The EntreMD Podcast
Dr. Una is passionate about helping physicians embrace entrepreneurship so they can grow their wealth and win back the freedom to practice medicine on their own terms. Learn more at: https://entremd.com/. Dr. Una helps physicians build and grow their businesses to 7 figures and beyond. Each week, she will share key insights on how you can turn your medical experience into a profitable, passion-based business that gives you time, freedom, and a deep sense of purpose. Be sure to follow the podcast so you never miss a new episode!
The EntreMD Podcast
How to Sell Without Selling
One of the most important skills needed for a successful business is the ability to sell. This is also something that many entrepreneurs avoid because it seems manipulative and sleazy.
In this episode, I talk about how to sell without selling. Learning this will put you in a position where you can sell consistently and authentically which will create massive growth in your business.
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about my 12-month program.
- Interested in 1-on-1 coaching? Apply here.
- Grab a copy of the "The EntreMD Method" book.
When you are ready to work with us, here are three ways:
- EntreMD Business School Accelerator - If you are looking to make a 180 turnaround in your business in 90 days, this is the program for you.
- EntreMD Business School Grow - This is our year-long program with a track record of producing physician entrepreneurs who are building 6, 7 and 7+ figure businesses. They do this while building their dream lives!
- EntreMD Business School Scale - This is our high-level mastermind for physicians who have crossed the seven figure milestone and want to build their businesses to be well oiled machines that can run without them.
To get on a call with my team to determine your next best step, go here ...
Hi docs, welcome to the Entrez MD podcast, where it's all about helping amazing physicians just like you embrace entrepreneurship so you can have the freedom to live life and practice medicine on your terms. I'm your host, dr Ibnah. Well, hello, hello, my friend, welcome back to another episode of the Entrez MD podcast. As always, I'm super pumped to be in your ears. I just got the most amazing review from a doctor and I want to read that to you. I want to say thank you so much. This is plant-based psychiatrist. I hope I get to find out who this is, but it's a five-star review and it's a review on the seven kinds of people to keep out of your inner circle, which is episode 356 of the Entrez MD podcast, which is actually the episode before this one. And this doctor says wow, this episode was a wake-up call to me not to be the seven kinds of people to avoid. More often than not, the positive reminders are so powerful and important to keep in mind. One life, one chance to create a stepping stone for your children and impact your generation. Love it. Thank you, dr Una, and thank you so much. I'm happy to hear that you got a lot out of that episode and thank you for taking the time, like to go to iTunes and leave us a review. I really appreciate it and I really love how insightful you are talking about how I want to be the seven kinds of people to keep in your inner circle more often than not, because we all fall into those tendencies here and there. We just want to spend most of our time on the right side of things. So thank you so much for writing that review. I truly appreciate it. I hope you can send me a DM and say I'm the plant-based psychiatrist. I love to give you a shout out in person, and if you're listening to this and you've never left us a review, I want to invite you to do that. It really does make a huge difference because we are trying to get the word out there. We are trying to help a million physicians. We want to directly impact 100,000. Why? Because once we touch 100,000 physicians, we will completely disrupt the narrative amongst physicians. I need to think about a time where burnout is no longer a buzzword, loss of autonomy is not a thing. Financial stability is now the way we roll and we're back in control, and so that's what we're trying to do. So imagine that just leaving a review and sharing this episode with another doctor helps on that mission. So do that and thank you, thank you, thank you so much. If you've already left us a review and you're like, yeah, I still want to be a part of it, just take a screenshot of this episode, share it on social media. So, my goodness, go listen to this episode. Okay, all right. So today I've just come off hosting a five day workshop for the private practice owners who are physicians, and we talked about the seven ways private practice owners leave money on the table every day, and it was such a powerful experience for me. Right, it was very powerful for everyone who attended, but it was so powerful for me because it gave me an opportunity to talk about things that I've done and I've helped others do for years. It helped me to show the physicians what is possible. There's so much hopelessness out there and, yes, I'm not taking away the challenges. There are challenges in private practice and there are challenges with the insurance companies and all of that. But if we can do the things that we have control over today while we work on those bigger systemic things that will be resolved tomorrow, then we can enjoy today, and I did a case study with a doctor we call Dr Ebony, and Dr Ebony, we were able to show how