It’s (Almost) Never About the Money

Jenna (00:00):
Any objection means that they're just unsure. Figure that part out first, figure out where that unsureness is first. It's never about money. I should say it's really, really, rarely about money. So figure out where the true hesitation lies and go from there.

Andrea (00:17):
Well, hi there. I am Andrea Watkins and if you're listening to this while juggling three patient calls, checking in a couple patients, taking a payment, selling skincare, and trying to catch doctor in between procedures, you might be working in an aesthetic practice.

Blake (00:31):
And I'm Blake Lucas and this is PracticeLand. This is not your doctor's podcast.

Andrea (00:39):
Welcome back to PracticeLand, where we help you learn and earn. Today we're doing something a little different. So Eva and I have went back through the whole vault and pulled the best moments our guests have ever given us on the one thing every single person in a practice deals with. The objection, the hesitation, the famous, let me think about it.

Eva (01:00):
Whether you're at the front desk, a coordinator or the provider in the room, it doesn't matter where you sit. This one's for you and it's a masterclass stitch together from the people who do it best. And that clip you just heard, that's Jenna Hennig giving away the whole game. It's almost never about the money and we're going to prove it.

Andrea (01:19):
I'm excited about this one, Eva.

Eva (01:23):
Let's go.

Alli (01:25):
The biggest thing is anything that comes as a surprise to a patient, whether it's meeting you as the PCC for the first time, whether it's the price point being a new number that they weren't expecting. So I think that the biggest mistake that I see PCCs making is just treating that as the first time that they're meeting the person or kind of building the relationship. So more you can do on the front end before they even come in the office, the more you're setting that patient up for success.

Andrea (01:56):
And it's not really even just about the surprises to the patient. So we definitely don't want surprises to the patient, but as a patient care coordinator, you also don't want surprises that you're learning about the first day during the consultation. That's why I always tell the gals that I coach the very best patient care coordinators are the ones that ask the best questions. If we're not asking the best questions to learn everything we need to know, not just about the patient goals, but about how long they've been thinking about it, why is now a good time for them to explore their option? Who's your caretaker? Are they supportive? What's your strategy for payment? Do you need information about financing? What's your ideal timeframe? If we don't ask all of these questions before the patient even walks in the door, then we're going in blind and really unable to help the practice by scheduling the patient and also help the patient move forward to the next step as quickly as possible.

Eva (02:51):
I recently had an experience just where I called, I called an office and the provider I wanted to see was still in training and they basically just said, "No, we can't bring you in until two months from now." Even though she was right there in the office and so they basically just let me hang up and walk away and so I went somewhere else even though she was my provider somewhere else.

Andrea (03:18):
Are you serious?

Eva (03:19):
I am serious. I was like, "This is such good material."

Andrea (03:28):
Did you record that call and send it back to the people that you were trying to like ...

Eva (03:32):
Wouldn't that have been fun? I should. I should just start recording all my calls to doctor's offices.

Andrea (03:38):
Yes, all of them. Every single one and say, "Did you understand that your people that answer your phone are doing awful things?"

Eva (03:47):
Eventually I'll get my chance to do that. But when someone does ask you a question that you can't answer, what do you say and what do you do with that?

Andrea (03:59):
I mean, if it's something that's very specific medically, it's like, "Oh, we have patients that have all different types of ailments or whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah come through. I don't know specifically the answer to this question, but I'll definitely get an answer and I'll give you a call back in a couple hours." This goes back to this whole thing, which is you don't ever just answer questions. You have to ask the right questions first so that we can guide and lead patients to the right decisions for them to help them reach their goals, but they don't know what they don't know and people come in over informed from social media of bullshit that isn't actually applicable to them and going to help them reach their goals. So you've cleared the surprises, but there's still that very first phone call, the one where they open with, "Just tell me how much a tummy tuck costs." So here, Janelle Robinson, she's been running that call for years and she does not take that bait.

Janelle (04:57):
We really try to avoid leading with that price even if they come across very adamant about just getting that. And if the patients understand why you're asking questions, then it helps because really you have to start the conversation asking them things. You can't just give them pricing on a tummy tuck without understanding if that's even what they need really. And it might even be that they're asking for liposuction fees and really they need a tummy tuck. And so it's important to start by saying really in order for us to provide pricing for you and to get really close to what's probably what you're going to need, I have to ask you a few questions and this will make it more accurate if I'm able to ask these questions for you. And so do you have a few minutes because the pricing is so customized to the individual that I don't want to give you such a broad range that you don't get the information you want.

