How often do we begin a relationship-building conversation, but somehow never quite move into the reason we are there—to sell our services. While it is important to build rapport, we can’t hang our hat on this peg every time we stop by. Otherwise, we simply become professional visitors.

To be successful, we must have a purpose. Purpose is what gives us permission to go into the office. Purpose is what gets us past the waiting room, keeps referral sources interested, and gets us invited back.

One of the exercises we do in my workshops, “Calling On Docs,” is to find “50 Ways to See the Doctor.” By having 50 different reasons to see the doctor, we will have a purpose every time we approach the sliding glass window. With this tool, we are able to see the same doctor every week for a year and have something new to say each time. The other 2 weeks we have our feet in the sand, celebrating our success.

The process is fairly straightforward. We break apart every component in our business, then drill down on every subcomponent. We continue to dismantle each of these subcomponents until we have 50 features covering all aspects of our business. Then we present these to the referral sources one feature at a time. We are looking for only one feature for each sales call—such as the light weight of that new portable system your company has just invested in, or your broad coverage area. This way we always have a reason to return.

Features could include free delivery throughout your coverage area, access to a national travel program, educational literature, or even the amount of time you spend with patients on setups. If your fellow employees have had recent accomplishments, those could be used as features. They could include additional training for a pharmacist, certification for a rehabilitation specialist, or the hiring of a new billing specialist.

Pleasing Everybody
We have two customers to please: the patient and the referral source. And most times salespeople stop short of listing the benefit to the referral source. So now our job is to add one more benefit for the referral source. In the case of lightweight portable oxygen, the benefit to the referral source could be: Since it is easier for patients to carry, they are going to be more compliant and less likely to have a readmit to the emergency room.

Another example of a great feature is spending a lot of time with patients on initial setups. Patients know exactly who to call if they have a concern. The benefit to referral sources is that patients will not be disturbing them at home.

Eric Kline

Listen, Don’t Just Talk
How often do we go into a referral source’s office and tell him all the great things we can do for him and his patients without ever asking what is important to him? From working with sales representatives throughout the country, I have found several truths. One truth is that no matter how long we have been in this business, we like to dump information all over people.

I think we do this because it is so easy to tell referral sources all the great things we can do. There is no chance for rejection when we are telling someone something. You can’t say no to a statement. You can only say no to a question. And it is only human nature to want to be accepted, so we make statements.

But if we are not getting rejected on a regular basis, we are spending too much time in our comfort zone. A successful salesperson is going to crash and burn every now and then. Rejection is not going away. We can certainly minimize our exposure to rejection by having a purpose—and some brilliant questions.

In any sales call, we have to know where we want the conversation to lead. Otherwise, no one will follow. We start by asking questions—questions that will lead us down the path we choose.

Sample questions: Do you prescribe portable oxygen for all your patients who qualify?; Do a lot of your patients come from the next county?; Have you been trying to keep up with the Medicare updates on power wheelchairs?

Based on their response, we follow up with another question or two, leading them to an understanding that it only makes sense to work with us. So by the end of the call, it goes something like this: “Do you prescribe portable oxygen for all your patients who qualify?”

“Most of the time.”

“Do you find that they don’t like pushing those big tanks around?”

“Certainly.”

“Are you familiar with the latest equipment?”

“No. I have never heard of it.”

With that, we launch into the features, benefits to the patient, and benefits to the referral source.

So far, in this scenario, we started with a purpose, asked some brilliant questions, and left little room for rejection. But no risk, no reward. So we have to close. We have to ask for the business.

“Does that sound like it would help your patients?” (Can’t say no to that.)

“Certainly.”

“If you think it makes sense, then why don’t you give it a try on your next patient?”

“I will do that.”

Ultimately, to be successful in this arena, we have to be prepared. We have to have “50 Ways to See the Doctor.” We must ask the right kind of questions, including asking for the referral. And we have to do all this without fear of rejection. It sounds tough, but you can accomplish it when you are filled with a sense of  purpose.

Eric Kline is president of HME SalesPro, Pensacola, Fla. He works with HME sales representatives in the field to help them succeed when calling on doctors. Kline can be reached via e-mail: ekline@hmesalespro.com.