If you haven’t noticed, it’s election season.
Don’t worry, this isn’t political.
But campaigns are basically just giant marketing efforts, so it’s worth looking at them from a different angle.
No matter who you support, why do you support them over the other?
There may be many reasons (blue vs. red team, personal charisma, specific policies, etc.), but it ultimately comes down to one thing:
What will my life–and the country and the world–be like with each person leading?
Both candidates are selling you a vision of your future.
Better under me, worse under the guys.
Once we accept that vision as true, we can overlook a lot of personal flaws, past mistakes, scandals, and disagreements (and boy do we ever…) to try to reach it.
You do the same thing as a PT.
Your job is to give your potential patients an attractive vision of their future.
Then you have to back it up with a plan to accomplish it.
Once they believe the vision you paint and the plan you offer, they will overlook many other things to achieve it.
They’ll pay cash instead of insurance.
They’ll drive across town if they have to.
They’ll wait 2 months for an appointment.
You could even be kind of a jerk as long as you deliver the results (though I don’t recommend it).
So, as your key season heats up, what vision are you painting for your patients?
Are you showing them the real ways you can make their lives better?
Are you laying out the alternative if they don’t see you (or if they see someone else)?
Or are you just giving them a list of policies and qualifications and personality traits?
If you weren’t already convinced, this election cycle proves it.
Those things don’t matter as much as we think.
The best vision wins the race.