The Levels

Joey Allbritton

Are you navigating the complexities of growing your physical therapy practice alone and seeking ways to avoid common pitfalls while maximizing your impact? "The Levels Podcast" is a podcast dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of the physical therapy industry and emerge successful. Hosted by Dr. Joey Allbritton and Dr. Robbie Woelkers, two seasoned professionals with firsthand experience in transforming challenges into triumphs, this podcast dives deep into the heart of the physical therapy industry. From opening clinics to scaling businesses, we cover it all. Our episodes unpack the real stories behind successful practices, offering insights, strategies, and the motivation needed to thrive in today's competitive landscape. Join us as we explore innovative solutions to common problems, discuss industry trends, and provide you with the tools to enhance patient care and grow your business. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand, "The Levels Podcast" equips you with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Tune into "The Levels Podcast" and be part of a community committed to elevating the Physical Therapy profession. Together, we can create lasting change and shape the future of healthcare.

  1. 5d ago

    You Don’t Need AI. You Need This PT Intake Call System.

    🏥 How to work with us: The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-Step Roadmap): https://youtu.be/1cuu8-CyIhc Download the free Intake Call Toolkit: https://start.therehabceos.com/lm-itc-ickit-optin ———————————— A patient called one of Dr. Robbie Woelkers’ clinics about her lower-back pain. His front-office coordinator—kind, helpful, and well-liked by patients—asked whether she was sure she needed physical therapy. When the coordinator had back pain, she explained, she went to a chiropractor instead. She nearly sent a patient who was actively asking for help somewhere else. The problem wasn’t laziness, attitude, or effort. The call had no system. Most clinic owners hear a story like this and think they need AI, a better script, or a naturally gifted salesperson answering every call. But AI can collect information without necessarily earning trust. Scripts tell your team what to say without teaching them what to listen for. And relying on a star performer makes your results depend on whoever answers the phone. In this video, Dr. Robbie breaks down a repeatable intake system your team can use to guide patients toward a clear decision—without pressure, feature dumping, or another piece of software. We’ll cover: — The only job an intake call actually has — AI vs. star performers vs. a repeatable system — The three C’s: Call Control, Conversation, and Confidence — The seven-step P.A.T.I.E.N.T. framework — Where most intake calls quietly fall apart — The permission and admission moves that help patients open up — The three levels of questioning: Physical, Participation, and Personal — The D.I.R.T. framework for uncovering why the patient called today — Convincing vs. persuading — Why your team should sell the future, not the features — How to use the framework ethically without pressuring patients Instead of leading with dry needling, manual therapy, insurance, or available appointment times, your coordinator learns what the patient actually wants—to sleep through the night, return to the golf course, finish a shift without pain, or pick up their grandchild again. That is the difference between processing a caller and helping a person make a decision. Your front office isn’t the problem. The call has no system. ———————————— Get the complete Intake Call Toolkit: https://start.therehabceos.com/lm-itc-ickit-optin Inside, you’ll get: — Every question in the seven-step P.A.T.I.E.N.T. framework — The word-for-word intake script and three-sentence opening — The permission ask, admission move, and D.I.R.T. questions — The Physical, Participation, and Personal dig framework — A scorecard for grading a recorded intake call Pull one recorded call this week, grade it with the scorecard, and review it with your coordinator. You’ll see exactly where the conversation breaks down. Free download. No credit card required. Ready to use this week. ———————————— Want the complete operating system for growing your practice? Watch The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-Step Roadmap): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1iR7O604Jg 00:00 - The Call That Nearly Cost the Clinic a Patient 01:04 - Why Physical Therapy Should Be Easy to Sell 02:02 - What You’ll Learn 02:21 - Where Intake Fits in the Patient Journey 03:48 - What Percentage of Callers Actually Schedule? 04:22 - AI vs. Star Performers vs. a System 06:35 - The Real Job of an Intake Call 07:59 - The Three C’s of Patient Intake 08:59 - How Intake Fits the Full Operating System 09:48 - Why Scripts Don’t Create Better Conversations 10:30 - The Seven-Step P.A.T.I.E.N.T. Framework 14:21 - Where Most Intake Calls Quietly Die 15:12 - Step 1: Ask Permission 16:01 - Step 2: Make an Admission 17:25 - Step 3: Dig Beneath the Symptoms 18:25 - Physical, Participation, and Personal Questions 19:37 - The D.I.R.T. Question Framework 20:30 - The Most Underrated Intake Question 21:06 - Building Front-Office Confidence 22:25 - Convincing vs. Persuading 22:51 - Sell the Future, Not the Features 23:53 - The Expensive Assumption Clinic Owners Make 25:35 - How to Use the Framework Ethically 26:54 - The Three C’s and Seven Steps Recap 28:07 - What to Fix Next

