What I can understand from your question is that you either are or planning to sell equipment to dentists. I have been associated with SALES TEAM in my company as an HR. Selling things is really a difficult job to get down with, especially to professionals like dentists who know their equipment much better than a Sales personnel. Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is a branch of medicine that consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of the oral cavity, commonly in the dentition but also the oral mucosa, and of adjacent and related structures and tissues, particularly in the maxillofacial (jaw and facial) area. Although primarily associated with teeth among the general public, the field of dentistry or dental medicine is not limited to teeth but includes other aspects of the craniofacial complex including the temporomandibular joint and other supporting, muscular, lymphatic, nervous, vascular, and anatomical structures.
The business of dentist thrives due to sweetness. In fact, we taste sweetness more than any other flavour, our taste buds contain portions that can identify sweet stuff. Therefore, we are predisposed to craving sweet dishes and snacks. Our “sweet tooth” is not even a tooth, it’s our tongue, some parts of our palate on the roof of the mouth, and even as deep as our stomachs. This knowledge, which was until recently unknown to us, has been common among fast-food vendors and major companies dealing in easy foods or processed food. These companies fed into the desire for ready-made meals and the affinity for sweets and produced so much canned and processed food for masses to swallow up the whole.
Considering the timing of this innovative addition to the food industry, it would have been difficult to get the people to buy into it. It was in the 1950s when the TV had just made its debut and more women were getting jobs that gave them less time to be at home and cook meals for their families.
It was a lucky stroke really, aided by excellent marketing, It didn’t matter, the customer base grew and grew tremendously with catchy commercials and the products tailored to trigger our sweet teeth perfectly. These new prospects, great and “convenient” as they were, were not good enough to replace home-cooked meals, not because they weren’t viable bur because home economics teacher kept teaching kids growing up how to make these meals. There was literally no dependency on processed foods since ids could as well make their own meals. To fix for this was to enlist home economics to endorse these new-fangled processed meals as much better options. It stuck instantly, garnering enough support to oust home-cooked meals, thanks to the presence of Sugar, fat, and salt. Added to this fact that these processed foods are ultimately bad for your health in general, there is now present in those unhealthy meals, larger amounts of sugar. It became increasingly obvious that the continued consumption of sugars and processed food was extremely unhealthy and ultimately detrimental to the quality of life, but people ignored all these clear red flags and stocked up on or more of the same foods. This increased indulgence in the sweet temptation led to a worrying increase in the cases of tooth decay in children. Further investigation showed an even more worrying trend set into motion once again by the most powerful tool of advertisement in the 70s-the television. It turns out kids were getting affected by the hidden sugars because they watched ads on TV that sold them on several breakfast cereals. These cereals were later found to contain insane amounts of sugar which were why they caused too widespread decay in children and occasional sugar rush.
From the above facts’ children cover most of the patient pie when it comes to dentist’s patient list. This is an important fact that is exploited by COLGATE, it knows that sugars cause tooth decay and cavities, so they employ dentists to advertise for their ads. Colgate is an American brand principally used for oral hygiene products such as toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, and dental floss. Manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive, Colgate oral hygiene products were first sold by the company in 1873, sixteen years after the death of the founder, William Colgate. The company originally sold soap. This relationship is exploited by MESWAK as well adding ayurvedic medication to the formula. Meswak (also referred to as Miswak) is a toothpaste brand that was launched in India by Balsara Hygiene in 1998.The toothpaste is marketed as a herbal toothpaste as it is made from extracts of the Salvadora persica plant. The brand was relatively unknown until a television advertising campaign during the 1998 Coca-Cola Cup spread brand awareness. In 2005, Meswak was sold by Balsara to Dabur along with other Balsara toothpaste brands Babool and Promise in a ₹1.43 billion (US$20 million) deal. As of 2007, the Meswak brand was valued at ₹200 million (US$2.8 million).
Whenever you go to a dentist keep these facts in mind and prepare a good presentation on your product and how will it boost his patient’s numbers, and how will he be able to earn profits. Before you begin sell your product to the dentist try to listen to him. Studies have shown that most listeners retain less than 50% of what they hear. Good listeners are rare these days. Studies have shown that most listeners retain less than 50% of what they hear. Imagine what that means when it comes to a conversation that you might have with your boss, a colleague, or a prospect. There are five key aspects of becoming an active listener. You are probably already employing some of them but may need to practice others. However, once you are using these tools over time, you will find that they get easier and easier. Plus, you’ll learn so much about your prospects and have such better results from your sales presentations that you will be positively reinforced each time you practice.
Pay close attention: With this step, you learn to give the speaker your undivided attention. But you also let the speaker know that you are listening by using acknowledgements – types of verbal and non-verbal tools that help add proof that you are truly listening.
a) Stop any mental chatter
b) Do not start preparing your response or rebuttal while the other person is talking
c) Make sure your environment does not distract you
And in face-to-face sales presentations:
i. Look the speaker in the eyes
ii. Notice the speaker’s body language and tone of voice – what are the non-verbal messages telling you?
iii. If you are in a group, avoid side conversations
Demonstrate that you are listening:
i. Use non-verbal and verbal signals that you are listening to the speaker attentively.
ii. Nod from time to time, when appropriate
iii. Use appropriate facial expressions
iv. Monitor your own body language. Be sure you remain open and relaxed rather than closed and tense.
v. Use small comments like ‘uh-huh’, ‘yes’, ‘right’.
