Intrepid, impatient Doctor Driver

Assertive and straightforward, this doctor personality wants results now.

Marketers who want to succeed must develop good relationships with different doctor personalities. These relationships can be the difference between a wildly successful campaign and one that never sees the light of day.

To help build those relationships, we’re sharing our insights into 4 common doctor personality types we’ve identified in our 30+ years in marketing for healthcare providers. In this post, we’ll look at an intrepid, impatient type we like to call Dr. Driver.

If you’d like to learn how to build great relationships with all kinds of doctors, download our eBook The Complete Healthcare Marketer’s Guide to Building Great Physician Relationships.

The Dr. Driver type needs to win

Likely to drive the conversation, Dr. Driver types are bold, fast-paced and maybe even distracted. They don’t have much patience for waste, and prefer people who can cut to the chase and get things done.

Top priorities: These docs like to do things and get things done. Action, now, is the name of the game. They like to see results and show off their knowledge.

Motivated by: Success and winning. These docs like to talk about challenges they’ve bested, and they have a natural competitiveness that drives them ever forward.

How to spot them: Don’t worry, they’ll make themselves known. They’ll lead the conversation, ask challenging questions and make suggestions that might sound risky, especially for someone with a solid grounding in the hippocratic oath. Remember, “do no harm” does not extend to the feelings of the marketing department.

Where to find them: You’ll find them in the big-name service lines like cardiology and orthopedics.

How to build a great relationship:

If you need to meet in person, make it short and be 100% prepared. They like to drive conversations, but they’ll expect you to take the wheel when necessary.

Come prepared with clear next steps, and be ready to justify the steps that led to the current conversation. If you’ve had a track record of success, talk about it in a way that emphasizes your credibility without questioning theirs.

Win-win situations are critical for Dr. Driver types. If you need a win, make sure they don’t need to lose to give it to you. If you’re playing a zero sum game with a Dr. Driver, you’re the one most likely to leave with nothing.

Meet the 3 other doctor personality types

Dr. Driver is just one of the 4 personality types we’ve identified. Read profiles of Dr. Logic, Dr. Popular and Dr. Allheart, or meet them all in our quick guide to the four physician personality types infographic.