Andrea (05:59):
Typically, patients don't know what else to ask and so they will always lead with price. And so what we need to do in our role is, again, just like Janelle said in this clip is we don't want to just avoid the question. We don't just want to say, "Well, I'm not going to give you the price or start talking about something different." What you want to do is assure the patient, "Absolutely. I always want to give pricing to any patient that I talk to on the phone. What I'd love to do first is learn a little bit more about you, your goals, your current anatomy so that when I do give you that ballpark pricing, it's really going to be aligned with what's going to be applicable to you to help you meet your goals.

Eva (06:39):
And I like to prevent the question upfront by including the information on your website and not just ... A lot of people, I think it's gotten better, but used to just flat out say, no, it's impossible, but it's not impossible. There's always a range and you can publish the ranges and it's really expected at this point. Drives so much inbound conversion when you do include the price.

Andrea (07:05):
Just so that patients have some awareness. Yeah.

Eva (07:08):
Yeah. What if you're just the person answering the phone and transferring to the coordinator who has the longer conversation and you get punched in the face with how much does it cost?

Andrea (07:19):
This goes back to my "She did what?" story. I don't know if you remember this.

Eva (07:23):
It's so memorable.

Andrea (07:24):
January of 2005. But yeah, this goes back to at the front desk, we definitely don't give pricing for surgical and just say, absolutely, I'd love to have you talk to one of our patient care coordinators. She's going to be able to talk to you all about your goals and then she'll go over the procedure, the recovery, the price ranges, anything that you need to know, she's going to be your advocate there. Again, the thing that tanks conversions 100% is not opening up the door to a broader conversation because people don't say no to price. They say no to perceive value.

Eva (07:57):
And you shouldn't feel bad if someone calls and is unpleasant when you don't give them the price right away because they probably aren't the right kind of patient.

Andrea (08:09):
Exactly. 100%.

Eva (08:12):
Also, when people call, don't say, "What's your BMI?" Right after.

Andrea (08:19):
Yeah. How much is the tummy tuck? I don't know. What's your BMI? What the fuck?

Eva (08:26):
It happens.

Andrea (08:27):
Not a good first look. That's not how we open the door to a broader conversation of what are your goals? How long have you been thinking about this? Why is it now good a time to explore? You don't just kick it off with, "So what's your BMI?"

Eva (08:41):
Yep. Not great.

Andrea (08:42):
Nope. I agree, Eva, you're a genius.

Eva (08:48):
Okay. We've got numbers mastered. Let's move on to the next one.

Andrea (08:52):
Okay. So you've earned the right to talk numbers. Turns out how you say the number matters just as much as the number itself. Jenna calls this anchoring, and once you hear it, you won't present a price the same way again.

Jenna (09:06):
I like to use a technique called anchoring. So when you present your pricing, you're first building the value saying, "Okay, so our mommy makeover includes X, Y, Z, XYZ, X, Y, Z, blah, blah, blah, blah." And the total investment for that procedure with all those inclusions is going to be $1 million or whatever one million divided by 12 is per month for 12 months and that's anchoring basically. So you give them a initial larger number and they're like, "Holy crap." And if it is a big sticker shock for them, which it won't be for everybody, but if it is, they're like, "Okay, wow, big number." And then you follow it with that smaller investment number. So whether you're choosing a 12 month interest refinancing plan or if you know what your rates are for 24 or 36 with fixed rates, you can offer them based on what they told you their monthly budget allowance was, you offer that lower anchor number to them so that way it makes more sense like, "Oh, well yeah, I mean, 36,000 sounds like a lot, but I could do $500 a month. Tell me more about that.

Andrea (10:05):
Our whole goal as PCCs is to overcome hurdles and obstacles that patients have to moving forward. And if the financial aspect is a hurdle or an obstacle, we need to put it into a light and into a frame that's going to make sense for them. And this leads right into our next critical clip, which is anchoring basically sets up the number and then this next one is the exact sentence that hands it over without the patient ever putting up their guard. So you're going to want to steal this word for word, do it like Allie does it, do it like I train the gals that I coach. It makes that transition so much more flawless.

