Client Communication: Strategies for effective interaction with clients

Client Communication: Strategies for effective interaction with clients Dr. Mark Magazu Chairman Swedesboro Animal Hospital Saint Francis Veterinary Center

Client Communication Strategies for effective interactions with clients Topics for discussion Competence is more than your skill level Connecting is half the battle Make decision-making easier Know your client s type Evaluate your approach and adapt Conclusions

Competence is more than your skill level You are only as good as the impression you give people

Competence is more than your skill level You are only as good as the impression you give people Your appearance is just as important as your medical knowledge & experience. Appearance Posture Tone of voice Demeanor Attitude Give them a natural, welcoming smile Why? You may be the best doctor on earth, but if you don t look or sound like it, you ll never gain the client s trust Clients will let you practice only to the degree they think you are competent. Client s don t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Competence is more than your skill level Actions that undermine your credibility Your actions can inadvertently undermine your own credibility and cause clients to lack confidence in your judgment. Beware of Fidgeting Lack of eye contact Disheveled appearance Soft handshake, sloppy posture Incomplete sentences Disjointed thoughts & communications Use of slang (ya know, like whatever, etc) Failure to connect with the client at his/her level

Competence is more than your skill level Actions that undermine your credibility Fidgeting Lack of eye contact Disheveled appearance Soft handshake, sloppy posture Incomplete sentences Disjointed thoughts & communications Use of slang (ya know, like whatever, etc) Failure to connect with client at his/her level = nervous, lacks self-confidence, something s wrong = lacks self-confidence = not attentive to details = not a leader, cannot command situation = not a competent problem-solver = inability to command complex problems = immature, young, inexperienced, overmatched = judgmental, ivory tower, disconnected

Competence is more than your skill level Actions that undermine your credibility You need to make the impression - not the client! Your behavior will largely dictate the client s behavior. If you come across as rude - you ARE rude, and the client will be rude Complaining? You re a winer, and the client will complain to you Unpleasant? You re mean and the client will be mean to you Uninterested? You re not interesting, and the client will share less and less

Competence is more than your skill level What client s DON T care about Your clients are there to see you for one reason only: they need your help to make their pet s feel better. They don t care about Your bad day Your personal life How busy the hospital is or how crazy things were just before the client came in Anything that s on your mind right now other than their pet Your stream of conscious thoughts Your internal monologue of how you re solving problems (I could do this, but might do that ) Anything other than the condition, treatment and return to health of their pet

Competence is more than your skill level You are only as good as the impression you give people Example: An upset client comes in with an emergency. Meets an experienced doctor whose capabilities reflect the highest level of skill. However, the doctor does not look the client in the eye, communicates in a flat tone of voice, and leans on a wall while talking. Client judgments: Lack of eye contact = doctor lacks confidence in his medicine and interest in the patient. Flat tone of voice = doctor is disinterested, lacks compassion, no care in the world what client is going through. Leans on the wall = doctor exhibits a nonchalance and immaturity that belies his capability

Competence is more than your skill level What client s DO care about Your clients are there to see you for one reason only: they need your help to make their pet s feel better. All that they are thinking about is Can you help my pet? Can you help me understand what is wrong with my pet? Can you help me make good decisions - and feel like I m making the right decisions? Do you know how to motivate your team and use all the resources of this hospital to help my pet? Are you compassionate enough, strong enough, and talented enough to help me?

Competence is more than your skill level Be clear, confident & informative Everything you do and say needs to help clients feel that the doctor has helped me to understand what we presently know and do not know what diagnostics & procedures will best help us learn more why these are important how I can make the best decisions possible for my pet what I can do to help my pet feel better as fast as possible

Competence is more than your skill level Be clear, confident & informative Use clear and direct sentences to make recommendations. This creates the aura of confidence in you and in your Bad: We got the results back, and, you know, we can do a few possible things here. recommendations. Good: The test results tell us XYZ. This means the best thing we can do for Fluffy right now is ABC. The reason that ABC is the best thing we can do for Fluffy is

Competence is more than your skill level Be clear, confident & informative Use full, professional sentences to communicate thoughts that are wellconsidered and logical. Bad: It could be this, but maybe it could also be that. I won t know until we do XYZ. You know, it s hard to tell sometimes. Good: The best thing we can do for Fluffy right now is XYZ. Doing XYZ will tell us ABC, and help us make the best decisions we can to help Fluffy feel better as quickly as possible.

Competence is more than your skill level Be clear, confident & informative Avoid passive words and thoughts. Passivity is interpreted by clients as indecision, lack of confidence and a lack of experience. Bad: If it were me, I would maybe do XYZ If you want, we can You know, we could possibly do Put another way: A doctor who knows what to do will sound confident in explaining why the client should do it. Good: The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy start to feel better is XYZ, because

Competence is more than your skill level Be clear, confident & informative Paint a clear picture, as best you can, of what is possible. This will help the client understand better, it will help them start to think about decisions yet to come, and it will Guide them to the next steps: If it s A, we need to do B If it s X, we need to do Y give them confidence in your abilities. Now: You know what you re doing (in their minds) They are ready for next steps and decisions They are not surprised You are not guessing (in their minds)

Connecting is half the battle Fluffy s well-being depends on the client believing that you are in it with them.

