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If you’re a fan of pro golf, then you’re probably aware that Bryson DeChambeau (day-SHAM-bo) won the U.S. Open this weekend.

If you’re not a golf fan (or if you’re not up to speed on the quirks of Bryson), let me tell you a little bit about why and how this muscle-bound dude with the flat cap is disrupting the Gentleman’s Game.

Traditionally, you could say golf is about feel. You head out to the course, the driving range, the putting green. You take thousands of shots, see what the ball does, adjust your swing as necessary, get the feel right, and try to improve your game.

Bryson takes a whole different angle. In fact, he’s known as the “Mad Scientist of Golf.”

He takes a scientific, data-driven approach to developing his golf game. And it’s unconventional to say the least.

A few examples:

• He uses a tracking device every time he goes to the range. It shows him his speed, the ball launch angle and other useful data. He’s using that data and adjusting with each rep to hone his shot.
  
• In a traditional set of golf clubs, the irons are each a different length. All of Bryson’s irons are the exact same length (37.5 inches). This allows him to use the same swinging motion and ball positioning on each shot.
  
• On the green, he uses an approach called Vector Putting. Depending on the distance from the cup, and the slope of the green, he calculates the exact angle and speed to hit the ball.
  
• He has a very stiff and awkward putting stance, which he does to minimize the pivot points. Fewer variables = fewer ways to mess up the putt.
  
• He works out every day, without any “rest days.” (Most athletic trainers would recommend against this).
  
• At the end of last season, Bryson determined that to better his game, he needed to hit the ball further. So he gained 35 lbs of mass in the off-season, and he is now has the furthest drive on the PGA tour.
  

And none of this is a secret obviously. Bryson is a PGA pro. His peers see this. The media sees this. And many of them are critical of it:

“He’s ruining the tradition of the game by playing it like this.”

“You can’t just hit the ball further and hope to win tournaments.”

“No one can be as ‘in their own head’ as he is and keep solid composure through the pressure of a tournament.”

And yet…

The guy is one of the top-ranked golfers in the world, and just won one of the most difficult tournaments of the season by 6 strokes (which is huge in golf).

The question was “Can he win the U.S. Open despite his approach to the game?” And he would say that he won because of his approach to the game. Because he broke all the “rules.”

Why am I telling you all this?

Your takeaway – Sometimes to achieve greatness, you have to break tradition. You have to move away from the way people have always done things.

And even move away from the things that very successful people are doing and have done. Because those tactics may not work for you. Or heck, you may not want them to work for you.

“Well, you need to run big discounts if you want to fill up your treatment schedule.”

“People care about technology, so you need to lead with that in your marketing.”

“If you have discount providers in your market, you have no choice but to lower your prices so you can compete.”

These are are popular ideas in the business of elective medicine.

But that doesn’t mean it’s the way you have to do it.

You can do whatever you want. It’s your business. It’s your world. It’s your reality.

You didn’t come this far, have this huge vision, take all the risks to get to this level…

just to be put in a box of tradition.

And unlike Bryson, who is disrupting a game that has a long-standing history of “how it is played”…

The very nature of your business is innovation. New technologies. New treatment options. New discoveries.

You apply this idea to the procedures you do. Make sure you also apply it to your business growth as well.

Our firm is in the same boat. We take a very different approach when we work with practices on their patient conversion processes.

People will tell you…

“You need to memorize all your sales scripts.”

“You need to answer every question the patient has.”

“Your #1 goal is to book the surgery.”

This is all conventional wisdom. But it doesn’t address the root challenge.

If you want to grow a massively successful, premium practice, it starts with your team.

They must share your passion. They must have the right mindset around patient care and your mission as a practice.

And they must convey that passion and mindset in a way where the patient is the center of the story, not your practice.

Yes, we get into the scripting and word tracks and objection-handling and all those things. But that’s the easy part.

The challenge is getting your key team players on-mission, and getting their mindsets right. Killing limiting beliefs and building new identities.

Sounds a little woo-woo doesn’t it? But that doesn’t mean it’s not true.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know and experience every day.

Your passion drives you. Your mission drives you. Your identity drives you. If not, you would have quit by now. But you haven’t.

But you’ve gotta get your team on that level too.

Which takes something different than what everyone’s always done. It’s time for a new approach.

Just ask Bryson…

Troy “Hit It Hard” Cole

This question comes up often, including on a training call last week. You need to know how to deal with it.

It’s typically from someone on the phone team, usually a newer team member who is still learning the ins and outs of your practice and your treatments.

“What do I do if a caller asks me a question and I have no idea what the answer is?”

Common advice you’ve heard – Tell the person, “That’s a great question, and I’m not sure the answer. Do you mind if I put you on a brief hold and get an answer for you?”

Honesty is a great policy. And this is a much better solution than what I hear phone people do from time to time, which is trying to wing it. Practicing medicine on the phone. Telling patients incorrect information because they don’t want to look ignorant. (awful)

And certainly there are cases when this type of response is appropriate.

But the mindset around “answering questions” is faulty.

Meaning ironically, “What if someone asks a question I don’t know the answer to?” … is the wrong question to ask in the first place.

It’s not the job of your phone team to be human encyclopedias. Nor is it their job to answer every question asked of them.

Quick story –

I went through a call recording with a phone team member. The caller wanted to play 20 questions, and the phone person answered them all flawlessly. Then the person got off the phone, saying they would call back if they want to book.

I asked how she thought the call went. “I think it was good. I was able to answer all their questions.”

And therein lies the problem.

Whether you can answer all the questions or not… is irrelevant. Because the goal of the call is not to answer questions.

The goal of the call is to help the caller take the action that’s right for them.

In 98% of cases, that action is to come in for a consultation.

Your phone team cannot diagnose patients’ conditions over the phone. They can’t recommend a surgery.

But they can book consults. Which is exactly what they should be doing.

And as long as you’re leading the call with the proper language and specific authority framing, the prospect will not be in the position to ask a bunch of questions in the first place.

More:

Once we install this new mindset into your phone team, and they understand it’s not their job to answer every single question, they immediately feel a sense of relief.

That nagging anxiety of “Their next question may be something I don’t know” goes away. The pressure is off.

The result – Calls get shorter. Your phone team gets more efficient. They gain more confidence.

Which all results in more prospects ending up on your consultation schedule.

Remember…

Your phone team is the doorway into the practice. Without them, you have no consults, you have no surgeries, you have no business.

So make sure they are fully equipped with weapons-grade mindset and tactics to turn as many leads into consults as possible.

The E3 Phone Team Intensive, which is a module in our 12-week sales and positioning workshop, breaks this “human encyclopedia” limiting belief. It also destroys and replaces 2 dozen other bad habits and faulty thought patterns that stand in your phone team’s way of growing your practice.

If you’re ready to have a pro-level phone team and start filling those empty consultation slots, apply for a strategy session now.

Stay empowered,

Troy “Encyclopedia-less” Cole