Hello,

Imagine going on a first date, and discovering this person has terrible table manners. They spit chicken bones onto the table and then use the tablecloth as a napkin.

Would you go out on a second date?

Manners matter. Good manners build bridges between people, and bad manners build barriers. 

However, different groups of people have different manners. Etiquette is the code of manners among groups of people. 

For example, when I visited China, the tour guide said, “When we go to restaurants, you won’t find napkins. Use the tablecloth as your napkin.” He also said that the polite way to deal with bones served with many dishes was to spit them out onto the table.

Chinese diners have different manners than American diners. My brother tried to convince my parents that burping at the dinner table was a compliment, but my parents didn’t buy it.

In a similar way, good manners among doctors is different than among business owners. 

This begs the question: how skilled are you at minding your medical manners? 

Bad medical manners could represent an insidious barrier to the results you want in the medical market.

For example, you may have been taught that it's rude to ask someone how much they paid for their homes. For doctors, money represents the ultimate taboo topic. So, how do you speak with doctors about their wealth without being rude?

You are not born knowing your medical manners; they must be taught. However, you can learn them! Click here to read more about medical manners--including your "medical handshake." 


To your success,
Dr. Vicki

If you’re serious about working with more doctors, you already know your most valuable asset isn’t your investment model or your pitch deck—it’s your time.


Time to build trust.
Time to have real conversations.
Time to follow up when a physician is finally ready to take action.


In my latest Engaging Doctors podcast episode, I sit down with Arnulf Hsu, founder and CEO of GReminders, an AI-powered end-to-end meeting management platform built for financial advisors.


Arnold and his team have implemented their system in thousands of advisory practices, from solo advisors to 200-advisor enterprises. What they’re seeing is remarkable:

• Advisors saving 500–600 hours per year each by automating meeting workflows
• Client reviews being scheduled, confirmed, and prepped on autopilot
• Rich pre-meeting briefs that pull in emails, statements, notes, and documents so you walk into every meeting fully prepared
• Post-meeting summaries and follow-up emails auto-drafted in your Outlook drafts folder 30 seconds after the meeting ends 

We also talk about:

• Why AI is not going to replace advisors—but advisors who use AI will outperform those who don’t
• The biggest mistakes firms make when they assume “AI will just take care of it”
• How to leverage AI in a compliance-sensitive, privacy-sensitiveenvironment
• Why smaller practices may benefit even more from AI than big firms

If you’ve ever thought, “I’d love to work with more doctors, but I’m already maxed out,” this episode is for you.


Listen to the episode now! Click here.


As you listen, ask yourself:


“What would I do with an extra 500 hours a year—especially if I invested that time in my best clients and my ideal doctor prospects?”

Best,

​Dr. Vicki

If you’ve ever tried to enter the medical market and thought,

“This just doesn’t work,”

I want to normalize that experience.

Even Starbucks failed--for nine years.

In a lecture reflecting on Starbucks’ growth, Howard Schultz tells the story of the company’s early attempts to expand into China. Everything failed. Not because Starbucks wasn’t strong—but because they assumed what worked in the U.S. would work everywhere.

It didn’t.

The breakthrough came only when Starbucks truly understood Chinese culture: the centrality of family, the responsibility employees felt toward their parents, and the values shaping trust and loyalty.

That insight changed everything. Today, Starbucks opens a store a day in China.

Working with doctors is remarkably similar.

Doing “more of the same”—generic messaging, standard discovery questions, off-the-shelf value propositions—rarely works in medicine. Not because doctors are unreachable, but because they are a distinct culture with their own values, pressures, and unwritten rules.

At Engaging Doctors, we help financial advisors do what Starbucks ultimately did:
understand the culture before asking for commitment.

If you’ve tried before and felt discouraged, know this:

There is a way forward.

Click here to read the blog post. 

As we look toward 2026, I’ll be sharing new ideas to help you evolve into the kind of advisor doctors want to work with—and tell their friends about.


Thank you for being part of this community.

