Tea Nguyen, DPM (00:53.614)

This is episode 243, When to Offer Free Meet and Greets. Are you offering free introductory calls yet in your practice? I'm going to share with you what this actually is, who it's for, and when you shouldn't offer it anymore. Offering a free meet and greet, or what I call an introductory call, is a great way to tell people how you run your practice differently than the insurance model and how it benefits them.

So, who's doing these? It's very common in the DPC realm, direct primary care doctors who are offering monthly membership. And it's a way for them to tell people how the monthly membership actually works and what's included. Surgeons often do a free consultation that leads to a high ticket offer as well. So it's not uncommon to call, let's say, a plastic surgery office and ask them about different procedures you're interested in and they're trying to understand what you need as well. And often it comes with a free consultation because neither of them want to waste their time, right? What if the client comes in and they're choosing the wrong surgery or the doctor meets the client, prospective patient, and they don't have realistic expectations. So there is a huge benefit to offering a free consultation. Now, is this done in direct specialty care?

It seems like there's a lot of variations. So I'm going to share with you on who should do it and who should not do it. And then you can decide how you want to implement this into your practice. So here is where it makes sense. If you're new to your private practice and you're just starting up, your schedule is still open. This is a great way to get people to call and see what you're about. It's also a good way for you to practice having these conversations about why.

They should choose you. What makes you special from the insurance options? If you're somebody who tends to take rejection personally, this is a practice that I like to call exposure therapy. This is where you do the work, you practice taking on these calls, you listen to what people are calling in to ask for, and you hear what they have to say, and you also build resilience.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (03:20.172)

When the majority of them are choosing not to proceed with you. Because the thing is, them saying no is not about you, the doctor, not providing them value. It might just mean that they're uncertain as to whether or not you're a good fit for them, or they haven't done their due diligence and sought out other options, which I like to encourage people who call my office to do because as a direct specialty care office.

I want to make sure the people who want to work with me really want to work with me. Like they're fully committed and then they're willing to pay to get that care. I'm not a first line offer. Unless you don't have insurance and you just want to get an appointment within the same week. Most of the time I recognize that my specialty care practice is usually the last offer, the last person they want to call, the last reason to pay out of pocket. And I just accept that to be.

Because I know I'm in a community where there are corporate medicine in place, there are other private practices, but I also know what I offer is unique. It's different, and I'm okay with that. That's what I build my practice around. It's what other people are not offering, and that's what I offer. So sit in the comfort of your decisions, of you deliberately creating your practice a certain way and realizing that it filters for a select kind of person who's then ready to pay out of pocket. So again, if you're shy, if you don't have a lot of experience in taking these calls, this is your opportunity to practice. When it's small and manageable, you can take on a lot of phone calls and people just love hearing directly from the doctor. This is something that you need to get good at. You need to have a lot of conversations with a lot of strangers.

And tell them what it is that you do. And you want to be able to listen to what they have to say in response to that. It means that when they say no, or they're coming across with an objection, why doesn't my insurance pay for this? Or I don't think I can afford that, those types of no's. Sometimes they're direct and sometimes they're not direct. But when you start hearing more of that, you start to have a better script. You start to develop a

Tea Nguyen, DPM (05:42.72)

strategy on how to handle that. But you can't get better at it if you never start. So do take on those calls, listen to what they're saying, and develop the thick skin that you need to have to realize if they don't close with you, if you don't get them in your appointment books, if they're not paying you, that's not a reflection of your value. This is the practice that needs to happen. You gotta make a hundred calls before 10% actually convert. So this is a volume game to get the right people in the door. So who does not need to do a free meet and greet? If you're a doctor whose schedule is already full, you technically don't need to do these anymore or as often anymore, or you can train your staff to do it. But when you're not busy, this is the work that is required. People just don't suddenly decide to pay out of pocket for no other reason. They don't just walk into your door and say, whatever you've got, I will pay for that. You got to build your reputation. You got to get in the reps to having these conversations with more people. You got to be personable and somewhat likable to some extent. That's how you build your business. It's through relationships, it's through your community, it's through accessibility. If you're someone who's not quite as busy, but you feel like you're doing all the work and you're running out of steam, you're just

You said you've had it, you can't handle another no, another rejection, you you're at capacity as to how many more calls you can tolerate because you don't see the return on investment. This might be a good opportunity to start hiring help. Maybe it's a virtual assistant that you can afford $5 an hour, $10 an hour to take these calls. You give them a script on how to answer common questions, how your practice runs, and so on.

