Articles

Taking today to follow-up on last week’s sales-related essay, which elicited some interesting responses. (If you missed it, check it out here)

I even had someone reply, “I don’t think I’ve ever disagreed with and agreed with someone so much at the same time!”

(Which is great, nuanced feedback btw!)

Let’s dig a deeper into the topic of “sales” and one area of last week’s essay where I could have been more clear in the message.

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At one point I addressed the question, “If you have the cure for cancer, how hard would you ‘sell’ to help a terminal cancer patient choose the treatment?”

And I basically said… you’d sell the heck out of the cure. A couple folks replied along the lines of “Well yeah, but a lot of what we’re doing on the elective side isn’t medically necessary. So it’s not the same.”

Agreed. But look at the cancer example again from a practical standpoint. What would you actually do if you were treating a terminal cancer patient, and you had the cure?

You likely would NOT just say, “Here’s the info on the cure. Let me know what you want to do.”

But on the flip side, you probably wouldn’t (or shouldn’t?) say, “You have to do this! Oh my gosh this is the best thing. YOU must get started right NOW.”

Neither of those are awful responses. But neither of these responses serve the patient at the highest level.

So what is the right way to “sell” in that situation? Or even in a situation where a procedure isn’t medically necessary, like LASIK or a Mommy Makeover?

What we teach (and what you probably naturally do) is:

1. ASK – Start by asking questions. Figure out what the patient actually wants and needs and why.
2. PROCESS – In this case, you weigh their answers against the risks of having the treatment.
3. RECOMMEND – And finally – based on your knowledge of your treatments and the patient – you will make your professional recommendation. And you’ll frame your presentation in way that the patient can understand and is useful to their decision making process.

Now, you might call that selling. You might call that communicating. You might call that informing.

Whatever you call it, this is how you help the patient to make the decision that’s right for them. (The #1 Rule of Modern Sales)

And each member of your team has their own version of this process that they need to go through during the part of the Patient Journey they’re responsible for.

But if your entire team doesn’t know how to do this (which most don’t, in our experience), then you are losing prospective patients. Daily.

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I hope this adds more color to the ways you can think about the “sales process.”

And if not, let me know. Happy to clarify further.

Curious – Do you agree with our approach, or do you think I’m totally off-base?

• Troy “Sales or Whatever You Wanna Call It” Cole

Recently a practice told me “We don’t like the S word – Sales. We don’t believe in selling, and we don’t use that word here.”

Yeah, OK.

They wanted to talk to me because their surgery numbers were 20% of what they should have been for a practice of their size, longevity and surgical experience.

Do you think their negative attitude toward selling has something to do with their weak surgery volume? If so… you would be correct.

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Show me a highly successful elective/refractive practice that has an anti-sales culture. They’re few and far between, if they even exist at all.

Here’s the thing…

Most people think they’re against sales… when really they’re just scared of sales. It stems from a lack of confidence in their skills, in their technology, in their ability to help people or in their ability to communicate your value.

“We shouldn’t be selling anything. People should come to their conclusions on their own.”

Oh really? Did you say the same thing about masks? About the vaccine?

Maybe you did. And kudos if so. But most people (when being honest) were all about selling/persuading/influencing others on these topics.

And if you had the cure for cancer, but a terminal patient was skeptical… hesitant… didn’t understand…

Would you throw up your hands and say, “Well, when they decide for themselves, then we’ll help them!”

No. Of course not. You’re gonna sell the heck out of that cancer cure to save your patient’s life.

So this idea that “there’s no place in medicine for sales” is ridiculous. And it’s time to get over it and look at sales for what it actually is…

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Sales is simply helping people make the decision that’s right for them. That’s the whole game.

Which means educating people. Leading them. Empowering them. Getting them out of their own way.

Your patients are required to make a new, difficult decision when they trust you with their treatment. Not only does this require you to walk through a sales process with them… it’s actually your moral obligation to do so.

If they aren’t sold on your practice, your tech, your skills, your premium price point… they won’t move forward. Which means they don’t better themselves. They’re stuck in a life of mediocrity and restrictions. All because you don’t want to sell?

Enough’s enough.

If you’re in the pro-sales camp, keep up the great work. You will get the lion’s share of patients if you’re doing it the right way.

If you’re not into sales, or you have an anti-sales philosophy, I respectfully request you take a critical look at your position. Sales does not have to be this sleazy, hardcore, off-putting thing.

In fact in our E3 training programs, we teach exactly the opposite of the typical “used car salesman” vibe that’s stuck in so many people’s heads. We show your team the persuasive ways to Educate, Exhibit Authority, Empower Patients. Does that sound so bad?

Of course not. I venture to guess these 3 core principles are completely in line with your values. And the process works like gangbusters when implemented in the proper way.

Do the 3 Es and you’re off to the races. And if you’re not sure where to start, or you want expert guidance on the process, shoot me a message.

Now get out there and sell a life-changing treatment to someone today.

 – Troy “Sales is Good” Cole

I have a lot of kids. I asked them the other night, “What should we eat for dinner?” One of them said, “Ice Cream!”

Why? Why would she say something that bizarre?

Because she’s a little kid who has no knowledge of nutrition or health. To put it simply, she’s uninformed. So she goes with what she knows – “Ice cream tastes good!”

And this is why her opinion of what we should eat for dinner is so ridiculous.

Your prospects are in the same boat. They are under-informed when it comes to choosing a LASIK (or other elective) surgeon. It’s not something they have learned how to do.

Your prospects aren’t dialed into the most important criteria. They’re ignorant. (That’s not an insult, it’s literally the definition of the word ignorant – lacking knowledge or awareness.)

So what do they do? Same thing my daughter does – they go with what they know.

What do your prospects know? Money. They have some understanding of money. And so that’s the criteria they use to make their decision. “This doc is cheaper than that doc. They both seem pretty good, so I’m going with the cheap one.”

It probably doesn’t surprise you that my young daughter voted Ice Cream for dinner. And it shouldn’t surprise you when your prospects attempt to make these same types of bad decisions.

Left unattended, under-informed prospects will formulate their own bad opinions and make poor choices based on those opinions.

And because you are the subject matter expert, the authority, the person responsible for helping them… YOU CAN’T LET THEM DO THAT.

So if someone calls and says, “How much is LASIK?” and you say “It’s $3900 for both eyes,” You’ve just done a disservice to yourself and to that prospective patient, who is probably never coming in to your practice.

Your team must educate. Ask questions. Push back. Teach prospects how to think about this unfamiliar decision. This is your job. No one else is going to do it for you. The prospect can’t possibly do it themselves. The responsibility falls on you.

Stop allowing your prospects to eat ice cream for dinner. Stop allowing your prospects to formulate their own garbage opinions that lead to bad healthcare decisions. Step up and take responsibility for them.

Yes, this leadership approach will increase your surgery volume. But even more than that, it’s your moral obligation to your patients.

• Troy “Cookies n Cream” Cole