What Kind of Business Model Fits Your Wiring?
If you’ve ever wondered whether introverts or extroverts make better financial advisors, here’s the good news: both can build thriving practices serving doctors.
The real key to success isn’t your personality type—it’s alignment. When your marketing, prospecting, and service delivery fit your natural energy pattern, you perform better, feel more authentic, and build trust faster with physicians.
You don’t have to become someone you’re not to succeed. You simply have to design a business that reflects who you already are.
Why This Matters When You Work With Doctors
Doctors are trained to sense authenticity. They can spot rehearsed sales tactics a mile away—but they’re drawn to advisors who feel genuine and grounded.
That’s why building a doctor-friendly practice starts with self-awareness. When you understand whether you gain or lose energy in social situations, you can choose business-development strategies that feel natural—and that make your physician prospects feel safe and understood.
The Story Behind the Insight
One of my private coaching clients—let’s call him Mark—was leading a doctor-focused marketing campaign at his firm. He brought two junior advisors onto his team.
One thrived. The other struggled.
They used the same strategies: dinner events, small group gatherings, and friendly conversations over cocktails. Yet only one seemed to attract physician prospects easily.
The difference? Personality.
Mark and the first junior advisor were extroverts—they loved hosting dinner parties, talking with doctors, and socializing late into the night. Their energy soared around people.
The second junior advisor was an introvert. The same social activities that fueled his teammates left him drained. Every dinner felt like an energy marathon.
That’s when it hit me: forcing an introvert to market like an extrovert is like asking a left-handed person to write right-handed. It can be done—but it’s clumsy, tiring, and inefficient.
Dr. Vicki’s Rx for Business Health
Like a physician treating a patient, advisors need an accurate diagnosis before prescribing a solution.
My prescription for a healthy, sustainable practice is simple:
Be who you are. Know what you know. Do what you need to do.
You can be successful whether you’re energized by people or by solitude. What matters is that you build your business model around how you recharge and how you connect.
The Science of Introversion and Extraversion
The definition is simple:
Extroverts recharge their energy by being with people.
Introverts recharge their energy by being alone.
Ambiverts—most of us—fall somewhere in the middle, able to flex between both modes.
These differences aren’t about social skill or confidence—they’re about energy management. You can be an introvert who enjoys public speaking or an extrovert who needs quiet time to focus. What matters is understanding your own pattern so you can use it to your advantage.
A Personal Story from My Surgical Training
When I was in my surgical residency, I was married to an extrovert who worked from home.
He spent long, quiet days alone. I spent long, loud days surrounded by patients, nurses, and surgical teams.
When I got home, I wanted silence. He wanted conversation.
It took a wise psychologist to help us realize that the tension wasn’t about love—it was about temperament. Once we understood our energy needs, we stopped trying to change each other and started working with our differences.
That same principle applies in business. When you build your practice around your wiring, everything works more smoothly—marketing, client meetings, and even recovery.
Questions to Clarify Your Business Personality
To find your best-fit business model, start with a little self-diagnosis:
- How do you recharge?
Do you feel energized by social interaction—or do you need solitude to reset? - Which marketing campaigns feel natural?
Do you shine at events or prefer writing thought-leadership pieces? - How comfortable are you in social settings?
Social anxiety isn’t the same as introversion—it can affect anyone and can be managed with practice. - How strong are your listening skills?
Doctors value being heard. Effective listening may be an introvert’s superpower—but extroverts can learn it, too.
To support this, download my free resource: **The Listening Edge Self-Audit**, a quick tool to
help you evaluate how well your listening behavior builds trust with physicians.
The Introvert Advantage
Introverts excel at depth over breadth. They listen carefully, think before speaking, and form strong one-on-one relationships—qualities doctors deeply appreciate.
Business Plan for Introverts:
- Marketing: Publish articles, newsletters, and educational videos. Create drip campaigns and collaborate with physician associations where credibility precedes visibility.
- Prospecting: Focus on referrals and introductions from delighted clients. Use conversation catalysts—like white papers or guides—to open warm dialogues.
- Client Experience: Build structured discovery and review systems; doctors respect process. Delegate event hosting to extroverted team members.
- Energy Management: Batch meetings and schedule recovery time after conferences or travel days.
Introverts often win by listening more, talking less, and building trust through competence and consistency.
The Extrovert Advantage
Extroverts bring energy, enthusiasm, and visibility. They thrive on interaction and often generate quick momentum in new relationships.
Business Plan for Extroverts:
- Marketing: Host live seminars, lunch-and-learns, or physician spouse events. Leverage video and social media where your natural charisma shines.
- Prospecting: Build broad relationships with medical societies and vendors. Use your CRM religiously to ensure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
- Client Experience: Keep meetings structured—too much talk can crowd out discovery. Use summaries and checklists to show reliability.
- Energy Management: Delegate research and prep tasks so you can focus on connecting.
Your motto: “Visibility opens doors. Listening earns trust.”
The Ambivert Sweet Spot
Most high-performing advisors fall in the ambivert range. They know when to speak and when to listen, when to network and when to focus.
Ambiverts are the “Goldilocks” of client acquisition—not too hot, not too cold—just right.
Business Plan for Ambiverts:
- Blend content and connection strategies.
- Alternate outreach weeks with reflection weeks.
- Track which activities give you both energy and results.
Ambiverts often have the easiest time connecting with diverse doctors because they can flex to match different personalities.
What the Research Says
There’s no definitive evidence that introverts or extroverts make better financial advisors.
Studies of thousands of planners (Kitces Research, 2021) show that the strongest predictor of success isn’t extraversion—it’s conscientiousness.
That means being reliable, organized, and consistent beats being charismatic or outgoing. Other studies on interpersonal perception (Flynn et al., 2023) show that highly extroverted individuals are often perceived as poorer listeners—whether that’s fair or not. For advisors working with physicians, perception matters.
In other words: whatever your type, it’s your ability to listen, follow through, and build trust that makes the difference.
Universal Takeaways
- The most successful advisors aren’t the loudest—they’re the most *self-aware.*
- Doctors respect authenticity and competence, not performance.
- Build your marketing around what feels natural; that’s where consistency lives.
- Extroverts: slow down and listen more.
- Introverts: step forward and share your expertise more boldly.
- Ambiverts: leverage your flexibility to meet doctors where they are.
And remember: the personality trait most linked with advisor success isn’t introversion or extroversion—it’s reliability.
Final Thoughts
You can’t change whether you’re introverted or extroverted, but you can absolutely design a business that honors your wiring.
That alignment—between who you are and how you work—creates both better outcomes for your clients and a richer, more sustainable life for you.
Keep Learning
If this helped you see your strengths in a new light, don’t stop here.
The next video in this series explores how to build trust with doctors from your very first conversation—the skill that turns first meetings into lifelong relationships.
Click to keep watching, and keep growing your doctor-focused practice.
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Dr. Vicki Rackner is a physician, author, and founder of Engaging Doctors, where she helps financial advisors attract, engage, and serve doctor clients through proven, physician-friendly strategies.