Over spring break, I was blessed enough to go on a Disney cruise with my family. While aboard the ship, I had the opportunity to meet some great people. I ended up meeting Mrs. Amy Chouinard, a therapist who owns her very own practice. Professor Sweet offered extra credit for students who implemented sales rules into casual conversations and gave summaries of them, and here is the summary of my conversation with Amy.
Amy has been struggling to manage all her employees, clients, scheduling, and billing. I decided to ask her about incorporating some type of management software instead of hand-recording everything, even in a computer. I initially asked about how her experience has been managing all these different tasks. She emphasized a lot how much of a challenge it is and how frustrating trying to even remember everything can be. I responded that it sounds exhausting, and asked how she currently manages everything (rule 12: answer a question with a question). She said that she does everything mostly manually and uses a mix of physical notes and a digital calendar for scheduling, and billing is an entirely separate process. I asked how that impacts her time with her clients or even her personal time (concept 5: never ask an unasked question). She said that she tries to not let it affect her life outside of work, but she stays up late often trying to prepare for clients or figure out administrative things, so it cuts into her personal time more than she wants it to. I said that it sounds pretty tough, and asked what her ideal solution for managing these tasks would look like (rule 13: no mind reading). She said that something that just streamlines everything into one platform would be incredibly helpful. I replied that having everything integrated into one platform sounds like it could be a game-changer for her. I then asked if there was a way to manage all the notes and scheduling and billing all in one platform like she was talking about, about how much time could that save her each week (rule 14: a prospect who is listening is no prospect at all). She exclaimed that it would probably save her hours and allow for more time with her clients and her family. In a way, I sort of sold her a hypothetical software solution, but having a natural conversation about her needs and really listening to her issues was a lot more engaging and revealing than I thought it would be.
BoweryJE22
This is great. It is cool how you implemented the rules into your conversation with Amy. It is awesome how just in a regular conversation, whether we realize it or not, we are practicing our sales skills. I am glad you pursued this opportunity to develop your skills and get to know a good person.
What a great interaction with an interesting person! As a therapist, I am sure the art of sales is a common occurrence. Since a core concept of selling is listening. A therapist needs to understand what his or her clients needs are and the quickest way to uncover that is asking evolving questions throughout the session of listening. Although a majority of your discussion did not involve her dissecting her career, it must’ve been an interesting interaction for the therapist to do the one talking and you the salesperson do the listening.