A great example of an organization that fully understands the importance of “opening a sale” before you try to gain someone’s commitment is Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. The hospital also has what I’d call a very non-traditional sales organization.
Patty Branson, director of physician services, leads a team of medical professionals who call on doctors to encourage them to refer their patients to Children’s Hospital.
“Cincinnati Children’s Hospital serves the special medical and surgical needs of children,” Branson says.
“We want parents of children in need—and the doctors who would refer them—to think of us as the best alternative when these needs arise.”
Branson knew the issue she faced was essentially a sales challenge, but she had to do some shopping herself before she discovered our program Action Selling ® Customer Relationship Professional.
“We attended a Dale Carnegie course in the past,” she says, “but even though it had some takeaways, it didn’t fit well for us. We don’t see ourselves as salespeople, even though we realize we need to gain commitments. The Action Selling ® CRP training taught us a better way to manage our conversations with doctors.
“One key thing we learned,” Branson continues, “was how to identify key needs for quality healthcare and then match our capabilities to solve the problems that actually exist in each doctor’s practice. Every situation is different, but we see sales opportunities open up when we follow the Action Selling ® CRP process. Gaining commitment is far easier to accomplish.”
For information about how to make sales training pay huge dividends, contact The Sales Board at (800) 232-3485.
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