Or maybe you have an opportunity to work with students who are interested in medicine and give them some internship hours. You can decide how you want to run this. Now I mentioned a script. What should be in this script? Now I remember the first time I learned about having a script for a phone call. That was foreign to me. I just thought you answered the call and then you answered the questions that came up.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (07:56.834)

But just like a treatment plan that has a regimen, there is an order to do things correctly so that you're guiding people to a solution. Phone calls are the same way. There is a script. This is traditionally called a sales script, where somebody who wants to get an appointment, you get them an appointment, they are agreeing to pay out of pocket, and then you have closed that opportunity. So these are all verbiage in the marketing world. 

The script is designed to help them make a decision. And if you do this well and if you do this repetitively, you'll see that it gets easier to close those appointments over time or to book those appointments. You'll go from not being able to book a lot of appointments in the beginning. Maybe you take 10 calls and maybe one person says yes. But over time, as you develop the skill, as you get better with time, as you start to pick up.

People's concerns a little bit faster, and you can navigate those objections a little bit better, your conversion rate might increase. It will increase. So the first few months or even the first year of your practice as you're taking on these calls might be one out of 10 calls who say yes. Over time, maybe it becomes 4 out of 10 people say yes.

And when your community starts to learn about you and the word gets out that you're the doctor for this thing, your conversions percentage-wise might be 35% to 60% or so of industry standards. So if you're really good at closing people to book the appointments, you're screening them effectively, you're making sure they're a good fit, the higher end of being able to get a person to say yes on the phone call might be around 60 - 65%.

So, 6 out of 10 people who call the office and you make the offer, this is what you do, how you run your practice, those are the people who might become a paying patient. Now, early on, it might be maybe one out of 10. Everyone's numbers are different. So I'm giving you an illustration of what that could look like for you. And the only way to know how it's gonna work out for you is to actually do it and collect the data. At the end of the month,

Tea Nguyen, DPM (10:16.896)

look at the number of calls you received, look at the number of appointments that were booked and the transaction was closed, they actually paid you, and start being guided by your data, the numbers that actually show you what is working for you. Because what I'm seeing is a lot of doctors take that frustration of not converting 100% of people. They feel like every no is a rejection as a reflection to who they are as a doctor, as their skill set.

And that's not what this is at all. It's just a matter of practice. So doctors get frustrated thinking that they're supposed to be converting nine out of ten or ten out of ten patients, because we're all hyperachievers. We all want the hundred percent, we all want the A plus. But when it comes to this kind of stuff in the business, there's a different metric. It's not a hundred percent. It's often the benchmark is usually lower, which is acceptable.

Which now you know that just means you have to get to a hundred more calls in order for you to increase the probability of your success with your schedule filling out. Okay, so I mentioned the script. It is a design. There are five specific parts to the script, and the more you practice, the easier it is to talk through. You don't want to sound like you're reading. I hate when I call an office or any other business and it just feels like they're running on a script. Sounds like a bunch of run-on sentences. They're not taking a breath. They're not even pausing to hear what I have to ask. They're just kind of going through that. And I hate, I hate those kinds of businesses. So don't do that. But try to have a human-like experience. Which is also why I hesitate with using a virtual receptionist. And a lot of doctors are starting to use that, which is cool when it works.

