Salesman

So I had a brief encounter with a salesman in Harvey Norman today and a few thoughts occurred to me. This is how it went...

I was browsing around the laptop and phone section, wasn't looking for anything in particular, just trying to pass the time. I'm dressed as scruffily as possible, t-shirt, shorts and thongs.

Try to get past the appearance of a patient. IT MEANS NOTHING. as most people go I do fairly well for myself but I do not dress like it. When someone says they can't afford dentistry it doesn't mean they have no money, it simply means they do not see enough benefit in spending the money they have on what you are offering. When a patient requires comprehensive treatment planning we have a duty to inform them of options we assume is past their means. The right patient with the right motivation will spend much more than you will expect if they think you and your skills are worth the money.

A salesman comes and asks if there's anything I need. He smells... a fair bit.

Conversely to our patients, our appearance is everything. I've let myself slip lately because I'm out of the private system but the way we present and hold ourselves at our workplace and in public is of utmost importance. We are always on show. When patients come to see us, even if they believe that having a "professional" dentist isn't high in their list of priorities we have to present ourselves according to our most picky patients. Most people would be put off by a dentist who looks unclean, smells bad, and is rude to them. I wanted to get out of that store very quickly. 

The look of the practice and your staff are important as well. Modern looking isn't a priority but things need to look clean and the staff need to be professional. It is possible to be friendly and professional at the same time. Often times the practice website or storefront is the first interaction that the patient has with our practice. It can be make or break if what they see doesn't impress them. Appearance is paramount in developing trust. The way you present your practice and staff can be huge in building or decreasing the apprehensiveness of the patient even before you meet them.

I said no, was just having a look. He asks which phone carrier I'm with because they've moved exclusively to Optus and can offer a $400 gift card if I switch to Optus.  I say I'm already with Optus. He says, oh. Would I be willing to switch my number for a $400 gift card.

Here he's ignoring my goals and is pushing a sale. Instead of trying to dig deeper and work out if there is anything that I need that he can help with he is telling me what I want. If he does this many times he will find people that are interested in this deal and will make sales. But I'm not convinced this could worth in healthcare. "Hi sir, what can I do for you?" "Not really, just looking for a checkup" "By the way we have a special on tooth whitening for $199, is that something you'd be interested in?" You can't create interest in a patient who isn't interested. Ask, then let them tell you what they need. The more you try to sell and create faux interest the more it will come back to bite you in the future when they realise they didn't really want what you were offering.

Honestly I would hesitate more to change my phone number than to undergo a medical surgery that I require. I've had this number for years...

I politely decline. He says well if there's any friends who want to switch to Optus I can send them his way to get a $400 gift card.

He's pushing this deal again, I'm not someone who is interested in what he is offering and he's repeating it again. He thinks this selling point is his best ammunition to make a sale but it's not effective on me. Revisiting the same thing is unlikely to work the second time around. It stinks of desperation and turns me off him as a salesman. I've practically stopped listening at this point and am wondering when I can leave.

He asks what phone I currently have. I say, an old iphone, not sure which one, my sister gave it to me as a hand me down. He takes me across to the iphone section and begins to try to sell them.

This can indicate one of a few things: 
I don't know what phone I have so it's not terribly important to me which phone I have...
I have an old phone so I could use a replacement...
My sister had to give me a hand me down phone so I don't have much money to spend on elective things...

It's the first one. 

Patient who can list to you tiny issues they have, small stains in non aesthetic areas and rotations that even you didn't spot have a heightened awareness of their dental condition. Usually it's aesthetic. I joke with them and call them paranoid about their teeth. I joke but it's true. Some of them need to be reassured that they're the only ones that can see the "problems" they're seeing and some can undergo treatment that is meticulously planned. The higher their preoperative expectations the more of a "perfect" result you need to achieve. 

On the other hand, those who have obvious "problems" like severe wear, staining, caries that don't know they have an issue have a low awareness of their dental condition. This doesn't mean that you can't convince them to undergo treatment. You can absolutely do so but you need to spend a lot more time in educating them about their condition and the consequences of no treatment. These are often people who don't want their teeth to degenerate but weren't aware that their health was declining because it happened slowly or wasn't visible.

No one wants the outcome of poor dental health. No one wants to not be able to chew, no one wants to look bad but the patients that are difficult to convince are those who have overriding factors that make dentistry inaccessible: Fear, cost, lack of time. These are the factors you need to uncover when you consult with a patient.  

