Ep 102 How to Get People to Invest in Their Health

If you’ve ever come off a discovery call thinking “they’re definitely going to sign”… only to hear:

“I’m just going to check with my GP first…”

You’re not imagining it.

And you’re definitely not alone.

This is one of the biggest challenges I see with dietitians trying to grow a private practice in the UK. Because you’re not just offering a service — you’re working against a deeply ingrained belief that healthcare should be free.

And the truth is… that changes everything.

It means your ideal client can:

• Recognise they need help
• Feel frustrated enough to reach out
• Even want support

…and still go back to trying to figure it out on their own.

So if you’re wondering how to get more clients as a dietitian, it’s not about working harder, posting more, or being “more visible”.

It’s about what your content is actually doing.

Let’s simplify it.

 

Why Your Content Isn’t Converting (Yet)

Most dietitians are creating content that does one of two things:

• Educates
• Reassures

And both of those are valuable… but they’re not enough on their own.

Because your audience can feel understood, learn something new, and still not take action.

And this is where dietitian private practice marketing needs to shift slightly.

Not dramatically. Not in a pushy or salesy way.

Just enough to move people forward.

 

1. Speak to What Your Client Wants (Not Just What They Need)

This is one of the simplest shifts — and honestly, one of the most powerful.

Because what your client needs often sounds like this:

“Follow a structured protocol”
“Improve gut health”
“Address nutritional deficiencies”

All true. All important.

But also… not what they’re thinking about at 8pm on a Friday night when they’re bloated, uncomfortable, and wondering if they’ll have to cancel plans (again).

What they want sounds very different.

They want to:

• Eat without worrying what will happen afterwards
• Feel confident saying yes to social plans
• Stop overthinking every meal

And when your content reflects that?

That’s when someone pauses mid-scroll and thinks:

“Oh… this person gets me.”

You’re not dumbing things down. You’re meeting them where they are.

And that’s what builds trust.

 

2. Gently Show the Cost of Doing Nothing

This is the bit many people avoid (because it can feel uncomfortable).

But here’s what I want you to remember…

If your content only:

• Educates
• Relates

…it can actually keep people stuck.

Because they feel seen… but not moved.

Your audience often believes they have time.

“I’ll sort it next month.”
“I’ll try a few more things first.”

Sound familiar?

So part of your role — as a clinician and a business owner — is to gently help them connect the dots.

Not with fear. Not with pressure.

But with honesty.

You might find yourself saying things like:

• What happens when this is left unmanaged?
• What does this look like in 6 months’ time?
• How is this already impacting your day-to-day life?

Because sometimes the real cost isn’t clinical.

It’s:

• Cancelling plans
• Feeling constantly on edge around food
• Losing confidence

And when someone sees that clearly… they’re far more likely to take action.

 

3. Show Why Your Support Is Different (Without Over-Explaining)

Now let’s talk about the big one.

The NHS comparison.

Because whether we like it or not, your audience is always asking:

“Can I just get this for free?”

And again — this isn’t something to push against aggressively.

It’s something to clarify gently.

Most people genuinely don’t understand the difference between:

• Free, generalised support
• Personalised, ongoing private care

So your job is to help them feel that difference.

Through your content.

That might look like:

• Sharing how you tailor plans to the individual (not just hand out generic advice)
• Talking about the support between sessions
• Highlighting accountability and consistency
• Showing the depth of your consultations

You don’t need a long list.

You just need consistent, real-life examples.

A client story.
A moment from your clinic.
A small win inside your programme.

Over time, this builds a picture.

And that’s when the shift happens:

From “Can I get this for free?”
To “This is a completely different level of support.”

 

The Bit That Feels Uncomfortable (But Matters Most)

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.

Because you might be reading this thinking…

“This all makes sense… but it still feels a bit uncomfortable.”

And I get it.

You’ve been trained to care.
To help.
To prioritise patient outcomes — not sales.

So talking about money, investment, and value?

It can feel… off.

But here’s a gentle reframe I always come back to:

You’re not convincing someone to spend money.

