Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Dr Mandee Hollen and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- Apr 28
- 18 min read
📍 hello and welcome to networking unleashed building profitable connections. Welcome back to the show folks I'm your host Michael Forman and you're listening to the podcast Where networking is more than just awkward handshakes and bad coffee. It's an art But here's the twist. It's an art and talent.
You can actually learn. Yes, even if you're the person hiding in the corner at every event, pretending to check emails. Networking isn't just a nice skill to have. It's a game changer when you get good at it. You'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. More connections, more opportunities, more profits. It's like unlocking a cheat code for life.
So whether you're the life of the party, or the just let me stay at home and text type, we've got something for you. So stick around, let's turn those awkward small talk moments into big wins. I have today, Dr. Mandy Holland, and she's a chiropractor in Johns Creek, Georgia, and she was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida.
She received her bachelor's degree from Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, where she also played NCAA soccer for all four years. Now, before I butcher her background even more, let me introduce you To Dr. Mandy Holland and let her fill you in. So welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so I did my undergrad at Lamestone college and then went to life university in Mariana, Georgia.
That's where I met and fell in love with my husband and we started our own practice. Nothing too exciting after that. If I remember correctly, you started up under a different name and you changed it. Yes. So we started up under our franchise. Okay. That's what I thought. And then you just moved it to your own and things have been, I'll say wonderful ever since.
Yes. Absolutely. Okay. So let's go right into my networking questions and how was network, how has networking played a role in growing your chiropractic practice and spreading the vision of a drug free healthcare? So networking has always been a very big and vital role to our practice. We actually chose the location based off of my husband's business networking international group.
So his BNI group is what got us over here. He was an independent contractor originally before we opened up our own practice. And he loved his B& I group so much that he found a spot that was close enough to where that would still work for him because he still had clients. So they just transferred over when we opened our doors.
And that's how we picked it. And then as soon as we opened, we became a member of Chamber. And so that kind of became my thing and B& I was his thing. And it has been fantastic and helped us. And we always try and keep our networking up. And obviously with those networking meetings for the chamber, half the people there have either come to see you or have people come to see you.
So again, you must be doing something right. Okay. In a field where people often see conventional medical treatments, how do you use networking to build trust and credibility for chiropractic care? So it's a lot of just being really consistent with networking is the biggest way that I build trust, especially with chamber.
I've seen chiropractors come and go. I've seen medical professionals come and go from chamber and they're like that didn't really work for me. Great. I saw you like a handful of times. No one could really predict when you were going to be there. And so I would say that consistency has really helped us.
That and just talking to people. People will start talking to you about their medical issues and just giving them slight suggestions on maybe adding a supplement. And then that works for them. And so then they come back to you for more advice. And then eventually it becomes they're a new patient and they trust you with what's going on.
That's true. And back to the chamber, consistency is the key. Consistency, because as long as I've known the chamber, you've always been there. And it's just a matter of me going every single week. Now, I wasn't there today. But consistency is the key and that's true with any networking event because the more people see you, the more that they will trust you.
And as I've said before, over and over again, trust is that crucial part of networking. What strategies have you used to educate people about the benefits of chiropractic care through networking? So we have always done like wine and wellnesses with our office. We used to do those a long time ago.
We're looking at adding those back in where we have educational sessions or workshops where people can come in and learn on different topics. I always try to make sure that I have a learning component to whatever I'm talking about at chamber or. wherever I might be. I am, we are very big in education, so we are always constant, like this morning is National Nutritional Month, and so I gave four tips on how to better your diet and to make that a healthier consistency for you.
So always educating. I'll tell you one thing that I believe sets you apart from other chiropractors that I've known is your educational segments, because you're always trying to educate. You're never trying to push somebody, but you're always educating them. And I think that also you. Helps you with the trust factor and that helps you in the networking and so on and so forth.
So that's very good. What types of professionals or industries have you been most, have been your most valuable networking connections and how they help your business grow? I would probably say it's a very wide variety. You would think that it'd be more so the medical community, but it's probably more labor intensive jobs.
People that are in the fields of heavy labor, they typically are going to need more care and more prevention. And so they are more apt. to want to come in. The medical community usually doesn't like to play nice a lot of the times because they're like I can do that for you. You don't need to go see someone else.
And we have a big heads. And so we think that we can fix every single patient. So referring them out to another. It's it doesn't work as well as a lot of people think but we do have a little bit of that as well, but mainly the labor intensive jobs. I agree with that wholeheartedly and I would add on to that, but that's going to leak into my next question.
