A Sales Story

It was a perfect sales opportunity. Perfect.

I was selling a program to orthopedic surgeons encouraging them to reduce unnecessary costs. If they did, the payoff could be substantial.

Doing some digging, I found a doctor who was the perfect candidate. He hadn’t heard of the program, so my sales call was valuable information and the opportunity to earn as much as $200K/year more just by enrolling.

Here’s the best part. My dad is an orthopedic surgeon and the customer’s office was nearby. Which meant I could bring him along on the call. Something I could never do before. Three of us discussing hip replacements, post-acute care and Medicare reimbursement.

The call went perfectly. It was fun and detailed and productive. It wrapped up with the customer wanting the paperwork, wanting to sign up immediately, and grateful that I brought this to his attention.

And why not? Who wouldn’t appreciate being presented with a compelling solution and a fantastic ROI just days prior to the program deadline.

As that deadline approached, I dutifully followed up. Was he going to enroll? An emphatic Yes. Any questions? No. Could I tell my company that he’d be my customer. Absolutely.

On the final day, I called. The office administrator explained that they decided to pass on it. “Too much paperwork, and too busy.”

A month later, the program administrators published their list of physician participants. Surprisingly, that doctor was listed. With a competing company.

That is sales, too. And you just keep grinding.

But, hey, I got to do a sales call with my dad.

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