Better Diagnosis Quicker

In my cubrep days, one early Consultative Selling course imparted wisdom given two extremes of doctor.

One disinterested, writing in their illegible scrawl, only mumbling to tell you when to take your fresh meds.

The other, interested, looking you in the eye, asking you this-or-that, checking any second guessing, wishing you well when leaving, script in grateful hand heading soothed towards the pharmacy.

Caricatures sure. Yet with patient-medic plight alarming similar to the buyer-seller dynamic.

Whilst many a complaint can be left at the clinician's door, faults lie both ways.

In the quest to both prevent consultation overrun and more likely reach an accurate accepted recommendation, I read [sub'n req'd] on how this interaction could be improved. Many hold direct selling parallels.

With some of these ten selected we need be aware of to ensure they don't afflict our pitching and discovery conversations.

Grandmothers
Apparently patients able to ask a 'nan' can sometimes avoid going to the doctors in the first place. Magical women with a potential remedy for regular ailments. Who'd've thought it, hey. Is there an equivalent in your prospect organisation? Someone likely to have been there, and through the other side, before?

Pre-Written
A proven way to get the most from our all-too-brief slot, is to have written out beforehand what's up. The mere act of doing so helps clarify things in the mind. This is a great tactic to also use during a campaign. I myself for one particular Enterprise solution back in the day would send through a five-page questionnaire. Each answer deliberately needing only the odd word or number. Apart from the last couple. When filled-in, a deal winner. When not, well, how wisely do you qualify?

Chronology
Getting the timeline straight is vital. And how things led here. Doctor's example; 'when did the pain start, what sort of pain is it, how often do you get it?' Transferred onto a business setting, having a blank calendar to hand can help enormously. Even if you merely mock-up a 4x3 grid on a sheet of paper quickly. Let them roughly fill it in with their major markings.

Priorities
On occasion there can be so much vexing the mind of the prospect, recounting it all can prove overwhelming. And whilst the trust put in our ears can be a privilege, there's no chance of us fixing everything in their business. We must draw a line somewhere. The docs' suggest focus on the 'top three', for instance. Ones we can affect.

#1
Which leads into what is the absolute Number One priority. Can they name it? Can we uniquely resolve it? Can they see that?

Listen-Buddy
Apparently 'the average patient only remembers two things a doctor tells them'. And we meet many such 'typical' buyer. A friend can double your listening success. And so it might duly follow with a (carefully chosen) colleague of theirs on hand.

Hairdressers
We are not in a semi-social scene. Whilst front talk certainly has its place, we must establish rapport and get down to the important issue(s) at hand. No aimless discussion of holiday plans like at the salon.

Embarrassment
Some pain is tricky to reveal. Be prepared for this. 'Some people experience ..., others, ...' Allow for them to be perhaps a little fazed. We ought have questioning routines that respectfully allow for this.

Limbo
We must make explicit what happens next. Never leave a meeting with either us or them hanging. There's the list of to-dos. One rule of which, is that they never weigh heavier on our side. A prospect that doesn't do their fare share of the lifting is not a prospect. In the same way a patient ought be able to tell family what their new 'little white pills' actually do, we'll need our prospect to be in similar state of understanding.

Doorknobs
I've blogged on this phenomenon down the years [most recently through this pudding reference]. A concept made famous by TV detectives. Most notably Columbo and Morse. In their case, they leave their killer question to the very end. As they walk out the door. Leading it to also be known as the 'hat-stand close'. The other party being momentarily relaxed as they think the meet is done. But no. In the instance of a patient, as they reach for the door, they can leave what they really wanted to ask for that moment. At 'do or die' time. Both ways 'round it's very much our business to know about this, and utilise.