  2. Sep 1

    You Don't Have a Lead Problem

    🏥 How to work with us: The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-Step Roadmap): • The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-St... Download the Speed-to-Lead Calculator: https://start.therehabceos.com/lm-itc... ———————————— Your front office calls every new lead back within an hour. They do. They’re proud of it. And they’re still losing most of them. Because between minute five and minute ten, your odds of reaching a new patient fall by five times. Not 5%. Five times. The hour was never the win we thought it was. In this video, Dr. Robbie Woelkers breaks down the numbers behind the five-minute cliff, shows you how to calculate exactly how many new patients your clinic needs every week, and gives you four fixes you can implement without buying more leads, hiring another employee, or adding another piece of software. We’ll cover: — How to calculate the exact number of new patients your clinic needs each week — How your conversion rate reveals where you sit on the five-minute cliff — Why most clinics don’t have a lead problem—they have a speed problem — How faster follow-up can increase evaluations without increasing ad spend — Why “spend” and “blame” are the two wrong doors clinic owners keep walking through — How assigning one person to own new leads can transform your results — The four free fixes you can implement with your front office this week — Why faster follow-up can actually reduce your team’s workload — The two lead-management numbers every clinic should track You’ll also see how one multi-location practice increased recorded leads from 27 to 55 and scheduled evaluations from 12 to 22—not because demand suddenly doubled, but because one person became responsible for capturing the demand already coming in. Most clinic owners try to solve low new-patient numbers by spending more on marketing or blaming the front desk. But you can’t hire your way out of a broken notification setting. And you can’t hold your team accountable to a response-time standard you never clearly established or measured. Fix the wiring before you blame the human. ———————————— Download the free Speed-to-Lead Calculator: https://start.therehabceos.com/lm-itc... Plug in four numbers you already know, calculate what your response time is costing you, and give your team the four-fix implementation checklist. Calculate the number. Find your tier. Fix the process. And start capturing the patients who are already raising their hands. ———————————— Want the complete operating system for growing your practice? Watch The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-Step Roadmap): • The Million Dollar PT Practice (Step-by-St... 00:00 - The Five-Minute Lead Response Cliff 00:34 - Robbie’s Clinic Background 01:08 - Case Study: From 27 to 55 Leads 01:46 - What You’ll Learn 02:18 - The Six Stages of Patient Registration 03:56 - Grade Your Clinic’s Response Time 04:53 - The Old Way: Spend or Blame 06:22 - The New Way: Speed 06:56 - Calculate Your Weekly New-Patient Target 08:22 - Lead-to-Evaluation Conversion Math 10:36 - How the Full Operating System Fits Together 12:06 - What the Lead-Response Research Shows 12:59 - Understanding the Five-Minute Cliff 15:06 - Improve Your Response Time One Tier at a Time 16:09 - Fix 1: Assign One Owner to New Leads 17:22 - Fix 2: Correct Your Caller ID 18:13 - Fix 3: Use the Double Dial 18:46 - Fix 4: Measure Response Time and Missed Leads 19:38 - Fix the Process Before Blaming the People 21:41 - Why Faster Follow-Up Reduces Your Team’s Workload 22:29 - Spend, Blame, or Speed 23:31 - Your Next Steps and Free Calculator

