Apples and Oranges, Tomatoes and Eggs
Patients come to your office because of a particular pain that they have. They want it gone. That’s what they came for. Give them what they want now and build a relationship before trying to introduce them to other offerings.
Because of the slow start we had to the growing season in the area this year the Farmer™s Market that I go to was extended an extra three weeks. I, of course, am very psyched that I get real tomatoes and berries for another three weeks. I ran down first thing Thursday morning and proceeded directly to the stand where I always purchase tomatoes. This particular stand is a family run farm. During the summer the man™s kids run the booth. Once school starts he brings his father in to help. His father is in his late 60™s. He can™t hear particularly well and adds everything up on one of the many pieces of scratch paper he has laying around. When I walked up he was collecting money from someone. I grabbed my bag and started looking over the tomatoes.
He looked over at me and stated confidently, “We have eggs today.”
I just stared at him. The statement seemed to come out of left field to me, considering I™ve never purchased eggs there and I was standing in front of the tomatoes. Why would you bring up eggs?
A smile came across my face. “I don™t need eggs. I want tomatoes.” I said, not wanting to offend, but feeling oddly pressured to purchase the eggs, since he brought it up.
I was giggling on the inside because I immediately thought, “This must be what a new patient feels like entering a chiropractic office.”
Patients come to your office because of a particular pain that they have. They want it gone. That™s what they came for. That is their tomato.
Then the doctor comes in and starts selling lifetime care and encouraging them to bring their families in. We have eggs today, ya know?
Yes, eggs. But what about my pain? I just want my pain taken care of. Let me get my tomatoes and then maybe I™ll consider your eggs. But I can™t even think about eggs right now. I hurt too much.
As I stood there and meticulously picked out the best tomatoes in the pile, another woman came up to him. “Do you have eggs this week?” she asked.
“You gotta be kidding me.” I thought.
“Yep, sure do.” the man replied. “They sent me up last week without any and I said I wasn™t coming if they didn™t load them this time.”
Ah ha! THAT™S why he was pushing the eggs. He wasn™t really pushing them at all. I know he™s well meaning, and he™s not the hard-sell type. But it sure did feel like he was pushing the sale to me. Apparently he had to refuse so many people the week prior that he overcompensated this week by offering eggs to anyone who walked up.
Have you ever had a patient get angry at you for something, maybe they had a problem with their bill, and then you had to go the next patient like nothing happened? It™s extremely difficult not to carry that experience over to the next encounter. In fact, your behavior might not be “normal” for the next several encounters. You just know the person in front of you is thinking the same thing the last person said. They™re just not saying it! Or maybe they™re going to say it any second now. The anxiety! You™re so busy talking inside your head and thinking about the last conversation that you absolutely fail to connect with the person in front of you who just loves the tomatoes you grow. Let it go. Allow them to buy your tomatoes. Build the relationship with them. Once they™ve been around a while they™ll see other people buying your eggs. Then you can introduce them to what™s possible while giving them what they want!