You’re helping them access a level of support they haven’t been able to get on their own.

Support that could:

• Improve how they feel
• Change how they function day-to-day
• Give them their confidence back

And staying quiet about that?

That doesn’t serve them.

It just keeps them stuck in the same cycle.

 

A Simpler Way to Approach Your Dietitian Marketing

If you take one thing away from this, let it be this:

Your content doesn’t need to be louder.

It just needs to be more intentional.

So next time you sit down to write a post, you might ask yourself:

• Am I speaking to what my client actually wants?
• Am I helping them see what happens if nothing changes?
• Am I showing why my support is different?

You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight.

Just start here.

One post at a time.

 

Ready to Turn Content Into Clients?

If you’re reading this and thinking…

“I’m posting… but it’s not really leading anywhere”

Then this is exactly what I teach inside my course:

👉 Social Media Made Simple
https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/social-media-made-simple

It’s designed specifically for dietitians and health professionals who want to:

• Grow their audience
• Attract the right clients
• And actually convert that attention into paying work

Without feeling pushy. Or overwhelmed. Or glued to Instagram 24/7.

And if you’d rather have a quick chat first, you can always come and say hello here:

👉 https://www.instagram.com/dietitiansinbusiness/

Send me a DM with SMMS and we’ll chat about where you’re at (no pressure, no awkward sales energy).

You don’t need more qualifications.
Or more hours in the day.

You just need content that connects… and gently moves people forward.

And you’re absolutely capable of that 💛

 

The Master Plan:

Helping you build the business of your dreams. Get your 22 point step-by step workbook here: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/master-plan

 

Connect with me:

Website: https://www.sarahalmondbushell.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dietitiansinbusiness/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dietitiansinbusiness

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beyondtheclinicbusiness

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeyondTheClinicPodcast

 

Episode transcription:

 

If you want more clients for your private practice, the best thing you can do is learn a few simple strategies to get people to see the value in investing in their health. And that's exactly what we're going to cover in today's episode. Now, if you're already running your own business, hats off to you because it is not easy. And one of the number one reasons it's not easy, especially for those of us living in the UK,

is because we're not just selling a service, we're selling something that people think they can already get for free through the NHS. And that completely changes the game for us as health professionals. Because it means we're having to work against a really strong default belief that healthcare should be free, or at least they should even try every free option first before thinking about investing.

And I'm sure you've experienced this firsthand in conversations with potential clients, like the discovery call where they're really engaged. They know they need help. And then they end the call with, I'm just going to see what my GP says first. Or the client that finally DMs you back and says something like, this has been really helpful, but I'm going to try and sort it myself for a bit. I'll come back to you if I still need some support. Or the classic.

I just want to do a bit more research before I invest. And don't get me wrong, we're not against people being informed, but what it often feels like in reality is this constant loop of people circling support, recognizing that they need help and then defaulting back to the free option. And if we're honest, it can feel incredibly frustrating because you're spending a lot of your time and energy doing these discovery calls or

replying to messages back and forth. So what does this mean? It means that we have to be more intentional with our content and how we communicate the value of what we offer. So in this episode, I'm going to break down how to create content that does exactly that. Content that helps people understand the value of

in their health and positions your expertise as something worth choosing

and choosing now rather than later. Let's get into it.

Okay, let's start with a few fundamentals of what your content needs to be doing in the first place to attract clients your way. Because before anything, you need to make sure you're getting the basics right. So your content is actually pulling people in and holding their attention and making them feel like you really understand them. And one of the simplest but most powerful shifts that you can make here is this. Stop leading with what people need.

and start speaking to what they want. I'll share an example of exactly how you can do this in a second, but this is really crucial when writing your social media content. You always need to focus on what people want, not on what they need, because what people need is often far too far removed from where they are right now. It feels technical or clinical or overwhelming

even if it's completely correct.

But what people want is immediate, emotional, and very easy for them to relate to and see themselves in. Many people don't fully understand their health issues and what they need to be doing to improve their health, but they do feel their problem and they know exactly what they want. So make sure you're always talking to the outcomes that they desire more than anything else. And then of course, once they're a client, you absolutely give them what they need.

