Speaking Vet: How to Earn Trust with Clinic Teams and Stop Sounding Like a Vendor

This Is Part 2 of Our "Speak Vet" Series

If you missed Part 1, where we unpacked why your messaging isn’t landing with practice teams, read it here: They’re Not Buying It, Because You’re Not Speaking Their Language

In Part 1, we talked about one big reason your marketing misses the mark: you're not speaking their language. Not because your product isn't great, but because your message doesn't reflect the emotional and operational reality of the clinic floor.

We introduced the Know–Like–Trust framework, as a way to rethink how you show up to clinic teams. Not as a vendor with a pitch, but as a partner with perspective.

“Instead of focusing on how it was going to allow us to see more appointments or make us more money, I focused on how it was going to help our teams get home on time to see their families.” — Mark Massaro, DVM, The Digital DVM Consulting

Now in Part 2, we’re going deeper. We’re breaking down the 10 most common ways founders unknowingly alienate the very teams they’re trying to serve and exactly how to fix those messages using tone, empathy, and clinic-relevant language.

You’ve done the hard part: built something that actually solves problems. But even the most powerful product will be ignored if it doesn’t reflect the pressure, pace, and emotional weight of life in a veterinary clinic.

This isn’t about selling harder, it’s about translating better. Because in this space, if your message doesn’t sound like it belongs in the treatment room, it won’t be trusted beyond the inbox.

Why Vet Teams Tune You Out

You’ve got the features. You’ve got the case studies. You know your product can save time and reduce stress.

But when you speak like a vendor, not like someone who understands the clinic floor, you lose them.

Veterinary teams aren’t scanning for innovation. They’re scanning for relevance. And when your message leads with hype instead of help, you get tuned out.

“Hey, I want to show you this amazing new software program. It’s going to help us INCREASE our number of APPTS / DR / DAY!’ I would be burned at the stake. Our teams are burnt out, overworked. They don’t want to hear ‘I want to give you MORE work!’” — Mark Massaro, DVM, The Digital DVM Consulting

That’s why how you say it matters just as much as what you’re offering.

10 Messaging Mistakes That Kill Trust

Here are the most common ways founders lose clinic credibility and what to say instead.

Coming Soon: Speak Vet, Part 3 — What Happens After the Demo?
We’ll explore how to move from Trust to Adoption and what great post-demo messaging actually looks like. Because attention is just the start. Conversion and commitment come next.

The Messaging Fix: Know – Like – Trust Framework

The Marketing Hourglass™ isn’t just a helpful framework, it’s the foundation of strategic, trust-first marketing. It breaks the customer journey into seven distinct stages:

1. Know – They discover you

2. Like – They resonate with your tone and message

3. Trust – They believe you understand their needs

4. Try – They take a small, low-risk step

5. Buy – They commit to your solution

6. Repeat – They return as customers

7. Refer – They become advocates

This model recognizes that no one buys based solely on features or urgency, they move forward when each emotional and practical checkpoint is met.

For founders selling into veterinary clinics, the top three stages—Know, Like, and Trust—are where most deals are won or lost. These teams are busy, skeptical, and emotionally taxed. If your message doesn’t feel relevant, respectful, and real, you won’t earn the chance to get to “Try.”

Here’s how to align your messaging at each step of the top half of the Hourglass:

KNOW: Get the Nod of Recognition

• Reflect their reality, not your roadmap

• Use floor-level language ("Still handwriting cage cards?")

• Speak in moments they recognize, not slide decks, but Tuesday mornings

LIKE: Build Emotional Alignment

• Use respectful, real tone, no “buzzwords”

• Speak to burnout, pressure, and pride

• Make them feel like, “This team gets it”

TRUST: Be Credible, Clear, and Clinic-Relevant

• Show outcomes through real clinic stories

• Don’t oversell or gloss over setup

• Use messages that sound like relief: "Megan doesn't need to check six tabs anymore"

Strategic Takeaway: Messaging Is a Filter

Know–Like–Trust isn’t just a content framework, it’s the lens your entire message should be built through.

Every founder wants attention, then action. But clinic teams need something else first: recognition, resonance, and reassurance. If your message doesn’t hit all three, it won’t move forward.

Let’s break it down:

• KNOW: Are you showing up in a way that makes a practice manager stop scrolling and say, “Yup, that’s us”?

• LIKE: Are you building emotional rapport with tone and clarity or losing it with hype and jargon?

• TRUST: Are you demonstrating that this actually works in clinics like theirs, not just in theory?

If your messaging skips a stage, it’s like trying to win a customer who’s already walked away.

Your product isn’t being ignored because it doesn’t work. It’s being ignored because the message doesn’t match their lived reality.

The fix isn’t louder marketing. It’s better alignment. Reflect their floor. Respect their context. Earn the right to be heard.

Sneak Peek: Part 3 of the Speak Vet Series You’ve earned the demo, now what? In Part 3, we’ll dive into what messaging sounds like after a clinic shows interest. We’ll explore how to guide teams from curiosity to commitment using trust-first messaging that supports adoption, reduces friction, and reinforces belief. Because earning attention is just the beginning, keeping trust is where traction really happens.

What To Do Next

You’ve seen what not to do. Now it’s time to lead differently.

• Audit your homepage. Does it reflect the chaos and clarity of real clinic life or does it sound like a boardroom pitch?

• Rewrite one email or cold outreach. Swap the product pitch for a moment they’ve lived—a hallway scramble, a missed callback, a 12-hour shift.

• Walk through your demo with a PM’s mindset. Would they feel seen or sold to?

Then go one layer deeper:

• Ask a clinic contact to review your copy. Did it land? Did they feel like it was written for them or someone else?

• Recenter your message around relief, not results. What’s the pressure point you're easing today, not someday?

This isn’t just a messaging tweak. It’s how trust is built in this space: slowly, authentically, and with deep respect for the people doing the hard work every day.

When you Speak Vet, with realism, relevance, and respect, you’re not just improving your marketing. You’re building a brand that belongs.

Up next in Part 3: We’ll show you what messaging sounds like after the first demo, when trust has been sparked and every word either reinforces it... or unravels it.

Ready to Test Your Message? Try the ‘Speak Vet’ Filter

Once you’ve made those changes, here’s a quick way to pressure-test your message before it hits a clinic inbox:

1. Relevance Check (KNOW)

• Does this reflect a real clinic moment or just describe my features?

• Would a PM see this and say, “That’s us”?

2. Empathy Check (LIKE)

• Am I showing that I understand their pressure—not just their potential?

• Does this sound like someone who’s been on the floor—not someone selling to it?

3. Clarity Check (TRUST)

• Is it obvious what this does and how it helps?

• Have I used real language from real clinic teams?

If your message passes all three, you’re not just talking, you’re translating. And that’s what builds trust in the world of veterinary care.

Learn how Strategy First helps early-stage founders build momentum that lasts: Explore Services

Want help building messaging that actually connects? Book a consult

Access our free strategy resources and learn more about Thavma Consulting.

Let’s connect on LinkedIn: Fotine A Sotiropoulos | LinkedIn.