she was leaving $715,000 on the table, if you can think about it. So wild, right. And so that's what we did. We had over 600 doctors register from all over the country and many actually from outside of the country as well, and it was so impactful. You could literally see the hope coming back and people going. Wait a minute. They saw things they could not unsee, which was such a gift for me. And then some of them decided I'm even going to take this a step further. I'm going to join the Entry MD Business School and it was just so great. And for the people who joined the school, yes, they're going to do a lot and they're going to go faster and they're going to do all of that. But the truth of the matter is for everyone who came for the workshop, if they will apply that, they are going to get results. So I just left with so much hope for the physician community, so much hope for the physicians who run private practices, and as we all become examples of what is possible is going to be a ripple effect that really is going to disrupt the whole space. So I'm just giddy with excitement, okay. So Today I really wanted to talk about a concept because, as we did this, I had a friend who reached out and said, oh my goodness, what you did was so impactful, it was such a good workshop and you sold without selling, like it was so smooth and all of that. And I thought about it and I was like, yeah, and it wasn't from a standpoint of manipulation, it's actually not even because, like, I'm a smooth salesperson. It's not that there's a concept, there's a philosophy that I work by and I decided I would come on here and share that. And maybe if you're listening and selling feels icky and you're like, yeah, I don't want to do that, that's for used car salesmen. You get a lot out of this. If you're somebody who you really believe in what you're doing and you want to put it in as many hands as possible, then you get so much out of this. So I just want you to lean in and I just share what I do. So the idea is all right. So let's talk about it how to sell without selling and I'm going to use the private practice workshop that I hosted as an example or case study, if you will. So the first thing is really to give up the mindset of convincing people to buy what you have to sell. You really want to give that up, right? It's not about convincing anybody. I don't want to convince anybody to join the Entremd Business School. I don't want to show up in a place, and I'm showing up in a place because I have a sales target that I want to meet. Now do I have targets? Yes, but that can't be the leader, at least not for me, right? I can't show up because I'm like oh, I have this school and I want a lot of doctors to come in. It's not about convincing at all. So we want to give up this thing of sales is this thing where I strong arm people so that they can buy this thing that I'm selling, that they may or may not want, or they may or may not need. Selling is not about convincing at all. So that's number one. Number two is the flip side of it. Number two is, rather than doing that, help people get what they want. Help people get what they want. So I showed up for five days. I left everything on the table and I was showing up with the intention of helping people get what they want, okay. So, for instance, if you think about a private practice doctor, for the most part what do they want? Well, they want a practice that is where they're able to serve their patients, where they're able to serve their team, build a great team, have a great work environment, and they want to do that in a profitable way, because they understand that no margin, no mission. If I'm not profitable, I cannot keep the lights on, I cannot make payroll and so I have to shut down my practice. So they want to be able to serve and they want to be able to earn. They would love to be able to create financial freedom so they can serve their patients without worrying about money. They're free to do what they want to do for their patients. They want to have time freedom. So maybe they've built a team and for some people, maybe they want to work four days a week, or they want to work three days a week and they want to spend time with their family. They want to travel. Maybe they want to work five days a week, but they want to be able to take a nice vacation twice a year. They want to be in a position where they're not necessarily working. When they're at home, they have enough time for their family, they have enough time for their friends, for causes that matter to them, and that's really what they want, right? And so my job, as somebody who serves physicians, is to help the physicians get what they want. It's not about me selling what I want to sell, it's about me helping them get what they want. Now you might say, but it's the same thing, like, you help them get what they want and they're gonna come into the school, but you have to think about what is driving it. The driver is not oh my goodness, I have to have like I have to have 15 people join the school. The driver is I want to help the doctors get what they want to get. Okay, I want to help them get what they want to get, and so I want us to spend a little time talking about that, right? So the first shift is we're going from convincing to helping people get what they want to get, and I want to tell you I'm gonna give you four ways, right? How do I help people get what they want to get? And so, going back to this workshop that