Just because I have an old iphone doesn't mean I am looking for a new one. When patients come to us with worn or heavily restored dentitions they don't "need" treatment. There are many worn dentitions that are serviceable for many years even for life. Even debilitated dentitions can function if the patient has low mechanical and aesthetic needs. You shouldn't treat patients as you would like to be treated, you need to respect them enough to treat them as they would like to be treated. 

I say, are there any options other than iphone? It's the first iphone I've used and might be thinking of getting something different. He takes me across to the Samsung section. He asks what my current plan is. I say it's a $35 plan. In reality, I'm not actually sure what it is.

Just because I have an iphone now doesn't mean I want an iphone in the future. Just because the patient had resin additions in the past doesn't mean they won't accept porcelain in the future. Just because they had porcelain in the future doesn't mean they won't accept orthodontics. Needs, goals and priorities change over time just as people change over time. Just because there is a treatment you don't offer doesn't mean you can't offer it as part of your treatment plan. This is why referrals exist. This is why we need to educate ourselves about all facets of dentistry even if it is something we are not comfortable performing. As general dentists we should be the centre of planning and referring for the patient and we can't do this if we lack the knowledge about treatments we are going to be suggesting.

He says that the Samsung galaxy s10 is the best deal in the store, he takes out his phone and works out that the plan will cost a certain amount over 2 years and minusing the cost of the phone it would work out to be only about $285 for 85gB data over 2 years.

So he spent a good portion of his time working out how "low" the cost of the plan was. This is probably a positive tactic in sales as you'll appeal to the majority of people you encounter. Everyone loves a bargain. Unfortunately, although cost is a huge factor in why patients don't accept our treatment plans, it is not a good idea to discount our treatments to increase patient acceptance. It hurts our bottom line (we are trying to run a business) and devalues your treatment. You encourage a culture of discounting which will attract their friends sniffing for a good deal and the patient will wonder why you increased your prices so markedly when they had just become a loyal customer to you.

For me, cost is not a big factor when considering a mobile phone. Considering I wasn't even interested in getting a new phone it wasn't a factor at all. Convincing someone that they're getting a good deal is not a great way to sell them something they absolutely don't want. If a patient is seeking treatment but seems unsure about the cost, dropping the price from $1000 to $900 won't make the difference you are seeking. Often the people who were going to say no will still say no and the ones who were going to say yes anyway just saved them selves $100 right out of your pocket.

I thank him for his advice and he asks me if there's anything else I need.

Well this is okay I guess. Back to open ended questions, obviously I'm not interested in the phone route but this gives me the opportunity to explore other avenues. This is probably what he should have tried at the start instead of diving into the phones just because I was standing next to the phones. But to be fair he's probably a phone salesman.

An orthodontist will sell orthodontics, a periodontist will sell periodontics but a general dentist who is educated can sell anything. 

I say actually there is something I wanted to know. I saw that their camera section was nearby and I asked if they offer to clean lenses and sensors. He says they don't but gives me a couple of alternative places to get my DSLR cleaned.

I had actually forgotten that I wanted this done but his open ended question jogged my memory. The difference with this route is that I am conveying to him a need. He isn't trying to sell me something, I am trying to buy something off him. When patients come to us with obvious dental needs, we do have a duty to inform them of their conditions but the most powerful way to convince them to accept treatment is to get them to ask for it. Show them the caries, show them the gum disease, show them the wear and wait for the question: What can I do about this?
  
He said he got his lenses cleaned there not long ago. I asked about how much it cost him. He replies that for the two of them it was about $80.

Actually strangely I do care about the cost of this. I would hesitate to spend $200 on cleaning the lens and sensor of a camera I use at work but wouldn't hesitate to spend $2000 on a phone I use even more. People are strange like that. 

Again I thank him for his advice and go back to browsing around. He returns to his position near the entrance. Soon after, I leave and he ignores me on the way out.

He missed the opportunity here to extend the discussion to cameras which was his best bet. I had introduced the topic but it was cut short. Maybe he didn't have as much knowledge about the topic? Maybe he didn't think I could afford the product? Either way, the route wasn't pursued.

The way a patient leaves the practice is as important as how they entered it and how they were treated. The front staff and post operative care is what is freshest on their mind as they return home. A great experienced topped off by rude or dismissive front staff is a poor experience overall. In a practice with a good doctor but bad staff will get a reputation of having bad staff. It is easier to build a bad reputation than a good one.

This wasn't a very long encounter today but I found it interesting to reflect on how I was treated and how I responded to the salesman's interactions. It's not directly relevant to dentistry because the stakes and "products" are different but in the end it speaks volumes about how people interact and how you can't convince someone that they need something that they don't. At least you can't keep the facade up forever.