Today I brought on a podcast survey participant to chat about her feedback on my survey, and her pre-selected topic– the 100k loop. Her particular questions are regarding marketing and sales. We are going to unpack the loop with a clarity coaching call!

Kristen Nuckols is an OT leader and educator. She is passionate about high-intensity, accessible intervention for patients with neurological conditions. She has experience in clinical practice and academic research at Harvard. She also owns a private practice and is the co-founder of Imago Rehab– a home-based, stroke-focused occupational therapy group that offers telehealth. Her research at Harvard consisted of developing a medical device for stroke patients to utilize during rehab.

Let the unpacking begin!

I begin my clarity coaching calls with questions for my guest:

• How does Kristen get paid? Short answer– providing rehab services to stroke patients. She is also the co-founder and chief clinical officer of Imago Rehab. Her job is to grow and scale their telehealth business as well as bring her team’s device to market. Her salary is paid out from investor funding. The business itself is two-armed: the therapy (service) and the medical device she is developing with her research team at Harvard.
• What are the specifics of the medical device? The device Kristen’s team is developing is a pneumatic robot glove that is powered by air. The glove has chambers in the fingers that inflate and deflate to open and close the hand. She notes that in order for rehab to be successful after a stroke, it requires SO MUCH repetition and stretching, and a robot can do this without tiring.
• Was there a natural revolution from research to the start-up? While writing her thesis, Kristen learned there is a 17-year gap between technological advances and cultural acceptance of the advance. At Harvard, she was part of a translational medicine group called the Wyss Institute- a specially funded science research institute with the goal of moving the science from the lab to bedside in an effort for patients to gain access to better care at a quicker rate.

So while it isn’t always the case to move from research study to start-up, Kristen was part of a very strong team that was confident in the success of their device and wanted to bring it to the public.

Unpacking the Loop with Kristen

What is The Loop to get 100k? Finding your niche, marketing it, selling it, getting paid for it, delivering it, and having a testimonial.

Kristen elected to focus on marketing and sales for our session. She has OTs on staff at her group with the goal of onboarding more clients for them and higher conversion rates for patients interested in utilizing her team’s device as part of their intervention.

The Key to a Successful Marketing Strategy

In marketing, your client has heard of you, but now you want them to learn more about your product. A key to marketing is knowing who your client is and where you are finding them.

You need to have a critical number. For example– you want to grow your business by a certain number or percentage. You need to know first WHAT that number is (is it to grow by 25% end of the year? Gain 25 new clients per quarter? etc).

It’s important to understand what marketing avenues and tools are the most successful at bringing in clients in order to focus your marketing efforts.

Currently, the majority of Kristin’s clients are coming from a sales call or physician referral. Clients are also coming from outside sources like the internet, but the follow-through is lower. If the majority of clients are coming from sales and referrals, I encourage focusing on the message to your potential clients when you have your sales calls and when they are being referred by physicians. We will dive into this in sales– but is your message strong and clear? Is it relatable to the client?

Another crucial step in marketing is understanding your buyer and their journey. Are your clients going to be early adopters who are willing to try a new product or service? Or are they the client that has exhausted other services and therapies and therefore are open and willing to try something brand new? Understanding your buyer will guide you in marketing your product or service.

Sales

Sales mean getting your clients to buy your product or service.

But where are your clients going that are not choosing to buy?

In Kristen’s case, she finds many clients are skeptical of the new research and option for the robotic glove as part of therapy. She finds these clients believe that post-stroke rehab via telehealth will be effective without the added device. A smaller portion of the clients who do not pursue the product and service is due to issues such as having non-contracted insurance.

 As with marketing, you have to consider where your focus needs to be in sales. Is it traffic? The conversion rate to sales? If the conversion rate is low, it is time to focus on that conversion rate. This might mean looking at your messaging. Is the message clear? Is it strong? 

If sales calls are where you are making contact with your potential clients or patients, but want to increase conversion, consider your message for this call. Is the call focused and educational? If clients are directed to a website, are there educational videos or testimonials available? This type of marketing can help your potential client have additional information on the front end before making a commitment. The sales call should also be personal, and relatable, and reinforce the importance of them having the therapy now. 

The client buys based on urgency, scarcity, evidence, and testimonials. Be sure to address why the product or service is going to satisfy these needs for them. 

Finally, if the client does not commit, what are the next steps? You must have a follow-up plan to try and make the sale or at least attempt to answer more questions the client has. Kristen’s team follows up with an email, call, or more recently a texting option to try to circle back with the potential client.  

There can be a lot of moving parts and adjustments when it comes to maximizing your potential in business. When it comes to marketing and sales, remember to know where to focus your energy. Find out who your buyer is, and what journey are they on. Look at your data, and your numbers, and determine where to spend your time and energy to get the outcomes you want and deserve in your business!

To hear our full conversation, additional coaching tips, and more about Kristen and our random similarities, be sure to listen to the full episode here!