Mark Nutting, Author at MedFitNetwork

Outing the Imposter: Strategies for Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome

Mark Nutting/31 March 2023/ All MFN blog/

Imposter syndrome is when, no matter what level of success one might achieve, an individual doesn’t feel like they earned it, deserved it, and/or that they have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise. This feeling of not being not being good enough can stop people from trying something new. It can diminish their efforts, because if you’re going to fail anyway, how much effort will you put into it? It can also, at minimum, increase anxiety and decrease pleasure surrounding the task.

Those individuals that are likely to experience imposter syndrome includes successful women. (In fact, the original research paper in which the term “Imposter Phenomenon” (1978) was coined, was on high achieving women.) It is also prevalent in entrepreneurs, high achieving performers, athletes, and anyone trying something where the outcome is unsure.

There are many reasons that imposter syndrome may manifest itself in gender stereotypes, cultural norms, having had skills and abilities belittled, and self-comparison to others.

The strategies to help overcome imposter syndrome begin by understanding its triggers.

1. Believing you’re the only one feeling this way. You’re not! According to Psychology Today, 25-30% of high-achievers experience imposter syndrome. This includes people such as Tina Fey, Maya Angelou, Michelle Obama, and Tom Hanks.

2. Being a perfectionist. Perfectionism is a sure way to be disappointed in yourself because perfection is never attainable. Learn to accept and be happy with doing a good job and providing value to others.

3. Believing that failing at something makes you a failure. The label of “being a failure” plays into the hands of the imposter. Approach new endeavors as “experiments” that simply carry the expectation of working or not working with increased knowledge being the outcome either way. You can keep a journal of those “experiments” and write down the things that you learned from it. Focusing on what you’ve learned helps keep the effort a positive thing. “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” –Roy T. Bennett.

4. Comparing yourself to others. The judgement of your own value or success by comparing yourself against others is unfair. Other’s perceived lives or successes is an incomplete story. We see what others want us to see. Everyone puts their best foot forward because they want you to think highly of them, hiding their own struggles and insecurities and allowing you to make this lopsided comparison.

5. Not affirming your own capabilities and successes. It is the nature of our society to dwell on the negative and not the positive. i.e. How many positive stories do you see in the news? Train yourself to look for your successes not your failures. Based on an idea taken from Shawn Achor’s “The Happiness Advantage”, write down three things that you succeeded at each day (and they have to be different things each day). This helps you to refocus and look for the positive instead of the negative. This practice can help you to own your own successes.

Experiencing imposter syndrome can hold you back from reaching your full potential and diminish the pride and enjoyment from the successes that you do achieve. Knowing imposter syndrome’s triggers and coping strategies can help you overcome them.

Reverse Marketing to the Medical Community

Mark Nutting/27 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

In traditional marketing to the medical community, personal trainers most often mail flyers or brochures that describe the trainer’s qualifications and what kind of programs they offer. They may even personally drop the promotional material off at the medical office hoping to snag a bit of the medical professional’s time to talk about the program they could offer patients.

Looking first at direct mailings, the average response in 2017 was 4.4% (Pulcinella, 2017), which is actually a bit higher than it has been in previous years. However, mailings can be costly, and you should always consider where your marketing money is best spent.

As for dropping off material and hoping to catch the professional on the fly, not much chance there. Schedules are tight and the likelihood of them having time to chat when you happen in is very low. Even if you try to make an appointment to introduce yourself, you are unlikely to get a meeting. Your best bet may be to get to know the receptionist (this may take multiple drop bys), explain who you are and what kind of results you can offer to patients, and have the receptionist push the idea to the medical professional.

Reverse marketing is a little different. In reverse marketing, you are not going to the medical professional to sell yourself and your services. You are going to medical professional to have them sell you. Picture this, you are a new personal trainer in town. You know the value to your clients when you can refer them to the right professional when they need something that falls out of your scope of practice. You are interviewing doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, registered dietitians, etc. to find the best people for your clients. In essence, you want to send patients to them. That makes finding time to talk with you a whole lot more interesting.

Now, when you do meet with the medical professional, it’s not a trick to talk about yourself. You should, indeed, interview them with the idea of finding someone you can refer your clients to. Come prepared. Bring a list of questions that you want to ask and take notes as you interview them. Questions might include, “How frequently do you recommend physical activity to your patients?” and “Of those that you do make that recommendation, how many do you think follow through with it and become more physically active?” More than likely, they will be curious about you and at some point will ask what exactly you do with your clients and what you offer. But, even if that doesn’t happen at the moment, when you do send them clients they will be thinking of you, and, when they are in a position to refer a patient to a fitness professional, yours will be the name that comes to mind.

So, as you try to get referrals from the medical community, reverse the standard thinking and build your network by finding the best people for your clients through your own interview process. If you send people to them, they will be that much more likely to send some to you.

Sources:

Why Direct Mail Marketing Is Far From Dead, Steven Pulcinella, Forbes, 2017 August