Are you working harder than ever to grow your cash-based physical therapy practice, but still not seeing the results you expected? You’re not alone. Many practice owners find themselves spinning their wheels, doing all the “right” things they’ve been told to do, but for some reason, nothing seems to click.
The problem might not be your marketing strategy—it could be a deeper issue with the way you’re approaching growth. Today, we’re diving into the Theory of Constraints to show you how to identify the real bottleneck in your business and apply a scientific approach to your marketing. Let’s break it down.
The Theory of Constraints: Why It Matters
The Theory of Constraints is simple: at any given time, there’s one main bottleneck in your business that’s holding everything else back. Until you identify and fix that bottleneck, no amount of additional marketing will work.
Much like when a patient walks in with knee pain, you don’t just start strengthening the quads—you diagnose and treat the root cause. Your business works the same way. If you focus on the wrong problem, everything else will just be noise.
Key Insight: Before you dive into more marketing or lead generation, identify the biggest bottleneck in your business. Once that is fixed, other areas will naturally improve.
The Stages of Business Growth: What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Understanding where you are in your business’s growth journey is crucial. What got you to this point won’t get you to the next level. There are five stages every practice owner goes through:
Side Hustle: You’re working nights and weekends, hustling to get clients. There’s no leverage.
Job Owner: You go full-time but are overwhelmed, wearing every hat in the business.
Business Manager: You start building systems and hiring people, but you’re still working a lot to keep things going.
Entrepreneur: You’ve got more time back, you’re leading the business, and your systems are running smoothly.
Industry Leader: Your business is self-sustaining. You’re now an investor, and you can scale your wealth beyond just the practice.
As you progress through these stages, you need different skill sets, mindsets, and systems to move forward.
Adapting Marketing for the Right Buyer
When you’re in the early stages, marketing to the right people is key. But marketing isn’t just about generating more leads—it’s about reaching the right kind of leads. You need to connect with people who already have a problem you can solve.
Focus Your Marketing: Stop being a generalist. Be specific in your ads. Target runners with knee pain, CrossFitters with shoulder issues, or new moms dealing with pelvic pain. The more specific you get, the more effective your marketing will be.
Overcoming the “More Leads” Mindset
Many practice owners mistakenly believe that getting more leads is the key to growth. While more leads can help, you might already have all the leads you need. The issue could be elsewhere in your process—whether it’s in your sales conversion, patient retention, or follow-up systems.
Key Lesson: More leads might not solve your problem. Identify where your bottleneck is in the customer journey—whether it’s lead nurturing, conversion, or retention.
Using Data for Smarter Decisions
The key to understanding where your bottleneck is comes down to data. You need to track and measure your key metrics regularly to see what’s working and what’s not. Using the ICE framework (Impact, Confidence, Ease) is a great way to prioritize improvements:
Impact: What is the potential impact of this change on your business?
Confidence: How confident are you that you can make this change successfully?
Ease: How easy is it to implement this change?
By scoring each potential change, you can clearly identify which changes will have the most impact on your practice’s growth.
The Ice Framework: Evaluating Changes
Here’s how you can apply the ICE framework to marketing decisions:
Impact: What difference will this change make in terms of revenue or leads?
Confidence: How confident are you in your ability to execute the plan?
Ease: How easy will it be to implement?
By using this framework, you can identify which of your strategies will yield the highest return. Whether it’s improving your lead nurturing or adjusting your sales processes, this approach helps you focus on what truly moves the needle.
The Importance of Adaptability in Your Business
The success of your marketing and business relies on your ability to adapt. You need to be willing to change your systems as your business grows. For instance, if you’re scaling with Facebook ads, it’s not just about adding more ads—it’s about evolving your entire sales process to convert those leads.
Key Point: As you scale, adjust your systems to accommodate new marketing strategies and optimize for growth. Understand that adding a new piece, like paid advertising, means adding a new piece to your sales process too.
Conclusion: Use the Theory of Constraints to Build a Self-Sustaining Business
Ultimately, the key to successful marketing and scaling is applying the Theory of Constraints. By identifying and solving the bottleneck in your business, you can achieve the consistent growth you’re looking for. It’s about diagnosing the issue, prioritizing the right changes, and using data to make informed decisions.
When you build your business as a self-sustaining asset, you’ll be able to achieve your goals while freeing up time and creating more financial freedom.
Watch and Listen to the Full Video
For a deeper dive into a cash physical therapists’ journeys, make sure to listen to the full video: Why Your Marketing Isn’t Working and the Proven Fix that Scales Your Practice.
About Author:
Although the company eventually failed, it provided Jordan with invaluable learning experiences. He became passionate about designing world-class patient experiences and building efficient marketing & sales funnels for cash physical therapists. Utilizing this expertise, Jordan became the CMO of a well-known physical therapy media company, and consulted for and built marketing funnels for some of the top physical therapy business coaches.
Eventually growing tired of the typical agency and consulting grind, Jordan, alongside Max Zirbel, founded Clinical Marketer. They infused it with the hands-on support and mentorship that they benefited from in their initial venture. The company was a success from the start, aiding clinics in scaling to 6 and 7 figures in revenue. During its first launch, Jordan and his team met Dr. Ben Bagge, whom they later partnered with after helping him grow his business from $200K/year to over $1M/year in three years.