  3. Aug 25

    How to Get Physicians to Refer to You (Without Lunches or Cookies)

    🎯 WORKSHOP — The Predictable Referrals System Workshop | August 27th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/tmp-join Most PT owners are still doing lunch drops and cookie runs. Physicians keep dodging them. The gatekeeper stays in the way. And the referrals never come. This video breaks down the Spotlight Series: a physician outreach strategy that flips the dynamic. Instead of showing up like another vendor, you become the local media company that features them. Doctors get free attention, authority positioning, and content they can share with their own patients. You get 20 to 30 minutes of deep relationship time, association with their expertise, and a legitimate reason to follow up every single week. You'll walk away with a 7-day launch plan, a simple 3-part pitch script, a full episode structure (Hook, Intro, 4 to 5 questions, Soft CTA), and a repurposing system that turns one interview into a YouTube episode, 3 to 8 short clips, a LinkedIn post, an email, and a 1-page PDF you can drop at their front desk. This works because it answers the one question every physician is really asking: “What's in it for me?” Cookies don't answer that. A Spotlight does. 0:00 The Spotlight Series Strategy 1:32 Why Lunches and Cookie Drops Fail 4:03 What Physicians Actually Value 5:58 How the Spotlight Series Works 10:07 Pre-Interview Research 12:42 Finding the Right Episode Angle 13:44 How to Pitch Physicians 17:02 Structuring the Interview 22:04 Repurposing the Interview 24:53 The 7-Day Launch Plan 26:07 Build a Complete Physician Referral System Want more like this? Join 1,800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community. New trainings drop every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. https://skool.com/rehabceos

  4. Aug 18

    The 7 Reasons Physicians Stop Referring to Your Clinic…

    🎯 WORKSHOP — The Predictable Referrals System Workshop | August 27th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/TMP-join If a physician used to send you patients and stopped, it is almost never random. It is almost always one of seven specific, fixable things inside your own clinic system. In this video, Dr. Robbie Woelkers breaks down all seven reasons physician referrals dry up, from slow access and admin friction to the silent killer most clinics never see coming: only sending bad outcomes back to the referring doc while your success stories never make it into the chart. He also covers the 72-hour priority slot rule, a three-touchpoint communication cadence (eval within 24 hours, progress every 4-6 visits, discharge always), and why ignoring referral coordinators, MAs, and office managers costs you more referrals than ignoring the physician ever could. This is for PT clinic owners who are already getting some physician referrals but watching volume flatten or fade, and want a concrete system to reverse it. By the end, you will have a self-scored audit across all seven categories and a clear picture of exactly where your referral relationship broke down and what to fix first. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Why physicians stop referring to your clinic 00:50 Why referrals are still one of the best patient sources 01:14 Robbie’s background and why this matters 01:52 The 7-part physician referral self-audit 02:57 Reason 1: Slow access 04:30 How to create priority eval slots for MD referrals 05:09 Reason 2: Admin friction 06:25 How to become easier for physician offices to work with 07:08 Reason 3: No communication 08:34 The MD referral communication cadence 09:47 Reason 4: Patient experience and compliance 11:10 Why the first 30 days matter 12:24 How cancels and no-shows damage referral trust 13:10 Reason 5: Only bad news returns 14:25 How to send patient wins back to physicians 15:08 Reason 6: Ignoring gatekeepers 16:25 Why gatekeepers can make or break referrals 17:00 Reason 7: Becoming invisible or replaced 18:06 How to build a simple visibility system 18:51 Final self-audit: where your referral system is leaking 19:28 How to join the Physician Referral Workshop Join 1,800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community, where we post new trainings every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. Everything is free and built specifically for private-practice owners. https://skool.com/rehabceos

