It's not just 'selling'...you're educating your veterinary clients

The majority of veterinarians and veterinary nurses don't like to be thought of as salespeople.

However, veterinary clinics are a business, and businesses must make money in order to operate.

It may help to think of ourselves as educating our clients rather than selling to them. By teaching our clients about the products and services that we recommend for their pets, our patients receive the highest standards of care, and that is the main reason most of us entered the profession.

Whatever we call it, effective communication of recommendations to our clients is a critical skill for the whole team to learn, but one that is rarely taught at vet or nursing school.

It is important to be aware of the four stages involved within a sales situation:

1. Establishing Rapport – these are the warm up events that include such things as the way you introduce yourself and how you begin the conversation.

Tip: Using the pet's and client's names is imperative.

2. Needs Analysis – ascertaining what the client needs with the use of effective questioning techniques.

Tip: Open questions gain the most amount of information.

3. Underpinning Knowledge – you need to demonstrate to your customer that you have a solution that will solve their problem. Know your products; know the features and most importantly know the benefits!

Tip: Put together a product comparison chart.

4. Obtaining Commitment – any successful sales situation will end with a commitment from your customer. In most instances this should result in a client making a purchase.

Tip: Use the Yes/Yes option - would you like the 3 pack or the 6 pack?

Successfully communicating with a wide variety of clients can sometimes be challenging.

All of us have different methods of communication and preferred styles of learning. For example we know that clients don't always remember what they've been told but this may be due to the fact that they are not auditory learners as opposed to them not paying attention.

By being aware of our own individual communication and learning styles, we can observe our clients and try to ensure that we deliver information to them in a format that they understand. By interacting with them in a way that they can relate to, we can impart our knowledge effectively and improve compliance rates, benefitting the business, our clients and most importantly of all our patients.

About Deb

Deb has almost 30 years’ experience in the veterinary industry, having worked in a variety of roles during that time. Deb is passionate about delivering outstanding customer service and helping others to do the same. Deb works for Crampton Consulting Group delivering customer service training. 

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