I hosted, what was the first thing I did? The first thing I did is I showed them what is possible. I understand that we're in a time where people think private practice is dead. I understand that so many people have tried it. They've gone into like serious debt trying to do it. Sometimes they need to work other jobs to make payroll and things like that. So a lot more common than you would think I know some people have. There could be 10 doctors in one practice and it's a surgical specialty and you would think they're swimming in dollars. But because they don't understand business principles, their revenue is really high, but so is everything else and they're at risk of going under, right. And so there is a lot of cynicism, right, like people are like you, skepticism, they're like, yeah, you can't do that and stuff like that. And I'm really grateful that I was able to show them what is possible, right. And so I showed the seven ways. These are the seven ways, and I intentionally pick things that are really simple that everybody says, yeah, I see how I could have done that, or I used to do that before. Maybe I don't do that now, but it was so relatable because they're simple things like collecting your copay and they give simple, simple, simple stuff. But then I showed them if you miss out on this, this is how you're throwing away money. If you miss out on this other principle, this is how you're throwing away money. So I showed them what was possible by teaching them. Okay, I'm like this is what life could look like, this is how much you could save, okay. Now the second thing I did because teaching is one thing and I could see it right. I'm teaching and people are like yeah, yeah, we've heard that before. Yeah, yeah, I could see it right. Yeah, yeah, cool, yeah, I hear you. So the second thing was I started showing what was possible by storytelling. Okay. So for every point I brought up, I had this doctor we made up. Her name is Dr Ebony. She's a pediatrician in Atlanta, georgia, and for each one I would show them how this doctor was making this mistake and she was doing this. So, for instance, I'm saying, okay, dr Ebony, her schedule is not full, right, she wants to see 25 patients a day, but she's only seeing 20 patients a day and she makes $200 per patient. And so for those five patients that she didn't have on her schedule, five times 200 per patient, that's $1,000 a day that she's losing, right? Then you multiply that by the 260 working days in a year that comes to $260,000 that she's leaving on the table because her schedule is unfilled. At that point people went, whoa, wait a minute. So the showing by teaching was one, but the showing by storytelling was so undeniable, was so mind blowing, got people's attention. They're like wait a minute, you're saying that I am leaving multiple six figures and then some on the table because of this unfilled schedule and I show them strategies, this is how you can fill the schedule and stuff like that. They're like wait a minute. And it was so fun because the next day people started talking about the things they did put in place to make sure their schedules were full and the meetings they had with their front desk staff and all of that. It was so powerful. So remember what am I doing? I'm helping people get what they want. So I've shown them what was possible by teaching. I've shown them what was possible by storytelling. And we had some other doctors we have some of the most. I am so honored to work with the doctors who in the Entremney Business School and so they came on and they were sharing their stories. And they were sharing their stories of when they started how things were. It was so interesting to listen to those stories again. I never didn't even know if they could start a private practice. One had been in private practice for years and when she came on, makito's asked her so tell me about your revenue? She's revenue. That's not something I've ever really paid attention to. I just know there's money in the bank to pay the bills and all of this stuff and to see them as rock stars now, like building these practices and crossing the million dollar mark and doing all the building eight teams and living life on their terms. So people could see this is not just Dr Una talking. This is possible. This is possible. This can be my reality. What am I doing? I'm helping them. This is part of the journey helping them to get what they want. And then the third thing I did is I know how this works. The third thing I did is I gave them an invitation. I gave them an invitation you can do this by yourself. Like maybe you're here and you're like I do all those things, I don't even need them, but you're here. You're like no, I want to do this. But this mentorship I got over the last five days, I need that, this accountability. Go do it. I need that, the community. I need a community Because I'm in all these Facebook groups and with all these other docs and it's constantly nothing's working. We're stuck, always me. Just shut it down. Why are you even bothering? Go get a job. I want to be in a community of people who are getting this stuff done and I'm like, if that's you, what you want is mentorship, what you want is accountability, what you want is community. It exists. It exists in a place called the Entry of the Business School. Come join us. And so this is an invitation, and it's an invitation. There's nothing mandatory. I'm not trying to convince you. This is