How do we get into see decision makers in the referral process?
I met with a prospective client in a GI/endoscopy practice last week who asked how we get into see busy decision makers. I wish I had one pat answer in return. All I can say is that we are trained to do this.
The whole foundation of our firm is that we supply you with former medical sales reps who are trained in professional sales. We took the concept of a traditional physician Liaison and took it up a few notches. Normally this position was staffed by former nurses or administrative folks who had virtually no training in professional selling or territory management. Instead, we supply you with a professional medical rep from Fortune 200 companies who have been trained in uncovering the needs of the client while demonstrating the benefits of your services.
Years ago I was in field management for companies such as Bard and Cordis where we spent thousands of dollars and weekly man-hours in training and reinforcing the skills needed to get in front of decision makers whom we could serve in a professional capacity. Ten years ago it cost a company like Bard $250 for every sales call we made based on the reps salary, training, and expenses.
Some years later I worked with Huthwaite, the founders of SPIN selling, where I trained sales teams from Medtronic, St.Jude, and Bard, in professional selling skills. SPIN was a ground breaking social sciences study funded by Xerox which studied the behavioral process required to conduct successful sales presentations. They attended and followed 35,000 sales meetings in an effort to define the right questioning and discussion process required to lead to closing a sale in a successful win-win format. SPIN is still recognized as the leading sales training program for Fortune 500 companies around the world today.
Today our reps come to you with training from SPIN, Xerox, and others and we go on to train them in applying these skills to the marketing of a medical practice. We continue to reinforce their skills while we coach them in the nuances of medical practice management and the referral process in particular. No other company in our industry can match our credentials, experience, and training when it comes to direct field marketing of a medical practice!
So, how do we get in front of important decision makers? We do this by uncovering the needs of the client while providing value to the referral source. We ask the right questions….and serve their needs before ours. In short, we earn our way in.
Would you like to grow new, preferred referral sources? Give us a call at 610-323-4793.
