Tell Me No Lies: How to tell if a PACS sales person is telling the truth.

Ms. PACS: I know you expect me to say, “You are such a cynic Cannavo. Not all sales people are liars.” But while you may already have several years on me, I’m not that naïve.

In certain situations, it is a given that the person is stretching the truth. Did you ever say, “I could eat a horse”? Did you ever bluff in a game of poker? Did the 42nd President say…never mind. In many cases, it is all a part of the game, and PACS sales is no exception.

It is up to the PACS buyer to take everything with a large grain of salt. The first step is to read between the lines and differentiate between those who genuinely listen to your needs and those who talk the whole time, then claim they have the solution to your problem. How could they when they themselves are suffering from oral manifestations of gastrointestinal disease?

This is hardly ‘consultative sales.’

Even sales people who pretend to listen are just angling for the moment you say, “When I open a new study, it takes too long to retrieve the priors,” so that he or she can slip into ‘solution mode’ and promise you all the tea in china, which you never asked for in the first place, you just wanted your priors quicker.

What is the foolproof lie detector test – beyond looking for shifty eyes, higher vocal pitch, perspiration or running them through a quick fMRI? Count how many times a sales person admits to limitations in their PAC system, and then you’re that many steps closer to getting at the truth about its capabilities.

Now, PACSman, when you start admitting you’re not always right, then maybe we’ll finally get to the truth.

PACSman: I’d be tempted to say sales reps lie if his or her lips are moving, but the reality is very few sales reps lie outright. Most are guilty of subtle lies – lies of omission (“You never asked me that, so...”), or just outright ignorance of both of their own products’ capabilities and that of their competitors. They believe as gospel what they are told in sales “training” (and I use the term training very loosely) even though many of the trainers are largely clueless themselves. Solutions selling doesn’t exist any more – it’s all about making the sale. And if you don’t have the best solution for the customer’s needs, well, then just sell it anyway- it will grow on them. I recall my last “real” job almost 26 years ago when I was asked why I didn’t close the deal with a particular client. I told my manager, “We don’t have the solution they need at a price they can afford.” To which he responded, “We are paying you to sell what we have. It is up to them to figure out if we are or aren’t right for them, not for you to tell them.” I turned in my resignation the very next day…not willing to sell my soul to the devil for a widows mite quite yet...and have never regretted it since.

It’s really not the reps that are to blame but rather our entire corporate culture. Quarter over quarter and year after year growth is key, not margins. And if you look at the stats, most companies are indeed showing positive growth – with negative margins. Hitting one’s quota while giving up the farm does not typically instill confidence in a company or a rep. Selling on price alone is also never good. I love the quote: “If you want nice, fresh, clean oats, then you must pay a fair price. However, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse – “That comes a little cheaper!” And so it is buying on price alone…

Now I don’t endorse individual PACS companies, but I really do love DR Systems’ approach to the PACS marketplace. Over the years I’ve had many a deal where the customer wanted to look more closely at DR, but the company didn’t feel that there was a good fit for their product resulting in more than a few no bid responses to an RFP. This was refreshing. And in deals where DR was selected it was worked out perfectly. DR is also the only company I am aware of to offer a money back guarantee should its customers not achieve certain benefits within 90 days of the PACS implementation and backs it up in writing. Of course they have requirements that need to be met, including having both radiologist and technologist “champions,” but that’s a fairly small price to pay to insure success. This is also why less than a handful of systems have been pulled in DR’s 15 years in business. Conversely the majors still approach almost any deal that remotely has a pulse….or had a pulse….which does nothing but increase the overall cost of sale and decrease net margins. I understand why it is done – to placate the full line sales reps – but it need not be if customer qualification was done better and sales programs were designed to reward successes and not sheer numbers.

So do sales reps lie? Only a few…and many of those unintentionally. Do companies lie? Is the bear Catholic? Does the pope…in the woods? To be fair, intention is key here and few vendors start out with deception in mind….but lies of omission are rampant and couched answers the norm rather than the exception.

The bottom line is the best defense is a good offense. Customers need to know both what questions to ask and how to interpret the answers. There are courses you can take and people who can help you, but if you listen closely, you can often separate the truth from fiction on your own. Until then, caveat emptor….