what you need If you need it. You know what I mean. So come join us. And then the fourth thing was I know how it is Till this day when I need to, I know that, ok, I need to up-level my skill or something, and I know I need a program or I need to work with somebody, or something like that. Do I have the time to do this? Or I'm like god Lee, this is expensive, right, or what if it doesn't work? And things like those thoughts still float up. I've just done it for so long that I recognize it for what it is is fear, and I don't let it stop me right. I'm like it's like, what if it doesn't work? I'm like, yeah, but what if it does? You know what I mean, and I don't have the time for it. I'm like, yeah, but we make time right, like we don't have time for anything. We have time for what we make time for, and so I understand that. So the fourth thing I do helping people get what they want is I'm like I understand the fear that you have now, and sometimes the way that would work is behind. When people have questions, what they're doing is they're articulating the fears that are stopping them right. And so if you want to help people get what they want, you you help. Part of what you do is you address the fears right. Anything else your nutrition and mom comes in with her kid and she's scared, she doesn't want to give vaccines because she read some things on Facebook. And you're gonna address those fears right. You're not just gonna say whatever, and somebody comes in your internal medicine. They have a blood pressure of 180 over 110 and they say I have some herbs that are gonna take care of my blood pressure. You're gonna, and they're like I don't want to take this medicine because my cousin took that and got sick, and I think that's what it's from. You're gonna address those fears. You're not gonna let them go right, and so you address the fears. You're like you think you're like I don't, I don't have time to do this, I'm to work on my business, to which I'll say oh my goodness, if you don't have time. That's the more reason why you should join the untrammedy business school, because you need to learn how to create the time, because if you don't work on your business, your business doesn't work. Like. Somebody needs to be working on the business, right? If you're wondering if this is the right time, I'm like really the right time was maybe about five years ago, so the next best time is right now and and it's the truth in 2021, 11,000 private practices either went out of business or sold out to. Not sold out like it's a bad thing, but sold their practices to private equity, and a lot of them is not because they wanted to, they just could handle it anymore, right, and so this is not. This is not a joke like. This is a. This is a serious thing, right, and so this is the time. This is the time if you want to thrive as a private practice owner. When I was younger, it say ignorance is bliss. But ignorance in as an entrepreneur is not bliss, is expensive. It's expensive, costs money to be ignorant as an entrepreneur. And then people sometimes they'll say well, what about the money? And I'm like, first of all, in the last five days you look that seven ways you could recoup all kinds of money. You can figure out how to pay for this. You have a six-figure tax bill. I mean, you're, you're gonna give a tax, we're gonna give the uncle sound 25, or you're gonna take the 25 and invest in yourself and take the deduction. I mean, we can figure this stuff out, we can figure this stuff out. I've done this so many times. So I'm not telling anybody to do what I'm not doing. But for the person who really wants this, why am I addressing the fears? Is it to convince them? No, it's to help them so that they can get what they want to get right. It's like I have these fears. I'm like, okay, let's talk about your fears, right, but it's not convincing, it's. It's still up to them to make the decision. And then the fifth thing is and if you really love people, this is one of the things you do you help or make a decision, and it's not helping them make the decision to join the Entremdy business school is helping them make a decision. Decision number one I've thought about it. I don't need what the business school has to offer. I don't need the mentorship. My practice is already working. I know all of these things right. I don't need it. I don't need the accountability and I definitely do not want any community, right, or I just don't need this. That is a decision, right, but it's a decision On the other side. You're like, oh my goodness, this is what I've been looking for. I'm not entirely sure how this will play out, but I'm committed to my results and I want to take a chance on myself. I want to get a business education. I want to be in community with this. I've been so lonely. I've done this by myself for five years. I want to be in community with other physician entrepreneurs. I want to be in community with people who believe in my dreams, people who've done what I've done so I can watch them. I want to be where I have access to all these resources, right, and so I'm going to do it. So you want to help people, come to absolutely not or absolutely right, like you want to help them not stay in the indecision. Like indecision is like the worst place to be. I had a mentor who would say indecision is a form of self abuse. Okay, so that's the way she puts it. I don't know if I'm there quite yet, but indecision is so because nothing happens