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
“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