Alli (10:48):
Is it something that you've been saving up for already or is it something that you'd like me to share financing options on? It's a really gentle way to ask them if they're going to need financial support because it's kind of assuming nobody has ... By starting with, have you been saving up? It is assuming that nobody has that amount of money sitting aside. So it doesn't put anybody's guards up and they're not like, "Oh my gosh, I don't feel that it fit in here. I don't have the budget for this. " It's like, "Have you already started saving for it? Or would you like me to share financing options because if you want that, I'm the gal for it. " And I've never had someone kick back when it's asked that way.

Andrea (11:28):
I mean, this is exactly what I train everybody on and I'm like, "You have to say this sentence directly after you provide the ballpark pricing because if you just provide ballpark pricing and then leave-

Eva (11:41):
Leave it hanging.

Andrea (11:41):
Just leave it hanging, then you don't know what they're thinking and you're not helping them to actually process the number. And so before you give, I would like to just say a quick timeout, before you give the actual ballpark, you're building all of the value and what it includes. So before you do drop that ballpark, you want to say, so as far as pricing is concerned, do keep in mind that this ballpark range, it does include all of your pre and post-op care. It includes your surgeon's fees, your anesthesia fee, your OR fees. At our practice, we actually also include hyperbaric chamber. We have lymphatic massage and we also do lasers to help you get the very best result for your scars from the incisions. So it's a lot that's packed into this one price into the investment. And so when we're looking at that, it could be as little as 27,000, as high as 32,000, just depending on what your unique surgical plan comes out once you have your physical evaluation with Dr. So- and-so.

(12:41):
Is this something that you've been saving for or would you like some information about financing? So you need to build the value, drop the numbers and go straight into this sentence.

Eva (12:51):
This is what you mean when you say you're building value is you're telling them everything that is included in that all- inclusive price because they don't know that either.

Andrea (13:00):
Exactly.

Eva (13:00):
They don't know what's all included.

Andrea (13:01):
Exactly. And there's-

Eva (13:02):
We're used to going to the doctor and nothing is included.

Andrea (13:06):
You got to pay extra for this. You got to pay extra for that. Exactly. And so another thing is know your doctor and know what is your differentiator. Know what you guys do if you include scar gel, if you include pre and post-op supplementation, if you include pre and post-op IVs, all of the things that you do that are included in this with facelift, all of our facelift patients, they receive $1,500 in skincare so that you can really care for your skin and your face after you get through that healing. I've worked with dozens and dozens of practices across the US and everybody does it a little bit differently. If you're a body doctor and you, every single tummy tuck gets liposuction, you want to also say that right in here. Remember, we're pretty unique with every single tummy tuck. Our doctor actually does 360 lipo.

(14:00):
So you're basically getting that second procedure along with the tummy tuck, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, included in this price, blah, blah, blah, with your investment. So if you can't tell, I'm really trying to stop saying price and start saying investment. It's just little tiny tweaks like that that I'm trying to get my brain to-

Eva (14:19):
I'm trying to say payment plan and not financing.

Andrea (14:21):
Yeah. It's payment plan, not financing, scheduling, not booking. We're not booking patients. We're not like booking somebody in jail or booking a hotel room or scheduling patients for a life-changing procedure. I'm trying to come up with this whole list of luxury language.

Eva (14:37):
I also don't refer to people as patients. I refer to them as people.

Andrea (14:42):
Well, patients are people. Well, I oftentimes hear people say clients. They're not clients, they're patients. It's all things that we can ... One person might like it one way a little bit more than others, but there's a luxury language that we definitely can get away from some of the more crude words, I think.

Eva (15:07):
You're right. And this is how culture gets built in a practice with language.

Andrea (15:12):
Team/Staff. People that say my staff, I hate that and I will fucking hate that until the end of the Earth.

Eva (15:17):
I've got that one from you. I don't say staff anymore.

Andrea (15:19):
Stop saying staff.

Eva (15:20):
I haven't since you told me that.

