One of the most respected professionals in our society is our family doctor. Doctors are viewed as caring, informed and knowledgeable professionals who have gained their patients� trust and respect. Some of the best salespeople I�ve had the privilege to work with view themselves as a �Sales Doctor� in their respective fields. They are professional, well-educated, act in their �patient�s� best interest and are bound by a high code of personal ethics.
    Our patients are merchants and they may not be physically sick (unless they just received a large NSF check from an out of state customer) but there may be areas in their business that need a cure. Your goal as a merchant-focused salesperson should be to create a procedure that will enable you to be the one that provides the solution for what ails them.
    The majority of doctors follow the same medical process when consulting with a patient. Whenever you go to any doctor, regardless of specialty, for any medical condition, they will follow the same three-part sequence of examination, diagnosis and prescription.�
    Just as a medical professional would never think of treating you without following these three critical steps in order, you as a doctor of sales, should never sell your products or services without going through the three-stage process as well. This is as applicable to selling merchant services business-business as it is to selling long distance services over the telephone.

Begin With A Thorough Initial Examination.

    In the examination stage, you ask excellent questions, carefully crafted, in sequence, which are geared to give you a thorough knowledge of the patient�s past and present condition.�Questions are key to opening the doorway to your customers� most important concerns and uncovering potential future objections. If the examination stage is not performed correctly you will misdiagnosis their needs and create future problems later on in the sales process.

Diagnose the Customer�s Condition Correctly.

    The second stage is diagnosis. While diagnosing your patient, you should repeat the results of your examination and double-check to be sure that the symptoms that you detected are the real symptoms being experienced by the patient. Always ask additional questions to confirm and corroborate their statements and important points. You and the patient should mutually agree that this diagnosis seems to be an accurate description of the condition or problem. By gaining agreement you are confirming that there is a need for a solution and now you can form a true partnership to create a win-win solution.

Prescribe the Right Medication.

    Once this mutual agreement has been reached, that a treatable condition exists and that you have identified it accurately, you can move on to stage three. This is the prescription phase, where you show the customer that your product or service is the best available treatment, taking all the factors of the patient�s situation into consideration for the ailment that you have diagnosed. You show that overall, what you are suggesting is the best of all possible solutions.�You outline all the major benefits and drive home the value you will bring to their business and prove to them that you have a cure for what is ailing their company.

So are you ready to be a Sales Doctor?

    Start each day from a perspective of how you can help and assist your patients, use the three simple steps; examination, diagnosis and prescription in every sales call and you will be on your way to sales success.
    Have a great month!