Wishing you a happy, healthy, and successful New Year.


To your success,
Dr. Vicki

When a doctor asks AI for help finding a financial advisor… will it find you?


In the latest episode of the Engaging Doctors Podcast, I sit down with my own mentor and AI strategist, Lisa Larter, to talk about how financial advisors can harness AI to attract, engage, and serve more doctor clients.


Lisa has been on the front edge of digital change since the early days of social media. 


Today, she helps professionals and business owners integrate AI into their marketing and operations in a practical, profitable way.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why AI literacy is now a core business skill for financial advisors
  
• How AI is quietly disrupting website traffic and the old “funnel” model
  
• What you can do to become the advisor AI recommends to physicians
  
• Simple ways to use AI as your strategic thought partner (not just a content machine)
  
• The biggest mistakes advisors make with AI—and how to avoid them
  
• Real examples of professionals closing bigger deals and getting better leads with AI
  

If you’ve been curious about AI but not sure where to start—or worried about compliance, your voice, or the learning curve—this conversation will give you clarity and practical first steps.


Read, watch or listen to this episode here.


Whether you’re just dipping your toe into AI or already experimenting with tools like ChatGPT, this episode will help you:

• Think more strategically about how doctors will find you in 2026 and beyond
  
• Identify where AI can save you time and mental energy
  
• See how AI can actually support compliance-friendly, physician-specific marketing
  

After you listen, I’d love to hear from you:
What’s one way you see yourself using AI in your practice this year? ​

Hello,

Every stylish woman has a little black dress.

As you attract, engage and serve more doctor clients, think of your signature presentation as your “professional little black dress.”

How well does your signature presentation work? Does it garner attention—and for the right reason? Does it fit you? Does it support your practice-building goals?

Here are the biggest mistakes financial advisors make with their signature talk:

1. They don’t have a signature talk.
2. They think, “If I just demonstrate to doctors how much I know in my talk, they will want to meet with me.” 
3. They fail to tap into what doctors really desire, and instead deliver content they think doctors SHOULD know.
4. They fail to address and overcome objections. 
5. They fail to offer follow up for doctors who do not immediately say yes.
   
   

Here are a few tips to create a successful signature talk that delivers results:

1. Understand what your doctor prospects desire.
2. Understand and overcome doctors’ objections as they consider moving forward with you.
3. See your signature talk as a bridge that transports doctors from where they are now to where they want to be. 
4. Tell stories.
5. Make doctors the heroes of your stories.
   
   

Understand that you always have the ability to craft a more compelling, attractive and effective signature talk. 

Click here to view a video with more tips.

To your success,
Dr. Vicki
Vicki Rackner MD
Principal, Engaging Doctors

Hello,

Do you ever find yourself in uncomfortable situations, and wonder about the best thing to say?

I used to feel very uncomfortable when people gave me compliments. Inevitably I would say things to diminish myself. If someone complimented my dress I would say, “Oh, this old thing…..” Or, if someone recognized an accomplishment I would say, “I just got lucky.” Or, if someone recognized an act of kindness, I would say, “Anyone would do that!”

I came to recognize that this response did not serve either myself or the person delivering the compliment. I felt embarrassed. The person who delivered the compliment felt dismissed. Both of us left the encounter frowning.

I knew I wanted to say something different, but what would it be?

I sat down and made a list of things I could say when someone delivered a compliment. Then I practiced. I said the new scripts out loud as I went for walks. 

Then the day came when I got a real compliment. I took a deep breath and delivered my new practiced script. And I noticed something. Both of us were smiling at the end of the encounter.

You may find yourself in situations that make you feel uncomfortable as you attract, engage and serve more doctor clients. Here are a few:

**Starting a Conversation in a Social Setting**  

   You want to begin a conversation with a doctor you meet at a dinner party or community event.

**Prospecting a Doctor Who Treats You or Your Family**  

   You want to approach your personal physician or a specialist treating a family member.

