Getting Past the Doctors' Gatekeeper

If you're a financial advisor struggling to get past the gatekeeper and connect with doctors, you're not alone. Many advisors find traditional outreach methods ineffective when dealing with physicians. Why? Because doctors have built-in barriers to protect their time.

In this episode of The Engaging Doctors Podcast, Dr. Vicki Rackner, a retired surgeon turned consultant, shares why breaking through the front door is a low-ROI effort—and how to get invited through the back door instead. Discover a powerful strategy that helped one advisor achieve an 82% conversion rate when booking meetings with doctors.

🔹 Why gatekeepers are so effective—and how to work around them
🔹 The secret to making doctors want to meet with you
🔹 A proven campaign that delivers real results
🔹 How to create a personal connection and build trust

If you're ready to stop chasing doctors and start attracting them, this episode is for you!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction: Why getting past the gatekeeper is so hard
1:36 – The role of gatekeepers and why they’re so effective
3:13 – Why traditional cold outreach is a low-ROI strategy
4:50 – The “back door” approach to meeting doctors
6:27 – How Jim achieved an 82% conversion rate with strategic gifting
8:04 – Final takeaways and next steps

📚 Books by Dr. Vicki Rackner:
👉 The 9 Money Mistakes Doctors Make
👉 The Myth of the Rich Doctor

For more tips and strategies to grow your practice by working with more doctor clients:

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Transcript

“How Do I Get Past the Gatekeeper?”

Are you a financial advisor who’s ever wondered, “How do I get past the
doctors’ gatekeepers?” You are not alone. This is one of the most
frequently asked questions I get. And today I’ll share with you what I tell my
private coaching clients who pose this questions to me.

Welcome to the Engaging Doctors podcast. If you’re a financial
advisors who wants to accelerate your business growth by attracting,
engaging and serving more doctor clients, you’re in the right place.
I’m Dr. Vicki Rackner, your host. I’m a retired surgeon who has spent
the past 15 years helping financial advisors crack the physician code
and reach the doctors who want and need their help!

In this episode, you’ll discover :
Why it’s so hard to get past the doctor’s gatekeeper
Why it’s so hard to get a meeting with a doctor who has never met you
Alternatives to barging past the gatekeeper—including a campaign
that gets one of my advisors an 82% conversion to meetings.
So let’s get started by first understanding the life of a gatekeeper.

When I was a physician in private practice, and I hired my own gatekeeper.
Her job was simple: to keep me happy. I offer guidelines. I wanted any and
all communications that helped me take better care of patients. Patients,
their referring physicians and other health care professionals were
welcomed. I did not want my attention drained by the many sales reps who
parked themselves in my waiting room.

The problem was that this was not always easy for the gatekeeper to do
her work. She could make me unhappy by letting things through I did not
want to get; however, she balanced that against screening out something I
wanted to see.
It’s like she was walking a tightrope.
These gatekeepers are very good at their job. Plus they’re fierce.

So, you have two problems if your marketing campaigns involves getting
past the gatekeeper to a physician who does not know who you are.
First, it’s hard to get past the gatekeeper. You will invest lots of time trying
to do this.

Second, chances are good is that if you are not introduced to the doctor,
you will be seem as an outside.
Let me remind you that doctors behave like tropical fish. They swim
together. And they do it for the same reason tropical fish do. It’s a
protection against predators.
You will most likely be seen as a predator is you try to ram thoughrgh the
gatekeeper.

I have a small kitten who is a door dasher. He got out this morning when I
was brining in a box off litter. He loves to run. He would let me get ckliose
to him, but not so close that I could catch him. Then he would run. I could
have spent the better part of the morning trying to chase him.
Instead, I decided to try another way. I went into the house and got some of
his favorite treats. Then I coach him to me with the treats.
Trying to break through the gatekeeper is like me trying to chase my kitten.
It takes a lot of effort and time, and generally leads to disappointing results.
That’s why I recommend against it.

Here’s what to do instead. Go through the back door.
Every doctor has a back door to the office. It’S not for patients use; it’s just
for the staff. Think about ways you can be invited through the back door.
This is like me persuading my kitten with his favorite treat.
I was talking about this topic with financial advisors enrolled in the 1% club.
The Goa is to get just a little bit better every week. One of the financial
advisors in the group called Jim described what he does, If he knows a
doctor he wants to meet, he first asks his existing network if anyone knows the doctor. He learns a bit about the doctor and what his needs are. Maybe
he just got divorced or her daughter just got into medical school. So now
he’s not reaching out cold to an unknown physician proscpect. He warms it
up a bit. Then he wraps up a copy of my book The 9 Money Mistakes book
and hires an Uber driver to hand-deliver it to the doctor. He asks the Uber
driver to collect the name of the receptionist who accepts the book. No
gatekeeper is going to do anything with a wrapped gift other than put it on
the doctor’s desk. Them Jim calls in a few days. And says, “I’m the person
who sent the gift. May I please speak with the doctor.

I asked Jim, “How many books have you sent out?” He said 23. Them I
asked how many appointments he’s gotten. He said, “19” that’s an 82%
conversion rate.

That was a huge WOW for me.

There might have been a time you could buy. A list of doctors and start
making cold calls.

However, in 2025 this is a low-ROI activity for the reasons I mentioned.
Instead, find a way of making a human connection. The doctor’s bio on the
web site might offer a clue. Maybe the doctor loves antique cars and so do
you. Maybe you know some similar people. You’re looking for a “me. Too”
moment.

Then offer a yummy treat. Financial advisors describe great success with
the 9 Money Mistakes book.
With the combination of a human connection as well as a gift a doctor
wants to receive, you can be invited through the back door instead of
breaking through the front door.
In summary If your strategy for reaching doctors is focused on getting past their
gatekeepers, you’re already on the wrong path.
When you try to force your way in, you’ll just hear the door slam shut.
That’s why gatekeeper-focused strategies are a low-ROI effort. Instead, gett invited
through the back door.

Invest a bit of time getting to know the doctor you want to meet. Find a “me too”
moment.

Give Jim’s campaign a try. Send a wrapped gift along with a card describing the
personal connection.

Thank you for your time and attention. This is the right place and the right
time to mine the treasures in the medical market. Stay tuned and I’ll show
you how.

“In our next episode, I’ll lay out out some general principals that will put you
in a better position to sell to doctors. —so don’t miss it!”