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How to Get More Consulting Opportunities as a Physician

Consulting is a popular side gig many physicians within our community enjoy, as it offers the opportunity to utilize your clinical expertise in a new way without additional training required (in most cases). As a bonus, it gives you the ability to help shape the future of medicine, and can be quite lucrative. Our side gig matching services for doctors are one of our most popular resources, as physicians in our online communities are always looking for ways to find consulting gigs. Below, we have tips to help physicians find (and get) more consulting opportunities as they build and scale this side hustle.


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Eight ways to get more consulting opportunities as a physician


Clarify your niche and value proposition to companies


As you look for consulting opportunities, define what knowledge and value you can bring to the table. This can help you focus your search and efforts in the right areas. Along with a medical degree, companies often seek out experts in special focus areas, or physicians who perform specific procedures or have experience with certain medical devices. Consider:


  • What are your areas of interest? What are you the most passionate about?


  • What parts of your clinical background can set you apart from other physicians in your specialty? Do you have academic research experience? Publications? Expertise in a rare subspecialty? 


  • What non-clinical experience do you have that is unique and practical? Have you worked with a startup before? Have you done other side gig work, such as expert witness work or medical writing? Have you served on a committee or board with an association, institution, or company?


  • Who might you be able to help the most? Patients? Fellow physicians and other clinicians? Administrators? Health tech startups? Pharmaceutical companies?


  • What are your target clients’ potential pain points and challenges? What problems are you uniquely positioned to solve, given your experience? What outcomes can you help them achieve?


Along with assessing what unique expertise you have, consider what you’re most interested in. Consulting roles you may wish to consider, depending on your background and interests:


  • Pharmaceuticals: Advisory boards, drug safety reviews, clinical research trial consulting, product marketing feedback, product development feedback


  • Medical devices: Product development feedback, usability testing


  • Health tech startups & companies: Advisory roles, user experience insights, go to market strategies


  • Healthcare operations: Practice management consulting, EHR optimization, operations consulting, physician advisory roles (for hospital systems), compliance consulting


  • Career consulting: Career development, job searching, burnout reduction


This list is far from exclusive, and you can consider consulting in many different areas, depending on your expertise. You may even be able to build out a completely unique niche and market your services directly, depending on your value proposition.


Learn more about different consulting opportunities:



Build your brand through visibility in your consulting area of expertise


Visibility is a critical component to help showcase and generate awareness of your unique value proposition to potential clients. While your expertise can help you find relevant opportunities, being recognized as a credible, trusted expert in your field can allow opportunities to find you instead, which can significantly reduce the amount of effort you have to put into getting each individual gig (and give you more leverage in rate or compensation negotiations).


We often talk about building a brand for your physician side gig. This holds true for consulting. Think of your visibility as your physician consultant brand, and focus your efforts on what highlights the niche you defined above.


Ways physicians can build visibility and their brand include:


Eight ways to build visibility for your consulting side gig or business



  • Contribute to educational content for medical societies or to specialty journals




  • Speak at conferences, on webinars, or on panels


  • Offer to mentor medical students, residents, fellows, or early attending physicians


  • Offer informal guidance to startups in your network, such as on LinkedIn, that showcases your expertise and areas of interest 


Many of these can also offer side gig income as you build up your consulting business!


When contributing to other outlets (articles, podcasts, webinars, etc.), make sure to include in your bio that you are a consultant, and reference your areas of expertise. 




Sign up with market research and consulting companies


Several companies exist that work specifically to connect physicians with consulting opportunities. These platforms match consultants with short-term projects ranging from one-time phone interviews to longer, in-depth engagements.


These companies typically require you to register and complete a profile outlining your background, including clinical work, areas of expertise, and any nonclinical specialties.


Once you’ve registered, you’ll be invited to participate in matching opportunities. Opportunities may include phone interviews/consultations, online surveys, virtual or in-person focus groups, or advisory roles.


Be cautious if a company charges you a fee to participate in their platform or for access to their opportunities. Regardless of where you find an opportunity, spend a little time vetting each opportunity before signing up. A little due diligence can save you from a huge headache down the road by filtering out potential scam opportunities and opportunities that aren’t a good fit.


