Two Referrals in 30 Seconds!
My home health care sales associate and I were ushered back to the nurse’s station soon after we introduced ourselves to the receptionist. We were excited to get back to see the doctor as my rep had been trying for months to get in to see the busy general practitioner. We stood and waited, trying to stay out of the way of all the nurses, assistants, techs, and patients.
After about 15 minutes, the doctor came up to us and said, “You’ve got 30 seconds.” I looked at my rep and he promptly said,
“Good Morning Doctor Lyons. We are with ABC Home Health and have a new office here in Greenville. We provide your elderly patients with great skilled nursing and physical therapy in the comfort of their homes, and we would love to help you care for them when needed. For example, we frequently help newly diagnosed CHF patients with medication and weight management. Here’s my card; please call the number on it when you have an appropriate referral. Thanks so much for taking a moment to see us, and we hope to hear from you soon. Do you have any questions?”
He paused, and when the doctor said, “no”, he turned to leave. I followed, but was a bit mixed on what had just happened. On the one hand, the rep had done exactly what he was supposed to do by hitting the appropriate highlights and respecting the doctor’s wishes. On the other, I felt like maybe we had missed an opportunity to do a little more.
When we returned to the branch late in the afternoon we were thrilled to find out that the doctor had just referred two patients to us! Wow, what a great feeling. I can still feel that excitement, even though it’s been fifteen years since we made that call!
And, that’s two great lessons for everyone to remember: always have an “elevator speech” handy—you never know when you might need it. Secondly, always respect the wishes of your account and don’t take more time than they have to give you. If they are too busy to talk, ask to meet at a better time because you have something important to discuss with them. Thanks, Bill
Senior Vice President
Business Development & Sales
CareSouth Homecare Professionals
One Tenth Street, Suite 500
Augusta, GA 30901
Office 706-854-7458
http://www.caresouth.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/billcookonline
Absolutely love the message here Bill and I can guarantee that the San Diego Dream Team will take this and run with it. This is the type of experience that reminds us that even when we can’t follow “our” agenda it often pays with dividends when you actively listen to your account and more importantly that you are always ready when the game changes.
Thanks so much for sharing this!
Carol
Bill,
Amazing how those “win stories” stick in you mind for years! Remind me some day to tell you about MY first sale! Even more important is the lesson learned from the experience. “Have the elevator speech ready,” is a timeless and powerful selling tip. Thanks for the reminder.
Todd
Thanks Carol. Great point!
That’s happened to me before…sensing zero success after a sales call, only to find that it did produce results…
Two key points: always be ready with a succinct helpful message, and NEVER…EVER…let a prospect go. You never know when they will buy or refer…