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'Prescription Before Diagnosis is Malpractice'

This famous quote (from the book 'Relationship Selling' by Jim Cathcart) identifies a weakness...

...in both the sales and service areas of our business. In sales, we often begin to sell the product before we fact-find. In service, we attempt to diagnose as early as the appointment call. In either case, we're setting ourselves up for unhappy customers and lost revenues.

The Medical Sales Connection

Are you aware that hospitals and doctors can receive financial benefits for pushing certain drugs? That's right! Pharmaceutical companies reward physicians with trips and other incentives for prescribing their medications. In the same way, salesman often direct a customer to a vehicle with high grosses or spiffs attached to it even if it doesn't meet the customer's needs.

The Service Connection

During the flu season, most patients will come in and ask for antibiotics. In years past, physicians would routinely prescribe this medicine as a precaution for bacterial infection. Today we've learned that this practice has resulted in "super-bugs" that are more resistant to antibiotics. In the Service Department, it?s also common to give a diagnosis based on past experience and vehicle characteristics. But in today's world of computer controlled systems, the symptoms described by the customer can be the result of several different components.

Simple and Effective Solutions

The key to providing solutions in sales is to fact-find first. In service, let the technician determine the cause and avoid jumping to conclusions in advance. The end result will be more sales, fewer comebacks and happier customers.