**Getting Past the Gatekeeper**  

   You want to establish contact with a doctor, but their receptionist or assistant acts as a barrier.

**Requesting Introductions to Other Doctors**  

   You want to ask a doctor client for introductions without jeopardizing your relationship.

**Handling Rejection**  

   You want to know what to say when a doctor declines your offer or says no to scheduling a meeting.

 **Dealing with Being Ghosted**  

   You want to address a situation where a doctor stops responding to your emails or calls.

**Recovering from a Mistake**  

   You want to know what to say or do if you’ve made a professional error or a faux pas.

**Discussing Fees or Compensation**  

    You want to handle fee discussions when a doctor questions the value of your services or expresses resistance.

**Managing High Expectations**  

    You want to navigate situations where a doctor expects immediate results or personalized attention beyond your capacity.


Click here to see a complete list of 20 situations that elicit discomfort for financial advisors.. 


Here are some tips:

1. Identify specific situations that make you feel uncomfortable. 

2. Reflect on what do you currently say or do. How is it working for you? 
 
3. Generate new ideas. What else could you say? Identify the script that is "you."

4. Practice new scripts for success so you're prepared next time!
 
Please feel welcome to share scripts that work well for you!


To your success,
Dr. Vicki

One of the biggest questions I get is, “How do I get my message in front of more doctor prospects?” 

And the unstated questions, is, “And how do I do this knowing I HATE to sell?”

Here’s an idea for you.

You meet with your clients on a regular basis.

How about making these meetings into celebrations—complete with cupcakes! 

At your scheduled meeting, remind your clients where they were when you first met. Ideally you wrote down their own words you can use today. “Do you remember what things were like for you when we first met? You got up at three in the morning wondering if you could retire before age 75. You had regular arguments in your partner about money. Now look at you!  You have a plan to retire at 61. You thrived through the pandemic. You replaced uncertainty with certainly.”

Then celebrate! Bring out the cupcakes. Bring balloons if you wish. Celebrate the transformation you facilitated! You have just helped your clients move towards TrueWealth.

Then take the next step. Say, “We both know that today there are physicians who are where you were when we met. The difference between you and them is that they are suffering in silence. How can we get the message out that there is hope?"
 
Then be quiet. Let your client generate some ideas about how you can get solid financial literacy information into their hands.

Easy-peasy! You’re cultivating a culture of introduction with a heart of service.

Let me know how this works for you!


To your success,
Dr. Vicki

Do you have clients who want to accelerate wealth-building, but they tell you they can’t find more dollars to invest? 
 
The solution is simple. Spend less and save more.
 
The problem is that this behavioral change is not easy. 
 
Consider what your clients do with tax refunds or other financial windfalls. Do they deposit the checks into their investment accounts and tell you to invest 100% of it? No! They spend it! 
 
Spending-related behaviors become habits, and habits can be hard to change. Just ask anyone who's made a New Year’s resolution. 
 
Your clients are not bad people; they’re most likely responsible people with good intentions. They simply make the mistake of letting their human brains run on autopilot. 
 
Our Paleo Brains—the brain software running when we were hunter/gatherers 300,000 years ago—shape our behaviors today. It informs the way you respond when you come across food or money or a possible sexual partner.

For example, saving food was not a viable option for hunter/gatherers. That's why your Paleo Brain urges you to consume food when you see it. In fact, it might tell you to eat til it hurts; you don’t know when you’ll eat again.
 
The Paleo Brain tells us to manage money the same way. When you have it, consume it! Spend it!
 
About 12,000 years ago our brains developed a prefrontal cortex.  Let’s call it the Planning Brain. The Planning Brain can imagine a better future and make a plan to bring the dream to life. 
 
This brain upgrade launched a lifestyle upgrade from hunter-gatherer to farmer.
 
If only all of your clients made their day-to-day money choices with their Planning Brains. Then they could reliably achieve the dream of a comfortable retirement in which they don't outlive their money.  
 
