What would a Doctor's Close Ratio be if he did Cold Calling like a Salesperson?

Most salespeople make a lot of cold calls. The reason is that they have to go find buyers for their goods or services. Very few companies have people standing in line to buy their product. A salesperson's job is to find companies that they can help. So, if that is the case, why don't doctors go do cold calls? Wouldn't their close ratio be close to 98%?

So, what does a salesperson do on that initial walk-in? If they are any good, they spent about 80% of the conversation asking questions to understand the client's business, but more importantly, to identify any gaps between where the client currently is and where the client would like to be. Some salespeople call that "pain." If you can find a company that is in pain, or as a doctor would say, bleeding all over the place, that is an excellent prospect to make a sale. If however, a doctor knocks on the door of a world-class triathlete that competes in Ironman competitions, then after a short conversation, he will likely say goodbye and go knock on the next door.

Can you imagine a doctor showing up at your office saying, Hello, My name is Dr. Hank and I'd like to visit with the boss to introduce myself. When he sits down with the boss, he tries to put the boss at ease, because quite frankly, who is ever comfortable when talking with a doctor? If he can get the boss to let his guard down, then he can start to ask some important questions. How many team members do you have? Have any been sick over the last year? Are any sick currently? Do any have possible lingering health concerns? Are there any concerns related to heart disease, cholesterol, obesity, triglycerides, diabetes, nutrition, dementia, cancer, gout, STD's, the flu, or other common medical concerns? Has anyone broken a bone recently or had to take any sick days in the last month or so?

If by now, the doctor has not gotten the boss to admit that yes they have several of those team members handy, then he might consider handing him his card and doing a quick exit. However, if he has found some potential clients, then he digs deeper. Give me some examples. How long have those been problematic? What has been the effect on your office? What potential remedies have you tried? How important to you is it to try to get these folks back to a better level of health? What is the financial impact to your office with their inattention, sick days, lost productivity, employer co-pays, overall employee morale, etc., etc.?

Do you think that this boss is considering hiring the doctor on the spot, setting aside a conference room, and having his entire team rotate through appointments with him?

That is what salespeople do on a daily basis. Their job is to help you solve the problems that you know you have, as well as find and uncover the problems that you don't know that you have. Now, just like a doctor's "pain questions" should not include, "what would you need in order to take 6 strokes off your golf game," a salesperson's questions should be tailored to their product or service.

What are the needs or wants of this prospect related to ______________ (insert category of product or service here)?

What is the prospect trying to accomplish related to above?

Why are they trying to accomplish this? Why are they trying to accomplish this right now as opposed to waiting six months, a year, or two?

What happens if they do nothing?

Have they worked with another supplier in the past? What was their experience? How did they originally choose that vendor?

Why would they consider your company?

Why would they buy from you and not their current supplier?

Does the prospect value what you bring to the table?

What does the prospect lose by not doing business with you?

What would "put us in the running" and also "what could take us out of the running?"

What is the personal impact to this person if they do or do not choose our service?

What are the financial impacts to the prospect if they do or do not buy from us?

Will the prospect give us access to all the influencers and/or potential decision makers for this ___________?

Does the prospect have the ability (available budget) to buy from us?

What does the purchasing process look like?

If you can get the prospect to answer all these questions, you are well on your way to understanding whether or not this is a good opportunity for you or not. So, I'll ask you, what would a doctor's close ratio be if he did cold calling like a salesperson? I look forward to your comments!