Related PSG resources:



Utilize our free matching platform for consulting opportunities


Market research and consulting companies often come to us looking to connect with physicians for consulting opportunities such as product development feedback and usability testing, and startups and health tech companies touch base looking to connect with physicians interested in advisory board positions. To help facilitate, we offer free side gig matching databases to all members of our online physician community, and reach out to physicians who match opportunities based on their expressed interests.


If you would like to be alerted of relevant consulting opportunities, sign up for our consulting side gig matching database (you must be a member of our free physician only Physician Side Gigs group to access, but it’s completely free to join).


Also make sure you sign up for our PSG weekly newsletter (open to everyone), where we publish current and upcoming side gig opportunities.



Expand and leverage your network to get more consulting opportunities


Many consulting opportunities are never openly advertised. Instead, companies fill roles through word of mouth referrals, introductions, and conversations with specific individuals of interest. To earn a seat at the table, you either need to be in the room or know someone else who is. Networking is often your most valuable tool for getting more consulting opportunities.


Consider the following:


  • Leverage your existing network.  Let people know you’re seeking consulting roles. This includes: colleagues and peers from current and previous clinical roles; former medical school, residency, and fellowship classmates; faculty and mentors; and friends and acquaintances, especially those in nonclinical roles. Note: this does not mean putting a blast out to everyone asking for a job. Be organic versus salesy in your interactions, but make sure to share your interests in consulting and your progress with what work you’ve done so far. Position yourself as a potential resource, so if they come across someone looking for help, you’re top of mind. 


  • Attend conferences and other industry events. Events can bring together key decision makers and innovators from sectors like health tech, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices–all of which are frequently looking for ways to connect with physicians to gain insights. Target conferences and events based on your area of expertise and interest. Participating as an attendee, speaker, or panelist can open up numerous networking opportunities. We even have a collaboration with a health tech conference that offers opportunities for physicians to consult with companies at events as part of our Physician Roundtables program. Learn more about the Physicians @ HLTH program, and explore other events that offer PSG networking opportunities.


  • Connect with the alumni network from your university or medical school. Your former colleagues may be moving up through the industry or working on some really cool projects that align with your passions and talents. Your school may even run in-person or virtual alumni networking events.


  • Join professional associations. Professional associations can be a great way to make connections related to your interests and areas of expertise, and can offer valuable resources as you build up your consulting side gig. Associations exist across all fields of interest, including healthcare, medical writing, leadership, and pharma. Explore different associations, including the networking events they offer and other resources available to members, to gauge which might be the best fit. 


  • Engage with an online community. By being visible and helpful in these communities, you can build trust and recognition over time. Someone you offer advice to might be able to help you in the future. (Though again, be organic in your interactions.) If you aren’t already, join the hivemind in our online physician community.


  • Create and optimize a LinkedIn profile & presence. Actively engaging on professional networking platforms, such as LinkedIn, offers visibility as you build your brand and provides opportunities to build connections with people in your target industries. Share articles relevant to your niche and offer your insights. Comment on posts by other thought leaders in your field. Post updates about articles you’ve published, podcast appearances, events you’re attending, and other related work to your consulting expertise.



When networking, remember to always focus on building relationships. While your ultimate goal is to get more consulting work, networking isn’t just about asking for opportunities. Focus on building genuine, professional relationships and showcasing the value you could bring as a consultant without pushing your services like a used car salesman. Better opportunities tend to come when you’re more authentic and genuinely helpful in your approach, and you have a lot more negotiating power when someone comes to you seeking your services versus when you’re asking them to take a chance on you.



Outreach to companies you’re interested in working with


As mentioned above, many consulting opportunities are never advertised, but are instead filled through personal connections. If there are certain companies you’ve been following and are interested in working with, and have a value proposition on how your consulting services could benefit them, consider a more proactive strategy and reach out.


  • Research key contacts with the company (ideally someone you’ve started building a professional relationship with through your networking efforts, or someone in the network of a direct contact).


