The quote “Success is dependent on effort” is attributed to the Greek Poet Sophocles.
Of course, we know he wasn’t talking about drug induced nutrient depletion counseling programs. But if he had been, he’d be right on the money.
Counselling and making supplement recommendations based on drug induced nutrient depletion are great ways to improve patient outcomes and pharmacy profits. Not only that, but nutrient depletion counselling also offers an avenue for pharmacies to begin practicing high level healthcare. Creating more value for their patients and therefore giving them a competitive edge.
None of this, however, happens by accident or without effort. You can’t simply stock your pharmacy shelves with vitamins, print supplement information on receipts, and expect success to follow.
Here are our top tips for succeeding with drug induced nutrient depletion.
Have a process.
Processes make it easier to make supplement recommendations a natural part of the conversation. You’ll need to decide how you will make the recommendation? Will you use a point-of-sale integration, work with a program like SolutionsRx or some other method? Additionally, will anyone on your team be able to counsel on nutrient depletion or will you have cashiers request pharmacist input for counselling?
Train your staff.
Once you know your process, it’s time to make sure your staff is trained and comfortable. Remember that upselling doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so a high level of comfort is key. Especially if you intend to have your pharmacy team discuss supplements for nutrient depletion with your customers directly. And regardless of whether it’s your team educating patients or getting a pharmacist to educate, your team still has to take action to participate in the process to offer the solution.
Train your customers.
It’s important for customers to understand that the process for supplement education and recommendations is easy and pressure free. Be sure to introduce customers to the program and why you’re offering recommendations. Once you’ve done that…
Be consistent.
Consistency builds trust. When your patients know what to expect from their relationship with you, you’ll increase adoption of your solutions and create customer loyalty. This means no off days off or making assumptions about what customers might want.
Always offer your best solution.
Don’t choose what a patient can and can’t afford. Just always offer the very best solution that you have available. You might be surprised at how many patients that you think wouldn’t adopt a supplement will actually make the leap. And of course the opposite is true as well.
Know your solutions.
Being knowledgeable about the products you’re selling and the benefits they provide is important. Whatever products or product lines your recommending, make sure you are continuing your team’s education about them. Customers can usually tell when someone isn’t confident in what they are recommending. Continuing education, training and knowledge are the best ways to combat this.
Track opportunities.
Don’t track sales, at least not right off the bat. Track how many conversations your team is having each day. If you have the conversations, the sales will follow!
Commit.
This is the biggest and most important key to success. You have to commit. You have to start. You have to put in the effort, or you’ll just be stuck in a rut. And to quote medsync expert Bob Lomenick… “The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth”.
There is so much more great information on Nutrient Depletion Programs from experts like Pharmacist and SolutionsRx founder Chris Cornelison and TRC Healthcare’s (authors of The Pharmacists Letter) Pam Piotrowski.
Check out our full Nutrient Depletion Playlist here.
Plus, you can contact us today to see how we can integration Nutrient Depletion Notifications right into the register to make the program crazy easy for you, your team and your patients!