For me, for my kind of micro practice, I do like the intimacy. I do like to connect with real people because sometimes it's another doctor colleague or a doctor's family member or my neighbor or whoever. I want to know who they are. So right now I don't have that kind of automation. I do have a human answering the phone, and I've taught her this script. So I have a very specific way to frame these introductory calls. So this is probably what you're waiting for. So let's get into it.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (12:43.52)

One more thing before I get into the script. This is where doctors get frustrated. A prospective patient calls and the doctor takes a call, and the patient continues to express their symptoms, their frustrations, and the doctor goes into full problem solving mode. So now they're getting pulled into a conversation that was intended for an office visit rather than an introductory call.

And then suddenly the client walks away not paying or not interested, or whatever the situation is, the doctor feels frustrated that they gave all this time to the patient. They were delivering all this value, and the person doesn't book the appointment. So this is how you can create a firm but kind boundary to avoid that kind of energy suck. So let's preface this with a call script. All right, the five parts. The first part is you want to frame what this call actually does. And here's what that sounds like. Thank you for taking the time to make this call. I'm Dr. T. This is an introductory call to help you determine if our services make sense for you. If it sounds like we can help, I'll tell you how to work with me. If not, I'll point you in the right direction. Sounds good?

Part two. Ask where they are now. And the goal is to have them talk more than you. So your job is just to listen. They will tell you everything that's frustrating them. And you're going to use that as a way to relate back to them. It's going to be built into your script so that it shows that you're paying attention, that you understand, that you are compassionate, that you are on their side. So ask them what's going on. Where are they now?

And what is the problem they're dealing with? Simple, right? This is part of a chief complaint. We all know how to do this, so let's do it. Part number three. Now that they've told you their problems, you want to ask them this very specific question that most of us don't really ask. And that is, what is the cost of doing nothing? What is the cost to you if this doesn't get better? So now you are framing the problem that they have.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (15:02.838)

And allowing them to articulate what it's really costing them if this thing doesn't get better. And then they'll come to realize it's more than money that they're wasting on products that don't work or going online and finding misinformation and so on. They're wasting time, right? So you want to frame that time is a resource that's not regenerative compared to money, you can always regenerate money, right?

So once you get them to talk about the cost of doing nothing, you realize how serious this problem is for them, or maybe it's not so serious, right? This is you making a judgment on the call. Then you can say, so doing nothing feels safe, but it's actually costing you something. It may be money, it may be time, it may be opportunities off the court, they can't be socializing with friends, they are not able to take a vacation.

So you're framing the problem beyond their diagnosis or symptoms. You're making this about their lifestyle, how it's interfering with the life they want to live. So that's the importance of asking them the cost of nothing changing or doing nothing. And a lot of humans really like to procrastinate or sit in indecision, but again, you can always frame

indecision is a decision to change nothing. So that's how important it is to have these conversations. Because now you brought into the light of things that maybe they were thinking about, but once they are like confronted, and I don't mean confronted in like a rude way or anything, but once we expose the real problem, then we can have better conversations with the patient so that the cost of what you offer really isn't a cost.

It ends up being an investment, but we have to make it very obvious for them. We have to guide them there. Number four, in your script, you want to ask them what they want and help them picture a life without this problem in their words. So ask them what it is that they want. What is the end point for them? What is life without this problem? You can ask them pointedly, what does your Tuesday look like if you didn't have this issue? And be as specific as possible.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (17:31.052)

Maybe they tell you that they love to go swimming, but they can't with this problem. Or they want to stay healthy because they have something coming up that's very important. Get them to get specific so that they can live in that and imagine themselves without that problem. Oftentimes they're already expressing all of this right in the beginning of the phone call. And you're just having to listen a little bit harder. You just have to tune in and pay attention to what matters to them.

Because now you are able to help them see outside of this diagnosis, beyond the symptoms they're having, and then to live a life without it. And then number five, you want to explain the gap. The reason why they are living in the land of problems, but they want to be in the land of the solution, of the life that they want to have. That gap between these two lands, just think of two islands. The gap is the bridge. You are the bridge to that.