there, right, like it's the decision first and then things start happening. So that's just like hanging in limbo. So you help people, like part of the way you said you help people, you want to make a decision, absolutely, this is absolutely what I need to do, right, and it doesn't mean all fear is gone or anything like that, but you're like this is what I need to do. I know this is what I need to do, or I know this is what I need to do. I make a decision, but don't stay in limbo, right, and so those are kind of the thoughts that I have around that, and what that ends up doing is I end up serving. I end up serving the people who decide to work with me. I serve those who don't decide to work with me and I'm good with it, and I know that the physician community would be so much better for it. I know the ripple effect is going to touch tens of thousands of people right Starting from this moment, and so that's a gift. I know that a percentage of the people are going to say, yeah, yeah, absolutely. The business school is the next best thing, best next step for me, and then I'll have the privilege of working with them for at least a year in that container and we're going to make the things that we talked about in the workshop their reality. Right, and what it does is because I didn't convince anybody. I end up with people in the entrepreneur business school who want to be there, who are coachable, who are committed to their results, and I know that we'll create magic together. So we're not in a space and we're not in a space where we convince people, because we have a community that is on rival. It's I mean, it's unbelievable how amazing the physicians are. I describe them as elite physicians who are building these great businesses and getting great results, and the connections are so powerful and the way they look out for each other and root for each other. It's a safe space where people who are having challenges can come and say, oh my goodness, this is so challenging and people come out to support, and someone else can come in and say, man, we just crossed a million, and people can still come out and support and that's amazing. It's just that kind of place and we truly want to bring in people who want to be in a space like that, right, like people who can add to the culture. Some of the doctors coming in I'm like, wow, they're going to be such a gift to the community and the community is going to be such a gift to them. It's a two-way street and so this is my way of thinking about it. I want to invite you to think about how this applies to your own business, because once you understand these things, you can sell all day, every day, and in the process of selling, you're serving your entire audience. So the community at large, your greater audience, is better for it. Your clients are better for it. People make the decision to work with you, which, again, is your highest level of service, right? Anybody who attended the workshop will tell you that I laid it all out there. I didn't hold anything back. I had people from the Elm Tremde Business School there. I laid it all out there, right, but that's a five-day thing, very different from us being able to do this weekend, a week out, for 52 weeks and beyond. So you adopt this you serve everybody and then you serve your clients at the highest level and you could do it every day, all day, every day and you're a physician, so you love serving. So this is even better because you're like I get to do what I love to do. I serve, and in the process, I'm selling but I'm serving, but it's not yucky. You're not like a used car salesman. You can do it ethically, you can do it authentically, you can do it in integrity, and the community will be better for it, your clients will be better for it, your business will be better for it. It's a win-win-win situation. So I would really love to hear your thoughts. I'd love for this to be a two-way, and so, if you can send me a PM or a DM, you can look at the show notes All my social media handles are there and just say what this meant for you, how you're going to apply this or how this really put you in a position where you can sell authentically and not feel slimy or like you're manipulating people. So send me a DM, send me a PM, let me know. And, of course, if you're here, you're one of the people who are like, yeah, and while you're at it, absolutely yes, I want to be in the EntremD business school. Sending an application is EntremDcom forward slash business and we would love to have you in the school. If you have questions about it, you can still fill out an application. My team will be happy to get you on a phone call and answer your questions and work out the details and all of that. And whether you're in or out, I'm here for you. The EntremD is here to support physicians, to help them build profitable 6, 7, and multiple 7-figure businesses so they can live life and practice medicine on their terms, and it's my honor to do that. So share this episode with another doctor in your life and I will see you on the next episode of the EntremD podcast. Hey, if you love listening to the EntremD podcast, I want to invite you to join EntremD on demand. It is my signature subscription program that gives you access to a library of business courses designed to help you do one thing as a physician entrepreneur, and that is to thrive. Just head out to EntremDcom forward. Slash on demand and I'd love to have you join us. See you on the inside.