Andrea (15:21):
We're a team. Nobody is your staff. When I think of staff, I think of butlers with white gloves that are running around serving rich people. That's not what we're doing. We're serving others in a way where we're changing their lives and we're all a team and we got to work together. It doesn't matter if you're the leader of the team or not the leader, we're all a team and we need each other. Stop using staff, please people. I see it on websites that says our staff. And every time I see that on an S3 website, I'm like, "Can you go in there and change that to Our Team?"

(15:56):
Just like subconsciously, I truly do believe that the words that we say have an impact on the way that everyone's perception.

Eva (16:06):
It's a wonderful rant and I completely agree. We have an entire list of words here that we're not allowed to use because of that. Exactly.

Andrea (16:12):
You do?

Eva (16:13):
Yes.

Andrea (16:14):
Will you send them to me? Because I'm putting together a list and I would love to just distribute it to everyone and say-

Eva (16:21):
Oh, here's another one. Oh, I love this topic. Provide is not a word that is allowed here. We deliver.

Andrea (16:27):
Love that. I never even thought of that.

Eva (16:31):
Provide is a weak word that does not speak to what's actually happening. It's just sort of like, here you go, take it or leave it.

Andrea (16:41):
Yeah.

Eva (16:42):
But deliver is elevated.

Andrea (16:46):
I love that.

Eva (16:47):
And if you're listening and you're a word nerd like us right now, please tell us what other words we need to include on the list and we'll ...

Andrea (16:56):
100%. And we can send this out to our distribution list and literally all of our people because it's ... I hate that I say literally as well. I keep hearing that only dumb people.

Eva (17:07):
Even my five-year-old says literally, she says it all the time.

Andrea (17:10):
Yeah.

Eva (17:10):
Literally.

Andrea (17:11):
I need to stop and cut it out. I think awareness is the first step in making change, right? Love it. Okay. So notice that nobody on this episode is scared of price and that is not an accident. It's just a belief. Here's Jenna on the mindset underneath all of it.

Jenna (17:30):
What I want is price is literally never, ever, ever, ever an obstacle or barrier. You can always make adjustments.

Andrea (17:39):
So it's easy to be confident when everything goes smoothly. Well, what about when the financing application comes back denied? That's the moment that most teams freeze. Janelle's team has a rule for it.

Janelle (17:53):
We don't give up. So there might be other options in terms of, first of all, we'll have them apply for every lender possible, but also maybe using a co-signer or another person to apply on their behalf that actually people, if they're determined, they will find that person. And so sometimes exploring a bank relationship where they might already have accounts and a relationship with that's an option. It's not a common scenario where we can't come up with some solution. I mean, we've even used the doctor financed option with PatientFi before where if they can come up with half of it where that's sort of our requirement. If you can come up with half, we'll kind of take on the payments as-

Blake (18:48):
Yeah, like a custom payment plan, Right?

Janelle (18:50):
Right. So we've gotten creative with that too.

Eva (18:53):
We know for Blake actually that PatientFi sometimes will approve one spouse and not the other. So that is an easy one to try next is if your own credit doesn't get you what you need. Maybe the person in the other room in your house can get it and it's the same thing.

Andrea (19:14):
You have to put as many tools in your toolbox as possible so that depending on the obstacle or hurdle that your patient has, you know exactly which one to pull out for this specific situation.

Eva (19:25):
That's right. One thing I also particularly appreciate about PatientFi is that it's not a hard credit check.

Andrea (19:33):
Yes.

Eva (19:33):
It's nothing to just see. And if you know before your appointment, then there's nothing to worry about. You can check on your own right now and know before you call a plastic surgeon's office exactly what your answer's going to be before the question is even asked.

Andrea (19:53):
Exactly. And all information is good information and don't be scared.

Eva (19:59):
I never thought about that before right now when I just said it. I can imagine if I was going in for a consult, I am the kind of person that would want to know before I go to the consult or pick up the phone exactly how much I'm qualified for.

Andrea (20:14):
Yeah. Well, and that's how you are, but there are a lot of people that they're just scared and they don't want to know what they don't have to until they're like literally standing at that door, and there I said it again, until they're standing right at the door and like you have to open the door. I understand why people don't want to take the extra step, but that's also, again, why it's so critical for a PCC to know how the tool works and to build the value around how it's zero risk and it's two minutes of time commitment. Again, it comes down to clarity is kindness. And if you're clear about all of these things, all you're doing is being kind to others and setting very clear expectations and helping them really envision how do we take that next step? How do I reach my goals?

