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You Should Know: Tom Hopkins by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

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You Should Know: Tom Hopkins
by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

When it comes to selling, Tom Hopkins is one of the world’s top-tier selling training gurus. He is the best-selling author of 15 books, and through a series of columns this year, wants to help Dentaltown Magazine readers better understand how to sell dentistry.

What was your first sales job?
Hopkins: I was 19, and it was kind of unheard of to go into the real estate business as a teenager, but I found after working a year in the construction field that I wanted to get into the field of sales and I gravitated into real estate. And it was my niche. I fell in love with real estate, spent eight wonderful years and achieved a high-level of success. I was a top Realtor in California for three years and set records in sales. That is why they started asking me to speak. When you find your niche it doesn’t feel like work.

How did you transition to sales training?
Hopkins: After doing so well in real estate sales, I was asked to speak at awards presentations. When others heard about my success, they wanted to learn how I did it. So, I started giving sales training seminars in the real estate industry. I literally taught them exactly what I would say and do from the moment I met a potential buyer or seller through the transactions and getting referrals from them. I have since customized those proven selling strategies and communication skills for use in well over 200 industries. I have spent most of the last 36 years helping business owners and sales pros understand how to communicate with their clients.

Is it fair to say that some people can’t be taught to be good sales people?
Hopkins: There are two extreme personalities and temperaments. One is the interesting extrovert the other is the interested introvert. The ones who gravitate into sales are the interesting extroverts. They are outgoing, charming, talkative and fun. The ones who don’t think they can sell are interested introverts, who are somewhat shy. They are timid. They are terrified at the thought of selling. Having four million people attend my seminars we have proven that the interesting extrovert will not do as well as the interested introvert if the interested introvert learns the strategies of selling. You have to be yourself.

Which of your 15 books do you think would be most relatable to dentists?
Hopkins: The two I would suggest are: Low Profile Selling and Selling for Dummies. In Low Profile Selling, I help people understand that they don’t have to come across as the stereotypical salesperson in order to persuade others. And, the most fun to read is Selling for Dummies. It’s my training, but converted into their light and humorous style of delivery.

What percentage of life can you relate to sales?
Hopkins: I believe everyone is involved in selling during every contact we make daily with other people. We sell ourselves, ideas and services.

In dentistry, and in sales in general, we always speak of needs versus wants. Is it ethical to sell something a person doesn’t need?
Hopkins: That is a very interesting point. Conscience plays a large part in long-term success of selling. I believe that if a person sells something they don’t believe in that he or she will not last in the business. I also believe that if he or she sells something that is not right for the consumer that the guilt will gnaw away at most people. Now there are people in the country who will sell anything to anybody. They don’t care at all. I call them con men. A con man will sell whatever he has to sell to make money. He doesn’t care about the buyer.

Why are commissions important to sales professionals?
Hopkins: There are seven motivators for the average human being. The first of all motivations for people in our type of country is money. Money is a scoreboard reflection of how good you are at what you do. Sales people are motivated by money because they know they are doing well. Whenever I meet a man or a woman who earns seven figures I like to talk with them because I know they wouldn’t be putting a million dollars of income into the bank if they were not making an awful lot of people happy. So the motivation for most sales people is, “If I am making a greater-than-average income I am doing a greaterthan- average job for the right reasons,” which comes back to values; comes back to believing what you are doing is right. I have had many instances where I’ve made the decision not to sell based on the situation. That is why I think I have been so happy in the field of sales because I always try to treat each interaction as if the relationship is going to be long term.

*Look for Tom Hopkins’ first article aimed toward the dental profession in next month’s issue of Dentaltown Magazine!
Dentaltown Magazine
September 2025
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