O CC U PAT I O N A L M E D I C I N E Buyer Self-interest as a Factor in Occupational Health Sales ■ FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH A voiding something negative rather than buying on appeal appears to be a very real part of buyer decision-making. Indeed, with sufficient probing, most prospects harbor in- ner fears that can be successfully addressed during the sales process. Buyers of urgent care occupational health services gen- erally have two motivations: helping their company save money and making their own life easier. Most occupational health sales emphasize the former: reduce injury/illness in- cidence and associated lost work time and save the employer money. Consequently, sales efforts focus on just that: how your clinic can proactively save the employer money. The “making the buyer’s life easier” motivating factor is often ignored. But many people are inherently parochial. They are concerned about their finite time, their daily bur- dens, and their professional success. It is likely you minimize this factor or ignore it altogether. You should strive to deter- mine the relative importance of professional vs. personal motivation and structure your sales approach accordingly. Professional Factors 1. Save the company money. 2. Enhance worker health status. Parochial Personal Factors 1. Save the individual buyer time. 2. Save the prospect “hassle.” 3. Make the prospect look better. Generally, you should incorporate both professional and personal factors in a benefit statement. For example: Frank Leone is president and CEO of RYAN Associates and exec- utive director of the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals. Mr. Leone and David Stern, MD, CPC are scheduled to speak at a pair of half-day seminars, Urgent Care: 40 Ways to Increase Profitability, in Tampa and Boca Raton, FL July 25 and 26. For more information about the seminars, call Megan Montana at (800) 666-7926, extension 13. Mr. Leone may be contacted at fleone@naohp.com. w w w. j u c m . c o m “I believe our clinic’s approach would provide your com- pany with a compelling opportunity to reduce your lost work- day experience and enhance the health of your workforce. Fur- ther, it should make life easier for you, since our clinic provides the tracking, reports, and verbal updates that you have been generating piecemeal.” Prospects run the gamut of personality types from those who genuinely place the welfare of their company above all else to those who are card-carrying members of the “me, myself, and I” crowd. You should assess just where each prospect seems to fall on this continuum and position your sales approach accordingly. The key to a successful sales encounter involves the ap- plication of three classic communication principles: ask the right question(s), listen, and probe. Asking the right questions will help you to readily iden- tify a pressing problem that can be placed on the table for solution. Typically, a sales professional asks only about pro- fessional problems, i.e., “What is your company’s most sig- nificant health and safety problem?” As part of this process, they should also investigate the potential personal ramifications of these professional prob- lems. For example: Ⅲ “What is the most frustrating aspect of your job?” Ⅲ “What activity causes you to lose the most amount of valuable time?” Ⅲ “When it comes to workers’ compensation costs (or workplace health and safety) what do you personally need to achieve to really be successful?” Such questions can serve two valuable functions: 1. You can usually place the prospect on a pretty reliable place on the “care about my company vs. care about myself” continuum. If the prospect does not offer much in response to the preceding questions, there is a strong like- lihood that you can safely retreat to the “best for the company” arena. JUCM T h e J o u r n a l o f U r g e n t C a r e M e d i c i n e | J u n e 2 0 0 8 35