[00:00:00] Dr. Mansa Shah: I wanted to practice with freedom and I really wanted to see people healthy. So I re I just created my own system and my, you know, whole gut health protocol, which is. a five step approach. Then I was like, okay, now I have this whole approach. I’m the best kept secret in town. So what do I do? So then I created a whole blueprint for marketing systems specifically for doctors and practitioners.
[00:00:32] Then I became a coach for that because as soon as my private practice took off, A lot of peers and colleagues wanted me to teach them how that happened.
[00:00:42] Andreea: Welcome to Pioneering Perspectives ad creative podcast, where we explore marketing insights from regulated industries. Join me as we chat with real professionals navigating these complexities today, uncovering their stories and their savvy strategies for marketing success.
[00:00:59] Hey there, everyone. I am back. Uh, this is Andrea Borchia, CMO at Dia Creative, and I am super excited to bring to you Dr. Mansi Shah, who is a gut health guru and business systems coach. So Mansi, tell me a little bit about what that means, uh, with the medical background and the business systems like that, that’s a lot kind of going on.
[00:01:20] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah, I totally agree and I feel that a lot of doctors are creative But then all their creative juices stop flowing when they get into this boxed up You know medicine world where there’s so many laws to follow so many protocols to follow You’re always worried about like am I doing the right thing for the patient?
[00:01:41] What if I mess up? What if I get sued? What if I get terminated, right? So everything that we have as a creative person gets really kind of washed down, you know, like starting from when we go into pre med to med or, you know, undergrad for pharmacy, then doctorate. So that’s what I’ve done. And what I realized is that I wanted to practice with freedom and I really wanted to see people healthy.
[00:02:10] So I re, I just created my own system and my, you know, whole gut health protocol, which is. a five step approach. Then I was like, okay, now I have this whole approach. I’m the best kept secret in town. So what do I do? So then I created a whole blueprint for marketing systems, specifically for doctors and practitioners.
[00:02:35] Then I became a coach for that because as soon as my private practice took off, a lot of peers and colleagues wanted me to teach them how that happened. So gut health picked me and then coaching picked me. So that’s what I’m a product. I’m product of all the things that came to me.
[00:02:55] Andreea: I love that. You’re just a problem solver.
[00:02:57] You’re like, okay, now I have this thing. Now what do I do? Right. Are you finding that a lot of doctors, uh, are starting their own? Systems or are they struggling with maybe getting people into their private practice? What kind of doctors are you mostly working with?
[00:03:14] Dr. Mansa Shah: I work with very wide variety of doctors.
[00:03:17] Um, some of them are PharmD, some of them are MD, some of them are DOs, some of them are oriental medicine doctors, uh, some of them are chiropractors, uh, just depends. And I think, honestly, what, from what I’ve seen, there is a lot of struggle out there, um, but for traffic, so it’s, struggle’s real. Everyone’s getting, um, really kind of, um, boggled down with a lot of, like, paid ads and competition and I feel like paid ads are exhausting because at some point, like, you could literally drain out your entire account and not have any returns, so.
[00:03:59] Yeah. Instead of that, it wouldn’t be nice to create a unique system because you’re already a doctor and you’ve gone through schooling extensively. So we just have to figure out what is your niche and then really become an authority. Then people will come to you. So I really be like, my whole systems is based on attraction marketing.
[00:04:21] Andreea: Nice. I love that. Are you, are you finding any unique challenges? When you’re going through messaging for a lot of these doctors, because you’re in the health and wellness space, people are, are, you know, first of all, trust, right? Like, how do I know you’re not just some fly by night guru and you’re like a real doctor?
[00:04:37] And then I’m sure you get a lot of people that are like, well, there’s five chiropractors all attacking me with ads at the same time. How do I know which one to pick? So, like, how do you uniquely solve the, the healthcare advertising problem? Honestly.
[00:04:51] Dr. Mansa Shah: I focus on how to stand out in the marketplace. So when you are a commodity that is just available to everyone, you are not seen as an authority at that time because you’re just like, let’s think about it.
[00:05:07] Like, I’m not, I’m not trying to put down the profession, but let’s say real estate agents or, um, life insurance agents, there’s, you know, millions out there. And the one that will stand out is. Someone doing a policy that has living benefits to it. And then, you know, um, an investment portfolio that you can attach to your life and something like that.