  5. Aug 11

    If I Started a PT Clinic From Zero, Here’s How I’d Get 100 Physician Referrals

    🎯 WORKSHOP — The Predictable Referrals System Workshop | August 27th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/tmp-join If everything you built disappeared tomorrow, how would you earn your first 100 physician referrals again? In this video, Dr. Robbie Woelkers shares the exact roadmap he would follow to rebuild a PT clinic’s referral network from zero. He breaks down how to identify the right opportunities, build meaningful physician relationships, and create a system that keeps your clinic visible throughout the year. Whether you’re opening a new clinic or rebuilding an inconsistent referral pipeline, this gives you a practical place to start without relying on random drop-ins, cookies, or luck. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Rebuilding a PT clinic from zero 01:35 Start with the right niche 04:21 Identify your best referral partners 10:53 Research before you reach out 11:58 Become impossible to ignore 19:15 Win over the entire office 21:25 Become their favorite resource 22:25 Organize your referral relationships 25:07 Create content physicians value 29:12 Build a 12-month referral plan 34:00 The complete referral cadence 34:51 The Predictable Referrals System Workshop Want more like this? Join 1,800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community. We drop new trainings every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. Come in and see what other clinic owners at your revenue level are working on. https://skool.com/rehabceos

  6. Aug 4

    Physician Referrals Aren’t Dead… Your Strategy Is

    🎯 WORKSHOP — The Predictable Referrals System Workshop | August 27th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/tmp-join Physician referrals aren't dead. The way most PT clinic owners pursue them is. If your current strategy is showing up unannounced, dropping off food, and hoping a doctor remembers your name, you're doing exactly what you hate when a sales rep does it to you. You hide. You tell your front desk you're not available. You avoid them entirely. Physicians do the same thing to you. In this video, Dr. Robbie Woelkers breaks down a three-step framework called Call, Solve, and Send. It flips the power dynamic by leading with reciprocity instead of requests. You'll see the exact script for a first visit that opens with their problems, not your pitch, and how sending referrals to physicians first is what turns you from a vendor into a partner they actually want to work with. This isn't theory. It's a repeatable weekly system built around a short list of 10 to 25 practices, a structured first-visit conversation, and the operational fixes that make physicians notice when your clinic is different from every other one chasing their business. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Why physician referrals are not dead, but the strategy is 00:57 Robbie’s background and why the cookie-cutter strategy fails 01:25 What this video will cover 01:50 What PTs do to physicians vs. what reps do to you 03:30 Why clinics get commoditized into the cookie crowd 03:40 The Call, Solve, Send framework 03:53 Step 1: Call ahead and respect their time 04:30 Step 2: Show up to find problems, not pitch 05:34 Step 3: Lead with reciprocity 06:13 Recap: call, solve, send 06:31 Why reciprocity changes the referral dynamic 07:31 The exact script for the first visit 08:05 The pattern interrupt that lowers resistance 08:49 What to ask about their current PT referral experience 09:19 Follow-up questions that uncover real pain points 09:49 How to offer referrals before asking for them 10:31 Why this separates you from cookie-cutter vendors 11:02 How to turn the strategy into a system 11:11 Building your list of target practices 11:25 How many offices to call each week 11:57 Running the intro, questions, and reciprocity framework 12:37 Why feedback loops matter 13:36 How to circle back after fixing a problem 14:22 How to join the Physician Referral Workshop 15:07 Final reminder: call ahead, bring value, and send first Want more like this? Join 1800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community. We drop new trainings every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. Come in and see what other clinic owners at your revenue level are working on. https://skool.com/rehabceos

