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Hey Practice Builders — it's Steve with Healthcare Marketing Vitals!

Last week, I talked about key citation directories you should list your practice on.

This week, we're diving into a 300-year-old networking secret that most healthcare providers have never heard of—but it helped build America's first hospital, its first lending library, and the University of Pennsylvania.

If random networking events and occasional lunches aren't filling your referral pipeline, it's because the model is broken.

There's a much better, more systematic way.

Spotlight Preview

Most healthcare networking feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall—hoping something sticks.

But Benjamin Franklin cracked the networking code in 1727 with a structured approach to mutual improvement that created institutions still standing today.

In This Week’s Email:

• [30 sec] Worth Your Time: Tools for systematic, Franklin-inspired networking

• [3 min] Spotlight: How Franklin's "Junto" model builds referral networks that last

• [5 sec] Poll: Free Discord Group?

• [30 sec] By the Numbers: The data behind networking and referrals

• [30 sec] Quote for the Week: Giving gets

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3 Key Insights

✅ Structure Beats Chance: The most powerful referral networks aren't built on random encounters at mixers; they are built systematically. Benjamin Franklin's success came from a structured, purpose-driven model that can be directly applied to healthcare.

✅ Give, Don't Just Take: Franklin's Junto model was founded on "mutual improvement." By focusing first on how you can help other professionals solve their challenges, you build the deep trust that makes high-quality patient referrals a natural outcome.

✅ Start Small to Build Big: You don't need a 12-person group. The path to a powerful network starts with a single, high-trust relationship. Nurturing a "Core Duo" is a manageable first step that lays the foundation for exponential growth.

WORTH YOUR TIME

Networking Tools You Can Use

🪁 [Resource] Ben Franklin Circles - Want the real deal? Explore the modern application of Franklin's Junto model for community networking and mutual improvement. Find a Circle →

👀 [Watch] Networking Doesn’t Have to Feel Gross - Networking (like marketing) can have a stigma. Daniel Hallak talks about a way to go about networking without feeling like it’s all transactional. Network Better →

🔉 [Listen] How to Create, Grow, and Build a Network (Podcast) - This episode of The Private Practice Startup podcast dives into the specifics of how to build a network that keeps your practice full, focusing on creating authentic, long-lasting professional relationships. Listen Now (47 min) →

SPOTLIGHT

How Benjamin Franklin Built the Ultimate Network (And Why You Should Copy It)

4 min. read

You attend the local chamber of commerce mixer. You exchange business cards. You send the occasional referral.

But your referral network feels more like a loose collection of acquaintances than a systematic patient acquisition engine.

Stark reality: Most healthcare professionals approach networking all wrong.

But the solution was perfected nearly 300 years ago by a 21-year-old printer in Philadelphia.

Franklin's Secret: The Junto Club

In 1727, Benjamin Franklin formed the "Junto Club" (from the Latin jungere, "to join").

This wasn't a social club and it wasn’t like that party bus you had when you were 21.

It was a curated group of 12 diverse professionals who met every Friday for decades with a specific purpose: mutual improvement and community benefit.

The results are more than a little humbling.

The group's initiatives led to:

• The creation of the first lending library

• Volunteer fire departments

• The University of Pennsylvania, and

• Pennsylvania Hospital—the first public hospital in America.

This model is perfect for healthcare referral networking because it’s built on structure, not chance.

• Systematic, Not Random: Franklin used a list of 24 questions to guide every meeting, tackling topics like, "Have you any weighty affair in hand, in which you think the advice of the Junto may be of service?" and "Do you know of any deserving young beginner lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?"

• Diverse, Not Homogeneous: The original group included a merchant, a surveyor, a mathematician, and a cobbler, among others. Franklin understood that diverse expertise prevents groupthink and sparks innovation.

• Giving, Not Taking: The entire model was based on what members could contribute, not what they could extract. This focus on genuine, mutual support is what builds the deep trust and naturally leads to everyone getting a larger benefit from the group helping one another.