[00:05:34] Right? So this is what I always ask, like, what is unique to you? Every person is born with a unique talent. And they have to figure out their ikigai. So we do like all for messaging, we have a workbook, we have an ikigai workbook. And then we have, um, like brand vision and what we want to create. So your private brand, along with what You have to offer creates your, your, I would say unique identity, but also your practice identity.
[00:06:10] So let’s focus on you because people trust people. They don’t trust brands. So that’s what I really focus on is. Who are you? People like me and that everything that I do becomes profitable automatically,
[00:06:26] Andreea: right? They, they bought into you. They built that trust with you. Yeah, I could see that. Do you, do you ever have resistance from doctors?
[00:06:33] I feel like a lot of the doctors that I’ve worked with are very like, ah, that’s marketing fluff. I don’t, I don’t know how to talk about myself. Just let me go in and do my surgery or let me just, let me just go to appointments.
[00:06:44] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah, that comes up a lot and it’s hard sometimes. We have to be really patient and let them kind of do their own thing still with our team, even though we don’t approve.
[00:06:58] And then we show them that, look, there’s not working. Are you open now to working our way? Cause it’s really hard. We, we want to not hurt their ego and still be respectful. So. It happens all the time.
[00:07:11] Andreea: I bet. Um, tell me about a really cool marketing, uh, effort that you did or initiative for a particular client or something you did for yourself that you’re just like, wow, this, this worked really well.
[00:07:24] Dr. Mansa Shah: Um, honestly, for me personally, I love doing polls and polls are literally solid leads people telling that come to me and pitch it to me because depending on what you are doing the questionnaire on. They will tell you exactly what they believe in or not, or what they are looking for in their life. And I definitely onboard a few, few patients a month from that.
[00:07:52] Andreea: I love that. That makes a lot of sense too, because I think when they’re looking for something, It’s a way to get to know, they feel like you’re getting to know them without them actually talking to you yet and you already get to know them a little bit. I, I love that. It’s a, it’s a really great legion option.
[00:08:09] Yeah,
[00:08:09] Dr. Mansa Shah: absolutely. I love it.
[00:08:11] Andreea: Nice. Do you struggle at all with, um, With uh, people feeling skeptical once they fill that out or like when they talk to you and and you need to Reinforce that somehow like do you have email marketing that just kind of? Walks them through a little bit more of what it is to work with you and what that means
[00:08:29] Dr. Mansa Shah: I don’t really do that kind of email marketing.
[00:08:32] My email marketing is more geared towards getting on my webinars Okay Um, i’m more of like a magic on video kind of person so I have to get them on that video call with me To get that, uh, you know, clients on board, uh, be the patient or, uh, for marketing systems. So, and then a lot of people honestly just have been following me for a couple of years now, and they just say that, Oh, I’m ready now to, to hire you.
[00:09:03] So the funnel is always building like in 90 days in advance.
[00:09:08] Andreea: That makes a lot of sense. I love that you’re doing webinars. How, how do you figure out what your webinar topics should be? Like, how do you know what people are interested in?
[00:09:18] Dr. Mansa Shah: I go with what my expertise is. I don’t care what they want because whoever wants what I have will actually come to me.
[00:09:27] So that’s like, I guess everything I do is reverse. And Um, a lot of people get on, so it just depends on different topics that I build that I can offer. So I, from my Rolodex of things I can offer, I will figure out what all I can really, uh, come up with the title for. And then, depending on the title, the client will know.
[00:09:55] Like, here’s the thing. When I’m talking to a specific audience, That title will exactly tell my audience that I’m talking to them. So I just have to be in front of them and they will come to me for the webinars. And that’s how we, I have an email list of two, 3000 now and I’m building it. I would love it to be 20, 30, 000 eventually.
[00:10:20] Andreea: Sure. Um, and, and I like that if you’re very literal, then people know what to expect. Like, no, don’t make it too fancy with marketing language. Just this is what we’re talking about.
[00:10:29] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah. No fluff. I don’t believe in fluff. Cause I’m straight to the point. I’m a Sagittarius. So straight to the point, cut the chase.
[00:10:37] Tell me what it is, how much it’s going to cost. And are we doing this or not? And then I don’t even have much of a follow up, honestly. Like, my marketing is solid. So people see me on their feed a couple times a day. So I don’t want to follow up anymore. I just say, Hey, you know I’m here. And if you don’t think of me, then I guess I need to do a better job.
[00:11:02] When you don’t think of me, when you specifically need something that I’m offering.
[00:11:07] Andreea: Nice, nice.
[00:11:08] Dr. Mansa Shah: That’s awesome.
