You’re The Best? So What—I Am Too

By Tannus Quatre, PT, MBA

Are you the best physical therapist? If the answer is yes (and it very well might be the case), then let me ask a second question—who else thinks they are also the best? Spoiler alert: everyone.

While it is no doubt a good thing that physical therapists carry with them a high level of pride and confidence in their craft, the problem that “being the best” causes is that our communities are bombarded with messages that force them to pick a winner in the same way they would judge the finishers in a race: first place, second place, third, and so on.

The truth is that in many ways, we are all the best at something. That something may be a clinical outcome for a specific diagnostic category, and it may be that we take the greatest pride in our facility. It could be that we cater to the emotional needs of our clients by developing deep relationships, and it may be that we are the most convenient location for after-work appointments.

They key to cutting down “noise” in the market is to focus your messaging on what others are not saying and allowing the market to hear your story come through loud and clear because you are the only one telling it.

By doing so, you will find that there is room for everyone and being the best does not have to be a zero-sum game.

Tannus Quatre, PT, MBA, lives at the intersection of physical therapy and entrepreneurship, spending his time helping physical therapists build and operate successful practices through his company, Vantage Clinical Solutions. He specializes in marketing, finance, and business planning, and authors and speaks regularly for the APTA and PPS. He can be reached at tannus@vantageclinicalsolutions.com.