Diagnostic Selling: The Selling Technique Your Doctor Prescribed

As an internet marketer, as well as someone who engages with sales every day, I always find myself looking for the hidden nuances in advertising. This is especially true when I am really looking to buy something, where I find myself constantly rating the seller based on their ability to monitor the sales situation. It is incredibly interesting to see how people behave during the sales process.

Diagnostic sales are nothing new. In fact, if you’ve ever been to a doctor or dentist, you’ve experienced its brutal efficacy first-hand. Diagnostic sales are so effective, in fact, that many of the world’s leading sales-oriented organizations are transitioning their sales force from a “consultative” to a diagnostic approach.

Why Diagnostic Sales Are So Effective

If you consider how the sales process works, it will only take you a second to realize that diagnostic sales is simply about providing a solution to your customers’ problem, whatever the problem. Whether that solution is the ideal pair of shoes for your ailing foot or a multi-million dollar ad campaign for your ailing sales, your role in the diagnostic process is to determine and recommend an effective solution.

The reason it is so effective is quite simple. People hate being sold to them, but they love being given answers to their problems. It’s basic psychology: By changing the sales process from being a “sales” situation and instead a “solution-focused” situation, you remove the psychological stigma of being “sold.”

Learn to “prescribe”

Using the sales diagnostic process is pretty easy, it just requires you to reorganize your sales vocabulary and thought process a bit.

The first step is to eliminate any preconceptions about what the sale will end up being. What makes the diagnostic approach so effective is that you take the time to listen to your customers’ needs and problems and only provide a solution once you have one to solve them. Would you give you a prescription your doctor gave you for weight if you didn’t take the time to listen to your symptoms first?

Step One: Take the time to fully listen and understand your customers’ needs before making a recommendation.

The second step is to ask exploratory questions that complement the needs or problems of our clients. For example, if your customer is looking for a new car but is not sure what type of vehicle to buy, it would be a good idea to find out what they will use their vehicle for. Will they go off the road? Do they have children? Is speed and performance important to them? Do they need storage space? Questions like these will ensure you get the full story, as well as reassure your client that you are there to help.

Step Two: Ask questions to complete your needs analysis so you have a clear idea of ​​what your customer needs.

The third (and final) step is to create and submit a recommendation that sufficiently addresses the needs of your customers. Going back to our previous car analogy, if your client said they are going camping, planning to have kids next year, and they need a vehicle that is great in the snow, now you know that a CUV / SUV is probably an ideal solution for them. Knowing that, you can comfortably and confidently make a recommendation that meets your needs.

Step Three: Present your recommendation with confidence and explain to your client how it meets their needs.

Some other important information

You will notice that price was never a topic of conversation during this process. The reason for this is simple: the correct solution regardless is the correct solution, of price. If you are recommending the right solution to your customer, and your customer knows and understands that you are doing it, price will not be a big concern. If the price becomes an objection, you can move from there and respond accordingly.

Just remember this: people won’t care until they see how much you care about yourself. Aim to provide genuine service to your customers and your customer satisfaction, not to mention your overall sales performance, will take flight!