You are the reason that they will be able to take the problems that they have and end up into a land where there is none of that problem. I'm using my hands, I know, I don't have a video to show you, but I hope you can visualize what I mean by this. You're taking them from point A to point B and you are the bridge for that. So if they kept trying to solve this on their own, they might go into a circular motion, they might get stuck, they might be wasting money, wasting time, and ultimately you're the expert.

So you would be able to shortcut that for them. So be able to convey that information as how you solve the gap for them. Often I like to ask questions like, How much time do you think will pass before this gets better? Because people like to try non-validated treatments, right? There's always a treatment option that's like the cheap option, but what you don't pay in the products you're paying for with time, right?

So there's a cost to everything, and I like to be very clear about that when I talk to people on these introductory calls. Now, there are objections I mentioned several times before in different episodes, and in this one, and I'll share again with you what that sounds like. Objections are just people saying no, not right now. And it might be because they're afraid of something. So, what might they be afraid of? They're afraid of wasting money.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (19:55.256)

They're afraid of wasting time, or simply they don't have enough trust that this solution is for them. So, how do you handle these objections? The first around money, it's always about framing the actual cost. So we did this naturally in the script. You ask them, what is the cost of doing nothing? What does it cost you if you can't go to work comfortably every day? If you can't take that vacation, if you can't attend that wedding, if you can't play pickleball.

With your friends, right? There's a serious cost that is beyond money. So you wanna address and reframe that the money you're spending into the medical care is an investment. The time objection, you can ask them how much time do you think is needed to make this better? So some people's time objection might be, I don't have time to do this. But ignoring it doesn't make it better. So you wanna reframe their perception of time. I don't have time for this. Okay, but also it doesn't get better if you do nothing. So now you lost time. Whereas you could be dealing with this today and be there sooner. The last objection that I like to talk about is trust. Sometimes if they never heard of your treatment, it's new to them or you're new to them, they haven't created a trust relationship with you quite yet.

Maybe it's the first time they've ever heard about it. They're gonna need more to chew on. So what do you do with that? You build trust by making sure you stay top of mind in different avenues, such as an email list. If you're using an email list, that's your opportunity to educate and get them, get their emails so that you can tell them all the stuff that you have to offer and some small educational tidbits.

There's also YouTube. If you don't have a social media channel yet, that's something to consider. Maybe there is a question that is being asked over and over again, and you've created a nice video that's six, eight minutes long, and you say, you know what, let me save you some time. Watch this with your family member and let me know if this is something you want. So being able to build trust does take time. It didn't happen on that first phone call.

Tea Nguyen, DPM (22:12.418)

And that's where I see a lot of doctors feel frustrated is that they'll get a new person to call the office and they go through this script, but the patient doesn't book an appointment, they don't pay, they're spending all this time delivering value, and there's just missing trust factor. If it's their first time hearing about you, calling you, maybe they saw a Google ad and they just clicked the first thing available without looking at other options, that can feel very frustrating to not select for the right person.

Who needs your stuff? And so how do you keep these types of people who just need a little bit more information? An email list or YouTube channel. YouTube is great because it's searchable, much like Google. It's considered the primary resource for people who are looking for answers for medical problems. So you might as well start a YouTube channel right now and answer all of those questions that you've been repeating over and over again. So that takes time, takes trust.

It takes you being patient and developing that resiliency that this is just what it takes. You put in the reps, it will happen for you. So I'm really curious how you're feeling about these introductory calls. I would love to know what's working. And if you want to connect with me, I'm over on Instagram and LinkedIn at TEADPM. You can find all my information down in the show notes. I love helping specialists leave the system that undervalues and overworks them.

So if you want to schedule an introductory call with me, see what I did there, go ahead and use the contact me button down below in the show notes. I look forward to chatting with you again next week. I hope this was helpful for you. And I hope that you get to have a lot of phone calls and get into the practice of becoming better at delivering information that people so need to hear. Have a great week. I'll see you next time. Take care.