This has been a challenging year for audiologists, to say the least. Between Covid-19 and the introduction of Over-the-Counter hearing aids at big name retailers, there’s been a lot of uncertainty in the industry. We know that our audiologist partners are looking for a way to increase their hearing aid sales, especially during this challenging time. We believe that Ear Gear can be a painless way to help you grow your business.
We know that there are several challenges that hearing professionals are facing right now.
- The coronavirus pandemic is making it harder to see patients.
- When you do see patients, you’re looking at several appointments to sell a hearing instrument
- Some features of the hearing instrument are out of your control and can make the sale tougher (say, for instance, wind noise or chafing).
- Over the Counter hearing aids are creating confusion in the market.
- Marketing in general is getting more complex and expensive all the time.
When we started Ear Gear a little over 15 years ago, we wanted to create the best product that we could for hearing instrument wearers. We didn’t realize that Ear Gear could solve a number of pain points felt by hearing professionals as well.
Here’s what our research shows us.
The challenge with selling hearing instruments
As I’m sure you know, audiologists are one half medical adviser and one half retail sales. Most of the audiologists that we talk to give away their consulting appointments for free. They do that to build trust around the hearing instrument purchase. In that sense, audiologists function more and more like sales reps. They provide consultation that will eventually lead to a sale.
When we frame the audiologist as a salesperson, it tends to shift our priorities. The more efficient you can be, the better. Many salespeople iterate over their sales process to see how they can make their process more efficient. You should do the same. Let’s look at a tactic you can start implementing now to increase your hearing aid sales with fewer appointments.
Our internal research has shown that there are two major complaints that consumers have when it comes time to purchase a hearing instrument. First, during the trial, we hear complaints that the hearing instrument is uncomfortable - maybe it chafes their ears. Second, we hear complaints that the hearing instrument doesn’t work as well as they expect in certain conditions - perhaps they took it outside and it was a windy day.
With that in mind, here’s what can happen. You hook a customer up with a hearing aid to try out for a period of time. They come back and say that it works great in certain conditions, but in other conditions it doesn’t work like they want it to, or they complain that they felt discomfort while wearing it. So, your next appointment is spent dealing with those issues rather than doing what you really want to be doing - closing the sale!
How Ear Gear can help you increase hearing instrument sales
This is where Ear Gear comes in. In case you don’t know, Ear Gear is a protective sleeve that slides over the hearing instrument, protecting it from dust, dirt, moisture, and sweat. In addition, it cuts down on wind noise without compromising the quality of the hearing instrument. Although comfort is subjective, many of our customers say that Ear Gear also makes their hearing instrument more comfortable and cuts down on chafing.
Here’s where we can help you increase your hearing aid sales. When you give Ear Gear to your customer during this trial period, our research has found that you’ll sell at least 10% more hearing instruments each month. How? Because you spend less time dealing with these issues and you can spend more time selling.
That’s not all! Ear Gear also cuts down on the number of service requests that come in as a result of a damaged or lost hearing instrument.
Interested in more tips to help you increase hearing aid sales? Download our free ebook below.
