Brush Up....

"Dad, what was that foamy thing the dentist stuck in my mouth?" PJ asked me the other night at bedtime.

"Fluoride treatment," I responded. "It's keeps your teeth strong and prevents cavities."

"It tasted like soap," he retorted. "I thought I was going to throw up!"

I laughed.

"Brush your teeth," I said. "Let's keep you cavity-free."

I thought about the dentist a moment. We'd both had visits that day.

He's a good dentist, but he's not big on explanations. That can be a big problem both in dentistry and in sales.

"Looks like you might need a root canal," he told me.

"Whab dobya mead MIEMPT?" I said, trying to talk with his hands in my mouth.

"You have a cavity here between your molars," he explained poking me with his probe.

"OUTHCH!"I yelled as he hit a nerve. "Ith dere a mudder opthun?"

"See? The dark area is the cavity," he said pointing to my x-ray. "The other dark area is the nerve. See how close together they are?"

I'd already felt that.

Then, he silently continued to clean my teeth.

He may have been silent to give me time to think. But my problem with his silence is he seemed to be avoiding my question about other options. He didn't ask me if I had any other questions.

If he were in sales (which he is whether he acknowledges it or not) I'd tell him he needs to brush up on his closing technique. He should have explained the procedure, calmed my fears, and tried to close the deal. Instead he just probed at my gums until they bled and quietly made notes on his chart. I'm not sure if he was trying to intimidate me with fear or if he really didn't know what to say next.

I didn't make another appointment as I left the dentists office. I don't want to wait until it's an emergency, but I want to consider my options.

His silence wasn't very convincing.

Takeaway: Sometimes as a salesperson you can talk too much. But other times you can talk too little. Closing a deal often requires you to ask for questions, explain alternatives and ask the customer to take the next step. Are you fully answering both spoken and unspoken questions? How can you "drill down" to get to the "root" of the customers hesitancy? (Sorry, bad pun. But I couldn't resist!)