As head coach for my 9-year-old son’s travel baseball team, we emphasize a mental approach that has implications beyond baseball:
“Don’t aim it, just throw it.”
While we use this for our young pitchers, it’s useful in many areas of life (including converting more prospects to patients in your practice).
In our area, the 9-year-old baseball season is a big deal. The boys move from coach-pitch in their 8-year-old season – where they hit balls thrown by the coach in a controlled setting – to kid-pitch, where the game gets more complex.
Now they pitch, lead off, steal bases, deal with dropped third strikes, the whole gamut. It’s real baseball, just like the pros play. This change can be really tough and sometimes scary for young players.
One of the hardest parts of this transition is getting a kid to stand on the mound and pitch to a batter (and vice versa). It’s a big step, both physically and mentally.
And when a young pitcher throws a few balls instead of strikes, they tend to get anxious and timid. They start aiming the ball instead of raring back and throwing it naturally.
The result of aiming, of timidly trying to place the ball perfectly where they want it to go – even more balls and fewer strikes.
So we always remind our players, “Don’t aim it. Just throw it. Sling it in there.”
Another application of this concept:
My 11-year-old son was recently prepping for his piano recital. His instructor wanted him to kick off the event with his rendition of “Great Balls of Fire,” a tune he has played many times and knows quite well.
The morning of the recital, he was playing through it, and I could tell nerves were getting to him. He was tense and trying too hard to get it right, and the result was a number of big mistakes.
I approached him at the piano, and I reminded him of something he’s heard me say on the baseball field plenty of times:
“Buddy, you’re aiming it. Just throw it. You know the song. It’s in you. Don’t overthink it, don’t worry about what note to play next. Just let er rip!”
That afternoon at the recital, he did just that. Got up on stage, smiled wide, and (metaphorically) lit the piano on fire. He enjoyed the moment and did what he knew how to do. And the crowd went wild.
This idea of not aiming and just throwing is also important when we talk to prospective patients. If we worry too much about not making mistakes, what to say next, and what might go awry…
We’re focused on the 2 WRONG things:
- Ourselves
- The negative
When that happens, we get nervous and lose our focus. Instead of being present, being in the moment, focusing on the person in front of us and just Doing the Thing. This makes us less effective communicators and can even lead to self-sabotage.
But when you’re well-equipped in your practice to Throw It (not aim it), the result is a more confident team, more excited patients and more patients on your consult and surgery schedules.
And you really only need 3 components to effectively “Throw it, don’t aim it” with your prospects. You need:
- A good “product”
- The skills to be effective communicate about that product
- Trust in yourself to go out there and do what you know how to do
In our coaching programs, #1 is a prerequisite. If you don’t have a good “product” (well-trained surgeons, good technology, patient-focused culture, good reputation) then it’s darn near impossible to even pass Go and get in the game.
Then we focus on #2 and #3. Making sure everyone has the skills. Knows how to answer phones, book consults, book surgeries.
And #3 is a big one – whether you’re new to the elective medical business, new to the practice or a seasoned veteran, there are certain situations where you tend to “aim the ball” instead of throwing it.
I asked about this on one of our weekly coaching events yesterday morning – “When is it difficult for you to be in the moment?”
Is it on a stressful day of the week? Is it with a certain personality type? When counseling patients on a specific procedure type?
A few of the answers people have shared:
- “When I’m doing a consultation for an engineer”
- “When patients have overly technical medical questions on the phone”
- “When I’m talking to someone about LASIK (I’m good with Advanced Tech cataract surgery, but start “aiming it” when it comes to LASIK)”
And we worked through these one by one and talked about strategies for staying in the moment and throwing – not aiming – in these situations. And everyone left feeling pumped up, equipped and empowered, which is our goal for every live coaching event we do.
All of this is in an effort to do what we call “Selling On Brand.” Everyone needs a sales process. But you want that process to align with your practice brand. And that’s what we help practices do through our E3 Conversion System, and it’s insanely effective.
In closing, I challenge you to ask this question of your team and discuss their feedback – When is it difficult for you to be in the moment?
Remember, whether on the baseball field, at a recital, on the phone or in a consult, the key to success is often not in aiming for perfection but in throwing yourself into the moment.
So remind yourself and your team – next time you find yourself overthinking or hesitating, take a deep breath, remember that you got this, and just throw it.
– Coach Troy