Trust Doesn’t Start at the Top, It Builds Across the Team.
In last week’s Thavma Insights, Brian Carlson reminded us that trust isn’t earned in a single moment, it’s layered across every interaction. This week, we’re going deeper. Because in veterinary medicine, a great product or pitch isn’t enough.
In veterinary marketing, trust isn't earned through visibility alone. It's built through connection, clarity, and consistency across the entire clinic team. This week’s edition of Thavma Insights explores how understanding decision makers, gatekeepers, and influencers inside the veterinary practice is key to building long-term credibility and adoption. Featuring insights from Suzanne Thomas, BA, BS, LVT, NASM-CPT, District Manager at CareVet, this article unpacks what truly drives decisions inside clinics and how startups can move beyond product features to create solutions that resonate with every role in the practice.
The Practice Ecosystem: Who Really Holds the Power?
Veterinary practices aren’t like traditional B2B buyers. They’re complex, team-based ecosystems where influence flows in more than one direction. If your strategy is built solely around the decision maker, you’re already missing the mark.
Decision Makers
Think: Medical Directors, Practice Owners, Hospital Administrators.
These are the individuals who sign the contract, approve budgets, and carry final authority. But here’s the nuance: they often rely on others to vet the details, gather input, and surface concerns before making a decision.
Gatekeepers
Think: Practice Managers, Lead Techs, Front Office Supervisors, Hospital Administrators or District Managers.
They’re not just managing operations, they’re managing access. Gatekeepers control what information reaches leadership and often frame how it's received. Ignore them, and your message may never make it past the front desk.
Influencers
Think: Associate Vets, Trusted Techs, Lead CSRs.
These are the culture carriers. The people everyone else listens to. They may not have formal authority, but they have immense influence over how your solution is perceived. Their buy-in (or resistance) can make or break adoption, especially post-sale.
THAVMA INSIGHT: If you don’t understand how decisions flow inside a practice, you can’t build trust at scale. Effective strategy considers every layer of influence, not just the title at the top of the org chart.
Why This Matters: Trust Is Layered, Not Linear
You can’t build adoption if you only speak to the decision-maker
Messaging must resonate across all roles to build clinic-wide buy-in
Great ideas get blocked when one team member feels left out or unheard
In Practice: A District Managers Perspective
Each edition, we bring you insights from industry leaders shaping the future of veterinary innovation and just as importantly, from the people living it every day: veterinarians, practice managers, and veterinary technicians.
This week, we connected with Suzanne Thomas, BA, BS, LVT, NASM-CPT, District Manager, CareVet et, someone who’s on the front lines of operational decision-making. Suzanne brings an inside look at how influence moves across clinic teams and why top-down messaging often fails. Her perspective highlights:
The real decision dynamics in multi-site practices
What she looks for in partners who 'get it'
How trust is built (or lost) before a demo even begins
“As both a licensed veterinary technician and a multi-site operations manager (CareVet calls this a District Manager, but in other orgs, it might be Regional Ops Manager/Director), I’ve seen firsthand how decisions actually unfold inside hospitals and it’s rarely as simple as one person saying yes.
If you want your solution to stick, it has to make sense for the whole team. The best strategic partners walk into a hospital and notice the entire room, not just the person with the title. Because at the end of the day, if your product only works for the medical director, it’s not going to work at all.
People in vet med are doing emotionally heavy, high-volume work oftentimes with limited resources. The last thing they need is something that sounds great in a pitch but falls apart in the chaos of real clinic life. And top-down messaging? It fails when it doesn’t reflect how influence actually moves through a hospital.
Sometimes the person who controls the budget isn’t the one making the final call. It might be the lead vet tech quietly asking, “Does this actually make our jobs easier?” Or the practice manager who’s juggling three fires and can’t take on one more thing unless it saves time or improves workflow.
The strongest partnerships I’ve seen are built on curiosity and context. Partners who take time to understand how a clinic functions day-to-day. Those who listen before they pitch are the ones who earn trust across roles. They show how their solution supports veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants, reduces friction for CSRs, and helps doctors make better decisions without burning out.
You earn trust by helping people do their jobs better. That starts when every team member feels like your product was designed with them in mind.