Check for understanding: It is possible for the other person’s message to get mistranslated or misinterpreted, so that we hear a message that was not intended. Before responding, it is important to check for understanding using these tools.
a) Use reflecting and paraphrasing. Check that you heard the message correctly by saying things like “what I hear you saying is…” or “If I’m hearing you correctly, you’re saying…” or “I think you’re talking about…”.
b) Ask questions that will help clarify the speaker’s meaning. Suggestions include things like, “Can you tell me more about…?” or “What did you mean when you said…?” or “I think you’re saying…is that right?”
c) Summarize what you have heard occasionally – do not wait until the end or you might not remember exactly what was said.
d) Practicing this tool is also excellent preparation for dealing with objections from customers.
Do not Interrupt: There is nothing good that comes from interrupting the speaker. You will only be limiting your chance of understanding the message because you won’t hear it all – and because the speaker will get frustrated.
Respond Appropriately: When you are actively listening, you are showing your respect for the speaker, as well as gaining the information that you need to form your response. Once you have that information and have clarified it, it is time to form your reply. When expressing your thoughts:
a) Be honest and open
b) Be respectful
c) Be thorough
Remember that a sales presentation is not a one-way form of communication. In addition to listening, a successful sales presentation requires that you are able to respond to questions, concerns, or points that the customer raises. You must be able to respond well, whether in person, over the phone, or in writing. You must be able to clearly communicate solutions to the prospect’s problems if the prospect is ever going to become a customer. Imagine you are on one side of a wall and the person you want to communicate with is on the other side of the wall. But there is more than the wall in the way. The wall is surrounded by barriers. These barriers could be things like different cultures, different expectations, different experiences, different perspectives, or different communication styles, to name just a few. You might experience only one of these barriers at a time, or you might find yourself facing them all. Getting your message to the other person during your sales presentation requires that you recognize that these barriers exist between you, and that you then apply the proper tools, or communication skills, to remove those barriers preventing your message from getting through. Of course, since communication is a two-way street, the person on the other side of those barriers will also try to send messages back to you. Your ability to understand them clearly could be left to a dependence on their ability to use communication skills. But that’s leaving the success of the communication with your customer to chance. Instead, you can also use your own communication skills to ensure that you receive messages clearly as well. Finally, there is not only one point in your communication with another person at which you have to watch out for barriers. To be successful at communicating, it’s important to recognize that these barriers to communication can occur at multiple points in the communication process – before, during, or after the sales presentation.
Remember that communication skills involve both verbal and non-verbal communication. When communicating with others, the non-verbal aspects of what we are saying are actually more important than the words that we use. In fact, if the two conflict, we will automatically believe the non-verbal communication we are receiving over the verbal. So, what do we mean by non-verbal communication? Mainly, we are referring to tone of voice and body language. Tone of voice is responsible for about 35–40 percent of the message we are sending. It involves the volume, emotion, and emphasis in our voice when we speak.
Over half of the message we are sending can be due to body language. Body language is especially important in a face-to-face sales presentation because it is a subconscious way that we communicate, and it is one that we recognize in others on instinct. Examples of body language include:
a. Facial expressions
b. The way you stand or sit
c. Any swaying or other movement
d. Gestures with your arms or hands
e. Eye contact (or lack thereof)
f. Breathing rate
g. Swallowing or coughing
h. Blushing
i. Fidgeting
Basically, body language includes anything you are doing with your body besides speaking. We recognize this communication instinctively, without having to be told what it means. When you speak or present to your customers, you need to be fully aware of your body language. You want your physical signals to support what you are saying rather than contrasting it. Otherwise you will leave your customer with the impression that you do not believe what you are saying – so why should they? A great way to know what kind of body language you are using is to have someone watch you during a sales presentation and then give you feedback. Or try videotaping yourself as you practice the presentation, then watch it for any body language that you need to eliminate.
Modern Sales process includes:
1. Seller knows the prospect and his needs. In a business to business sales relationship, this means also understanding the prospect’s marketplace and what their customers, suppliers, and partners need.
2. Value of the seller’s offering is judged by sales price plus non-financial aspects related to Corporate Social Responsibility such as ethics and the environment.
3. Prospect may deal with anyone in the organization both before and after the sale.
4. Organization’s focus for salespeople is on retaining and expanding current sales relationships (though new customers are also sought)
Before you could possibly prepare a successful sales presentation, you should be able to answer the following questions about your prospects:
a. What are their needs?
b. What are their challenges?
c. What do their own customers and partners need?
d. How can my product or service meet the prospect or the prospect’s customers’ needs or assist with the challenges that the prospect is facing?
e. How will my product or service make the prospect more competitive in their own marketplace?
f. How can I communicate these benefits to the prospect in a way that they will recognize the value that my product or service is offering?
If you do not know the answer to these questions, you won’t be effective at presenting to your prospects. However, you might not know all of this information when you first contact the prospect. Your first contact might involve some information-gathering with the prospect before you can know all of this information. In fact, few of us ever start the process of sales presentations with a face-to-face presentation. We usually start with a phone or written presentation before we are invited to present to the organization face-to-face.
At last you must have the knowledge of the sales process giving each point equal priority. These points are:
1. Prospecting
2. Identifying the problem
3. Generating Solutions
4. Presenting
5. Negotiating and closing
6. Servicing
7. Repurchasing.
Keep all these points in mind and your sales will be success. Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