Getting Started: Your Healthcare Junto (The Manageable Way)

I get it.

The idea of forming a 12-person group can feel daunting. So let's not start there.

Here is a simple, three-step plan to begin building your network using Franklin's principles.

Step 1: The "Core Duo" (This Month)

Instead of finding 11 other people, find one.

Your goal this month is to identify a single, non-competing specialist or professional whose practice complements yours.

This could be a cardiologist if you're in family medicine, a physical therapist if you're an orthopedist, or a trusted practice manager in a different field.

Your Action: Invite them for coffee. Don't pitch a grand alliance. Use the time to ask Franklin-inspired questions:

• "What's the biggest challenge you're facing in your practice right now?"

• "What's a recent success you're proud of?"

• "Are you seeing any gaps in care within our community?"

The goal is to establish one high-trust relationship.

That's all you have to do to start this month.

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Step 2: The "Foursome" (This Quarter)

Once you have your "Core Duo," the next step is to expand to a small group of four.

Each of you invites one other trusted, non-competing professional to join you for a quarterly coffee, cocktail hour, lunch, or dinner.

Your Action: Frame it as a "Practice Leaders Roundtable." Keep it informal but structured.

• Structure: Each person gets 10 minutes to discuss a current challenge or opportunity. The other three act as a personal board of advisors.

• Benefit: This is a low-commitment way to multiply your connections and insights exponentially. You are now networking with purpose, solving real problems together.

Step 3: The "Junto" (This Year)

After a few quarterly meetings, your group of four will have built real trust and momentum.

Now, and only now, you can consider expanding to the full 12-person Junto—and decide if that’s what you all want to do.

Each of the four core members can nominate two other professionals to invite.

Your Action: Propose formalizing the quarterly meetings.

• The Pitch: "We're getting so much value from these discussions. What if we expanded our circle to include other specialties and made this a permanent 'Healthcare Junto' for our community?"

• The Result: You will have built a powerful, sustainable referral network—not through cold outreach, but through a deliberate, value-driven process. It's a system that creates an "obligation of trust," making referrals a natural byproduct of your relationships.

When you know your referral partners this well, you can tell a patient, "I'm sending you to Dr. Smith. She's not only a brilliant cardiologist, but I also know she's dedicated to..."

That is a level of trust no online review can replicate and you absolutely will get out more than you put in.

A Quick Poll

A few weeks ago I put out a poll about starting a free Discord group so everyone could have a mini-mastermind (or junto).

Although the response was very positive, there wasn’t enough response for me to see whether this is a good or useful idea. So here’s the poll again!

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BY THE NUMBERS

Why Networking Matters

• 84% of People: The percentage who trust recommendations from people they know, making a physician-to-physician referral the most powerful form of marketing in healthcare.

• $2.4 Million: The average annual revenue a physician generates for their affiliated health system, a figure driven heavily by referrals to specialists and hospital services.

• Only 48% of Professionals: Consistently keep in touch with their network, even though 79% agree networking it vital to success.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

When You’re Ready, Here are 3 Ways I Can Help

1. Reply to this email: What's your single biggest challenge with marketing your practice? I read every response and use your questions to shape future newsletters.

2. Considering a Community? A few weeks ago, I surveyed interest in a private Discord group for practice builders to share wins and solve challenges together. The feedback was positive, but I'd love to hear from more of you. Vote in the poll (a few scrolls above) if you'd be interested in joining a free community of your peers.

3. Under 90-95% appointment fill rates consistently? - Maybe it’s time for a 3-month growth sprint 👇

*Some links in this email may be affiliate links. They support this free email at no cost to you. Your support of our sponsors means a great deal to me and goes a long way.

That’s All for Now

Franklin proved that a small, dedicated group can change the world. You can start by changing the health of your community—and your practice.

See You Next Week,

Steve