E639 | Why You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover

In this thought-provoking episode of the podcast, Doc Danny dives into the topic of making assumptions about patients' financial situations based on their appearance. Drawing from personal experiences, he reflects on how he used to judge clients' ability to afford extensive treatment based on their clothing and car choices.

However, he shares a surprising encounter with a client who defied his assumptions. Despite the client's modest attire and old car, it turned out they were one of the wealthiest individuals Danny had ever worked with, having achieved remarkable success through multiple companies and lucrative rental properties. This eye-opening experience made him realize the grave mistake he had been making by wrongly assessing clients' financial means.

Doc Danny emphasizes the importance of disregarding preconceived notions about clients' financial situations and instead focusing solely on their goals and medical needs when recommending treatment plans.

He advocates for clinicians to provide all clients with the options that best suit their circumstances, without letting assumptions about affordability influence their decisions. By adopting an unbiased approach and holding clients accountable for outcomes, regardless of financial assumptions, clinicians can ensure that each individual receives the most suitable treatment plan tailored to their unique needs. This mindset not only improves sales and outcomes but also fosters a more equitable and patient-centered healthcare system.

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Podcast Transcript

Danny: Hey, real quick before we get started, head over to Facebook and join the PT entrepreneurs Facebook group. If you haven't done so yet, we have monthly live trainings going on there. There's an opportunity for you to join in the conversation instead of just listening to what I have to say on this podcast, as well as the people that I bring on.

And it's a really cool place to join about 6, 000 other clinicians that are. Honestly, trying to change the landscape of our profession through these cash and hybrid practices. One other thing that's really cool is we have a guide in there. That's a quick start guide. When you join, you can go and check this out.

There's about seven videos that we've curated that are the most common questions we get in the best case studies that we've found to really help you start, grow, and scale your practice up to seven figures. So if you haven't done so yet, head to Facebook request to join the PT entrepreneurs, Facebook group.

You have to be a clinician. We're going to check you out. We don't just let anybody in. But if you are head there, go ahead, get signed up. We'd love to have the conversation with you in that group.

So here's the question. How do physical therapists like us who don't want to see 30 patients a day, who don't want to work home health and have real student loans, create a career and life for ourselves that we've always dreamed about? This is the question. And this podcast is the answer. My name is Danny Matei and welcome to the PT entrepreneur podcast.

What's going on? Dr. Danny here, the PT entrepreneur podcast. And today. I've got a story for me and this one comes from our acquisition team at PT biz and a team member that we have that I had a conversation with about preconceived notions of people and what they can afford. So this is something that.

I see all the time with clinicians that we work with. I used to do the same thing and I would assign a likelihood of someone working with me based on what they looked like, what they drove. The perception of affluence is what I would see. And then I would think to myself, Oh man, this person, they can do a package with me.

And I would bias myself one way or another based on people that were coming in to work with me. And the information that I had about them, right? Some of that just came from what I saw. The team member that I was chatting with, we were talking about people that were, on his schedule to have a conversation about, next best steps in their business and how he was wrong about somebody that he had talked to that he thought would be a.

A really bad fit. And it turns out that they were a really good fit. And I told him a story about a patient of mine that I'm going to tell you now as well, and a couple of years into starting athletes potential, I had a patient that came to see me from a referral from a from one of their friends.

And the guy came in, he was wearing like some old Tevas, some shorts that he had made out of pants. They were like khaki shorts, but he definitely cut them into shorts and just like a, just a t shirt, like a, from a concert. He drove. A very old Honda Accord.

And when he came in to see me, he was dealing with a couple different things. So for me, I was like, look, man, we've got a few things we're dealing with. This isn't going to happen overnight. I think your best bet is to do a package of visits with us and we can spread those out as best as we need to really help.

Take care of all these problems and set you up for success. Cause what he wanted to be able to just be physically training. Like he was he was actually going to a CrossFit gym. And so I told him that and he was like, yeah, no problem, whatever. And he bought a package and I was like, that's, I didn't think that he was going to do that.

And as I got to know this guy better. Cause I, I ended up spending probably well over a year with him as a patient. I guess I learned a little bit more about him and his background and what was interesting about him was that he was probably one of the wealthiest people that I've ever worked with and I had no idea until I started to get to know him better.

And it turns out this guy had actually started and sold a couple of companies and then he. He basically just bought a bunch of properties in the Atlanta area and was renting them out to movie industry executives and actors and actresses, very high end rentals for obscene amounts of money. And he never really needed to work another day in his life.

He owned a blueberry farm which is why he was always covered in dirt. Cause he was at the blueberry bar. And he would come back and see me for the visits that he had. And I told him, man, I was like, dude I completely misread you. And I pigeonholed you as somebody that probably didn't have the financial means to, to even be able to have a package of visits with us.

