Many of the advisors I coach and mentor are familiar with how I refer to doctor model as the ideal business model.
Here’s why:
But within the doctor-patient model itself there’s an even finer distinction, it’s the difference between general practitioners and specialists.
A general practitioner is an all-rounder in terms of expertise.
They deal with common, every day issues as experienced by the general public, and 90% of the time these issues can be solved with generic, readily available “over the counter” solutions.
That’s why there are many general practitioners, their fees are standard, and most can gain direct access to them.
But when someone has a problem that is more nuanced and requires in-depth knowledge and focus, what happens?
They go see a specialist.
A specialist is a different kind of doctor altogether.
Specialists don’t deal with general everyday health problems, they’re focused on specific problems related to one area or function of the body.
Specialists first assess whether your problem qualifies for their attention, in terms of its specificity and urgency, and even if they agree to see you there’s almost always a waiting list.
Why?
Because a specialist’s time is valuable and they must protect their position.
Specialists have specific skills and expertise, and they focus on special problems for which common and generic solutions do not work.
As a consequence, they are clearly differentiated from general practitioners as a Trusted Authority.
Here are some powerful insights about being a specialist vs a general practitioner:
The last and perhaps most important insight is that specialists and general practitioners start out from the same place initially.
Both receive the same medical training and acquire the same base level medical knowledge.
But the decision to focus on a specific area allows the specialist to become a Trusted Authorityt, and ultimately this is what leads them to a more differentiated position to that of a GP.
As an advisor, the question you need to ask yourself is: “How can I become a trusted authority to a pool of ideal high net worth clients?
If you want to be an advisor who operates like a general practitioner, being viewed as competent but not necessarily special, and having to see many clients with a wide range of asset values and financial priorities, then by all means continue to do so.
But if you want to be a trusted authority/specialist, so you can earn higher fees, simplify your work, see less clients, and enjoy a steady stream of ideal inbound leads due to your authority positioning, then it’s going to be impossible to achieve that by thinking like a general advisor.
You’ll need a different mindset and market positioning system altogether.
The good news is that it’s not a question of being smarter nor having more knowledge than anyone else.
You have the core requirements to re-position yourself as a specialist already.
It’s simply a matter of whether you are open to learning how to do it.