“Why are YOU the right person to treat me?”
If your patients haven’t actually asked you that before visiting, they’ve certainly been thinking it.
What’s your answer?
Other doctors have graduated from better schools than you.
Other doctors have more experience than you.
Other doctors have more certifications or fellowships.
Other doctors have lower prices or nicer facilities or a more convenient location.
But maybe you’re the top in the area?
“I’m the best you’re going to get.”
Try putting that on your front door.
It’s ok.
You don’t have to be the most educated or most experienced or most convenient.
People don’t really care about that stuff, anyway.
You just have to be able to do the job for them.
And you are great at that.
So how can you convince them?
What can you offer that isn’t, “I went to such-and-such school, and did you see these letters after my name?”
How can you get them to agree not just that they need therapy (a diagnosis) but that YOU are the right person to give it to them (marketing)?
Please write your answer in the form of a story.
The only possible way to do this is to tell them how you’ve done it before (others’ story) and why you care about doing it (your story).
If you can combine these together, even better.
People will trust you more if you’ve been through the same thing yourself.
That doesn’t mean you have to have a knee replacement yourself to treat someone who has, but put yourself in their position and think of how you felt when going through a surgery or injury recovery or traumatic experience.
Think of a time you struggled to do what you wanted or when you’ve been frustrated by conflicting expert opinions or a problem that wouldn’t go away no matter what you tried.
How did you get out of it?
Chances are your patients are feeling very similarly, and now you are in a position to help them.
You may not be the absolute top of your profession according to this or that meaningless metric.
But you can be the best at understanding and helping the real people right in front of you.