Episode 92: Unplugged: New Kid on the Block? The Single Question That Converts Your Discovery Calls

Spotify | Google | Apple

Discovery calls are a vital tool for making your practice stronger. In this episode Dr. Lara Salyer explores the power of discovery calls in healthcare, and shares how they can be a tool for connecting with potential patients, especially for a provider in a community where functional medicine is yet to gain ground.

Dr. Salyer explains how aligning discovery calls with core values like education, transparency, autonomy, and efficiency can transform patient engagement. She uses her website as an example, showing how these values, integrated into pre-education materials, help potential patients grasp her approach even before they make the first call.

The episode then guides listeners through a strategic sequence of questions based on the Prochaska model of behavior change, starting with identifying the patient’s primary medical challenges and goals. Dr. Salyer highlights the significance of understanding past strategies that patients have found beneficial, offering insights into their readiness for change.

Further, she probes into why patients believe a holistic medical approach suits them and why they think it’s the right time for this shift. These questions aim to unearth the patients’ motivations and readiness for embracing a new healthcare journey. The discussion also includes assessing patients’ current prescription medications, providing a complete picture of their health status.

One innovative concept introduced in this episode is the feedback survey for discovery calls that don’t lead to patient conversions. Dr. Salyer emphasizes the value of understanding why a potential patient might say no, using this as an opportunity to refine the approach and address any barriers to conversion.

This episode is packed with practical resources and advice for practitioners to enhance their discovery call techniques and boost patient conversion rates, grow your practice and amplify your reach. If you like this content and you want more information like this, explore Dr. Salyer’s Streamline Course.

About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:

I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.

In This Episode I'm Talking About:

Practical resources and advice for practitioners to enhance their discovery call techniques
The value of understanding why a potential patient might say no
Strategic sequence of questions based on the Prochaska model of behavior change to boost patient conversion rates

Quotes:

“Even the thought of doing a discovery call prickles many healthcare practitioners because at our heart, we aren’t salespeople. And we feel that health care is a right. Health care is a necessity. We just want to serve. So why would we want to get on a discovery call that just feels incongruent with our values?” (1:42 | Dr. Lara Salyer)
“You need to ask for and provide a feedback survey for those discovery calls that didn’t convert. In fact, I recommend a lot of communication.” (10:57 | Dr. Lara Salyer)
“Read those feedback surveys when you’re feeling in your wise mind and you’re feeling stable. You’re grounded and you can handle this because that will be the gold that you’re searching for.” (13:20 | Dr. Lara Salyer)