And he started to laugh and he goes, man, this. That happens frequently to me. And he told me a story about going to William Sonoma and this guy was like a big foodie. So he wanted these Japanese knives that were, I don't even know the brand, like very expensive knives. He wanted very, specific ones.

He goes in there looking like he does. And the sales associate kept trying to take him over to basically where the value knives were like the cheaper knives were, and he was getting very frustrated that, they weren't. Showing him the ones that he wanted to look at and take him out of the case.

And he said, eventually he just left. He went somewhere else and got what he wanted, which was basically thousands of dollars worth of knives. And he told me it's funny. He's I don't feel like I need to come off as if I'm affluent. I don't care. But I'm into the things that I'm into.

And if I see value in those, then I'll spend whatever I need to for what I think is best. And when he told me that he goes I don't view. What we're doing here as a cost, like this is my body. I want to work with someone that I think is the best. It's going to help me stay healthy as long as I possibly can and do the things physically that I'm interested in.

And I very much value expertise. So I have no problem dropping thousands of dollars to be in here on an ongoing basis so that I can get expert knowledge and work with somebody that I know has helped people do the same thing. And I'm not trying to bounce around and look for it. I very much value my time and.

When we had that conversation, I remember thinking to myself, damn, how many people have I Misread. How many people have I, had my own bias of what the perception of what they looked like or what they drove or what they were wearing influenced my decision to, to, to what I was going to recommend that they do for.

the plan of care that they needed for the goals that they had. And it was a really important conversation that I had with this guy because it really helped me change the way that I was communicating with people. And it wasn't, about what I thought that they could afford or not. It was about what was the right thing to do for the outcome that they were trying to achieve?

If it was. If money was not even in the equation, what would I tell them that they needed to do? And then that's what I would start recommending. That's what I started to have people, do as a as an option. And it really was a important shift for me. And something that I end up having to basically have this almost exact same conversation with every single staff member that we ever had.

Because. They would have that they would have somebody that shows up in a Mercedes and they're like, Oh, yeah, I'm gonna get a package on this one or whatever and you have no idea that person Literally might be a dead up to their eyeballs and not be able to pay for a single visit with you And you got a guy wearing some old Tevas and some homemade shorts and driving an old Honda Accord That can buy as many visits as he wants because he has the financial means to do so so I think I took this away from this conversation with our staff member and hopefully, for him it's an important learning lesson too, where it's just man, you just need to be there for people and give them the best option based on the circumstance that they're in and do not have preconceived notions of what people can and can't do, because it shouldn't matter.

It's not relevant to what we're trying to do. And we're. We're giving people advice based on what we think is best for them and what based on what they're telling us They want to achieve. So if you're doing this, I want you to think about this story next time you have somebody come in The next time that you think I don't know think this person can afford what I'm telling them to do or this person really can so Now, I have more confidence talking to them about buying a package.

Don't let what you think that person's financial position change what your option is at all. Do what's right for that person. Recommend what is best for them based on what they're telling you they want to achieve and leave it at that. And then disconnect from the outcome because it's not up to you at that point.

I've literally worked with people that absolutely. We're not wealthy people that were, they would have to wait until. They got paid to pay for a visit with me, to work on something that was physically stopping them from doing something they really loved. Now think about that for a second. Like they literally had to wait until the day that they got paid.

They would prioritize coming to see me so that they could actually get the help that they needed for their vehicle in life. And I'll tell you this much. That was some of the absolute most compliant people I've ever worked with. If that is how much that means to that person, man, I'm going to give them everything I've got, and I want them to get as much out of it as they possibly can, and they're going to do everything we say, because it matters that much to them.

It is not a luxury for them. This is something that they are making a sacrifice for, and that we are helping them achieve something that's important to them, right? And then I've had people that, Have bought packages of visits and come in once. And when, I'll tell them like, Hey, come on back in.

We've got to fix X, Y, and Z. And, when I get time, when I get time and they put it off and it, and they get no outcome from it because it's doesn't really matter to them. It's not important. So you got to just give them the option you think is best for them. And try to hold them accountable as best you can to achieve the goals that they want.

That's our job. Our job is to be unbiased clinicians that are going to offer up a plan that's going to help them get where they're trying to go. And. Regardless of whatever we think they can and can't afford, it shouldn't matter. It should just be based on what we think is best based on the problem that's presenting to us and not let that bias you one way or another, because you could be wrong, you could be wrong in both directions.

And it's best just to not even have that as part of your decision making and just be very. Detached from it. This is what I see. This is my professional opinion. Do you want to do it or do you not? I'll leave it at that. That's going to be something that should help your sales.

It should help your mindset with sales significantly. So apply this next time you see somebody apply this next time you have new patients come in and just really think it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Just. Give them the outcome or the plan to get the outcome that they want. Leave it at that and let them decide what they want to do.

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