(21:07):
How do I pay for this? How do I figure out time off work? Again, no matter what it is, it's up to the PCC to be very clear about the reality of the situation and then come in with the tools from the toolbox of how I can help you with anything that might be an issue for you.

Eva (21:24):
On the subject of putting tools in the toolbox related to the comment that I just made about knowing ahead of time, I do like to know and I recently started putting the apply link right on the procedure page right within the price range sentence and overnight people started checking to see what they were qualified for before they even called the office. And so this conversation has made me really kind of bring that whole thing full circle and understand why people are doing that. It's because there are a lot of people like me who want to know before they call.

Andrea (21:59):
Yep.

Eva (22:00):
Okay. So what about that person who says maybe?

Andrea (22:03):
So not every patient is going to give you a clean yes or a clean no. A lot of times what we get is maybe, maybe I need to think about it. And Allie's going to tell you here, this maybe is not your cue to chase them, it's your cue to lead them.

Alli (22:21):
You have to be directive on this call. So at that point I'll just be like, all right, well yeah, it seems like you've still got a little bit of research to do, so take the time, marinate on everything we talked about. And when you're feeling like you want to come in and meet Dr. Smith, give me a shout and we'll get you on.

Eva (22:37):
I called a surgeon about my chin maybe 10 years ago and the coordinator was so lovely and she talked to me for 35 minutes and then she got to the, "Do you have the money and do you have the time?" And I didn't have the answers and she said, "Why don't you call me back when you're ready?" And I went, "Wow. You're not going to try to convince me?" I instantly had an enormous amount of respect for that practice because they didn't want me coming in and talking to that doctor about my chin when I wasn't ready to do anything about it.

Andrea (23:10):
Yep, absolutely. I mean, it reeks of desperation when you're just trying to do anything that you can in order to convince someone to do what you want them to do.

Eva (23:23):
I can sum this up nicely with people never forget how you make them feel. And so if you are recognizing that they're not ready, the most important thing you can do is leave them with a feeling that is positive and not negative. And if you dismiss them in this moment because they're not ready, they won't come back. But if you show that you do care and you are supportive and you are there to be helpful, this is the greatest competitive advantage you have. And truly when I did that, when I had that experience, it was genuine. I wasn't secret shopping. I truly was interested in picking up the phone and talking to that office and I left with a feeling of respect for them and I would return to them today, 10 years later, that's building pipeline for the future.

Andrea (24:13):
That's an incredible impression. And another thing that I don't think we talk about often enough is when you seem pushy, desperate, or throw discounts in to try and get people to do things that you want them to do, it also diminishes the value and the respect to your point that the patient has for the practice and the doctor and the experience and the outcome and you don't get good patients that way. When your patients respect you and they value what you do as a professional service and outcome, they are better patients. They're going to have better outcomes. They're going to be more compliant with the things that you tell them must be done pre and postoperatively. The whole process is going to be better when your patients respect you.

Eva (25:01):
Instead of writing a negative review, they would pick up the phone and talk to you because you have a relationship and it's not a transaction.

Andrea (25:08):
And here's the part we don't talk about enough. A lot of objections, they really have nothing to do with money. Sometimes it's pure fear. Listen to how differently the same moment lands depending on who's in the room.

Alli (25:21):
And the patient was like petrified of anesthesia. She's like, "I'm just so scared of anesthesia. I'm so nervous." And the nurse was just like, "Yeah, you're going to be out, you're going to be fly asleep." And she was being transparent with-

Andrea (25:35):
I remember you telling me about this, And I was like-

Alli (25:37):
Yes. Yeah. She's being transparent with the information that she knew. So that's what she knows, but this is good to have a PCC in there, a trained sales professional, honestly, to be able to gingerly hold that patient's hand right there. Oh my gosh, I used to be terrified of anesthesia as well, but talk about who's doing their anesthesia. Talk about how many surgeries, how many surgeries they've done with Dr. Smith. There's this team, call them by their name.