When someone asks, “How can we make this work for the team?” instead of “Who signs the check?” - that’s when I lean in.
I’ve seen great tools fail because no one thought to ask the veterinary technicians, “Would this actually save you time?” I’ve also seen teams rally behind a new workflow because it saved CSRs 10 minutes per client call or gave the manager better reporting. Small wins for the whole team lead to big buy-in.
What gets my attention?
Solutions that clearly reduce friction
Teams that respect clinical flow, not interrupt it
Partners who give me something I can show my team - not just tell them about
If you can win over the vet tech who carries the team through a double-booked afternoon, or the CSR who handles every frustrated client, you’re already ahead.
And here’s the reality: I’ve had vendors build a relationship with me and still lose the team. Why? Because they only built it with me. That might get the demo scheduled, but it won’t get the tool adopted.
In vet hospitals, credibility is a team sport. A strong relationship opens the door, but if the product doesn’t work for everyone, trust fades fast. I’ve seen staff give something a fair shot just because they trusted me, but if that tool added friction or didn’t fit the workflow, it was gone within a month. And now we all feel burned.
What I’ve learned:
Consistency beats charm
Follow-through is everything
Credibility isn’t earned by talking to the team, it’s earned by building with them
The solutions that stick? They’re the ones vet techs bring up during hallway conversations. The ones CSRs include in training because it just makes sense. That kind of credibility doesn’t come from a pitch deck, it’s built through everyday experience.
Buy-in gets you started. But belief is what keeps you there.
In vet med, we don’t have time for fluff. If a vendor shows up, makes big promises, and disappears after the sale? The team notices. Fast. Belief is earned when support shows up after the handshake.
I once partnered with a company to implement a new PIMS. Everything was great, until it didn't. Right after go-live, the support vanished. They ghosted us completely. And despite the fact that our systems integrate with theirs, I now strongly steer clinics away from them. Why? Because the customer journey doesn’t end at implementation. It’s only just begun. It's important to remember who your customer is and following them through the entire process.
I’ve seen practices transform when every voice is part of the decision. That kind of belief isn’t built with slides, it’s built with follow-up, onboarding, and real-time support, especially when things get messy.
If you’re aiming for long-term adoption, ask yourself:
Does every team member understand the why?
Do they feel supported when the how gets complicated?
Are you still showing up when it’s not convenient?
When partners build with that mindset, the result isn’t just buy-in: it’s belief. And belief? That’s what turns a vendor into a trusted part of the team.”
What Strategic Partners Actually Get Right
The best vendors don’t just sell, they understand. They take the time to learn how a practice functions, what matters to each role, and how to support the entire team. They don’t just pitch to the person with the title. They build credibility by creating solutions that earn trust at every level.
Here’s what they do differently.
They design for the full team, not just the decision maker. Smart partners know that even the most enthusiastic “yes” from leadership means nothing if the rest of the team isn’t on board. So they don’t just promise outcomes, they prove relevance, across roles.
They reduce friction, respect clinical workflows, and build around care. They don’t disrupt for the sake of innovation. They build around how the clinic already operates, identifying where they can remove friction, not add to it.
They win hallway conversations by empowering advocates at every level. They know that trust can be won or lost in a hallway conversation. They equip the team members who carry culture and shape opinions, giving them a reason to advocate.
What That Looks Like in Practice.
Veterinary Technicians: Show how your solution reduces clicks, shortens tasks, or supports medical precision without burnout.
Practice Managers: Emphasize operational visibility, time savings, or ease of implementation.
Veterinarians: Demonstrate alignment with medical protocols, reduced liability, and better clinical outcomes.
Client Service Representatives (CSRs): Highlight how your product improves client communication, smooths the front desk flow, or minimizes conflict.
The strongest adoption doesn’t start with leadership, it starts when the whole team says, “This actually helps.” If your product only works for one role, it won’t stick. But if it makes life easier for everyone? That’s when trust turns into traction.
In Practice: Suzanne Thomas Perspective: “If you want your solution to stick, it has to make sense for the whole team. The best strategic partners walk into a hospital and notice the entire room, not just the person with the title.” This perspective reinforces the breakdown of decision makers, gatekeepers, and influencers. Suzanne's lived experience as both a technician and District Manager validates your framework: decisions are rarely made in isolation. She echoes the importance of considering the full practice ecosystem, not just who signs the check, but who shapes the outcome.
