Nothing kills a deal like self doubt.

If you have been in the medical sales space for longer than a hot minute then you have already been there. You pull up to your last call point of the day after 10 rejections before that. You did your sales pitch and the doctor asked you a question that made you doubt everything you had learned up until that point. You get back in your car and wonder what in the world you are doing with your life.

You begin to question yourself.

You think someone else can do it better, has a better product, a better relationship with the doctor, more experience, you feel like a nuisance … the list goes on.

I have said it before and no doubt I will say it again after today. Most sales reps don’t make sales because they give up too quickly. Why do they give up? My guess is self-doubt has a lot to do with it.

80% of sales will occur after the 5th to 12th sales calls. Too many reps give up after just one or two calls. They let self-doubt stand in the way of their sales successes by simply giving up too soon.

Calling on doctors is hard work. They are busy, time poor and have already seen another 12 people just like you today. Everyone has a great product that will change their life, except, most of them won’t.

The good news is as an ancillary consultant, you don’t have just one product, you have dozens of products. There is something in your portfolio that most any independent physician can benefit from. Now you know that, let’s dig into self-doubt a little further.

To eliminate your self-doubt, you have a few areas you can work on.

Work out your doctor’s hot buttons – do they need more time, more money, better lab services, more patients, better solutions for their patients, improved revenue cycle, revenue return for empty rooms that are not currently utilized every day?  Have some good open-ended questions that help start a conversation that gets you to the heart of the matter with a doctor. When they talk – make sure you LISTEN!!

Questions you can use:

What are their top concerns about owning a practice?

If they could earn an extra $10,000 a month (or more) in revenue how would that help them?

What are the most important things they consider when looking at practice ancillaries?

What ancillaries have been effective in the past? Which were not? What were the reasons?

What do they like about their existing provider for labs/marketing/billing/medical supplies?

Asking questions like this will help you better understand your physician’s needs and wants and give you a good start to building rapport with your doctor. There are very few one call closes in medical sales so set yourself up to build a good relationship that will develop you as a trusted resource for the practice.

Know your product and have a process – with such a large offering as a medical ancillary consultant, it is hard to be an expert on everything. Have some good resources to support you, particularly until you have closed your first few sales. These resources will want to include printed materials – these give you a good reason to keep going back and deliver extra value. In your spare time – read, listen to videos and continue to learn about anything that can help you in navigating physician conversations.

Resources also include people that are more knowledgeable about your products than you are. These include vendor relations. Being connected as close to the vendor as possible means you have confidence you can get the answers you need when you need them. Also knowing the next steps in the process, help you guide the sale in a way that maximizes the value you bring to the practice. For example, if there is a practice analysis that needs to be completed, be hands-on in helping the practice complete it then work with the vendor to determine what the next step is. It is your job to manage that sale so make it your business to know what needs to be followed up on while supporting the practice.

Treat it like a marathon, not a sprint – being successful in this space is not something you do for a few months and then leave, Many people do … because of lack of preparation … and self-doubt, and they often leave with less money than they started.  Paychecks rarely come quickly. When training for a marathon, it takes time, dedication and commitment. You need the financial resilience to have a safety blanket of revenue while you train. As you make small gains, continue to build on them and stay committed to your course. Keep your eye on the finish line and do whatever it takes to get yourself there without injury.

Dedicate to growing every day – if we do what we have always done – we will get what we have always got. Very few things in life come easily. Becoming a professional at anything takes time and learning. Mentors are a great way to learn from other peoples challenges. The internet also provides a huge minefield of videos, articles, social connections and groups that we can learn and leverage from. Make a point of reading or learning something every day. Sign up for beneficial podcasts like the Every Ancillary Medical Sales Podcast and then some sales podcasts. Get in the habit of getting up early and strategize your goals for each day, week and month.

Find your purpose – the most compelling thing you can do to drive away self-doubt is to align a purpose with what you do. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete novice or a seasoned pro. When you have a purpose, it creates authenticity in what you do and say every day. Tap into a reason that compels you. When you have those days that make you question what you do, remind yourself of your purpose. That purpose could be reducing the incidence of diabetes because you have a personal story where you saw how it took a loved one’s leg or life. It could be you feel compelled to help doctors businesses improve their revenue efficiencies because you are passionate about helping small businesses thrive. Whatever it is, find the why that evokes an emotional response in you. It is that stuff right there that will make or break you. Ask Simon Sinek.

We all have days where we need to remind ourselves of our own strengths and why we deserve to be the one to get the sale. When you sense that feeling coming on, remind yourself that you deserve the sale, that you are committed, what you do makes a difference and fist bump the air on the way into your next sales call.