Connecting is half the battle YOU are the most important person in the world to me right now Use the word you to show understanding, and to bring the client into the decisionmaking process with you. I know you would like You understand Could you tell me what s going on with Fluffy? You will really like this product because

Connecting is half the battle YOU are the most important person in the world to me right now Use the word you to corral the know-it-all client. You asked the right question You ve done a great job researching this Sounds like you may have seen something similar to this before

Connecting is half the battle YOU are the most important person in the world to me right now Use the word you to make the client feel good about their decisions. You are making the right decision. You are approaching this in the right way. You are doing a good job thinking through things.

Connecting is half the battle YOU are the most important person in the world to me right now Use the word you to guide the client away from their bad assumptions toward your good recommendations. You are doing a good job thinking through this. Let s add a few more important pieces of information to our thinking so that we don t miss anything. I m impressed with how you are thinking about this. Let s also make sure we consider

Connecting is half the battle WE are in this together. LET S help Fluffy feel better Use we and let s to invite the client into the process and to focus the conversation on important decisions. The best way we can help Fluffy right now is Let s go ahead and do XYZ because What we need to decide right now is Let s think about this another way. The first thing we ve got to do for Fluffy is

Connecting is half the battle When are I, me and my recommended? Remember, it s never about I/me/my. Ineffective: I would recommend - if you would then Except for when you are directly recommending a course of action, or need to reign in a client who is struggling to make a decision. just say I recommend I might do - if you might, you re not confident in your recommendation I need you to decide - don t separate yourself from the process, it isolates the client. Effective: I strongly recommend XYZ because I d like to focus our discussion so we can

Make decision-making easier Options, clarity and guidance

Make decision-making easier Avoid offering choices to clients Clients have come to see you because they do not know how to solve their pet s medical issues by themselves. They will default to whichever choice they perceive as least scary - whether or not that choice is medically the best one.

Make decision-making easier Avoid offering choices to clients Always remember Client s didn t go to veterinary school - you did. They have precious little means of understanding choices without your guidance. They trust you to tell them what is best. Decisions are impossible when you don t fully understand them - what if I choose the wrong option? What if I had chosen differently? Choices create second-guessing. Start with presenting what you KNOW is the best option, and work back as needed.

Make decision-making easier Make the client say no to Gold Standard medicine Veterinary professionals and clients share the same starting point for any vet visit: The vet wants to provide the best possible care, and the client wants to provide his/her pet with Let the client say no to the best before you offer other options. Then, work backwards based on what you know you need to provide the best possible care. the best care s/he can. You say: Your first recommendation in ANY situation must always be Gold Standard - your best and most comprehensive plan for the patient. OK, if we aren t able to do XYZ right now, we really should do ABC because this will give us the most information under the circumstances

Make decision-making easier The best thing we can do is Perhaps the most effective thing you can say in any situation is this: Best - helping client evaluate decisions and gain confidence in their choices We - they aren t in this alone The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy begin to feel better is XYZ because Can do - clients feel less helpless because they can take action to help Right now - you share in their urgency (if you remember nothing from this lecture, remember this phrase!) Help Fluffy - this is all about your pet Begin - no magic wand, but let s start Feel better - this is what the client wants XYZ - clearly outline your recommendation Because - explain why it s the best action

Make decision-making easier The best thing we can do is Perhaps the most effective thing you can say in any situation is this: Encouragement - I want to do the best for my pet! Discouragement - If I don t do this, I am not The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy begin to feel better is XYZ because doing the best for my pet In total, this helps the client understand what you re recommending, why you re (if you remember nothing from this lecture, remember this phrase!) recommending it, why you believe it s a good decision. Clarifies choices for the client.

Make decision-making easier The best thing we can do is Perhaps the most effective thing you can say All roads lead back to this phrase. in any situation is this: And be sure to tell the client they have made The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy begin to feel better is XYZ because a good decision when they choose your Gold Standard recommendations. (if you remember nothing from this lecture, remember this phrase!)

Know your client s type Choose your linguistic approach based on the type of client

Know your client s type Choose your linguistic approach based on the type of client The most successful communicators are able to identify the type of client and communicate with them at their level. Take the time to know who you are talking to. What tells does a client give that helps you quickly know how to talk to them? What language do you employ to help them make the best decisions for their pets?

