Next time you are not feeling well and find yourself at the doctor’s office you will likely be looking for a distraction of some kind. After all, who really enjoys being there?
Try this. Measure how much time your doctor talks versus listens. Or count how many questions they ask you during your time with them. Listen for phrases like – Tell me more about that? How does that feel? When did this start? How long have you been experiencing these symptoms? What have you done about them?
I am sure you won’t be surprised to see that they don’t say much unless they are asking a question or until they are finished gathering information and assessing the situation.
Why so many questions? Perhaps because symptoms aren’t always a clear indication of the root cause? Or because they want to be sure you are fully aware of your problem and motivated to fix it.
Do they ever hear one symptom and then pull out a presentation to review how the body works and how they can fix that problem? I hope not, if they do – perhaps a second opinion is in order.
The human body is complicated and it doesn’t always give you a clear indication of what is wrong with it. Sound familiar? Your customers likely have complicated businesses and even if you are calling on the same type of clients their pain points, root causes of their symptoms and motivation to fix them will be unique.
As an example, I had a kink in my neck about a year ago that kept me from being able to look to the right for over a month. I tried stretching it, icing it, massaging it, a hot tub, and even a masseuse before finally going to a physical therapist/ chiropractor. After a 30-minute evaluation he discovered a vertebra impingement. He also isolated the root cause as muscle weakness in my shoulder due to an older injury.
He fixed my immediate issue by adjusting my neck and then prescribed an on-going strength and conditioning plan to build up the shoulder complex to ensure this didn’t happen again. It’s been over a year and I have been pain free without any relapse. If he simply adjusted my neck without the complete evaluation he would have cured my symptom but not solved my problem.
How do you uncover the root causes of your client’s problems? How much time do you spend uncovering a client’s pain before you offer them a solution?
For more tips and tactics like this, contact us today.
