The Death of Prescriptive Selling
Consultative Selling Has Changed
I'm looking at you, "expert business" owners.
If you're a skilled and experienced doctor, lawyer, accountant, consultant, or service business owner, the world has changed around you.
We used to live in a world of "information asymmetry".
That means you knew A LOT more than your prospect, and the only way they could get information about solving their problem was by asking YOU.
Sort of like the Medieval Church, when no one could read Latin so they relied on their priest for readings and lessons, and had to trust their guidance entirely.
COVID has accelerated the rapid transition to a world of information parity - you ideal future client has access to most of the same information you do.
Of course, this can manifest in ways that are annoying to experts - patients attempting to dictate their own care, people practicing Google law, and other DIY armchair experts.
The reality though, is that it's more than just annoying.
Unless you're willing to change, it's an existential threat to your business.
With changes to the market we are allowed to be annoyed, pissed off, and even afraid. What we aren't allowed to be is complacent.
The old way of doing things doesn't work anymore.
If your prospect comes to you with a problem, we can't just tell them what the solution is and how much it costs.
This is counter to what many of us have been taught.
After all, we're the experts, and we know what's best...right?
Even if you're right, your logic is wrong.
Why?
Buyers are much more sophisticated today.
If a prospective patient approaches me because of a hearing problem, and I test their hearing and offer my "one best solution" that I know will achieve their goals...they'll probably shop around!
So...what do we do?
Well, I have good news and bad news.
The good news is that, for those highly ethical professionals and business people who have struggled with selling and felt icky and incongruent...you can stop selling.
The bad news is that for those of you who have been very successful at simply telling you prospects what they need to do and them following that recommendation...you need to learn how to bring more nuance to these conversations...which means changing what you have historically done successfully.
The "Client-First" or "Patient-First" Consultative Selling Model
This framework is based on real research and data about human psychology and decision-making (Motivational Interviewing and SPIN selling methodologies are used heavily), and backed up by results from thousands of hearing consultations in my clinics and those that I consult with.
Stage 1 - Discovery
During this opening phase of the consultation, it is our job to gain a deep and clear understanding of the goals and ideal outcomes for our prospect.
Note: It's not our job to "correct" their goals or ideal outcomes, especially not at this phase. If your prospect wants an outcome that's unrealistic or not what you think is best, that's ok. Your job right now is to hear where they're coming from clearly.
This portion of the consultation is all about questions. "What's your ideal outcome of today's appointment?" "Have you tried other solutions in the past for this problem? What happened?" "What are your biggest concerns about addressing this issue" "What would change about your life if you achieved your desired result"...etc.
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Stop talking, and just ask good questions...then actually listen to the answers.
Stage 2 - Diagnosis
For healthcare providers, this is literally the stage of the process where you obtain test results and discuss them with your patient.
For others, this is where you need to gather all of the information that has been discussed so far, and present your assessment or "diagnosis" around the problem.
When presenting your diagnosis, make sure to emphasize how the diagnosis correlates with the concerns and problems your prospect has been experiencing. This reinforces credibility and alignment with you and your prospect.
Stage 3 - Solutions
During this phase, we need to effectively summarize everything that's happened so far.
"Let me make sure we're on the same page before we begin our conversation about solutions. Is that ok with you?"
This is your opportunity to reveal your insights about why what they've done so far hasn't worked, where the common pitfalls in working on this type of problem may appear, and what some concerns and objections someone like your prospect may have.
Wait...
Why are we talking about all of the negatives? Aren't we supposed to be talking about solutions?
This is important, so take notes.
If you present all of your prospect's spoken and unspoken fears and concerns back to them, you will exponentially increase trust.
By expressing the potential pitfalls of your solution, you're putting yourself on THEIR side of the desk, and saying "I'm with you on this. I want to make sure you're a success story. Here's how I'll guide you around the stuff that causes others to fail...I've got you."
This is where you truly express your expertise. And the beauty of it is that you get to do it in a way that isn't "persuading" them of your expertise, it's demonstrating why your expertise is so critical for them to have on their side.
Got it?
NOW, if you and your prospect are aligned and they have TOLD YOU they're interested in discussing solutions, you can do so.
I recommend that you offer a range of solutions (ideally 3 or less at first, although having backup "low-end" solutions to address budget issues is great...just don't present it up front).
The variables that affect the price may be:
By presenting a range of solutions, you are demonstrating that you value your prospect's autonomy, intelligence, and decision making ability. All that you need to do is clearly and transparently explain what they can expect to achieve at each level of service, and what is lost at each diminishing tier of service.
Very likely, they will ask you which solution you would suggest.
This is where nuance comes in, because some truly do want your guidance and some just want clarification on the differences. Ask questions if you're not sure what they're looking for from you.
The Result
Obviously this outline is just a high-level summary of the model...but here's the great thing.
When you follow this process, you're never selling and you rarely encounter objections.
You will find that your new clients trust you more, and are more open and engaged as they work with you because you've started the relationship from a place of collaboration and trust, not an asymmetrical power dynamic.
Finally, if you have associates or salespeople on your team, you'll find that they are much happier and morale is higher as they are encouraged to sell in a way that is more authentic and human (and see better results!).
If you would like to discuss creating a custom sales training for your team, schedule a free Breakthrough Session with Dr. Brad, where you will identify the areas of opportunity in your current process and an implementation and training plan to ensure it's fully adopted by your team.
Improving outcomes for patients and audiologists alike.
2 年So many clinicians think they are taking a "patient-centered" approach and yet, they do 90% of the talking in the conversations with patients. The discovery phase is replaced with a medical case history.