From Relationship to Credibility
Building a relationship gets you in the door. But if you want to stay in the building, you need credibility. And in veterinary practices, credibility isn’t earned with just one person. It’s earned through collective buy-in.
When your solution resonates across roles, from the front desk to the back of the house, something powerful happens:
✔️ Trials turn into long-term adoption
✔️ Advocacy starts to spread organically
✔️ Trust compounds because the team feels seen, supported, and respected
Too many startups focus only on conversion. But real growth in veterinary medicine is about consistency after the sale in support, in communication, in delivery. That’s where trust becomes belief. And belief is what transforms a customer into a champion. The real win isn’t closing the deal; it’s becoming the partner they talk about in the staff meeting. If you want retention, referrals, and results, aim beyond the buyer. Build credibility with the entire care team. If your strategy only speaks to the top, don’t be surprised when the rest of the team tunes it out. This is what a strategy-first approach looks like, designed for the complexity of veterinary decision-making.
In Practice: Suzanne Thomas Perspective: “I’ve had vendors build a relationship with me and still lose the team. Why? Because they only built it with me…That might get the demo scheduled, but it won’t get the tool adopted.” This insight amplifies your point: relationships open the door, but credibility keeps you in the building. Her emphasis on consistent follow-through, especially post-sale, makes a strong case for your message that trust isn’t a one-and-done event, it’s a sustained effort. Suzanne's story about the ghosted PIMS implementation is a cautionary tale that validates your warning: if your strategy only speaks to the top, the rest of the team will tune out.
Map Your Influence Strategy
Want to build trust that leads to adoption? Start by identifying who really shapes perception inside your target practices. Take a step back and ask yourself:
Who are we really building for?
Are we speaking to the full ecosystem or just the person with the title?
Are we earning buy-in or assuming it?
Download the Practice Influence Map Worksheet: A simple tool to help you identify decision makers, gatekeepers, and influencers inside any practice.
THAVMA INSIGHT: Influence mapping turns invisible blockers into visible opportunities. When you take the time to chart out who shapes perception—not just who holds the title, you stop guessing and start building with intention. This isn’t just a worksheet, it’s a strategic filter. One that helps you design messaging, demos, and onboarding that resonate with the people who actually drive adoption inside the clinic. While this worksheet offers a simple, manual starting point, some CRMs (like HubSpot) include influence mapping as part of the contact record, helping you scale this approach across your entire customer journey.
From Buy-In to Belief
Trust doesn't belong to one person; it’s shared across the team. If you're only selling to leadership, you're missing the opportunity to build lasting credibility and meaningful adoption. Strategy-first marketing means building for influence at every level of the clinic.
When you understand the full picture inside a veterinary practice, everything changes. Because trust isn’t a single conversation or a clever pitch. It’s the result of consistent, thoughtful communication that makes every role feel seen, heard, and supported. That’s how you move from being just another vendor…To becoming the partner they rely on.
In Practice: Suzanne Thomas Perspective: “I’ve seen practices transform when every voice is part of the decision. That kind of belief isn’t built with slides, it’s built with follow-up, onboarding, and real-time support, especially when things get messy.” This quote is the perfect anchor for your Practice Influence Map tool. It reinforces your call to map the full ecosystem and emphasizes that transformation happens when support shows up, not just at kickoff, but in the messy middle. Suzanne’s reflection reinforces that true influence strategy is built on presence, not promises.
THAVMA INSIGHT: A strong influence strategy doesn’t start with a pitch. It starts with curiosity. When you take time to understand how each role contributes and design around their needs, you earn more than a “yes.” You earn belief. This ties everything together. Suzanne’s entire perspective champions curiosity, context, and credibility. This THAVMA INSIGHT reflects that ethos, completing the story arc from identifying influencers to earning belief.
Ready to sharpen your strategy? Start here!
Access our free strategy resources and learn more about Thavma Consulting.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn: Fotine A Sotiropoulos | LinkedIn
Schedule your free marketing checkup.
