07 - Energy: One of the Most Powerful Persuasion Tools on the Planet
10 Jun 2019 · 7 min
Troy Cole argues that energy and enthusiasm in your voice are rare and noticeable enough to persuade patients. It matters most on the phone, during consults, and across your whole practice culture. A water-filter salesman's genuine excitement showed Cole why tone beats any script.
Let's get excited. What is up, my friends? It's your boy, Troy with a fresh piping hot episode of the Practice Growth Machine podcast, where we teach you the persuasion tips and tactics you can use to command higher prices for your premium procedures and fill your surgery schedule. Today we're talking about one of my favorite topics, and that is energy. And this topic came to mind as I was speaking with a water filter lady. Her name's Mandy. All right, so a little background for you here. I live in the country, ish, sort of just outside of Fort Worth, Texas. So rather than having city water, we actually have a well, a well out in our yard that pumps water out of the ground, and it's awesome. But the thing is, there's a lot of minerals in the water, and we have a water filter that is hooked up to our house to take care of filtering some of that stuff out. So every now and then, we have to have the filter serviced. So I called the company that normally does this. This is just a few days ago. I need to book an appointment. And Mandy answers the phone. And from the moment that she answered, she was kind, she was energetic, she was happy to be doing her job. I could tell she was happy to help me. And so she took this normal, humdrum situation, me booking an appointment for servicing on my water filter, and she actually lifted my spirits, right? Made me feel good, got me excited about the service, and she got me taken care of. So let's talk about how and why we want to be more like Mandy. Let's get into it. We often focus so much on the scripts and on the specific word tracks, and those things are important, but we sometimes forget that the majority of our communication is delivered not with the words that we say, but with the tone and the energy with which we deliver it. You could have the best scripting in the world, but if you sound like you hate your job or you're just moseying through the day, it's not going to do you any good. On the flip side, I've had practices who hire new folks, and maybe they don't know all the answers and all the scripting and everything down just perfect, but they're so happy, they're so energetic that they're able to book consults right out of the gate. And so I want you to take a minute here, think about examples in your own life where you've met people like this. Maybe it's your favorite barista down at the local coffee shop or the lady over at your dry cleaners. I'VE even had memorably pleasant experiences with AT&T customer service, believe it or not. And it's all because they have that energy and that excitement about what they are doing. So let's talk a minute about why energy is so powerful. Why is energy such a powerful attractor? Well, there's a few reasons here. Number one, it's noticeable. When someone loves what they're doing and they're not afraid to show it, it's very clear it automatically stands apart in that way. Number two, it's rare. We encounter so many people every single day, and they're just, you know, they're going through the motions. So when someone's energetic and they engage you with energy and excitement and happiness, again, they really, really stand out against all the other interactions that you have going through life. And then, number three, it creates this natural curiosity. Why? Why is this person so darn happy and excited? I need to know. And when it comes to your practice, that excitement and that energy is reflective of the experience that they're going to have when they come in and when they see you. So for all of these reasons, energy and excitement in your voice, in your tone, is very persuasive when it comes to booking your consultations and even turning consults who come in into surgeries. So let's talk about a few areas where you can amp up the energy. All right, where can you amp up the energy in the practice? First and foremost, on the phone. That's the first area the phone think about. It is often the first human interaction that somebody has with the practice. It's the first voice to voice engagement, and it's a critical first impression. You want your people on the phone who are staying fresh, they're amped up, they are excited for every single call. And I know that's not easy, but it is critical to set that first impression and set the tone for what they can experience when they come in and see you. The phone really is just the start, though. That energy has to carry into the consult, into the meeting with the doctor, because at that point, it's clear you're not just dealing with one awesome person on the phone, but a culture and the whole practice, a culture of excitement across the board. It's kind of like, you know, what is in the water over here? What are you guys drinking? Because this place is amazing and I want a piece of it going back to that curiosity point we talked about in the last section. And you'll also find other creative ways to showcase your energy. For example, I intentionally have A very high energy and excited voicemail message. Not the typical, hey, this is Troy. Leave a message. But I really, really get into it. Even when someone leaves me a voicemail, I want folks to know, hey, this Troy guy is loving what he's doing over here. So if I miss a call, it's not uncommon for someone to leave me a message that starts with, wow, that's an awesome voicemail. And I can tell that it's had an effect on their energy just based on the tone of the message that they're leaving. I can hear it in their voice, which is another critical point is your energy reflects onto others. You will set the tone whether it's up or whether it's down. You're going to set the tone for interactions with patients who call in and come into your practice. Set that tone, set that energy. Hi. So let's do a recap on everything we've learned today. To summarize more than scripting in Word tracks, your energy is one of the most impactful forms of communication that you have. When you have high energy, you display something that's noticeable, it's something that's rare, and it creates curiosity, all of which is persuasive and attracts others to you. You want this energy to be palpable on the phone, in the consult, and all the way through the patient journey. All right? So get out there, get energized. You love what you're doing. You're changing people's lives. Make sure that you show it, make sure that they know it, and have a positive impact on the lives of your prospects and patients. We'll see you on the next show. To dig deeper into the ways you can use persuasion to grow your practice, head over to troycohl.com and check out the free Resources tab right there on the home page.
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