How to Become a ‘Sales Doctor’ Without Attending Medical School

Are You A Sales Doctor?

Can you remember the last time you went to the Emergency Room?  Now seriously, I want you to imagine this with me as we go along. I’m going to ask a ton of questions here but be patient, this will all come together when we’re done……

What’s the first thing you did when you entered the hospital? (Come on, I’m serious, think about this before you move to the next question.)

You talked with a worker at the front desk, right?  Did she ask you questions?

Did she (or he for all of you politically correct junkies, but you may want to get used to my style now) take any notes?

Did you get to talk about what was bothering you?

Now, after you had to wait what was the next step?

Did a nurse call you in?

Did she ask you more questions?

Were some of the questions the same ones the front desk attendant had asked?  

Did you talk about what was bothering you?

Did the nurse ask further questions to dig deeper in order to understand how, what, when, where, and why the injury/problem occurred?

Once you were done with the nurse, you then spoke with the doctor, correct?

And did the doctor look at the notes the nurse had made?

Did the doctor ask any questions?

Did the doctor ask some of the same questions you had already been asked?

Finally, did the doctor listen to your concerns, identify a problem, and then offer a solution??

Now I must ask, why did the doctor ask the same questions you had already been asked? Was the doctor stupid??

Well the answer, in just about all cases, is of course not.

Nope, they ain't stupid.

The doctor wasn’t stupid at all. Doctors and hospitals (at least the good ones) understand sales concepts that 99% of salespeople never grasp. They understand the following core principles:

• In order to identify problems they must ask questions.
• In order to indentify these problems with greater efficacy and exactness(and so they don’t ever get sued), they know how to stack questions. In other words, just like a lawyer digs for answers from a witness, nurses and doctors are trained to dig deeper and deeper with their questioning so as to cover all their bases and identify all possible considerations.
• In order to identify problems, doctors and nurses must take charge of the situation.
• In any interview, the questions and answers should always be written down. In other words, if a patient says anything of importance, written documentation is a must.
• Patients want to feel “understood”. When patients feel understood, they speak positively of their experience and will like the doctor.
• When enough questions are asked between the patient and a doctor/nurse, problems are correctly identified, diagnosed, and all parties are happy with the experience.

So hopefully you have a good feel for the ER analogy and how it may apply to retail sales. This is the gist of retail selling:

1. When someone comes in your store, just as a patient entering the ER, they have a problem(need).
2. This person wants you to fix the problem.
3. This person may or may not know how to fix the problem, but it’s your job as the professional (nurse/doctor) to establish who is in charge, ask purposeful questions, show empathy as needed, and then offer a solution (diagnosis).

That is your model. This is exactly what needs to be done when selling in retail environment. You may be saying, “Duh Marcus, tell me something I don’t know already.” Well, although you may fully understand the Hospital analogy, there’s a very good chance you’re still not following(myself included!) all the important sales principles it teaches, especially the critical element of writing down all information, which is another topic I’ll be discussing in my next blog.

So ask yourself if you’re doing what it takes to ALWAYS indentify the needs of your customers. Ask yourself if they view you the same way they’d view a doctor. If they don’t, then there’s a good chance your missing a major opportunity in reaching your sales potential.

But as I mentioned earlier, my next blog will take our hospital anology a step further and will give us the opportunity to truly dissect the power of written documentation is any sales situation.

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