Growing up, my mother would often read me stories from some of the greatest children's books of all time.  One of my favorites was Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham -- a book that one of my mentors, Viggo Madsen, recently pointed out is "one of the greatest sales books ever written."  I looked at him with a puzzled face as he began to read.

"That Salesman, that Salesman - I do not like that Salesman."  I smiled recognizing that he had changed one of the words "Sam-I-am" to "Salesman" to help those of us who might need a little help understanding how this book applies to sales.  He continued:

"Do you like green eggs and ham?" 

"I do not like them, salesman.  I do not like green eggs and ham."

"Would you like them here or there?"

"I would not like them here or there - I would not like them anywhere."

Sam-I-am the salesman continues to ask questions -- if his client would like them in a house or with a mouse?  With a fox or in a box?  In a car?  A tree?  A train?   In the dark or in the rain?  With a goat or in a boat?  And the answer is always, "I do not like green eggs and ham!"

Finally, an exhausted Sam-I-am the salesman says, "You do not like them, so you say.  Try them, try them!  And you may.  Try them and you may, I say."

"Sam, if you will let me be, I will try them.  You will see............................... Say!  I like green eggs and ham!  I do!  I like them salesman... Thank you, thank you salesman!"

Consultative Selling:  Sam-I-am successfully sold his product to his client because he asked the right questions and was persistent.  One of the secrets to selling in this industry is your ability to ask specific find-out questions before starting in with your sales presentation.  Sit down with potential clients before your next demo and try a few of these:

"Tell me about your current practice management or EMR software?  What do you like about it?  What do you dislike about it?  If you had a magic wand and could create the perfect software for your practice, what would it do?"

"What is your process for selecting software?  What are the key items that you need to address?  Who will be involved in the evaluation process?  Who is the final decision maker? What is your time frame for completing the selection process?  Implementation? Have you determined a budget for this project?"

Customizing Your Presentation:  Although the basics of your sales presentation will be the same for most offices that you sell, the details of the presentation will vary depending on what each office lists as their important features or "hot buttons" and depending on the problems they have with their existing system.  Listening intently to their answers and possibly even taking notes as you listen will give you all the details that you need to incorporate into the demo.  However, this is only possible if you have started by asking the "right questions."

Persistence and Follow-up:  Like the green eggs salesman in the children's book , consultative selling takes persistence and a lot of follow-up.  As you probably know, sales cycles in this industry can vary from long to really long, however, the key is to stay organized and stay on top of your clients.  Help them know that you have their best interest in mind and that you are recommending intelligent business solutions that are in their practice's best interest.  If all else fails, "Ask them to try it and they will probably like it."  If you have developed a trusting relationship with them, they will know that you would never recommend anything to them that was "not a good solution."

Listening:  The quickest way to build a trust-centered relationship with your clients is to truly listen.  Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States once said, "No man ever listened himself out of a job."  The truth of the matter is salesmen talk their clients out of buying their product all the time, but it is those salespeople that stop talking long enough to really listen to what their clients want who are the most successful.

Looks like Viggo Madsen was right.  Dr. Seuss is good for more than just reading to our kids -- we salespeople can learn a little something as well.

-- Kevin Burdick, InvestMed, LLC   

 

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April 2005, TOP STORY:  5 Keys to Working with Resellers

February 2005, TOP STORY:  Viva Las Vegas - A Resellers Story