The incoming president of the American College of Surgeons started his keynote address with the words, "I work for hugs."
These four words help explain why so many financial advisors have difficulty engaging doctor prospects. How receptive do you think this physician would be to your message about how you help doctors build wealth? In fact, his wife may manage the money in the family.
We all want to be successful.
You, as a business-minded person-- or a "Suit"-- ultimately use profitability as the metric by which you measure your professional success. Just imagine sitting at the conference table with your team at the end of the year saying, "2020 was a great year. Profits are up 22%"
Physicians and dentists and healthcare professionals--or "White Coats" --use patient outcomes as the metric by which we measure professional success. If you were in the doctor's dining room, you would never hear a physician say, "What a great year! Profits are up 22%." In fact, this physician would come under scrutiny.
Your job is to help your clients get more of what they want. Each person ascribes a different value to money and to wealth. These questions can help you tease it out:
- If you got a sudden $1 million inheritance, how would your life change?
- What one problem that money cannot solve weighs on you?
- If money were not an issue, how would you spend your days?
The physician who declared that he works for hugs may have a passion project. He may be building a hospital or school in Africa. He may want to endow medical school scholarships or make a meaningful donation to alleviate food insecurity in his community. He may want to buy a piece of property on which his family could gather for generations to come.
If you want to engage more doctors, take time to gain clarity about what's most important to your prospects and clients. Changes are good that they want to make a greater impact. Help them understand how you can help them serve in bigger ways.