O CC U PAT I O N A L M E D I C I N E The Herd Mentality and Occupational Health Sales ■ FRANK H. LEONE, MBA, MPH T he Merriam-Webster dictionary defines herd as “a group of individuals usually having a common bond” or “a number of animals kept under some type of human control.” So let us think bulls (to some, a fitting metaphor for a piece on sales). For every early adaptor or contrarian, there seem to be 10 other people who prefer to follow the leader. For every buyer of urgent care occupational health services who buys offen- sively out of desire, there appear to be 10 who buy defensively out of fear. The secret to playing the herd mentality card to your advan- tage is twofold: 1. to discern to what degree your prospect is a defensive buyer 2. to understand and employ the “herd mentality” selling approach when you do identify such a defensive buyer. More people see the world as stark black or white as op- posed to a more realistic gray. For example, a preponderance of Hollywood movies simplistically portray characters as either a hero or a villain to the core. Left behind is a balanced portrait of the human spirit. We seem to live in a world in which the bandwagon is a convenient place to land. There are usually abundant signs to suggest where one fits along the early adaptor/market follower continuum. For exam- ple, early adaptors tend to “march to the beat of their own drummer.” Size up your prospect; does he appear, act, or dress differ- ently than other prospects in similar positions? What does her office look like; does it make a statement or is its décor generic? If the answer is the former, save the herd mentality approach for the next prospect. Frank Leone is president and CEO of RYAN Associates and executive director of the National Association of Occupational Health Professionals. Mr. Leone is the author of numerous sales and marketing texts and periodicals, and has considerable experience training medical profes- sionals on sales and marketing techniques. E-mail him at fleone@naohp.com. 40 Prospects most amenable to a herd mentality approach are easy to spot. They tend to be cautious, preferring to fit in with their surroundings. Check out their clothes, jewelry, haircut, or office décor. These prospects are more likely to make decisions out of fear and follow the lead of others. Once you’ve identified which prospects are likely to fol- low the herd, you can employ a couple of strategies to appeal to their comfort zone based on your position within the marketplace. Market Leader Strategies If your clinic is the market leader (or the only viable player) you need to make the most of your leadership: Ⅲ Frequently call attention to this leadership position. Be pre- pared to tell the prospect why your leadership will ben- efit them in case they have not or cannot make this con- nection themselves. For example: “Gotham Urgent Care provided occupational health serv- ices to 81 of the 100 largest employers in Gotham City dur- ing the past year. I believe you will find that this strong en- dorsement from your fellow employers will provide your company with confidence regarding our ability to manage your health and safety and lower your associated costs.” Ⅲ Use testimonial quotes. Obtain and use quotes from sat- isfied clients in promotional literature or proposals. These quotes should convey a benefit statement to the prospect (e.g., “After two years, the Gotham Urgent Care approach has made a demonstrable decrease in our company’s health/safety costs.”). The more prospects recognize that a testimonial comes from a company or job title just like theirs, the more comfortable they will feel in working with your program and jump on your proverbial bandwagon. Gathering testimonials can be done through an annual questionnaire. Build a library of such testimonial quotes, dividing them by such categories as industry type, job ti- tle, and testimonial message. Correspondence to herd 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 | D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 8 w w w. j u c m . c o m