Submitted by Brad Reddell, Sales Rep, IMS:
What do Directors of Surgery, Surgeons, and Columbus have in common?
A different way of looking at the world can change the face of history.
This was a client we had done “spotty” business with previously, nothing consistent. My goal with this account was to alter the perception of our company from that of a reactive “call if there is a problem” company to a Surgical Management Partner. Changing the way they do business while getting them comfortable and confident with this change. A big task!
Prior to the meeting, to set expectations, I FedEx’ed each person a miniature galleon ship in a bottle. Tied to the bottle was a piece of hand burned paper with quotes from the original Columbus ship logs. These quotes mirrored the internal resistance the client was up against. The quotes begin with resistance to change:
“. . . I am having serious trouble with the crew; they feel the risk is high. Despite the signs of land that we have seen they want the old way. All day long and all night long those who are awake and able to get together never cease to talk to each other in circles, complaining.”
Followed by a shift in perception when the crew cited land:
“…The crew of the Pinta spotted some of the same reeds and some other plants; they also saw what looked like a small board or plank. And on the horizon…We have found land!”
Props sent to the client ahead of time
I then invited them to consider a different way of looking at their world and to “Explore IMS –Broadening the scope of your horizons.”
The day of the meeting, all seven (very busy) Directors of Surgery and Surgical Team Leaders showed up, quite intrigued! We provided a seafood lunch with old ships and music, sailing, and bird sounds (a few people passing by the meeting room were curious as well).
As I began my presentation, I reviewed our plan and reminded them (even though they were well aware) their teams, like Columbus’s crew, had and would resist change. I pointed out that many times you feel trouble is ahead when a “crew feels the risk is high.” When you change how you do business, you run up against resistance. But the rewards from change can be great, and help you broaden the scope of your horizons.
I then proceeded to use a photo of Shaquille O’Neal and another shorter NBA player to illustrate that we understood they were being asked to do more with less, and that doing more with less is tough and looks like a huge challenge, but with great partnerships and a great team behind you, it can be done. This contrasted their pain (being asked to do with less) against the gain they would receive from our services (a surgical management partner to assist in showing methods to excel).
They had seen a competitor with a similar offering. At that meeting, they’d stopped the presentation before it was finished and asked, “All right, all right, so how much?”
Shaquille O’Neal shows Contrast
The client loved our presentation and ideas. Not only were the attendees riveted, they said they had never seen anything like this before. We scheduled next steps that day!
The Corporate Visions approach helped me make great steps with this client. It helped me position IMS as a Surgical Management Partner. Our next meeting is ahead and is yet another milestone that needs to be reached before closing this deal. It will be very important to keep the attention focused and the need for differentiation is crucial. Corporate Visions’ techniques will again play a big part.
As a side note, my sons Braden (6) and Brett (9) were involved in helping me prepare my props by burning the edges of the pre-meeting flyer. They loved helping Daddy “burn it up.” And they didn’t even get in trouble this time…….
by Brad Reddell, Sales Rep, IMS
