Offer a hearty serving of veterinary benefits

You want clients to devour your nutrition recommendations. And using benefits language is more likely to get your clients on your side, which will elicit more compliance with your advice for the pet's health, says Dr. Tammy Wilde, owner of Tudor Glen Veterinary Hospital in the city of Alberta in Alberta, Canada.

For example, in a conversation with a pet owner, Dr. Wilde might say, "I'm sure that dental care is really important for your pets." Using this wording often elicits an affirmative response. "Once the head starts nodding, it's easier to approach the next step in the conversation," she says. "The more clients nod and open up to you, the more likely they are to accept what you're saying. The same is true in making clients understand the importance of good pet nutrition and care."

One surefire way to make sure you're speaking the client's language is to always talk about how the product or service you're suggesting will benefit the client or pet and never talk about the benefit to the practice. "We use this strategy for everything," says Dawn Phillips, AHT, treatment room manager. "We tell the client all about how proper pet nutrition will result in shinier coats, smaller stools, healthier teeth, and fewer health problems for the pet. But we never say that this care is what the hospital requires or what we need for them to do. We make it all about the pet."

Dr. Wilde also recommends using a lot of personal experience stories and examples with the clients to engage them in conversation. "Get on their level, and they'll see that you're not just trying to sell them a bag of food," Phillips says. "If they know it's what you personally use for your pets and that you believe in the benefits of it, they will be more open to these choices for their own pets."