  7. Jul 29

    The Sales System That Took My PT Clinic to $1.8M in 18 Months

    🎯 WORKSHOP — Transformational Sales Workshop | July 30th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/tsl-join If Robbie took over your clinic tomorrow, this is the sales system he would install. In this training, Dr. Robbie Woelkers walks through the Transformational Selling Blueprint, a clinic-wide system designed to improve the way patients move from first inquiry to evaluation, plan of care, progress note, graduation, referral, and return. You’ll see where most clinics lose patient commitment, why more leads do not always fix a sales problem, and how to create a process your front office and providers can actually follow. This is for clinic owners who want a clearer, more consistent sales process across the full patient journey. TIMESTAMPS: [00:00] The Transformational Selling Blueprint [01:05] Why this is Robbie’s full clinic sales system [01:38] The clinic setup: four providers and two admins [02:51] Why most providers struggle with sales [03:12] Commission breath vs. selling from your own pocket [04:37] Money beliefs, pricing bias, and provider hesitation [05:38] Convincing vs. persuasion [07:01] Why Robbie calls it transformational sales [07:56] The moral obligation to help more patients [08:48] Where clinic sales systems break down [09:29] The infinity loop of the patient journey [09:38] Reach, registration, and reputation operating systems [11:20] Why more leads do not fix a broken system [12:40] Working backward from your evaluation goal [13:25] How conversion rate changes lead volume needed [14:08] Speed to lead and why response time matters [14:13] The 5x5x5 follow-up method [17:31] The law firm example: one case vs. seventy cases [20:37] Why systems beat star performers [21:17] The three C’s of intake: conversation, call control, confidence [21:58] The patient framework for intake calls [23:18] How to open with the purpose of the call [24:15] Agitating the problem [24:31] Physical, participation, and personal impact [26:42] The DIRT framework: duration, impact, root cause, trigger moment [27:36] Transitioning from the problem to the goal [28:26] “What did you like?” vs. “What would you change?” [29:58] Intensifying the patient’s goal [31:05] Explaining the cost of inaction [31:41] Asking permission to sell [31:59] Presenting the new opportunity [32:21] Selling the future, not the features [34:38] The rules of two for scheduling [35:37] Using intake forms to improve arrival rate [36:56] Registration recap and conversion targets [37:45] Custom plans of care [38:40] Diagnosing a clinic with 55 leads and low plan-of-care conversion [39:26] Why only six patients signed up [40:28] Selling the 10 pieces of a custom plan of care [42:53] Connecting the problem to the payoff [44:42] Physical exam and test-treat-retest [45:15] The Trust Trinity: belief in you, the process, and the outcome [46:50] Creating a custom plan of care [47:30] Pain, priming, performance, and prevention [49:15] Why six-visit packages lose patients after pain improves [50:22] Frequency x duration x revenue per visit [51:31] Getting the patient to say the timeline [52:20] What to say when the patient thinks it will take longer [53:20] What to say when the patient thinks it will take fewer visits [54:05] Frequency and clinic capacity math [54:49] Why three-times-a-week care improves completion [56:00] Why patients drop off when visits are too spread out [57:28] Perceived likelihood of achievement [58:32] Handling schedule conflicts and plan objections [59:23] Partner, spouse, family, and driver objections [61:15] Moving into the financial conversation [62:44] Presenting the price anchor [62:52] Prepay-in-full and the 20% discount [63:50] Half today, half later, and payment options [65:15] How insurance clinics can still use price anchoring [66:00] Collecting patient responsibility upfront [66:48] Pre-booking the full plan of care [67:45] The routine visit script [68:35] Pre-framing the progress note [69:12] Re-enrolling patients into the plan of care [69:45] Graduation, celebration, and proof [70:20] How to ask for better reviews [70:58] The handshake referral strategy [71:32] Teaching patients how to return [72:05] Reach sales vs. reputation sales [72:25] Join the Transformational Sales Workshop Join 1,800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community, where we post new trainings every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. Everything is free and built specifically for private-practice owners. https://skool.com/rehabceos

