How to Turn Your Discovery Calls into Patients

Overview

Today I am teaching how to conduct an effective Discovery Call, which will turn that prospective patient into a membership patient.

YOU are the Key!

As you may already know, the Discovery Call is extremely important. The first thing to keep in mind is that no one can talk about the practice that you created and talk about your philosophy of treating patients better than YOU. So, especially when you're first starting out, all avenues, all the flows from emails, websites, whatever your marketing is-- it all needs to lead right to a Discovery Call option.  If you have somebody answering your phones in the beginning, they can, of course, answer some initial questions; however they need to direct the person on the other line to YOU. If you're available at that time, try to jump on the call right away. Really decrease that time from when the patient is calling and asking questions to speaking directly with you.

In the beginning, when you don't have a lot of patients and appointments, I recommend opening up your schedule for all the Discovery Calls. When I first started, I would do Discovery Calls before I went into work from around 7AM-8AM, and I would also leave some evening opportunities. I did leave the weekends free, but I had that availability for about a year as I was trying to grow from zero to 100 patients. When I had my manager answering the phone, I would still try to get on the call to answer follow up questions. Basically, you're trying to get the caller to the Discovery Call immediately.

Discovery Call; Now What?

Now that you have them as a Discovery Call, how should you conduct the call in a way that appropriately conveys the uniqueness and value of your practice? In a way that is really holding space and honoring patients? (Note, if you haven't listened to my creating value video, listen to that for additional help!) Here are some guidelines to help you have successful Discovery Calls.

1. Be upbeat. Think POSITIVITY. "Hi, Jane! It is so wonderful to speak with you today!"

2. Launch into what you would expect to give them to provide a framework. "Jane, here is what you can expect from our call today." This can also include a general understanding of Functional Medicine if they are not knowledgable.

3. Go into a serious of set questions to get to know your new (hopefully) patient. "Jane, what I like to do for these calls is hear about what you're experiencing, what your symptoms are, what has worked and hasn't worked in the past... What is your ultimate goal? What are you trying to achieve? What are you currently experiencing? What have you done in the past?"  

4. Take notes on the call and let them know that you are writing things down. "Jane, go ahead and take your time, and I will be taking notes.I just want to hear from you."

5. Then you listen to their story. 

Listen. Really Listen.

When you start with positivity and then you provide structure, people feel safe. They also feel like you're in control of the situation, and it gives them a sense of what to expect from you in future. Often when you're listening to their story, they end up giving paragraphs and paragraphs. Listen for the feeling words, and you will find that you form a deeper connection. Use those active listening skills, i.e.: "I can see how that would make you feel sad." Or, "I can see how that would be very difficult." This will let them know that you're truly listening. Once they're with their "paragraph," say, "So what I'm hearing is..." or,  "I just want to make sure I understand this." Then, repeat it back to them, condensing it down and making sure we are on the same page. It might sound like this: "So what I'm hearing is that you're concerned about your thyroid and you've been told your thyroid tests are normal, but you think that there might be something else going on. You don't feel like yourself. You're tired. You can't lose weight. And so you want to get to the bottom of it. Is that right?"

Always recap and ask that because then if you go right into discussing how you would approach their case but it's for a goal that you've created for them, it's not really their goal. There won't be ownership or true understanding. There would actually be a total disconnect. You need to get to the bottom of what they want, saying, for example, "So what I'm understanding is that your main goal is that your fatigue sounds like you just feel tired and can't keep up with the demands of family and work. And, is that your primary concern?" Then, make them relay their dream outcome: "If you had a magic wand and anything is possible, what would happen?" Once you have that, you'll know if you're the person for them.

This is where you get to talk about how you approach care, and this is a good opportunity to usher them into the Foundational Assessment, which is the second appointment that I recommend. The Foundational Assessment is also not a long term commitment, just a one-time deep dive with bloodwork. When you have an opportunity to offer this next step, you can also ask for tests from their previous doctor(s). Tell the potential patient that you will look through them and decide if your approach differs enough to make a difference.  Then, you can present your membership later, if it is a good fit.

It's Not Always Easy

There is a scenario that can be difficult. Sometimes an inquiring patient needs an approach that you just don't offer--for example, if they were recently diagnosed with breast cancer and you're not an integrative oncologist. If that's not what you do, just make it very clear.  Tell them that you're not the person for them, but do refer them to a great doctor who will work with them. Just make sure to always be upfront and honest about your skills about what you can do.

You can add how working with you could increase their perceived outcome of success in terms of decreasing the time and pain. Be specific on how you would approach their case and you can, again, even go into the Foundational Assessment.  

The Foundational Assessment

The next step, the Foundational Assessment, is a 90-minute appointment where I review my patient's life from birth. For this deeper dive, I really need to know what the patient has been through; I review bloodwork, and I can then really assess what they might need. For example, if we are concerned about thyroid, there's a lot of different contributing factors. It could be nutrition; it could be adrenals; it could be autoimmunity. I need to know which direction to go in. Here, I want to just learn more about the patient and know with greater certainty what steps we need to take from there.

At the end of the Discovery Call, if you get to the Foundational Assessment discussion, simply ask,  "Is there any reason why we can't move forward with the Foundational Assessment today?" Make sure at this point to have everything ready. You can even say, "I'm ready to accept payment now, and we can go ahead and get you on-boarded and rolling right now." If they want to think about it, you simply send them the link. You can also recommend the advanced testing that you would use a treatment throughout the year long membership.

If you say you're going to email them or get back to them with a link or more information, do it right away! Make everything as fluid and decrease time as much as possible. 

Lastly...

You need to practice these calls and practice your flow.  lf you're in the Incubator now, we can role-play these conversations. The more you get used to talking about your practice and connecting with their story, you are able to better convey the value of your practice that you've worked so hard to create. Before you know it, you will be just talking about it and will be completely comfortable with your clear flow for this person to follow.

Soon, your Discovery Calls will be "no-brainers" and will flow smoothly and successfully. 

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