A productive occupational medicine sales effort is predicated on your ability to identify a prospect’s need and then to match that need with your services. Both require knowing when and how to ask the right questions. Why is Questioning So Important? Invariably, you begin your association with a prospect as“just another salesperson.” You must set yourself apart from the start. Breaking the ice to pique interest is one area in which well-constructed questions can secure …
Read MoreTop Communicators Apply These Principles
Who among your network of colleagues and friends do you consider to be “great communicators?” What characteristics do they have in common that make them great? Consider the following principles underlying one’s ability to communicate effectively: Keep it simple. Break every message down to a simple, easy-to-digest concept. Avoid too much detail or trying to jam too many concepts into a single interchange. Use basic, short words. Assume your subject has a minimal attention span. …
Read MoreRules & Regulators
Occupational Medicine- August, 2007
The art of using the “right” words and avoiding words that tend to harm one’s sales effort is undervalued. Consider these recommendations: Use strong, descriptive, positive words. Your choice of words should reflect the image you wish to portray of your urgent care clinic, and the attributes that go along with such an image (e.g., energy, confidence, focus, and warmth). How about asking your staff to list the 10 words that reflect the most positive …
Read MoreChoose Words Carefully in an Occupational Health Sales Call
The art of using the “right” words and avoiding words that tend to harm one’s sales effort is undervalued. Consider these recommendations
Read MoreOccupational Medicine- June, 2007
Addressing the Data Drought
Urgent message: The second UCA Benchmarking Survey takes one small step toward filling the information gap in urgent care medicine. Introduction: Although the practice of urgent care medicine is not a new phenomenon, there is a significant absence of reliable information about the industry. One first step toward filling that void was initiated last year when the Urgent Care Association’s Benchmarking Committee released the results of its first-ever benchmarking survey of UCA members and others …
Read MoreUsing Education as an Occupational Health Marketing Tool
As marketing initiatives become increasingly self-serving, it behooves an urgent care clinic to differentiate itself by “playing the education card.” Why Education? Many employer decision-makers are still strikingly naïve about the value of a well-integrated, proactive approach to their company’s health and safety activities. Educational information does not come off as self-serving and is perceived as a “kinder and gentler” form of marketing. In our information-saturated world, it is imperative to find a way to …
Read MoreReturn-on-Investment in Occupational Health Sales
FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH It began with two cavemen, or even before: Bartering. Fair trade. A transaction where both parties (theoretically) walk away satisfied that they got a positive return on their exchange. This concept persists to this very day. At a minimum, your urgent care clinic should understand return-on-investment (ROI) for two occupational health staples: work injury management and pre-placement physical examinations. Work Injury Management Employers need to get workers back to work …
Read MoreAnatomy of an Occupational Health Sales Call
FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH “Tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em, tell ’em, and tell ’em what you told ’em.” —Mark Twain Urgent care clinic operators would be well advised to keep in mind Mark Twain’s advice on how to approach a speech or a paper; the same sequence applies to an occupational medicine sales call. In Phase I, it is best to articulate a clear objective for your sales call and provide …
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