This week, I met with a potential physician liaison new hire who tried to close me too hard and too early in our meeting.

Yes, it was frustrating and rubbed me the wrong way, but…

I have to say I felt for the guy.

Here’s why…

He was doing exactly what he had been trained to do. 

I was trained to do the same thing when I first started my career in healthcare sales.

Did he even have any idea how out of touch with his customers he would be if he took the role he was interviewing for?

So… What does closing look like in today’s world and how can your physician liaison close the sale without getting the door closed in their face?

(Side bar: I know a lot of you reading this article are uncomfortable with the word “sales”.

If you think about it, everything in life is sales.

Tell a friend about a great movie or restaurant; sales. Persuade your kids to eat their veggies or go to bed on time; sales. Encourage a patient to receive treatment with your practice because you know you can offer them great care and a great outcome; sales.

If it helps, replace the word “sales” with sharing or serving.

OK, side bar’s over but that’s an article for another day.)

Here are 5 tips for closing the sale without getting the door closed in your face:

Focus on serving over selling.

You’ve heard me say this before, but it never stops being true.

When you focus on serving the customer and meeting their needs, you’re able to build trust and rapport. Then sales become the organic result of meeting the customer’s needs.

Listen to the customer.

How can you know what a customer’s needs are if you don’t first ask and then listen?

Too often, sales folks go in and spew their spiel having no idea what the customer’s needs are or how they can best meet those needs.  

Then they go straight for the close. “So, will you buy my product?”

No wonder so many sales folks are seen as obnoxious and out of sync with their customers.

Earn the right to close.

Take the time to connect with your customers. Get to know their unique challenges and how your product can help solve those challenges. 

If you’re unclear, try asking what it would take for the customer to be willing to give your product/device/practice a try. 

Timing is everything.

The close can’t happen too soon in the conversation. 

This was a mistake the interviewee made with me. He started asking where he ranked in the lineup before he even shared his background with me.

While he was ready to move to the next round of interviews, I still didn’t know the first thing about him.

Now before you make a hasty judgement on this guy, let that sink in for a second…

We make this mistake all the time.

We know how great our practice, procedures and outcomes are. We know patients should have surgeries with us and doctors should refer to us. 

But (and it’s a big but)…

They don’t always know that yet.

They need the time and information to catch up.

Make sure your customer has all the information they need before moving on in the conversation. 

Ask your customers if they have questions or if there is any other information you can provide for them. 

Once they have all the information they need, you can proceed with asking the customer to give your product a try. 

Something is better than nothing.

It’s tempting to go into an account and ask for the moon but if a customer isn’t currently working with you, asking them to try your product is a great place to start.  

Asking for the business doesn’t have to be daunting. 

Serve your customers well and remember that it’s a relationship not a transaction.