Andrea (26:11):
She hit the nail on the head with this. Yes, the investment is an obstacle for many people and it's not the only reason. It could be the fear. It could be the scarring. It could be timeframe. It could be, my husband is not supportive or my parents aren't supportive and I'm 22 and they're helping me pay for this and carry my health insurance. I live with them, whatever. There's so many other objections that we come across that again, it's about building your toolbox so that you can have those deeper conversations with patients to eliminate fear, help overcome, talk to the husband, talk to the parents, whatever it is we need to do to help the patients again, be prepared and feel fully safe and confident moving towards the next step.

Eva (26:59):
Across every podcast that we produce the anesthesia episode is always one of the top.

Andrea (27:06):
Really?

Eva (27:07):
Because until I saw the data, I didn't realize how important that was to people, but when they're getting ready to have surgery, they always want to know more about that. And so those episodes end up being really useful.

Andrea (27:20):
Yep. Well, and that's a huge ... Again, this is a place where as a PCC you need to-

Eva (27:27):
Have tools like a podcast to share with your patients?

Andrea (27:29):
Yes. Have tools like a podcast to share with your patients. And in the hands of the PCC, in the hands of the people communicating with your patients, they need to know exactly who your anesthesia providers are and how long they've been working with the doc and what their certifications and their education and all of the things are so that for these patients, for example, in Allie's example so you can lean into that. And so again, it goes back to asking them a question, "What are your goals? How long have you been thinking about this? Oh my gosh, for like 12 years. Well, why is now a good time to explore?" "Well, because I've always just been really afraid of anesthesia, but I'm so sick of looking at this thing on my body that I want change that I'm willing to risk it. "And that's where the PCC triggers and says, that objection there is going to be fear.

(28:18):
For sure, that's one of the things that I need to lean into. So when you're in the part of the call where you're talking about the procedure and you're talking about day of and what to expect, you know the really great thing about Dr. So- and-so is I know you said that you're kind of scared about the procedure itself and the anesthesia. Our anesthesia MD, anesthesiologist, they've actually been working here in our facility with our doctor for 17 years and we have never had a serious patient event. So it's not a random person that's coming in. You're not going to a surgery center where it's a new anesthesia provider every day. These people work hand in hand for almost two full decades. So again, whatever it is, you got to ask the right questions so that we can figure that out, pluck the tool off the shelf that we need to lean into to really make the patient feel safe, comfortable, and prepared to make a decision.

Eva (29:13):
Well said.

Andrea (29:14):
So that's how to do it. Before we wrap, let's talk about how to blow it because one little phrase can hand a patient an objection they didn't even have yet. So file this one under "She did what?"

Janelle (29:28):
We had a doctor join us and brought in a couple of his team members, a patient coordinator and their pricing was a bit lower than ours. And I think that that was how they converted was leading with price or competing on price. And so when this patient coordinator would deliver quotes, she was uncomfortable because it was more expensive and so she'd put it in front of the patient and she She's like, "I know it's a lot, right?" And she was so uncomfortable with it and then acknowledged it and we're like, "No, don't say that. "

Blake (30:11):
Don't say that.

Andrea (30:13):
And I'll take this one step further. The apology should come if we have done something wrong, but in most cases we have not done anything wrong. So if someone says, "Can I have a price? What's the price of this? I'm sorry. I don't have that at the front desk." You're going to have to talk to a patient care coordinator or they'll say things like, "Unfortunately, I can't give you that information. You're going to have to talk to a patient care coordinator."

Eva (30:44):
We're putting unfortunately on the no-no list.

Andrea (30:47):
Exactly. So what my whole thing is mindset shift of we don't talk about unfortunately and apologizing and I can't and all of these things. You switch that to what I can do. Yeah. In order to get you that pricing, I'd love to have you talk to a patient care coordinator. They're going to be able to ask you all about your goals. Then they'll give you all the information about the procedure, the pricing, the recovery, and they'll walk you through next steps when you're ready. Can you hold just a second? Let me see if so- and-so's available.

Eva (31:14):
I remember this one so well because I think a lot of times-

Andrea (31:17):
I do too.

Eva (31:17):
... people who work and practices on these teams are seeing amounts of money that they've never seen. It doesn't even register that someone could come in and spend $50,000 on something, but we're all at different stages in our lives and have different context and different upbringings. And so you have to get your head around these large amounts of money and that there are people who can do that.

