What's In It For Me?

We recently had the pleasure to speak with a group of podiatric medical residents in New York City to discuss practice management.  The universal question was “What is the most effective way to secure a position as an associate in an established practice.”  Mike Crosby, a Vice-President from Podiatry Insurance Company of America (PICA) gave the most common-sense response to this question we have ever heard: thinking from the perspective of the hiring doctor or anyone who is in the position to purchase.  Simply said, look to answer the question from their perspective of “What is in it for me?”

When communicating with your patients, simply remember that in most cases they will be thinking “What is in it for me?”  Why should I have that injection that hurts?  Why do I need custom orthotic devices when I can buy an arch support at the local pharmacy?  Why did I need to have surgery that is painful and will take me out of commission for six weeks?  The answer to these questions should be addressed from the perspective of “What is in it for me?”  Your patients need to clearly and definitively understand that your treatment plan has the most important person in their life as #1 in your mind…. them!

The injection is to allow “them” to play ball with their children; a custom-made orthotic device provides the best care for “them”; and surgery is so “they” do not have increasing pain and deformity.  The key here is the “them’s” and “they’s.”  If your patients can identify with the services and treatments you advise, they will make a logic-based decision to have them performed.  The confidence in your presentation and recommendations then becomes the next key factor in the patient accepting your plan.  Do not expect them to believe if you do not appear to believe.

Call it selfish, self-centered, and egocentric or whatever you want, but the bottom line is your patients will always ask themselves “what is in it for me?”  So do what we do best and let them know that everything we do is “all for them”!