[00:11:09] Andreea: Are you seeing that, uh, gut health is becoming more and more popular? I feel like it’s something that people have just woken up about all of a sudden.
[00:11:16] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah, I’ve been trying to speak like literally yelling for years and now finally it’s taking off.
[00:11:25] So onboarding clients have, has been much more easier than past.
[00:11:30] Andreea: Wonderful. Yeah, you’re, you’re, you finally hit the right time. That’s fantastic. It’s been a challenge. I bet. So where do you see marketing going for health and wellness and moving forward? Do you think that the market’s changing at all? Or do you think?
[00:11:44] Dr. Mansa Shah: Absolutely. Yeah, changing drastically. I just read an article last week, where they are saying that 58 percent of people don’t believe in pharmaceuticals anymore. And That is huge for our country because we went from 85 percent believing it to 58 and just a matter of next couple more years with even less and less.
[00:12:09] So we’re going to be like a country that is more holistic. Nature, uh, like natural treatment bays, you know, like nature is going to be our haven. And this is, things are going to change drastically, like five years from now, a lot of doctors who are not practicing well as holistic medicine and nutrition will be completely out of business.
[00:12:33] Andreea: Wow, that’s a really strong statement. Do you think that a lot of doctors know how to adapt into that world or? No
[00:12:44] Dr. Mansa Shah: They try but it’s so hard for them. Yeah, I was working with a gastroenterologist on the same and He was my client for almost like eight nine months and I tried so hard to make him understand like nutrition Got help a gastroenterologist Right?
[00:13:02] And every time I talk to him, we’re on so many different pages, like, we’re like books apart because all he talks about is procedures, codes, ICD 10 codes, what extra can he do during the same procedure to get more money, and then how his reimbursements have gone down. numbers, like he’s like, Oh, I need to see 40 patients at my practice.
[00:13:28] And then he’s going on all these rounds at the hospital and then constantly working 60, 70 hours a week. And then these doctors have very big lifestyle. Like they have fancy cars, big homes, their kids go to private school. So they have a lot of bills to pay. And then. And they’re just not focusing on the right thing.
[00:13:51] Yeah, yeah.
[00:13:52] Andreea: That’s such a shame because I feel like they’re not focusing on the right thing then and that, that only breeds more mistrust from people that want to trust doctors and, and then that causes even more problem. And so it really is like we need to, it’s a challenge for you and I who are trying to market to healthcare customers.
[00:14:10] Like we’re actually trying to make you feel better. Um, but maybe because you talk about this holistic, they’re like, all right, all right. I like her. She knows what she’s talking about. And they can go to a webinar to learn for free.
[00:14:21] Dr. Mansa Shah: Right. And then they like, Oh, okay. I guess we’ll work with a pretty face for a few months.
[00:14:27] And that’s what happens a lot of times. It’s just, it’s challenging. But, um, sometimes I just drop clients because they’re not meant for wellness and holistic medicine. So I let them do their own thing. And I go work with people who are more aligned and will, cause for me bringing the greatest results for my clients.
[00:14:47] Clients is what I want, right? Just like my patients. And that’s how heart centered, passionate person I am. So I just want to work with people who are really into like what they want to do.
[00:14:59] Andreea: Yeah. I love, I, I have a very similar, uh, mentality when I first started working in, uh, marketing, you just kind of work with whoever, cause you’re just getting started and you’re like, yeah, I’ll take any clients I can get.
[00:15:11] Yeah, I
[00:15:11] Dr. Mansa Shah: mean, in the beginning. You have to, right? He was literally my first client ever. I wasn’t going to drop it, right? Exactly, you’re like, I
[00:15:19] Andreea: guess I’ll just put up with this. But after a certain point, I’m just like, you know what? I, I don’t like working with you. You make me really miserable. And, um, you’re making my team scared.
[00:15:29] And I don’t like this. So So I just don’t think this is going to be a good fit anymore. And I like that. I’m at that age where I can say that it’s
[00:15:37] Dr. Mansa Shah: so important. I think the toughest thing. So I always say, Hey, let’s do some calls and figure out if we’re a good fit. Cause you know, we have big teams. Like I have a massive team now, about 10 of them.
[00:15:51] And, uh, there’s three, four in the pot, like, you know, in the, um, higher position. So. They are the ones dealing with these clients that I bring all the time. It’s not always me. I have a creative director. I have, you know, a marketing systems, uh, coach and then, um, like integration coach and then the website team.
[00:16:11] There’s so much going on. So.
