THE STORY:

A Sweaty High School Lunch Room, July 6th, 2024

This weekend I went to a deodorant testing competition at a high school cafeteria. With a couple of mounted fans on the windows, we had the slightest breeze known to mankind and a big dream: to sell as many Pokemon cards as possible in 8 hours.

It was my fiancee Jimmy’s first card show as a vendor - he has been selling cards online as a side hustle for the last 7 months (Check out @jimmyripz on IG for more)!

I have to admit, I loved selling these cards - the act of getting to know others, finding what they’re interested in, and creating a deal that worked for both parties taught me so many patient communication principles that I know will totally change the game for you reading this. Turns out, being a provider IS a lot like selling Pokemon cards (with unfortunately just as much sweat involved). Let’s dive in:

1. People appreciate organization - it helps them make decisions…

The overwhelming feedback I got from the booth that day was not how cool our inventory of cards was, how fairly priced we charged, not even how stunning my nails were…

It was that people really found our organization system to be so helpful. (If you ask a pharmacist to sell Pokemon cards…)

We had binders organized by cards costing $1-5, $5-20, and then $20 and up cards in a display case. On top of that, we had a “bargain bin” where rows were either 1 for $1, 2 for $1, or 4 for $1. Parents loved that their kids could sift through the bargain bin freely, while the serious collectors appreciated heading straight to the display.

I started asking people how we could make our stand better, and a few mentioned they were on a mission to complete a set - so they suggested in the future organizing cards in the binder by set in addition to price, to make it even easier to find what they were looking for. This made sense, as whenever someone approached the booth I always asked “anything in particular you’re looking for?” to which 90% answered with a specific set they were looking for as well.

What I took away from this was, it’s important to:

• understand specifically what your customer is looking for

• have an easy way to direct them

• make their hunting/decision making process as easy as possible.

In healthcare, doctors shy away from discussing prices and cost because we’re not trained on it, and frankly don’t have a good idea about how it works either. We need to wake up to the fact that healthcare is business - that doesn’t make it dirty or immoral, but it means we need to factor in psychology and communication if we want to help as many people as we can. People will only spend money on treatment when the decision seems simple, clear, and urgent - so the easier we can help our patient find what they’re looking for, the better as well.

2. Something will always feel too expensive if you don’t understand the value of it. Because if you did, it would be an investment.

I was flabbergasted at some of the prices I was hearing in that cafeteria. $150 for this, $450 for that. But it instantly reminded me of the most important lesson I’ve learned as a dentist so far:

My mentor, Dr. Markowitz taught me this my first month of working and it has stuck ever since for every case.

Expense is in the absence of value.

There are lots of things that seem too expensive to me.

• The organic produce section at the grocery store.

• Designer hand bags

• a $400 set of Pokemon cards still in the original packaging

These are not things I value. But here’s the thing: I regularly go out to sushi for dinner. I get my nails done once a month. I spent $400k on dental school tuition (that one still hurts not going to lie). These are things that might make that “too expensive” list for someone else.

Sometimes I look at things and think, “who’s buying this stuff?”. But a super health conscious mom might feel like buying the organic produce for her kids helps her sleep better at night. A collector of designer hand bags might be saving these investment pieces to some day help buy a new house.

The point is we all have different interests and values - it’s your job as a provider to deeply understand where your patients values lie so that you can help them see the value in what you’re recommending.

3. Urgency is important, but needs to be mutual.

There was this guy that came up to our booth trying his hardest to make a deal. I saw from the corner of my eye as he pounded his fists, pressured Jimmy with a barrage of prices, and repeatedly asked “let’s just make a deal already!”

Safe to say, Jimmy and I weren’t really feeling like we wanted to make the deal.

As we laughed about it after the fact, I realized it taught us a valuable lesson.

In healthcare, especially dentistry, we always hear that we need to create urgency to act - to start treatment, get appointments scheduled, etc.

But that urgency has to feel mutual, and you want the receiving end to feel like they had ownership in the decision. Not pressured into doing something they’re not comfortable with.

The thing is, this was just about 1 Pokemon card. But it left a lasting overall impression on us about this person and how they do business. I’m sure we’ll see them again at the next show. So in the end, whether you’re recommending a lot of treatment or just 1 thing, it’s important to read the room and have the self awareness to know when you’re pushing someone past a zone where it is productive. Sometimes it’s more helpful for the patient’s wellbeing (and your relationship with them) to plant a seed, and allow them to act when they are ready. You’ve got many card shows to go to, many years of being a provider - patience is definitely a virtue here. Especially since not even 1 minute after the guy left our booth, another person standing next to him snatched those cards up and said “if he won’t take these I will!” - instantly dropping exactly what we had asked for.

I have 2 more principles of business/patient communication that I learned from selling Pokemon cards, check out this week’s podcast episode here. But now let’s turn the focus to you:

NEXT VISIT: it’s your turn to try

Time to practice this at work! Here are some ways for you to try and implement what we learned:

1. ORGANIZATION & CLARITY: if a patient has multiple conditions or treatments, can you present these in a format where the priorities are more clear? Can you break down cost in simple ways (instead of just saying “we’ll have the front send an estimate” which can sometimes seem out of touch or glazing over the subject, try to know ballpark what certain treatments cost out of pocket at least. This way you are coming across as the empathetic, knowledgeable provider that understands the financial burden you are asking your patient to take on).

2. INVESTMENT > EXPENSE: Really take the time in your busy day to understand their values, and help them see the treatment you’re recommending as an investment, not a cost. Is there a big family wedding coming up that they want to look good in photos for? Is there a tooth that affects their ability to eat their favorite foods? I’ve heard so many different reasons for seeking care - all valid and all important to keep in mind. For ex. if someone doesn’t want to have a tooth pulled due to the cost - it might be helpful for them to know that by leaving this tooth in, they’re compromising all the other teeth next to it and risking their treatment plan going from hundreds of dollars to now thousands of dollars. Same with a filling vs. crown & root canal.

3. MUTUAL URGENCY: you can’t be the only one caring about this treatment, and there’s nothing more off putting than forcing someone to do something they don’t want. You can also end up in some sticky situations if something goes wrong, and now they can point their finger at you for pressuring them to begin with. Have the awareness to know when is it important to push, or when is it important to make peace with where they’re at, to preserve a relationship that could last many many years - instead of blowing it all just for 1 thing.

And now, onto the last segment of this newsletter: your BUZZY BITES, the pop culture news stories of the week to make small talk with - so you can talk to anyone about anything. For more in depth breakdown of these stories, check out this week’s podcast episode here!

BUZZY BITES:

1. SHARK WEEK OHH HA HA: John Cena not only announces he’s retiring from the WWE, but also the host of Shark Week 2024! Here’s what to expect from Shark Week from 7/7 - 7/13 here

   

   Source: Discovery Channel

2. NEW FLAVORS WHO DIS?!: Jelly Belly adds 2 new flavors to their BeanBoozled Jelly Bean pack - Wet Dog and Burnt Rubber! This fun game has players choose miscellaneous jelly beans from a bag, some of which could be delicious flavors and some… not so much - read more here 

   

   Source: People Magazine

3. IT’S GONNA BE MAY/MOVIE THEATER BAR: Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods are teaming up to open a sports bar together in a NYC historic movie theater! Here’s the who, the what, the when and the why for this random duo.

   

   Source: Getty Images

Message me if this post resonated with you! That’s all for this week’s newsletter, tune into next week’s for more fun! Reply if you are dental, pharmacy, medical or anything else! Would love to hear from you!!

Thanks for reading - if you liked what you read please share this with a friend! See you next week,

xoxo, Connie