An example will help you see the difference here. Let's say you're an IBS dietitian and you're writing a post about helping people manage their IBS symptoms. If you lead with what they need, your content might sound something like, if you want to manage your IBS, you need to follow a structured low FODMAP approach, but guided by an experienced dietitian. Identify your trigger foods and to support your gut health by careful reintroduction.

in a staged way. Now, yes, that might be accurate. That might be the clinical pathway. That might be exactly what you would support them with. But when someone is scrolling Instagram at 8 p.m. on a Friday evening, bloated, in pain, worried that they might have to cancel their plans because a flare up is starting, that kind of language just doesn't land. Whereas if you lead with what they want, you might say something like...

If you want to be able to eat a meal without immediately wondering how your stomach's going to react, if you want to stop worrying that you'll have to cancel plans because of a flare up, here's what you need to do. So can you see the difference when you focus on the want over the needs? That's what tells people this person gets exactly what I'm going through. You want your content to reflect their lived experience, their specific frustrations,

and the things that they are thinking at 8 p.m. at night. So the first thing to remember is focus on wants over needs.

Okay, now let's move on to the next shift your content needs to make to get people to invest in their health. The next shift is helping people understand the cost of doing nothing. Because one of the biggest reasons people don't invest in their health is because they believe they've got time. They might tell themselves, well, it's not that bad yet. Or I'll deal with that properly next month. Or I'll just try a few more things on my own first.

What your content needs to do is show them what staying in that cycle is actually costing them. Because if all your content does is educate or relate to their current struggles, they feel seen, but not moved to act. So for example, staying with the IBS example, instead of just talking about what they could do to manage symptoms, you might start creating content like what happens when IBS is left unmanaged long-term

or how constantly avoiding foods without guidance can actually make things worse. Because often people normalise their situation and your content needs to gently challenge that. So you can get people to a point where they realise actually this isn't going to go away on its own. But the key word here is gently. You're not trying to scare people into working with you. You're helping them connect the dots between where they are now

and where that path leads if nothing changes.

And that might not be further health issues, that might be the impact it has on their lives, on their loved ones, on their friends and family.

Now let's move on to the third and final shift that you need to be making in your content if you want to get people to invest in their health. This next shift is about proactively addressing the reasons people might not invest in the first place. So instead of waiting for those objections to come up on a discovery call, your content needs to start handling them before that point. So this is where your content becomes really quite powerful.

One of the biggest objections that you're up against is, of course, can't I just get this through the NHS for free? People in the UK have been conditioned to believe for years that healthcare should be free of charge, or at the very least, they should exhaust every free option first before even considering paying. Now, I'm not saying we need to be criticising the NHS and telling people to choose our services instead. It's more about helping your audience understand the difference between

free healthcare and bespoke one-to-one private support because most people genuinely don't actually realise the differences.

So how can you do this in your content? Well, you do it by clearly showing what your private support actually looks like in practice so people can feel the difference. And there's loads of ways that you can do this. You could talk to the benefits of having tailored, personalised plan over

one size fits all diet sheets. You could also mention how support doesn't just stop after one session and you have to wait six weeks or longer for a follow-up, but continues over time with contact between sessions. So if they have questions, they can get guidance when they need it without needing to wait for the next appointment.

You can also mention the fact that you actually have the time to go so much deeper with people to properly understand what's going on for them, to ask the right questions and to look at the bigger picture instead of just giving quick fire general advice, which let's be honest, if you're working in an NHS clinic, you might be limited to 20 minutes, half an hour max.

You can also speak to the difference that accountability makes, which is something they're unlikely to get in free support. Accountability is huge because a lot of people already know some of what they should be doing, but what they're missing is that consistent support to actually follow through when life gets busy or things feel really hard. And you could talk to the benefits of being part of a community.