So that's this is really going to play into it. Chiropractic care often thrives on referrals when networking strategies have worked best for generating. What networking strategies have worked best for generating high quality patient referrals? Talking about specifics. So a lot of people suffer from headaches and migraines are really big in ours, but instead of just doing a very generalized topic with networking, we always want to try and focus our energies and say, do you know someone not suffering from headaches or migraines?
Most people do. It's not just about saying, do you have a spine? You should get to check up. It's more about the specifics. Because that's where it has a light bulb go off for a lot of people and that's when they think, Oh, my friend has that. I need to give them your card versus, Oh, I know everyone has a spine.
And then it falls flat. So I would say more specifics is usually more helpful for us to actually turn people into referrals. That's great because I listen, I've I'm the networking guy. Okay. And I always say referrals are golden. That's your golden goose for your money. And everybody that I know that have that has met you, they've always said.
You have to go see Dr. Mandy. You have to go because the office is so welcoming because everything is customer service. So when you go above and beyond customer service, that's one thing. But when you had, when you have good service, as well as Good customer service. That's a combination that you just can't beat.
Hats off to you. Thanks. Have you encountered skeptic skepticism about your approach to healthcare in networking circles? Absolutely, we get a lot of people that are like, Oh, I don't believe in chiropractic or, everything, even when I was going to become a chiropractor, I believe it was.
someone in the family that was like why doesn't she become a real doctor? So it just really depends on people's views and you just have to accept it and learn. I will say one of my favorite patients that came into our practice, I met her through chamber and she immediately told me as soon as I told her what I did, she said, Oh, I hate chiropractors.
And I said, okay. No problem. And but we saw each other all the time and then she had a question about something that was going on with her and I gave her a supplement recommendation and that worked for her. And so she started asking more and she is actually one of our biggest raving fans. She tells everyone about us and she loves chiropractic and she loves coming in and getting adjusted.
So much that she took us to New York because we helped her just change her whole life. And so she is a testimony to just being really consistent and just being there and meeting people where they're at. But yes, we do get a lot of that. It's just being steadfast in what you believe in and what you know works and people will find you.
Thank you. You just have to let some go that just don't want to. And you brought up Raving Fans. Do you know of the book, Raving Fans, by Clem? Absolutely. Okay. We have all of our new hires read it. Okay perfect. When I was in the mortgage industry, I used to give that book to every realtor.
That I became associated with. And they said what's the, it's it's a little book. What do you mean? That book is so jam packed and it's so it's spaced so much. I'm like, this is like a 10 minute read. Just read it, read the book because it tells you all about customer service. And just the fact that you have all your new hires read raving fans.
That makes me a raving fan. Okay. So that's beautiful. How do you handle. the skepticism. How do you turn it into an opportunity for you? For me, I just try to be nice to a lot of people. I always I used to get really upset over it. Like when we would go do a an event and we had a table, we literally had people come up to our table and they'd say, I don't believe in that or and I'm like, okay, thanks, you came up to me, but all right and it used to upset me, but honestly, it's more about trying to meet people where they're at, just giving them little tidbits like I did this morning, talking about little tips that you can do to improve your health.
And they were very simple things from our dietician saying 30 to 40 grams of protein per meal and making sure that you're getting at least 80 ounces of water per day less than 30 grams of sugar and no averaging two cups of coffee or less per day. And then when people start to implement it, that's when that trust begins, but you can't really force it.
You just have to keep giving them different things. And when they hear. As you've been to chamber, I do tend to get a lot of shout outs. And so when they hear other people shouting out, then they start to trust more and they go, okay, maybe there's something to this. So it's just a matter of trying to meet people where they're at.
Very good. You hit something. It's real and so it's so important about a networking event Okay, you have to always look to give not receive And that's what it seems like that you based your whole business on that If you give enough you're going to receive just as much what goes around does come around but you have to realize that You have to just look at it as giving and not receiving.
Here's a famous little line. People love to buy, but they hate to be sold to. So you know what? If you keep that in mind, and if you're always giving and not receiving, then all of that will work for you. Okay. How has public speaking, workshops, or online networking helped you position yourself as a thought leader?
In chiropractic care, I would say it has helped me to come out of my shell. I'm sorry. I am actually more of an introverted person and I never enjoy speaking in front of people. Now, since being in chamber, since doing doctor talks, I forced myself to start actually while I was still in school, my mom was doing a program.