However, human brains on autopilot put the Paleo Brain rather than the Planning Brain in the driver’s seat of wealth-building. The predictable investing errors described by behavioral finance are the natural consequences of managing money with the Paleo Brain. 
 
Further, we live in a world in which we’re bombarded with marketing messages that feed the urge to spend. 
 
The result? Most of your clients spend unconsciously, and then consciously invest what’s left over. 
 
Imagine if this were flipped around so that your clients saved unconsciously and spent consciously. 
 
When I spoke at a recent meeting I had a chance to listen to a presentation by Vince D’Addona. He talked about his experience with his new tool called Currence. His software helps clients increase savings rates without feeling deprived. 
 
I know that this sounds like an outrageous diet that promises you can eat as much cake as you want and lose weight.

However, Vince and David have results! 

Investors who use the Currence software increase their savings rates to 32% of after-tax dollars. Compare this this to the national average savings rate of 4% of gross income. 
 
As Vince explains, “Currence puts a speed bump in spending. Further, when people consciously assign a job for each dollar they earn or acquire, they naturally tap into the thrill of creating the financial freedom to do what they want to do when they want to do it. Our clients come to us saying,’ This is great! I want to increase my saving from 10% to 30%.' We often have to slow them down. 'How about increasing from 10% to 20% and then go from 20% to 30%.'”
 
How does Currence work? Vince and David are in conversation with academic centers to study their tool with scientific rigor.
 
However, today we don’t need to understand how a tool works to get the desired results.
 
It's not just your clients who benefit from increasing their savings rates. Imagine what could happen to your own business if you helped your existing clients free up more dollars you could redeploy to accelerate wealth-building. You build you business while side-stepping the cost of client acquisition!
  
As a financial services professional, you have a chance to help physicians take control of their financial destiny and make their dreams come true. 

I'm here to support you if you do!

My best,
Dr. Vicki

The most effective way to accelerate your growth is to inspire your physician clients to share your name with their friends and colleagues.

How do you do that?

First, here's what you don't say, "I want to grow my business. Do you know any doctors with a net worth of $5M or more who would hire me?" You become the focus of the conversation. It doesn't work.

Further, you don't say, "Look, I've helped you and I'm wondering if you could help me by introducing me to all of your friends and colleagues and neighbors." Now you put your the focus on your client. That doesn't work very well either.

Introductions are not about you or your clients; they are about the physicians who are suffering in silence.

Here’s a script you can deliver to delighted doctor clients. 

“Do you remember what your life was like when we first met? You told me you would wake up at 3 AM and wonder whether you would EVER be able to retire. Today you just said, ‘I sleep like a baby because I have a plan to achieve my legacy.’ 

“What you may not realize is that there are other doctor today who are where you were when we met. Should you hear any doctors talking about (taxes, how to move up retirement, how to protect assets in the event of lawsuits…etc) please invite then to reach out to me for a free resource. Hard-working physicians like you should not suffer in silence. I’m here to help.”

Let me know how that works for you.


As a medical billing professional, you have a chance to help physicians take control of their financial destiny and make their dreams come true. 


I'm here to support you if you do!

My best,
Dr. Vicki

Human brains are the source of endless fascination.

How and why do humans make the choices they do--including money choices?

A question the human brain obsesses about is, "Right here, right now, am I safe?"

I just recorded a podcast episode with my story about how the human brain answers this question. I recorded it for my community of parents of kids with OCD. However, I lay out the difference between the Paleo Brain--the brain as it was 300,000 years ago when our ancestors were hunters and gathers--and the New Improved Modern Brain with the prefrontal cortex.

When someone is concerned about safety--as are most people on this planet facing the ongoing challenges of COVID--the ancient Paleo Brain is most likely to be in the driver's seat driving choices. This is the part of the brain that responds to danger.

This is also the part of the brain that makes predictable money mistakes.

I'm hoping the podcast will give you some language to have meaningful conversations with your clients.  Click here to listen .

Let me know what you think! 

To your success,
Dr. Vicki