Let’s say someone you love is really sick—as in “probably going to die” sick. I’m talking really, really sick.

You’re in charge of finding the doctor.

You do the research. You talk to people you trust. You find “the doctor.” It’s some guru at the Cleveland Clinic or MD Anderson or some other great facility.

You’re ready to take action and make an appointment happen.

You Google the doctor. You get to the website. You look for an appointment line phone number.

It’s hard to find. You have to hunt. You find it. It’s in small text. You have to squint. You have to write it down because there’s no click-to-call button. It’s frustrating.

Do you give up? Do you call someone else? Do you let the phone number challenge stop you?

Of course not. You call the guru. This doctor is “the doctor.” You let nothing stop you or even slow you down.

Why It’s Not All About Location, Location, Location

The reason you’re willing to work so hard to make the call is that you trust the doctor. It’s all about trust.

It’s not about the position of the phone number on the website. It’s not about the size of the text. It’s not about whether the number is in red and flashing.

It’s all about trust.

In fact, having a big, red, flashing phone number in the upper right corner of your website sends the wrong message. It says “don’t trust me.” It’s right there in the zone of “as seen on TV.” It reminds us of Ron Popeil on an infomercial.

Stop worrying about selling and focus on being “the doctor.” That’s who people want to call when they’re really, really sick.