Know your client s type Choose your linguistic approach based on the type of client Types of clients: The touchy/feely client The visual client The auditory client The Engineer Dr. Google The emotional client

Know your client s type The touchy/feely client The touchy/feely client needs you to handle their pet as much as they do. They say: I felt a lump, can you feel it? These clients need to know that any recommendation you make will help stop their pet s suffering. You say: Yes we did feel that lump Can you feel the difference between

Know your client s type The visual client The visual client is going to talk to you about what they see. They will use language that centers around what they have seen with their own eyes. They say: Can you see how sick Fluffy is? Look at his stool/lump/limp/etc Successful communicators will talk to them using the same language to help them fully understand their choices. You say: The best thing we can do is XYZ because it will help us gain a clear picture of what is going on with Fluffy I recommend XYZ because it will show us Let s do XYZ because it will help us take a deeper look at

Know your client s type The auditory client The auditory client is going to talk to you about what they hear. They will use language that centers around what they have heard. They say: I can hear a cough/click/etc I heard that doing XYZ helps I keep saying to myself that ABC is not right Successful communicators will talk to them using the same language to help them fully understand their choices. You say: I can hear what you are talking about Sounds like we need to do XYZ because What I hear tells us that we should

Know your client s type Dr. Google The Dr. Google client is going to talk to you about what they know - or what they strongly think that they know. Dr. Google clients are the I know as much as you do clients. They say: I looked this up online, it has to be XYZ I talked to a friend who thinks it s XYZ I ve seen this before, it has to be XYZ Successful communicators will employ language that uses their knowledge to guide them to your ddx. You say: You may be on to something, let s do XYZ As you know it can also be X and doing Always let Dr. Google clients know whenever they make a good decision. XYZ will help to Your research is very helpful, let s do

Know your client s type The Engineer The Engineer client is all about facts - or the facts as they perceive them. They provide clear information and want you to provide them facts. They say: Fluffy vomited red liquid 6 times in last 24 hours & carries leg after 4 steps (etc) Often brings in copious notes Successful communicators will acknowledge their facts and then offer their own within the context of explaining what the best course of action is. You say: If this, then that Doing XYZ will tell us ABC. If the results show X, then our course of action is Y, because That information is helpful, thank you. We need to collect more data to help us make good decisions.

Know your client s type The emotional or angry client Any client type can become emotional which can make communication and decision-making more difficult. Failure to employ the correct language with the correct client type can cause increasing onset of emotion. Try to match the mood and return the client to healthy, clear-headed decision making. Let s take a closer look at our options and make the best decision for Fluffy. Fluffy needs us to make a good decision for her. Let s not make her wait. Let s do The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy feel better is Let s come back to what we can do right now to help Fluffy.

Know your client s type The emotional or angry client Use of you/your You are making a good decision You are thinking about this the right way You are doing the right thing by Use of I/me/my : I understand where you are coming from My best recommendation is I understand this is very upsetting, I believe that doing XYZ is our best option Use of we/let s/our because The best thing we can do for Fluffy is Let s do XYZ because it will help by Our best option is to NEVER Admit - instead acknowledge I understand your feelings NEVER say I know why you re angry

Evaluate your approach & adapt Progressive medicine depends on progressive client communication strategies

Evaluate your approach & adapt Read the room & reset the conversation The successful communicator will constantly evaluate the client s state of mind and adjust. Backing away from you? Reset the conversation: Let s step back and understand our choices. The best thing we can do is XYZ because Angry? Emotional? Reset the conversation by matching their mood/emotion. Do not fall into their emotion. Always bring back to the solution for their pet.

Evaluate your approach & adapt Read the room & reset the conversation The successful communicator will constantly evaluate the client s state of mind and adjust. Frowning? Expressing negativity? Moderate your language so that choices aren t as scary or complicated: We re going to help you make the best choices you can. Let s step back and Facing away from you? Looking at the floor? Try to reconnect, remind them they are doing a good job: You re doing the right thing, I know this isn t easy. Let s step back and

Evaluate your approach & adapt Practice and adapt Like any career path, practice makes perfect. And, just as we seek to practice progressive veterinary medicine, we must also practice progressive communication skills. Think about it this way: If a client could mute you and only form judgments about your compassion and competence based on your body language, what would they conclude?

Evaluate your approach & adapt Practice and adapt Methods of practicing; Watch tv without sound. Get to know body language. Form judgments just on what you see. Mental rehearsal. Go over how you would approach certain client types. Live rehearsal. Practice with someone else. Test techniques at work. See what works for you. Gain confidence in new techniques. Ask colleagues who they handle certain client types and steal their best practices.

Effective Client Communication Conclusions

Effective Client Communication Conclusions Clients are seeing you because they need your expertise. Be the expert they are seeking. Extent to which clients will trust you is directly correlated to your professionalism and communication skills. Avoid passive language; speak confidently and informatively. Be friendly and compassionate. Choose language that brings you and the client into the decision-making process together.

Effective Client Communication Conclusions Let the client know they are doing a good job/making good decisions whenever you can. The best thing we can do right now to help Fluffy is XYZ because Reset the conversation when needed. Clarify choices for the client and clearly let them know your recommendations and reasons. Read the room and adapt. Match communication strategy with client type.

Effective Client Communication Questions? Examples?