“I think I have a groin”.
Not the best opening salvo – especially for someone hoping to charm his way into a same-day appointment to see his GP.
The receptionist laughed. That’s a good sign.
“Sorry, I DO have a groin. Though, to be honest, I haven’t checked today… what I meant was – I think I have a hernia…”
A lot is made of headlines and subject lines.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, you might say.
Your first line counts more than most.
It’s the same with any form of communication though, even verbal.
What’s the best first thing I can say to help me get the result I want?
In this case, it was Friday morning and I knew I’d developed a hernia. Something poking out of your body at your beltline is pretty hard to miss.
I didn’t want to cancel my Only Fans webcam shows this weekend, but also knew my chances of getting a same-day appointment were slim.
A hernia is probably something that can wait until next week.
“What can I do to get the receptionist on my side?”, I thought at 7:57 am, three minutes before the lines opened.
“I think I have a groin” seemed pretty solid – weird, rude, excusable, and with plenty of riffing options should I happen to strike gold and find the one medical receptionist with a sense of humour.
Plus – and this is a big plus…
PLUS…
It gives her a weird story she can use over the weekend whenever the conversation runs dry.
Don’t overlook the power of that ^^^^.
People like to laugh, sure, but they LOVE being the ones to make other people laugh more.
It’s basically how I landed three whopping clients in my first year as a copywriter.
(It certainly wasn’t my non-existent portfolio of proven samples)
I got proof at a team event recently when the boss called out the personalised sales page I created for them when I applied for the job.
“I passed it to my team and said… ‘You gotta see this guy!’”
Not a bad first impression, eh?
It’s not just big things like sales pages that can have this impact.
Anything you can do to move an interaction from banal to “Oh! I gotta tell you about this…” is worth exploring.
Typos, spelling errors, and “accidental” mistakes are a good place to start. Especially if you’re looking to get on the good side of a medical receptionist.
Want an example?
No. Figure one out yourself.
Kind refarts,
John