An optometrist was very eager to give me his opinion on “selling”. His attitude was that “selling” cheapens and degrades the profession of optometry. Optometrists and their staffs should not be salespeople. Optometrists should be the best doctors they can be and their staffs should be a reflection of that.
Agreed! 100%!! Optometrists should be the best doctors they can be and their staffs shouldreflect that. Absolutely! Unequivocally!
He went on to say that people like me, who teach selling to eye care professionals, should be ashamed of themselves; that we appeal to the lowest common denominator of money-grubbing optometrists. Ouch! It’s not the first time I’ve heard this from someone who’s never attended one of my workshops.
“Doctor, are you telling me that you’re dedicated to the health and comfort of your patient’s visual health? 100%?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied.
“Wonderful! Would you happen to know the percentage of your patients that purchase more than one pair of eyewear from you?”
“Maybe 5 or 10%, if I had to guess.”
“How many pair does your average patient need?”
“On average? Three pair.”
“So, your patients are leaving with less than they need? Hmm, so how is it that you’re not in jail?”
I shared with this doctor the following information: A woman won a $2.1 million settlement against her cardiologist for failing to give her an aspirin. Yep, an aspirin! It was to be given to the patient before an angioplasty. But, because the patient received less than what was needed, she developed gangrene and lost a foot.
Think about this: If you put your trust into the hands of any other kind of physician… a cardiologist, an oncologist, an orthopedist, etc., and they gave you less than what you needed, at the very least, isn’t that grounds for a lawsuit?
80% of patients in this country leave their eye doctor’s offices with just one pair of glasses. Yet, every time I ask eye care professional how many pairs of eyewear their average patients need, I never hear “just one.”
Is it OK for anyone, in any health care field, to give their patients less than what they need? Just how do we get away with this? More importantly, why would we want to get away with this? What’s the benefit to the doctor? To the patient? Shouldn’t we have a higher standard?
I shared with my new optometric acquaintance that I don’t teach “selling” the way most people understand that term. Rather, I teach a very simple methodology of asking precise, gentle questions, at specific times. These questions help patients recognize how their visual challenges affect their daily lives, at work, at home, at play, indoors, and outdoors. At this point, patients tend to ask for solutions to these challenges. As a by-product, multiple pair sales just happen to increase!
Hey, I’m just trying to keep you out of jail!