With high school students that have never been to college or no one in their family has been to college, they'd be first generation and they would do classes and so she would have me do health talks and that's where I started. And so it was just a lot of practicing and just really getting confident in speaking in front of people has made a huge difference in.
how I hold myself, how I present myself, and I've learned to just have fun with it and just let my personality come out. And if people like that personality, then they will come to you because attracts like. And so we tend to find a lot of people that are very similar minded and want to have fun in our office.
We are joking all the time. We never take ourselves seriously, but we always take our work seriously. So we always want to make sure that we are pulling in those, that same kind of energy. Outstanding. Okay, so now one thing, now what I got out of that was repetition, because once you know your stuff, as I'm sure you do, you know your stuff, but the more that you talk about it, the more that you repeat it, the more comfortable you are in repeating it.
And every time you say something, or if you gave the same speech to somebody four different times, By the fourth time, you would be so good at it, you wouldn't have to think about it, but it's repetition, and that I think is the most important factor. Okay with the rise of digital platforms, what balance do you strike between online networking, social media, webinars, so on and so forth, and in person networking events?
I have not found a great balance on that yet. Social media, ooh, is a thorn in my side. But I am really good in person. I love in person networking. That is always my favorite. Online you put a camera in my face and all of a sudden I can't talk. I'm trying to get better at that. We have gotten it to where we are constantly trying to do social media posts.
and videos. We're getting back into educational videos in our practice. We used to do them all the time. We're trying to do fun videos to show our personality because that's what people, and I think that's why I like in person because I feel like my personality comes out better. But just like we were talking about before, it's all about practice.
So getting in front of cameras and being comfortable in front of them is going to be really key for us to implement that as well. But we do a lot of blogs now and we're getting that backup. As well. Okay. Now, would you mind a little advice for me? Yes. A little bit. Okay. Start with just a minute or two, a video, okay.
And call it Dr. Mandy speaks, Dr. Mandy talks or something like that. And those, let's say those four things that you brought up today, pick one and just talk about it for a minute, just for a minute. And that's it. And do that. Three times a week. Okay, so that one talk you had today could take you literally for almost two weeks So if you were to do that do a simple one minute one and a half minute video.
Dr Mandy speaks come up with some graphic or something and you can just be yourself That's the whole key to networking is to just be yourself And when you have those reels, you never know who's gonna see it Because every time they see it, Oh, look, I have to, Oh, I have to tell so and they're going to share it.
Now, Facebook is good. You can put it on all your platforms, but Instagram is good for those reels. So if you want to do Instagram and Facebook, that's all right too. I personally use LinkedIn. As a business platform. Every podcast that I either go on or I'm a guest on, or I host, I have a piece of software called Otis clips and it divides it up into a hundred different clips and I post two to four clips per day on all the platforms.
It takes me. Three minutes. Awesome. Okay. But that keeps my face as much as they may not want to see it. They keeps my face in front of them. And pretty soon the algorithms for all of these platforms will say, Oh, look, Mandy's posting every day or every other day. Let's expand her a little bit. They will do it.
On their own. If you just consistency is the key. You have to do a consistency consistently. So that's my only piece of advice. Okay. So what advice would you give to other health care professionals who want to build a referral based business through strategic networking? I would say one is to be very Truthful, and make sure that you're presenting yourself the way that you are, otherwise it can come off as that's not really you, and then that actually goes against you on that trust factor.
That and, I can't say it enough, but consistency. Plan around the marketing as well, because, and that's where we fall short on, like the social media, is that we don't have set days and times. to do those versus I have set out and I have blocked my schedule for Chamber. He has, my husband has blocked his schedule for BNI, but making sure that you block those times and don't let anything encroach on that.
So that time management to make sure that you're staying up on your marketing, to stay up on your networking is really key. I try to look at the Chamber website. About a month in advance and see when the different events are. And I go in and I try and block my schedule right then and there so that I can make as many events as I can.
Patients can schedule around that and that's perfectly fine. We have a little bit more of an advantage because there's two of us. So Dr. Austin can stay here and run the practice while I go out and market. And that's how we've set up our office. But even if it's a front staff member that's going to the marketing.
Block out their schedule to where maybe if they're the ones that do the new patients Then you're sending them to go market but being consistent is about Making sure that you work it into your schedule consistently That's great. And that falls into I always say There's a networking mantra if they know you, if they like you and trust you, they'll do business with you.
And by you going out, blocking out your time and going to all these events, they're going to know you. They're going to say, Oh, I know her. That's Dr. Mandy. I've seen her before. So everybody will know you. Like you will that narrows the field down because listen, everybody's not going to like you for whatever reason, right?
