Staying Power

There is always a sense of excitement when you get that first appointment with a potential new customer.

You may have waited weeks or even months for the opportunity to meet that key person, who could be just the right one to increase your revenues for the month, or your commission. You have rehearsed your speech, thought of all the questions you might have to answer and gone on the Internet to learn more about this clinic, hospital or community agency. You are more than ready for the sales call.

Now let’s move the clock ahead. The meeting is over. You made a great presentation. Everyone seemed to like you. They were impressed with what your home care company had to offer and even promised to call you with an order, if not the next patient needing what you sell.

OK, another week has transpired. For some reason you have not received the call that you were promised. Where is that next order? You realize that during the past week, your potential customer must have had at least one patient needing the services you provide, but you were not called.

Let me remind you not to take that too personally. The referral source has other providers he or she is used to working with. Old habits are not easy to break, so don’t be fooled into believing that you will automatically get that next order you were promised: You are probably going to have to work for the business.

It’s all about staying power. One call can set the stage for more calls. One call can begin a relationship. One call can get you name recognition. One call can get you the opportunity to share new information about who you are and what you offer. But one call is usually not enough to get you the business.

Where do you go from here? What steps can you take to improve your chances of gaining the attention of the referral source and increase your odds of being called?

Before you leave that first sales call, do not leave the office without scheduling your next appointment. Continuing to share new information about your company can ultimately provide the stepping stones toward that first order.

Find out whether the potential referral source is involved in community and professional associations. Is he or she in groups such as the case management association or an emergency nurse group that you could become involved in, too? That would give you access to some of these referral sources in a less formal environment.

In your own network of professionals, determine if there are people who could help you make inroads with certain key potential referral sources.

Don’t give up. If you make the decision never to return to that office again, you surely lose. People will not order from reps they never see. Persistence is a wonderful characteristic, and it could be the reason you eventually do get the order.

One problem you may be experiencing is that you have not yet located the referral source hot button. You may not have addressed the issues that mean the most to the referral source when working with a home care company.

Rather than guessing about what that might be, try asking. “When working with a home care company, what are your expectations? What do you like best? What service or program do you like most about the companies you work with?”

Sales are all about learning and education, not just the education and learning you provide the customer but also the education you provide yourself. With staying power, continuing to meet with the customer, finding ways to work with them, learning about who their colleagues are and knowing their hot buttons, in time you will hopefully gain his or her attention and trust.

Every time you lose interest in an account and make the decision to take them off your prospect list, you simply leave their business on the table for others to enjoy and develop. Your competitors will simply have more time to cement the relationship.

There will always be others in your community who are hoping your staying power will wane and that you might decide to take even your most loyal customers for granted. In these difficult economic times, I hope you never let that happen.

Read more Sales Notebook columns.

Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. You can reach him through www.DynamicSeminars.com or at 954/435-8182.