Allied Health professionals often have either formal or informal meetings, social events and/or online groups for the purpose of networking, referring and collaborating.
Their meetings are typically monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly.
By reaching out to the Allied Health professionals in your area and catching up for a cup of coffee or brief Zoom introduction, you can quickly find out which ones are ‘your kind of person’ and find out where and how these professionals network in your local area.
If you are a member of the Coaching Success Accelerator, you can find a downloadable, step-by-step process for reaching out to Allied Health Professionals.
- Action step: make a list of 10 practitioners in your local area, relevant to your niche or specialty area of coaching, and phone or email to book a time to chat.
You might also like to listen to episode 74 where I do a deep dive into how to build a referral network with Allied Health Professionals.
Also, check out episode 65 which is about communicating your value.
Joining a Professional Industry Association
Every reputable profession has an industry association that acts as a voice for its members.
Their meetings are typically monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly.
Being a member of a professional association can provide opportunities to vote on important issues, but also, it lets your clients know that you work in a serious, credible profession that has a formal self-regulation process and quality standards.
Being featured on the home page of an industry association is another way for people to find you online, positioned in a professional environment.
In Australia and New Zealand, the premiere industry body is Health Coaches of Australia and New Zealand Association.
- Action step: Contact HCANZA to enquire about membership.
- Action step: apply to sit the NBHWC exam and become board-certified
Joining a Social Networking Group
LinkedIn is a globally-recognised platform for networking with other businesses and potential clients.
It has an advantage of being “more professional” than other social media channels, so may lend credibility and good business positioning.
You may make valuable connections for referral, collaboration or potential clients here.
There are industry-specific groups where you can network with peers in specific areas of health and wellbeing.
This is a great place to go if your niche group is a professional, entrepreneur and/or manager.
Facebook also offers support in the form of industry-specific groups, like the Students of Wellness Coaching Australia group.
- Action step: Jump into LinkedIn, brush up your profile, and explore groups.
- Action step: Join the Students of Wellness Coaching Australia group.[MW1]