As an elective surgery practice, you deal with a diverse group of patients – different ages, different backgrounds, different needs.
Thinking about how to sell your services to such a diverse group can seem overwhelming at times.
So let’s cut through the noise and talk about one of the most effective (and simple) ways to convert more of your prospects into patients for your high-ticket procedures:
Sell to Your Prospective Patient’s Priority.
Meaning we want to discover their motivations, and use those to guide the patient journey. Which may sound simple on the surface, but it’s easy to overlook.
Many practices we coach tend toward the opposite:
They think they need to sell/promote/market the benefits of the practice.
“We have XYZ amazing technology…”
“Our team is 100% focus on you as a patient…”
“Our surgeon has done a gazillion procedures…”
“We offer convenient appointment times and even virtual appointments to fit your schedule…”
Don’t get me wrong – there IS a place for promoting all these aspects of your practice. Your patients need to know you’re a trusted authority, you care about them and you don’t cut corners.
These are boxes that need to be checked in your prospects’ minds.
But before we’re able to even get to that point, we need to dial in on the prospect’s priority. Why did they reach out to you in the first place?
And most of these priorities can be boiled down to 2 categories. Let’s use Sarah, a vision correction prospect, as an example:
Category 1 – A PAIN to get away from:
Is Sarah dealing with a frustration? Is she tired of the sub-par results she’s getting with her current solution? (Relying on glasses, contacts, readers, etc)
Is there an activity Sarah loves to do – hiking, running, online gaming – she simply can’t do to the fullest extent because of her current situation?
Maybe she’s literally in pain. Sarah’s worn contacts for years, but now by mid-day her eyes are straining/burning/feeling dry staring at the computer monitor at work?
Category 2 – An ASPIRATION to move toward:
Does Sarah aspire to do something? Like take that big anniversary scuba diving trip and actually enjoy it?
Get up and go jogging every morning without having to wear glasses or put her contacts in?
Take on a new career? (Military pilots are a great example. They need good vision to even qualify for the program).
You’ll see some crossover in these examples. For a lot of folks, they’re looking to get away from some aspect of their current situation, and also to move toward a better version of themselves.
As Sarah’s expert advisor, it’s your job to discover these motivations. Then “sell” to those priorities. When booking the appointment, during the consult, when making the procedure recommendation, and when booking the surgery.
There’s a lot of talk about being “patient-focused.” This is one of the most effective ways to actually focus on your patients, their needs and their desires.
And it’s why we deep dive into this one particular area when we’re doing communications coaching with our clients.
We even have specific word tracks and questions that allow you to uncover these motivations quickly. And simple systems to ensure everyone at the practice is clear on Sarah’s motivations as she goes through the patient journey.
When you sell to your prospective patient’s motivations, you set THEM up for success with you. The result: more folks in your surgery suite.
– Coach Troy