4 tips to become an inspiration for your patients

If you’re like me, you’re hungry for great ideas, the kind that inspire and help take your career to the next level. You can also be an inspiration to your patients. If you want to leave your mark in the world of nutrition, you have to give your patients more than they ask for and offer them results that make their family and friends react and say: “who is helping you?” Ideas today are in many places. There are other colleagues who have interesting ideas and a lot of highly valuable online content, equivalent to a thousand times the books you had to read when you were a student. If I have learned anything over years of experience, it is that the best ideas are the simplest. That’s why I would love to give you some tips today to help you be THE BEST.

1. Good consultants are those who connect with their clients

It takes us a long time to acquire the skills to assess correct nutrition levels, develop meal plans, track and measure our patients’ progress. And it takes a lot of practice to motivate a patient to level up without them falling into a bad mood and abandoning everything. But do you know what is the greatest skill you should develop? The ability to establish a very reliable conversation. The best consultants I have met do not limit themselves to having the classic professional-patient conversations in which everything is finished “here is what you have to do.” Knowing how to talk to them will nourish that human connection so necessary for a good relationship. Ask sincere questions that make them understand that you want to understand first why they want to lose weight. The most effective recommendations come from sincere conversations, in which your patients reach their own conclusions. With the advancement of technology, today a culture that emphasizes vertical knowledge, which comes from the top down, prevails. We have lost the art of speaking, of asking. To deepen your relationship with patients you have to mix a high dose of curiosity and a great desire to help. Creating a climate of trust and openness will allow you to be better prepared to help your clients, especially in the most difficult moments, when they value your contribution.

2. Be the consultant they want

There is a horrible but undeniable truth: in most cases, professionals think first of us, then of ourselves, and finally… of ourselves! You’ve probably seen it a million times. Some patients take the pleasure of changing their eating habits, exercise, reorganize their lives… and it turns out that in the end they realize that this was not what they had asked for or looked for from the beginning. The most efficient consultants are those who draw hope, help their patients realize dreams and overcome fears and disappointments. Does it sound like therapy? Exact! Patients have to be convinced that this is the best, to focus on results with which they agree. That will make them always come back to you, because you are the consultant they want you to be and not the one you want to be. To influence and motivate you have to make the patient realize, for themselves, why and why they should take each step.

3. The best are those who create their brand

Many consultants are good at their job. But being good is not enough. You have to be notable (ie: get noticed). The most creative and innovative are those who apply new teaching techniques and have the necessary agility to react to all the needs of their patients. Conclusion: the best are better because they do things that stand out. The best build a reputation precisely by being different and are worthy of reference. It is very important to draw attention to your techniques and mark the differences with the rest. Standing out for something will make you more attractive as a professional. Define yourself: do you want to be the cheapest, the most expensive, the fastest, the slowest? Try to experiment to position yourself in a different place. Sound risky? Of course. But nothing is as risky as being “one more.”

4. Focus on what matters

Doing it all is a ridiculous myth. Good consultants should not be interested in serving EVERYONE, in knowing every diet trend, in reading every nutrition article, in attending dozens of seminars. That is useless and counterproductive. The best ones focus on researching what is truly important in the market they work in and the type of patients they seek to attract and serve. How do you know if something is worth it? You have to develop a discipline to eliminate everything that causes confusion and focus on acquiring the most important knowledge. If you can figure out how to do the fewest things while guaranteeing the best results you will have more control over your career and should prosper faster in your business.