  • Craft a personalized outreach message that highlights your background, expertise, and how you can utilize them to address the company’s needs or pain points.


  • Share a few general insights (be careful not to be too specific, as you don’t want to offer them a solution at the point of introduction, negating the necessity of hiring you) or offer to help collaborate on a specific initiative to highlight your value and establish your credibility. This is especially important for cold outreaches.


  • Reach out through a concise and professional email or LinkedIn message.


  • Follow up in a timely manner if they respond.



Build relationships and referrals to keep opportunities in the pipeline


People are much more likely to hire consultants they either know personally or who have been personally recommended to them through a mutual connection. Building relationships and referral networks is essential to growing your consulting gig. This is especially true for longer-term roles, such as advisory positions.


As you find opportunities, ask clients for feedback and testimonials. Feedback can help you improve your pitch and approach for the next opportunity, and testimonials can be great to have on hand (and on your website) for prospective clients to review.


Referrals are also key to getting more gigs, as they help you leverage your existing network you’ve worked hard to build to generate new leads. Let friends and colleagues know what services you offer and ask them to recommend you for roles where you might be able to help. If you have a client satisfied with the consulting services you’ve provided them, ask them to refer you to any partners, collaborators, or connections they have that might also benefit from your services. Never forget your value proposition when reaching out!



Market yourself and showcase your services


As you build out your side gig and showcase your expertise, don’t forget to establish an online presence. While a website isn’t 100% required, putting together a digital profile of your consulting services can be highly beneficial.


Create a basic site with:

  • Your bio

  • Your areas of expertise

  • Highlights of any experience related to your consulting niche (speaking engagements, articles written, media appearance, publications, etc.)

  • Testimonials or notable collaborations you’ve done in the past, with appropriate approval/permission

  • Your contact information


And don’t forget your LinkedIn profile, which can be a powerful tool for showcasing your services as well as your expertise.


Related PSG resources:

  • Artillery designs and builds attractive websites optimized for SEO that are pretty reasonably priced (usually 2-5k depending on complexity). Mention PSG for $200 off.

  • GMR Web Team provides our members with a comprehensive suite of digital marketing solutions for physicians, including SEO, content creation, website design/management, and more. GMR can help you build a strong online presence, cultivate patient loyalty, and achieve sustainable growth for your practice. PSG members receive 20% off blog writing services, website design, and website hosting when they sign up through our affiliate link.

  • Squarespace is a really easy way to create websites with stylish templates yourself. Mention code PARTNER10 for 10% off through our affiliate link.

  • If you're looking for someone to help with certain aspects of your website design (graphics design, integrating additional features to a current website, optimizing SEO, etc.), Fiverr and Upwork (affiliate links) offer freelancers around the world who can help based on your needs and budget.

  • How website search engine optimization (SEO) improves your marketing

  • Tips for networking with your LinkedIn profile


As you look for ways to showcase the value of your services, consider offering a free consultation or a sample of your work to highlight how you will be able to solve their problem or help them develop a solution. You don’t want to undervalue yourself and your services, so this isn’t applicable in all situations, especially for one-off, small projects. A quick consultation to help land a long-term engagement, however, may be well worth the opportunity cost, especially as you build your consulting portfolio in the beginning.



Conclusion


Building a successful consulting side gig doesn’t happen overnight. To help get more consulting opportunities, physicians must have a clear understanding of what expertise sets them apart and how they can leverage this knowledge and experience to provide solutions to others. Along with a clearly defined niche for positioning themselves in the marketplace, they must also build relationships and their personal brand to showcase their services and value. Through networking, outreach, and establishing themselves as a thought leader in their field, doctors can open the door to new opportunities that often compound over time, all while helping shape the future of healthcare.



Additional consulting & side gig resources for physicians


If you would like to be alerted of consulting opportunities matching your interests, make sure you’ve signed up for our consulting side gig matching database (you must be a member of our free physician only Physician Side Gigs group to access, but it’s completely free to join). Also make sure you sign up for our PSG weekly newsletter, where we publish current and upcoming job and side gig opportunities.


Explore related PSG resources:

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