But know you like you and then trust you that trust factor again is so crucial and critical that's what you're building. And through consistency, you're building that trust factor even without you knowing it, even without them being your client, you're building that trust factor. Okay, let me say, how do you see networking shaping in the future of drug free health care and what role do you want to play in that movement?
I see it getting more information out to just the general population. A lot of chiropractors do a lot of educational workshops that other people aren't doing. This morning, networking, I had shared in our two minute breakout. That not a whole lot of M. D. s, D. O. s, they don't get a whole lot of nutrition.
Since it's National Nutritional Month, that's what I was talking about. They don't get a whole lot of nutritional education. And sharing that piece of advice gets people to start looking into it themselves. Because they think, oh, if my doctor's not looking at it, maybe I need to. So it at least gets people a little bit more curious.
So I think that's going to help people take a little bit more empowering them to take control of their own health. There's a lot of information going out there. Those quick videos that you're talking about that I need to get better at. Those are going to be really awesome because we can get even more information out.
I remember when we first opened, man, we had to set up tables everywhere and It was awful. 4 30 in the morning, we were at Orange Theory, just trying to talk to people while they're doing their five o'clock class, like catching people in between and having a two second conversation versus now we have platforms where we can actually get that information out.
To other people on a consistent basis or in chamber, like I've done a spinal talk on how to keep your spine healthy and things like that. There's different avenues for that lunch and learns with other businesses when you meet them and say, Hey, can I come talk to your employees and I'll teach them things that they can do to keep a healthier spine so that way they're healthier.
That's exactly right. Do you, would you, do you see this. These workshops, these educational summits, or I'll call it do you see them going on video or in person? I prefer in person still my husband is the one that kind of takes over the social and digital platforms. So he's the one that is way more comfortable in front of a camera and he is the one that can talk a little bit longer as well.
So on each topic. You have to decide which one of you will do these minute long reels, but my suggestion is to do it and do it like within, like soon so that people get used to seeing it. So saying, Oh, I wonder what they have to tell me today, and look forward to it. And as my last question, which I'd love to ask is you are successful.
Now, okay, but I'm sure getting to this point, you made a few mistakes. Just give us, give me a mistake that you made and how you overcame it. Let's say in business in general is putting maybe a little bit too much trust in some people as well. Not knowing in the back of my head I don't really know about this and not speaking about it.
And again, that's that comfortability. So speaking up now, I'm way more comfortable about being like, I don't know that this is a great fit for us because not everything's going to be a great fit. So being able to speak up. About different things like that has really helped because I would say that's probably the biggest downfall that my husband and I both had is we were like we don't know.
So we're just going to trust you blindly thing. And now we do a little bit more research into things before we just blindly trust. Completely. And as a last question, I know I said that before, but one more question. Can you give me one tip that you would give for any of my listeners that let's say that they are just starting, whether it's a chiropractor or not, they're just starting in business.
What's one networking tip that you would give them? I would say, find a chamber and go all in. I've had people tell me before don't worry about going all in for chambers. It might not help you that much. It is our second highest referral source in our office. And had I just dabbled, I don't know that it would be.
Finding that networking source, And just give yourself to it. Go support other chamber members. I know I saw you at the Maximize Living or that's not what it's called. We did that event. Yes. Yes. With Greg. And just going to support other members in things that you can.
Your support builds that trust as well. So build up others. To build yourself up as well, give or gain, right? That's the, and I that's it. That's it. I never stopped learning. I never stopped reading. I never stopped trying to, I never, I always try to finish. I always try to hone my craft and because I never think it's perfect.
People call me an expert in networking and I always say, Please just try to refrain from using that word because I'm always getting better. I'm always finding something that I did wrong or that I can do better and right. I'm good at networking. I'm your networking guy, but you know what?
I'm learning. I'm getting better. So that's the only thing that I would say. Yeah. Okay. So listen, if somebody wanted to get hold of you, how would they get hold of you? Now, they may want chiropractic care. They may want some health information, some supplement information, whatever. What's the best way for them to get hold of you?
You can either call my office or send me an email. Email I do really well at or the office. Cause my cell phone is typically somewhere where I don't remember where I put it because I'm all in on something else. What is your website? My website is Cairo at the creek. com. Okay. Listen, Mandy, this was a great, I had a great time.
Me too. Okay. And I look forward to seeing you again soon. Yeah, absolutely. Next week at chamber.
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Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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