1. You aren’t really listening to your customers

2. You only offer expensive options

3. You aren’t overcoming the stigma of hearing aids

4. You have a high return rate

5. You aren’t offering exceptional support

6. The entire staff is not engaged in the sales process

Your audiologists should ask each customer questions throughout their journey and listen carefully to their answers. The inability to close a sale is often the result of:

• Not meeting the customer’s expectations
• Not listening
• Not asking the right questions
• Making incorrect assumptions

Instead of asking simple, closed questions such as “can you hear well,” spend time exploring how their hearing loss has negatively impacted their quality of life and how committed they are to improving their hearing. 

More than two-thirds (69%) of customers say it’s essential for salespeople to listen to their needs when trying to make a sale. Asking the right questions is the best way to understand each customer’s wants, needs, and “pain points.”

Ask things like:  

• When did you first become aware of your hearing loss? 
• How is it negatively impacting your life? 
• Which activities are you not enjoying as much as you used to? 
• How important is it to you to find a solution for your hearing loss? 
• How would it improve your life to find the right solution? 
• What do you expect a hearing aid to do for you? 

Recognize that customers have different comfort zones when it comes to budget, and if you only carry the highest-end, most expensive options, you’ll frighten off the customers that have more financial restrictions.

To combat this:

• Stock multiple options of hearing aids and accessories at different price points so you’re sure to find a solution that fits into each customer’s budget. 
• Don’t make assumptions about a customer’s financial circumstances – period. It doesn’t matter how they’re dressed, the neighborhood they live in, or any other factors.  

Treat all customers kindly and respect their budget parameters and restrictions. Help them find a suitable solution at a price they can afford. Also, offer them information about how they can get money back from their insurance or national hearing aid programs. 

Globally, more than 400 million people need hearing aids, but most people that would benefit from the devices don’t use them. Unfortunately, there’s a negative stigma around hearing aids, and some people resist getting them – even if they have a hearing loss. People often fear that the devices will make them appear old or weak.

Here’s how you can help:

• Explain that today’s hearing aids are innovative, not bulky, easy to use, and will help improve their hearing significantly. 
• Demonstrate the difference of hearing with and without hearing aids, using tools in Auditdata Measure, a portfolio of audiological equipment run by advanced software that lets you manage and optimize your clinical workflows based on data-driven insights. 
• Speak to each customer’s specific pain points, after listening carefully to their concerns. For instance, if the customer is a very social person, explain how these solutions will help them hear conversations better at parties, in restaurants, and at events. If they love music, talk about how the hearing aids will enhance their experience at concerts and listening to their favorite songs on the radio. 

Returns waste your staff’s valuable time and effort, so work proactively to turn trials into purchases. Reduce too long trial times and high return rates by standardizing a trial period. Two weeks is standard and will allow the customer to get a feel for how the hearing aids work in their daily life. Up to 50% of clients return their hearing aids after trial.

Work to improve conversion rates: 

• Communicate proactively with each customer during the trial period to ensure that they are comfortable with their hearing aids. 
• Be aware that polite persistence is essential, as 80% of sales require five or more follow-ups. 
• Troubleshoot any problems they’re having, such as comfort and fit issues. 
• Help them understand how to use the hearing aids properly to boost their satisfaction and happiness. 

When the customers are happy, they’re more likely to buy after their trial period, which boosts your bottom line.  

You’re using outdated technology

Tracking sales and inventory in spreadsheets is a common hurdle for many businesses. If you’re using manual systems, old technology, or navigating between separate tech systems that don’t integrate, you’re at a disadvantage when it comes to many aspects of your business, including sales.

Keep in mind:

• Old or disparate systems don’t offer the streamlined, integrated features that you need to run your business, ensure high-quality examinations, offer superior testing and fitting services, view reports, identify and correct noncompliance issues, etc. 
• The right technology, like Auditdata’s Manage software, can automate most non-revenue-generating tasks, like scheduling, and can make it more efficient and accurate for your staff to do their jobs.  
• Auditdata’s software includes a portable screening tool and tools to conduct hearing tests. 

These tools all align so records are instantly updated, communication is automated, and workflows are streamlined so your audiologists can consistently provide extraordinary customer experiences.  

People rarely buy a second time from a company that doesn’t provide adequate follow-up services or effectively resolve post-purchase issues. Despite any positive first impressions, customers can quickly become unhappy and disgruntled if they don’t receive good support after their purchase.

Be sure to:

• Follow-up proactively with each customer after each sale to ensure that they’re happy with their purchase and improve satisfaction rates. 
• Answer any questions and resolve any concerns they may have. 
• Provide care instructions on your website and through emails, explaining things like how to clean and store the hearing aids, and how to troubleshoot common problems. 
• Leverage the notification, reminder, and recall capabilities in Manage, Auditdata’s data-driven, cloud-based practice management software, to stay in touch with your customers through personalized emails. 
• Check in regularly, offer informational guides, and set follow-up appointments, all through our automated system. 
• Respond promptly to online comments, reviews, and criticisms. If customers are posting on your social media platforms – and/or on review sites – with feedback, respond immediately. If someone is posting a complaint or a negative review, resolve their issues right away. If they’re posting positive comments, thank them sincerely for their business and let them know how much you appreciate them.  

Think of the sales process as a team sport, where everyone’s participation contributes to your wins or losses. Therefore, it’s important to involve the entire staff in sales efforts.

To do this:

• Recognize that people rarely purchase products or services from someone they don’t like or trust, so customers must be happy with their interactions with your staff before they consider buying products from your clinic. 
• Understand that their interactions begin with the initial phone call to schedule their appointment and continue when they enter your clinic, during their exam, and throughout the sales process. 
• Pay attention to how your receptionist answers the phone and greets customers, the friendliness of your team, and the professionalism of your clinical staff.

Through every step of the customer journey, the customer is making conscious and subconscious decisions about you, your clinic, staff, and the products you offer. Everyone in your clinic plays a vital role in driving sales, and even the smallest details truly matter

Auditdata helps hearing care providers improve clinical care and drive their business performance and growth. With our data-driven, connected solutions, we cater to all customers in all stages of the hearing care lifecycle, from attracting new prospects to providing the most appropriate solutions to treat each customer’s hearing loss.