  8. Jul 21

    Stop Buying New Patients — Turn 1 Patient Into 8 With This System

    🎯 WORKSHOP — Transformational Sales Workshop | July 30th at 12pm EST. Reserve your seat: https://workshop.therehabceos.com/tsl-join The most valuable patient in your clinic right now may not be a new patient. It may be the one you are about to graduate. In this video, Dr. Robbie Woelkers breaks down why most clinics are overlooking the patients who already know, like, trust, and have gotten results from them. Instead of constantly chasing more leads, more ads, more SEO, more social posts, and more time spent trying to acquire new patients, Robbie shows how graduation can become one of the most powerful growth systems inside your practice. Most clinics let patients get better, leave quietly, and disappear. No clear closure. No review. No referral. No return. Robbie explains how elite clinics do it differently. They turn graduation into an intentional experience that starts on visit one, gets future-paced throughout the entire plan of care, and ends with a moment worth remembering. That experience creates the proof your clinic needs to unlock the four R’s: results, reviews, referrals, and returns. You will learn how to pre-frame graduation during the evaluation, how to create a celebration around the patient’s transformation, how to capture proof through photos and reviews, and how to educate patients on the right way to refer friends and family back to your clinic. This is for clinic owners who want to stop relying only on paid acquisition and start building a reputation engine that turns successful patients into advocates. TIMESTAMPS: [00:00] Why your most valuable patient is the one about to graduate [00:35] The three things this video will cover [01:18] Why most clinics think they just need more new patients [02:34] The overlooked patients who already know, like, and trust you [03:15] Every discharge is a decision [04:05] Why patients leave without reviews, referrals, or returns [05:00] Reach marketing vs. reputation marketing [06:30] How one patient can become two, four, eight, and beyond [08:10] The four R’s: results, reviews, referrals, and returns [09:24] Why most clinics do not educate patients on referrals [10:35] The metrics that reveal where your patient journey is breaking [11:25] Why graduation starts on visit one [12:10] Pre-framing pain, priming, performance, and prevention [13:32] How to explain graduation during the evaluation [14:42] Future pacing throughout the full plan of care [15:55] Why patients remember moments, not appointments [17:20] Creating a graduation experience patients actually feel [18:40] What most clinics get wrong on discharge day [19:32] How elite clinics celebrate patient wins [20:45] Turning transformation into something impossible to ignore [21:50] Showing patients who they became, not just what improved [22:55] Graduation bells, photos, wall of fame, and patient spotlights [24:10] Why proof builds provider confidence [25:00] How to ask for better reviews [25:52] The handshake referral strategy [26:58] Why returns are one of the strongest trust signals [27:30] The post-graduation letter [28:35] Building a reputation operating system [29:05] Join the Transformational Sales Workshop Join 1,800+ PT clinic owners inside our free Skool community, where we post new trainings every week covering hiring, marketing, sales, operations, and profitability. Everything is free and built specifically for private-practice owners. https://skool.com/rehabceos

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About

Are you navigating the complexities of growing your physical therapy practice alone and seeking ways to avoid common pitfalls while maximizing your impact? "The Levels Podcast" is a podcast dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of the physical therapy industry and emerge successful. Hosted by Dr. Joey Allbritton and Dr. Robbie Woelkers, two seasoned professionals with firsthand experience in transforming challenges into triumphs, this podcast dives deep into the heart of the physical therapy industry. From opening clinics to scaling businesses, we cover it all. Our episodes unpack the real stories behind successful practices, offering insights, strategies, and the motivation needed to thrive in today's competitive landscape. Join us as we explore innovative solutions to common problems, discuss industry trends, and provide you with the tools to enhance patient care and grow your business. Whether you're just starting out or looking to expand, "The Levels Podcast" equips you with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Tune into "The Levels Podcast" and be part of a community committed to elevating the Physical Therapy profession. Together, we can create lasting change and shape the future of healthcare.

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