Client Retention:

Because urgent clients are highly motivated to see results, they tend to be more committed to long-term treatment plans. This commitment can lead to better client retention, as satisfied clients continue to seek your guidance for ongoing support and maintenance of their health improvements.

Case Study:

I’ll share two examples for how this advice proved true in my professional career as both a nutrition counselor for consumers as well as a content provider for practitioners. It plays out the same in both scenarios.

Private Practice Dietitian:

As a private practice clinician, I was fortunate enough to have the trust of several referring physicians and organizations. People who have seen a physician for a condition already have an elevated sense of urgency.

My clients who were touched by cancer came to me with an extreme level of urgency as, in many cases, they had already had some really tough conversations about their health.

They experienced all the psychological factors that compelled them to not only make appointments with me but to become long-standing clients. They had fear, anxiety, desire, and perceived risk all around nutrition as it related to their condition so my core offer was a must-have solution.

And, because their oncologist or outpatient oncology dietitian had referred them to me, the acquisition was quick, they were very engaged clients, and they tended to stay a client of the practice.

Business-to-Business Content Provider

My ideal client is a healthcare practitioner who makes nutrition recommendations as part of their care plans. Most of my clients come to Living Plate Rx in pain – they are exhausted and overwhelmed from having to create all the resources necessary to bring their clients’ nutrition recommendations to life.

When I was at my booth at the symposium I could see the pain in their physical response to my question, “Who creates all the content for your practice?” With an audible sigh, they would say, “I do,” with a defeating tone.

I presented our organization as the must-have solution to their problem. They could either get relief or continue perpetuating the pain they were in by continuing to do everything themselves.

Most choose relief. These practitioners who join our community exhibit all the psychological signs of clients with urgency – anxiety, pain, desire for quick results, perceived positive outcomes. They also move quickly through the sales cycle and stick around long-term as we continue to fulfill our promise of providing relief and support.

Identifying Niches with Urgent Client Needs

Understanding the difference between broad and specific niches with urgent client needs can make a huge impact on your marketing effectiveness and client acquisition.

When we target broad niches, such as “gut issues,” they often struggle to attract and convert clients. Why? Because a broad niche encompasses a wide range of conditions with varying levels of urgency and need. For example, someone with occasional bloating may not feel an immediate need to seek help, whereas someone with severe Crohn’s disease likely does.

Broad niches can dilute your marketing efforts. When your messaging is too general, it’s harder to connect with potential clients on a personal level. You might end up with a lot of lukewarm leads—people who are somewhat interested but not motivated enough to take action.

On the other hand, focusing on specific niches with urgent needs allows you to tailor your marketing messages directly to the clients who are most likely to seek immediate help. This targeted approach can significantly increase your chances of converting leads into clients. Instead of casting a wide net, you’re fishing with a spear, aiming directly at the clients who need your help the most.

Examples of Urgent Niches vs Their More General Niches

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) vs Gut Health

Clients with conditions like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis often experience severe symptoms that require immediate dietary adjustments. The urgency here is driven by the need to manage flare-ups and prevent further complications.

Pre-Diabetic Conditions vs Diabetes Care

Individuals who have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic are at a critical juncture. They need to make rapid lifestyle and dietary changes to prevent the onset of diabetes. This sense of urgency can make them highly motivated to seek professional guidance.

Post-Surgery Recovery vs Heart Health

Clients recovering from surgeries, such as heart surgery, have specific dietary needs to aid their recovery. The immediate need to heal and avoid complications drives them to seek expert nutritional advice.

Food Allergies vs Pediatric Nutrition

Parents of children with food allergies need to identify and eliminate triggers quickly to avoid serious health risks and even death. Their urgency to prevent allergic reactions can lead to a strong demand for your services.

Weight Management for Medical Procedures vs Weight Management

Clients who need to lose or manage weight for upcoming medical procedures or treatments, such as orthopedic surgery or fertility treatments, often have a tight timeline to meet their goals. This urgency can lead them to seek immediate dietary support.

If your niche is listed as one of the general ones I just mentioned, then I have already given you an idea for your urgent ICA. If not, think about your niche briefly and I am certain you can identify an urgent ICA in there.

Does this mean that you have to abandon serving those with less urgent needs? Of course not. But you will focus all your marketing energy on attracting the clients with urgency.

Accelerating Your Sales Funnel with Urgent Clients

When clients have urgent needs, their decision-making process is expedited. They don’t have the luxury of time to deliberate or explore numerous options. Instead, they are driven by the need to find a solution quickly. This urgency means that they are more likely to make decisions swiftly, moving from initial contact to booking an appointment and starting a treatment plan much faster than clients without urgent needs.

For example, someone dealing with a severe allergic reaction or an acute flare-up of a chronic condition like Crohn’s disease needs immediate dietary intervention. These clients are ready to act now, which means you can convert them from leads to paying clients in a much shorter time frame. By focusing on urgent needs, you can streamline your client acquisition process and get quicker results for your clients. 

Building a Fast-Response System

Potential clients with urgent needs do not want to wait long to hear from you – if they do, they’ll find someone else who can respond quicker. Put a system in place that honor’s the client’s urgency – from contacting you to booking the appointment, the process should be expedited and seamless.