[00:16:14] Andreea: Yeah. And you don’t want to lose them. That’s the other problem. You bring on clients. They hate, they leave. No, my
[00:16:18] Dr. Mansa Shah: team, I’ll never like, I’ll let go of clients. Never my team, because I’m that corporation who stands by their employees all the time. A
[00:16:28] Andreea: hundred percent. A hundred percent.
[00:16:30] It is very, it is way harder to find good people for your team than it is to find clients. So keep the
[00:16:34] Dr. Mansa Shah: team. Yes, absolutely. So perfect. Get it. The struggle is real and so real.
[00:16:44] But I love it. I love what I do. And, um, definitely I’m just going to keep expanding and, and I feel that the, the sole client that we’re looking for, that is going to give us that, you know, the. You know, that, uh, satisfaction, unlimited satisfaction. They’re out there. We just have to be, uh, more visible to
[00:17:06] Andreea: them.
[00:17:07] Yeah, I love that. Did you do a whole, um, persona analysis? Like, who is your ideal customer or your ideal client?
[00:17:13] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah, I mean, my ideal client is someone who is hot set, heart centered, wants to really heal the patients. They really believe in holistic medicine. And are not stingy. Yeah, that’s a big one too.
[00:17:33] And I do have a few selective, really good clients that are on retainer for a long time now. So those really help with staying, you know, in profit and then you add more and then some leave and some stay just. Part of the process. I
[00:17:53] Andreea: think. Nice. Nice. Uh, so where, what’s the future for the business? Where are you headed?
[00:17:59] Dr. Mansa Shah: Oh my God. The future is magnificent and I love, um, what is this post, um, COVID era is. Uh, we’re definitely getting into recession, but then on the other side, there’s an awakening that has happened. So if you’re positioned well to help people and really genuinely get the results that they want in beaded anything in marketing systems or making them an authority or, or healing the patients to, um, optimize health issues, you’re going to really grow because the universe.
[00:18:35] This is going to reward you for being true to planet Earth.
[00:18:41] Andreea: I love that. That’s a great way to, to close out. So what, uh, where should they go to learn more about you? How do they sign up for webinars?
[00:18:48] Dr. Mansa Shah: Yeah. Uh, so it’s, uh, functional wellness network.com or fw network.org. Um, they can find all the things we are doing and also a whole network of people that we’ve helped.
[00:19:02] And then for my gut health, um, it’s your gut, dr.com to find out about my. You know, there is a free guide on leaky gut and then, um, also my five step protocol that I help my patients with.
[00:19:16] Andreea: Wonderful. Well, everyone, this was Dr. Mansi Shah again, and please make sure to check her out. Thanks so much for being on the show.
[00:19:23] Dr. Mansa Shah: Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. This has been such a fun conversation, Andrea.
[00:19:27] Andreea: Thanks. On this podcast, we talk to professionals in the medical marketing space. From content creators to healthcare executives shaping patient experiences. There’s something to learn in every episode. So I like to end with my key takeaways in my conversation with Dr Muncy Shaw, here are a few things that really stood out to me.
[00:19:47] One authenticity over paid advertising. Dr Shaw emphasized focusing on attraction marketing rather than exhausting resources on paid ads. She believes in creating unique systems and establishing authority in your niche, which naturally draws people to you rather than competing in a crowded, paid advertising space.
[00:20:10] The power of personal branding in healthcare. Dr. Shaw highlighted that people trust people, not brands, which is so true across other industries, so it’s interesting that it was also true here in healthcare. She helps healthcare practitioners develop their unique identity and ikigai, rather than just promoting their medical credentials.
[00:20:31] This personal approach helps practitioners stand out in a commoditized marketplace. Three. The shifting landscape of healthcare marketing with Dr. Shawn noting that 58 percent of people are moving away from traditional pharmaceuticals. There’s a clear trend toward holistic and wellness focused healthcare.
[00:20:52] This represents both a challenge and opportunity for medical practitioners to adapt their practices and marketing approaches to meet changing patient preferences. In our next episode, Adam Rosenberg tackles one of the biggest challenges in healthcare sales. How to bring in all the necessary stakeholders without slowing down the sales process.
[00:21:14] Well, that’s the end of our episode for today. If you work in a regulated field like medical, legal, or finance, and wanna share your own marketing insights, email us at podcast@diacreative.com. And if you’re looking for marketing support, well that’s exactly what we do. Visit dia creative.com. Dia a creative.com.
[00:21:34] Any other info you might need will be in the show notes, including all links mentioned in this episode. Thanks for listening.