Friday, November 9, 2012
Here's a prescription for financial advisors who want to accelerate their practice growth:
Think BIG. Be BOLD. Offer HOPE. Obamacare, tax reform and the absence of a clear path to economic recovery create uncertainty. It's easy for physicians--and other clients of high net worth-- to feel like victims of circumstances.
Psychologist Marty Seligman coined the phrase "learned helplessness" to explain the results of an experiment he conducted in the 1960's. (Warning for animal-lovers; the next few paragraphs will be upsetting.)
He exposed groups of dogs to electrical shocks. One group learned they could avoid the shocks by pressing a lever. Another group learned they could not escape the shocks no matter what they did.
Then the dogs were placed in a box in which they could avoid shocks by jumping over a partition. The dogs who could escape the shocks by pressing the lever in the first experiment learned quickly; most of the second group of dogs didn't even try. They "simply lay down passively and whined." They had learned a mindset of helplessness.
Some dogs did
not become helpless despite their first experience. They, too, learned to jump over the partition and escape the shocks.
Members of our species can demonstrate learned helplessness. It's seen in the unemployed person who gives up the job search. What's the difference between this person and another who's still out pounding the pavement after the same amount of time?
Dr. Seligman says it's optimism. Optimism immunizes people from despair, nourishes hope and nurtures the belief that tomorrow will be a better day. Further, he says that optimism is a choice. While you're temperamentally predisposed towards optimism or pessimism, you can learn to act like an optimist by changing the way you explain why bad things--and good things-- happen.
Bold financial leaders will stand up and say to physician clients, "You can thrive no matter what happens. Together we'll find a way." Here's the prescription for success:
1.
Conduct yourself as an optimist. Read Dr. Seligman's book
Learned Optimism. Watch his TED video http://
www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.html 2.
Tell high net-worth clients you're collecting strategies to minimize their tax burden. You don't need to have all the answers. Instead, be proactive and tell your clients that you are actively seeking solutions. This is like the airplane pilot announcing that you're entering an area of turbulence, and and advising you to remain seated.
3.
Tell physicians you're collecting strategies to optimize revenue potential. Thought leaders predict that professional fees will decrease dramatically under Obamacare. Some physicians already say, "It's like I'm on a hamster wheel running harder and faster to keep from falling further behind." Show physicians how to get off the hamster wheel. Get reprints of my article
Reap the Rewards of a Reinvented Medical Practice published in the September/October 2012 volume of the Journal of Medical Practice Management.
4.
Improve your leadership skills. Read the biographies of great leaders like Lincoln, Churchill and Steve Jobs. Watch FDR's inaugural address.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX_v0zxM23Q 5.
Set your emotional thermostat to calm. Enhance what psychologists call your "emotional regulation"--your ability to move forward in the face of fear and keep the calm rather than catch the chaos.
6.
Be bold. Offer a seminar with a big promise like "Doctor, Here's How You Can Thrive Under Obamacare." Then deliver.
7.
Repeat to yourself and others, "To every problem there is a solution." Then find it!
Be BOLD. Think BIG. Offer HOPE.
Would you like to acquire more physician clients? Click here to learn more about "The B2D Blueprint"--a six-step strategy for building a physician-centric practice that works. Founder Dr. Vicki Rackner, President of www.TargetingDoctors.com works with financial advisors who want to acquire physician clients. Reach her at (425) 451-3777.