Andrea (31:44):
Absolutely. We're guiding and serving patients without the judgment and the baggage that we're carrying through our own finances. And that was, for me personally, straight up, I did not grow up in a household that had savings account. I did not show up with money. I did not. Money was a thing. It was like, you're going to buy something, you're going to get a loan. Very middle class blue collar. There just wasn't money for things like this. So when I was researching all of this as a patient, which is how I got into this industry, I'm like, shit, how am I ever going to be able to afford these skin removal after massive weight loss surgeries? It was mind blowing to me. And then obviously somehow I figured it out and it took me almost 20 years, but there we were. But I think the thing that we can teach our teams is don't sell out of your own pocketbook.

(32:44):
Don't put judgment on others just based on your life experience and any perspective that you come in for yourself personally. You have to check that at the door before you walk in and do your job.

Eva (32:58):
I didn't figure out until maybe 20 years into doing this kind of work, this story from my own childhood that made plastic surgery interesting and valuable in my mind. And it was because my brother had a friend in the neighborhood and this was just like you. Nobody in my neighborhood was rich. These were all very, very middle class, even very blue collar.

Andrea (33:25):
The rich people in the town I grew up in were the teachers. Quite literally.

Eva (33:31):
Wow.

Andrea (33:32):
Quite literally.

Eva (33:33):
That's true in some places, especially in small towns that-

Andrea (33:37):
I mean, one traffic light in the town I grew up in and I love where I'm from. I think I'm so thankful to have the perspective and to have the upbringing that I had, but we're not talking about people that had extra money for anything like this.

Eva (33:52):
No. And so my brother's friend had years that were horizontal to his head, like perpendicular to his head. And he was only known for those ears. And so as he got older and older, it of course got worse. This was the 80s. Kids were mean. Yeah. They still are, but in my mind, they were really mean in the 80s.

Andrea (34:12):
Oh, we were assholes back then. What are you talking about? Yeah. That's not an opinion. That's a fact, Eva.

Eva (34:17):
It is a fact. And so at some point around middle school, he had his ears fixed by a plastic surgeon. I still know him and I remembered this story years after it happened and I realized that that was a really positive event around plastic surgery that happened in my childhood and it changed his life. He went from being known for his ears to being himself.

Andrea (34:47):
That's incredible.

Eva (34:48):
Yes.

Andrea (34:49):
And no matter if it's ears, any of the things that-

Eva (34:54):
It doesn't matter.

Andrea (34:55):
Yeah. What we do in this industry and having lived through a pretty significant transformation myself, that's what I always fall back on is why are we doing what we're doing? And sometimes it's strictly out of vanity, which is totally awesome as well. And sometimes it's so people can just live a normal life like a normal human would be able to because of some ... What's the word?

Eva (35:21):
Visual appearance.

Andrea (35:22):
Yeah, just something different, right?

Eva (35:24):
Something aesthetic.

Andrea (35:25):
Yeah. And if we come at all of that through the mindset of service of this is truly someone that wants to change something, how do I figure out what the driving motivators are? How do I figure out what the potential obstacles are? It's all about asking the right questions so that we can pluck our tools out and then provide them the pathway and guide them through the process so they can take action. And we do that through authenticity. We do it through genuine relationships as well so that they feel safe and that they do trust us because those emotions are where patients are going to make decisions. They feel safe and they trust that they're going to have a good experience and get a good outcome. If there's one thing to carry out of this whole episode, it's this. Jenna, take us home.

Jenna (36:15):
Don't be afraid to push back a little bit when it comes to questioning, whether that's a price objection or anything else and don't be afraid to talk about money.

Andrea (36:27):
Don't be afraid to push back. Don't be afraid to talk about money and don't be afraid to ask the right questions. That's the whole episode in one breath. If this one helped, send it to the person at your front desk who needs it or send it to your patient care coordinator.

Eva (36:42):
I have nothing to say. Bye.

Andrea (36:44):
Adios, Eva.

Eva (36:46):
Send me your no-no words. I'll be here waiting.

Blake (36:52):
Got a wild customer service story or sticky patient situation? Send us a message or voicemail. If your tale makes it into our "She did what?" segment, we'll send a thank you gift you'll actually love. Promise no cheap swag here.

Andrea (37:04):
Are you one of us? Subscribe for new episode notifications and more at practicelandpodcast.com. New episodes drop weekly on YouTube and everywhere you can listen to podcasts.