A Simple Reminder

Focusing on the emotions, the drive, and the commitment that made veterinarians and veterinary technicians choose their profession is not corny. It’s not something that should be set aside so that we can focus on business. It’s not a feeling that will just go away if we ignore it long enough. Deep down, there is a connection that can be made if motivating compassion is focused on in the right way. I’m not saying that we should all suddenly give money to the folks panhandling on every off ramp in America. I am promoting the use of a common bond to separate yourself from the pack.

Every practice that I am familiar with has a great rescue story. Practices have their favorite miraculous recovery stories. Veterinarians and veterinary technicians each have their own stories of when they saved an animal against great odds. They often have stories about the most grateful pet owners, and key experiences with those owners.

Get your customers talking about these compassionate acts and the results of which they are most proud. Start the dialogue. Get interested in the “why they do it” part of your customers. Create a campaign within a practice for the best compassionate story, the best recovery story, the most unbelievable recovery, and so on. Get veterinarians and technicians involved in the process. Figure out a way to make the spotlight on them while tying it to some sort of business goal or incentive. Allow the focus to be on them and their capabilities, and inadvertently draw them back to what got them into animal health to begin with.

Connecting with your customers on this level will allow you to better understand them, and it will put the emphasis on their core values and position you as the rep that cares about more than their next order or your competition. Be bold and unashamed to bring back some of the feelings that drove many of us to a career in animal health. Affirmation of the compassion that we often choose to ignore will create a different level of connectivity that will be hard for competitors to match. Get your team of outside reps, inside reps, and manufacturer reps involved to develop a solid plan for using compassion to find success.