Almost two years ago, the “accident waiting to happen” in my right shoulder announced itself with a loud pop as I did a chinning exercise on a universal gym. “Waiting to happen” due to years of bad posture and insufficient strength and flexibility training. I could feel a shift in my shoulder; the sound was loud enough that the people working out near stopped for a moment to look.

“That didn’t sound good,” one of them said. Right.

It felt to me like a muscle pull that would repair with sufficient rest and some massage. To make a long story shorter: For months thereafter, I experienced varying levels of pain during certain arm movements, reduced range of motion, and loss of strength. I changed my exercise routines and recovered some range of motion and experienced less pain. I made a little progress.

Still, at a friend’s suggestion, I booked an appointment with one of THE Boston shoulder guys.

His waiting room walls include autographed pictures of local professional and college athletes whose shoulders he’s repaired. People some of whose names and careers I recognized.

He looked at the shoulder images, asked a few questions, poked around a little, and said, “Nothing to operate on. I’m going to give you a cortisone shot to reduce inflammation. Go to a physical therapist. Come back to me in eight weeks.”

“OK,” I replied as he wrote the orders.

From a list of thirty local physical therapists, I chose an old-school, fingers-of-steel physical therapist near my office who, in past years, had worked successfully with my wife and children and with friends in town.

During our first appointment, she reviewed Dr. Shoulder’s order, asked about the injury, and shared several examples of her approach to treating clients with similar injuries, saying at the end, “I don’t understand why people say they enjoy going to physical therapy. That tells me they’re not getting any work done. So, are you ready to work?”

After I had swallowed hard and nodded, “yes”, she positioned me on her treatment table and began manipulating my shoulder. “Let me know if it hurts,” she said, smiling down at me. “OK, it hurts,” I said, almost immediately. She stopped digging into my shoulder for a moment, looked down at me, smiled the smile of a beneficent grandmother, and said, “Oh, Nick…. You know I don’t care, right?”

Thanks to her tender mercies, eight weeks later, with far greater range of motion and far less discomfort, I went back to see Dr. Shoulder. “Great,” he said. “Keep going.”

So, I’ve wondered: Why was I so willing to trust Dr. Shoulder and PT Grumpy?

Pretty much like anyone who’s buying professional services of any kind, I was in no position to evaluate their technical skills or the appropriateness of their recommendations. So, why did I invite them to work their magic with me?

Stories – the pictures on Dr. Shoulder’s wall. My PT’s stories and her successful work with my family and sensible neighbors. Stories that told me, “I understand the problem and I’ve fixed many of these.”

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/ .