Who doesn’t want their books to be fuller? It’s not often that the people who are seeking support within their business are the ones who have hit capacity in their business.

Often dietitians are left wondering why they aren’t attracting clients/more clients and that’s when they start to internalise it and blame themselves. What I’d like to share with you today are my tips for how to sell more by solving problems, not by selling how you do it, but WHAT you do and the end goal because I’m sure it’s more around your messaging rather than you as a dietitian that’s stopping you from attracting the clients you want to see.

As most of you know, I am a bariatric dietitian and I can guarantee you, our clients when preparing for surgery, don’t pick up the phone and say I want to lose weight. That’s not the thing that’s making them take action now because I can assure you, there have been many people in their ears over the years about their weight. Something happened to make them want to take action at that very point. They pick up the phone because retirement is imminent, and they want to travel the country (when we could travel) enjoying the life they never got the opportunity to live when grinding the 9-5. They have tried to start a family and have now reached the point where they are being referred to a fertility specialist for ART but they know if they lost the weight, they could avoid going down that road so they are going to get themselves healthy first OR they’ve just been diagnosed with what I call the trifecta – high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes and instead of managing these conditions with multiple medications, they’ve decided that they’d rather focus on themselves come and back down into a healthier weight for themselves first. So you can see where I am going. It’s the end result they want, the opportunity that weight loss provides them which is what people buy into. Not the how you do it.

1. Truly understand who your audience is. I suggest getting 10-20 survey results to help you understand who your audience is and what they are motivated by followed by interviewing ~5 of them to delve deeper into their persona so you can gain the best knowledge possible of who it is you are selling too. If you haven’t already, profiling your ideal client is a must.

2. List the key outcomes your client wants from working with you. Key tip here is to make it less about you and more about them. What ways will you benefit them in their lives? Speak to their problem, not the how you are fixing it.

3. Brainstorm the results your offering provides your clients. Do you know what results you get your clients and what that means to them? I know you know what you do, but what do you help them achieve by working with you? Are you saving them time, money, improved health, better relationships, less medication, improved relationships etc.

The results you provide and the outcomes your clients want should match up here.

4. Benefits sell, features tell. This form of marketing presumes that selling is the process of connecting your offering to what it helps your customer do (features) to get to the goals they desire and eliminate the pain points they face. So for example, with our 30 day business bootcamp, the benefits were that it helped dietitians who were confused and overwhelmed with how to start their business gain the clarity they needed to understand what they did and for whom and how that looked. The features were that it was 30 days of video, audio and printed content/workbooks with weekly live coaching calls. Can you spot the difference?

5. What is the number 1 compelling reason that people will buy from you? This is also known as your unique selling proposition. I can guarantee you there are a heap of dietitians out there doing similar things as you weather that be weight loss, IBS management, paediatric allergies or sports nutrition. The field of dietetics is popular but are you super clear on why someone would choose to work with you over someone else and how do you communicate that in your marketing messaging?

When it comes to selling, I urge you to lead with value and get clear on your messaging so you are coming from a place of what results you can provide for the pain points your clients have because as long as you get them the results, it doesn’t matter how you do it when you are selling to them. They buy the outcome and who you are.