We’re not at batting practice anymore, Toto…
A strange thing happens when a practice gets their marketing dialed in. (I’m helping a client work through this now, and it’s always a good reminder.)
For many practices who don’t market (or who don’t have effective marketing), they only get leads who are “ready to go.”
So Sally will call up and say, “Hey, my friend Sharon came over there and has LASIK. She really likes you guys, and I wanna come in and get it done too.”
Now, that’s great. Of course you want those easy wins.
But let’s look at what happens when you start marketing your practice the right way. You start to attract prospects who aren’t already sold on you and your practice.
If you have leads that take more effort to track down, or they need more persuasion to understand your value proposition… that’s a sign you’re on the right track.
Why? Because that means you’re attracting future buyers, in addition to those who are ready to go right now. You’re extending your effective reach, vs. simply taking what comes your way.
To put it on a bumper sticker: Fickle leads aren’t a bug of good marketing. They’re a feature.
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You know I like my baseball analogies. ⚾️
Your referral leads are like baseball practice, hitting baseballs off a tee. You get in a good groove, and you’re really smashing the ball. “I’m pretty good at this hitting thing.”
Well yeah, because those referred patients are often “tee’d up” and ready to book.
So you suit up for a game. You step up to the plate, thinking you’re ready to go. And then you quickly realize…
Hitting during a ballgame is a totally different deal.
The pitcher’s throwing you fastballs. Curve balls, sliders. You’re struggling to get your bat on the ball. And if you do connect with the ball, you have to run the bases in the right way so you don’t get out.
There’s more to do, more to remember, and so many more variables than just slapping the ball off the tee.
Does that mean you need to be Babe Ruth? No. You can be a great hitter and score plenty of runs for your team once you know the fundamentals. But here’s the common issue – teams get frustrated because they think hitting off a major league pitcher should be exactly like hitting off a tee.
“Well, I lined up like normal. I swung the bat like I typically do. I did all the usual motions I use on the tee. So why did I strike out again?”
Because hitting on a tee and hitting a live pitcher aren’t the same thing. We’re talking about 2 different scenarios that require 2 different approaches.
Sure, one can help with the other. But if you think, “These are the same thing, so why aren’t I performing well in BOTH of them?” that’s just a simple flaw in thinking that needs to be corrected.
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Imagine you manage a baseball team:
A few of your team members are great with a bat, have good attitudes and generally do well on the tee. But they’re having trouble hitting the ball when they’re up to the plate. Do you just give up? Throw in the towel?
No. You get someone to coach ‘em. Teach your team how to react to a pitcher. How to identify different pitches. How to put the ball in play so you have an opportunity to score.
Same goes for lead conversions. If your team doesn’t know how to convert a lead into a consultation into a surgery, you don’t just throw up your hands and say, “Well, guess this isn’t gonna work. We’re stuck.”
You train them on how to handle different situations. Teach them how to think the way you think about your patients. How to handle common objections. How to persuade when your prospects are standing in their own way and don’t want to make the decision that’s right for them. Get them excited because they work for one of the best practices in the world – yours.
This is exactly what we do in our E3 Bootcamp, and it’s precisely what your team needs on a weekly (or even daily) basis to continuously improve their game (and thus your winning percentage as a practice).
Marketing’s job is to create opportunities. On the communication/sales side, our job is to take those opportunities and turn them into consults and surgeries.
Don’t be afraid to step up to the plate. Coach your team to hit live pitching so you can win more games. And if you don’t have the time and resources to devote to coaching them, that’s understandable. But find someone who can.
That’s all I have for you today. Have an awesome Wednesday.
– Coach Troy