Dedicated contact channels

A chat widget on your website is a quick way for people to reach out to you. If you have an office phone number that is a good option as well. What ever channels you select, make sure they are monitored frequently so you can respond promptly.

Automated responses

Use automated responses to acknowledge inquiries immediately. An automated email or text message confirming receipt and indicating when they can expect a personal response can provide reassurance, and comfort, and set expectations.

Priority scheduling

Implement a priority scheduling system for urgent clients that are referred to you. Reserve specific time slots each day so you can accommodate these clients quickly.

Streamline triage and onboarding

Develop a quick triage process to assess the urgency of incoming inquiries. Have a set of questions or a checklist that you can forward at the time the appointment is scheduled and use answers to determine the level of urgency and prioritize accordingly.

Create a streamlined onboarding process ensuring that all necessary forms and initial assessments can be completed quickly, either online or during the first consultation.

Easiest Source of ICA with Urgent Needs: Referring Doctors

If I were to start a private practice all over again, this is where I would start – establishing relationships with local physician practices in my niche. In the previous segment I shared with you examples of niches that contain clients with urgent needs. Each one of these aligns perfectly with a potential referring practitioner:

IBD: GI Specialists

Pre-diabetic: Endocrinologist

Cardiac Surgery: Cardiologist

Pediatric allergist: Pediatric Allergist

Here’s why referrals from doctors are so powerful:

Established Trust: Clients are more likely to trust and act on the recommendation of their doctor. When a doctor refers a patient to you, it comes with an inherent level of trust and credibility, making the client more inclined to seek your services quickly.

Clear Sense of Urgency: The fact that a doctor is recommending immediate nutritional intervention underscores the urgency of the situation. Clients are more likely to recognize the importance of acting quickly when the referral comes from their trusted healthcare provider.

Pre-Screened Clients: Referrals from doctors mean that the clients have already been pre-screened for specific urgent needs. This pre-screening ensures that you are getting clients who genuinely require immediate dietary intervention, aligning perfectly with your fast-response system.

You don’t need many referring physicians to fill up your calendar. Start with a short targeted list and present your value proposition. Chances are these practices do not have in-house nutrition support for their patients, so you are just the solution they need!

Conclusion

Attending the Today’s Dietitian Symposium this year was an eye-opener for me. Being in the same room with hundreds of colleagues and potential clients who have urgency was an invaluable experience. Presenting my core offer and seeing firsthand the reactions of my ideal customer avatar provided insights that no amount of market research could ever deliver. It’s a privilege to learn and refine your pitch in real time.

You might not always have the luxury of a symposium floor, but you can create your own version of this experience. Think of it as building a “capsule” of clients with urgent needs. This capsule is a concentrated group of clients who require immediate help, making them highly motivated to engage with your services.

By focusing your marketing efforts on attracting clients with urgent needs, you can significantly shorten your sales cycle, increase conversion rates, enhance client engagement, and improve retention. Creating your own “capsule” of these clients ensures a steady flow of motivated individuals who see your services as a must-have solution.

Quick Strategies to Start Creating Your Capsule:

Identify Specific Urgent Niches:

Reflect on the examples we discussed, such as IBD, pre-diabetic conditions, post-surgery recovery, severe food allergies, and weight management for medical procedures. These niches are goldmines for finding clients who are ready to act now.

Build Relationships with Referring Doctors:

Establish connections with local physicians who deal with these urgent conditions. A referral from a trusted doctor not only brings in pre-screened clients but also adds a layer of trust and urgency to the client’s decision to seek your services.

Develop a Fast-Response System:

Ensure your practice can respond quickly and efficiently to inquiries from clients with urgent needs. Whether it’s through dedicated contact channels, automated responses, priority scheduling, or streamlined onboarding processes, the goal is to honor the client’s sense of urgency and convert them swiftly.

Leverage Your Expertise:

Use your knowledge and experience to craft compelling marketing messages that address the immediate concerns of your urgent niche clients. Highlight the quick results they can achieve and the risks of delaying treatment. This not only attracts urgent clients but also positions your services as essential.

As you implement these strategies, you are not just filling your calendar—you are making a significant impact on the lives of clients who need immediate help. This dual benefit of growing your practice while providing critical support to those in need is incredibly rewarding.

I hope you found today’s episode insightful and that it inspires you to refine your marketing strategies and accelerate your sales funnel by focusing on clients with urgent needs. If you have any questions or experiences to share, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you.

Your Content Cure for This Week

Your Content Cure this week is an ebook: Accelerate Your Sales Funnel: Leveraging Client Urgency for Growth

It’s an ebook that summarizes many of the points we covered today and offers you actions to take to create your own capsule of clients with urgent needs.

>>DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES HERE<<

Jeanne Petrucci, MS, RDN

I’m a Registered Dietitian with a Master of Science in nutrition education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

I’ve participated in research with gold-standard institutions exploring the impact of evidence-based nutrition education and culinary programs and tools on human nutrition-related behaviors.

I’m a busy mom of four and have been exactly where you are — “juggling and struggling” while trying to create content, serve clients, and grow my practice… while still having time and energy for everyone else.

I’ve been a private cooking instructor for over 25 years and have seen firsthand what confidence around food and food preparation can do to improve health. I created Living Plate Rx to help practitioners give that confidence to their clients — without burning out, wanting to quit, or feeling miserable because they can’t scale their practice.

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