Again, something that usually isn't part of more generalised or free support, but helps them see the benefits of having a community of like-minded people around them and connecting with others on a similar journey who actually understand what you're dealing with. Now, of course, this is something that would come when you have a group programme or a course or a membership as fairly standard. Now, I'm not saying...

Go and over explain yourself and start listing all of the things that you do in detail or turning every post into a breakdown of your services. You just want to be weaving these points into your content in a really natural way so that people start to understand what they're investing in and why it's different from trying to do it all on their own or relying on the free support. So how can we naturally do this in our content? Well,

You might share a client result post where you're talking about someone's transformation after working with you. You can casually mention how they were able to get such incredible results because it was super detailed and a tailored plan for them, as well as ongoing support in between sessions. Or you might do a post breaking down why people often struggle to get results on their own.

Now in this post, you might gently point out that it's usually because they're missing the things like the accountability to help keep them on track. Then you could go into how you help hold your clients accountable specifically. Or you might do a post on a time when one of your clients shared a tip inside the group community that worked really well for them. And then another client tried that the same week and came back saying it made a huge difference for them too.

Now, all of these things then help to build that bigger picture in someone's mind of what it's like to work with you and the things they're unlikely to get with free support. And when people start to repeatedly see the depth and personalisation of your support, as well as the results that your clients are getting, they're going to stop thinking in terms of, can I get this for free? And they're going to start thinking, well, this is an entirely different level of support altogether. And that's the shift.

that leads to people actually investing in their health.

Now I know what you might be thinking at this point, Sarah, this all sounds great, but it feels a little bit uncomfortable for me. And I get it talking about investing in health, positioning your services as something worth paying for and addressing the difference between free and paid support. It can feel a bit uncomfortable because as health professionals, we haven't been trained to think this way. So when it comes to creating content that encourages investment, can feel a bit off.

Like you're being a bit too pushy or like you're somehow taking away from the care element of what you do. Reframing this can really help here because you're not convincing someone to spend money for the sake of it. You're helping them access a level of support that can genuinely change how they feel, how they function and how they live their day-to-day life. You're helping them get results that they haven't been able to get on their own through the generic free options.

And when you start to see it like that, talking about investing in your health doesn't feel uncomfortable because you start to realize that staying quiet about your amazing work doesn't actually serve anyone. The reality is if you don't talk about the value of what you offer, your dream clients are never going to know what it's like working with you. So this is your reminder to start shouting about the impact that you can have and the amazing support that you provide.

If you want more clients, then it's time to start fully and confidently communicating those things.

So let's bring this back to the big question behind this episode. How do you actually get people to invest in their health? It really does start with your content and your content needs to be doing three key things. Number one, speaking to what your ideal client actually wants over what they need. Number two, helping people understand the cost of doing nothing and staying where they are. And then of course, number three,

handling those objections, especially the price objection, because that's going to be the big one for a lot of your ideal clients, particularly as they'll likely be able to have free options through the NHS. So now it's action time and I want you to go back and look at your recent content and honestly ask yourself, am I speaking to what my ideal client actually wants here or mostly talking to what they need? Am I helping them see what happens if nothing changes?

Am I clearly showing how the level of support that I provide is different from trying to do this alone or relying on the free options? Start doing these things with your content and then you can thank me later. And if this episode has made you realize that your content might not be quite doing the job of moving people towards investing in their health, then this is exactly the kind of thing we work on inside my social media made simple course.

Because it's one thing to create content that gets likes and a few comments, but it's a completely different skill to create content that actually shifts someone's mindset and helps them get to a point when they're ready to invest in support. The course teaches you everything you need to know to grow on social media as a health professional. I teach you simple strategies to help you get in front of more of your ideal clients, but I also teach you how to attract the right people.

and how to move people through the different stages of awareness. So they go from just discovering you to trusting you to actually want to work with you. My students have seen some amazing results from this course. Go and check out the sales page in the show notes if you wanna have a nosy. And if you've got any questions or if you want to see the social media made simple course could be a good fit for you, you can just DM me with SMMS on Instagram.

And you can find my Instagram handle in the show notes or just by searching dietitians in business. Bye for now.