As the healthcare industry expert for Mercury, I get asked by dealers all the time, “How do I get started?” It may seem daunting to enter a new market, but looking at your past successes and strategies can give you some great insight into how to start. Ask yourself some key questions:
How have you been successful in the past?
Have you sold to specialty markets or sold to all markets? I like to divide and conquer by specializing in multiple segments. Each segment has its own specialized needs, terminology and products. Healthcare in general is a huge market, but it can be broken down into segments. Retail healthcare segments include pharmacy, vision care, veterinary, and durable medical equipment (DME) sold by orthopedists, chiropractors and podiatrist. They sell inventory just like other retailers and normally bill immediately.
General and specialty healthcare practices sell services and bill in a revenue cycle collecting from government and commercial insurance then directly to the patient. There are other healthcare segments also such as medical therapy, labs, dental, Lasik, cosmetic surgery, and many other specialists. Of course, there are the big targets like hospitals, medical centers and long term care facilities with diverse needs from hospitality, food services, gift, practices, labs, therapy and more.
Understanding the needs of the different segments can help you determine an appropriate target for your business.
What products do you sell today?
Are your manufacturers pursuing healthcare? Most manufacturers of POS keyboards, printers, barcode readers, and monitors have been offering or vying for a healthcare offering. ScanSource has recently released its healthcare website with great information on healthcare hardware. I suspect many of the manufacturers you sell today are posting their healthcare offerings. Could you expand your offerings without seeking out new vendors to start?
How do you acquire you expertise, your unique selling position and your confidence to sell to your current targets?
Did you jump into the cold new waters or did you research? I learn from the internet, trade shows and from the streets. The internet is a non-threatening means to learn terminology, acronyms, concepts and buzzwords. When you type in search words, you learn more search words and resources. I learned about the HITECH Act and ARRA incentives to practices to buy new technology. I learned about HIPAA for healthcare security. I studied the new medical technology standards called CCHIT. These resources refined for me the problems and solutions. And then my understanding and confidence grew. After learning basic concepts, I went to local trade shows to ask, but not to sell. I listened and learned. I learned not to use terms like “customer” but patients; not “merchants” but practices and clinics; not “sales cycle” but revenue cycle. I also learned about super bills, 835/837’s, automating CPT code entry, ePrescribing requirements, HL7 standard for healthcare interchange language, and deductible balance estimating. Some national healthcare associations have national and regional conferences that can greatly accelerate your learning curve and may even produce some new products, services …and maybe some leads. Check out HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), HFMA (Healthcare Financial Management Association), and MGMA (Medical Group Management Association). Of course, you can find associations and conferences for the other healthcare segments such as dental, pharmacy, and veterinary.
How do you confirm what others say …will sell?
I take my sales jacket off and put on my research jacket and go to the streets. I asked my own doctor what software he uses, how does he prevent delayed patient payments and write-offs, and what did he think about the new healthcare reform with 32 million new patients? Immediately, he winced until I told him I was not selling anything, but I needed his help. Then he opened up. I knew I had to stay in research mode, not shift to my selling mode. I had to suppress my “know it all” attitude and sincerely show my “help me” attitude. From there, I asked …and listened to my vet, my dentist, my eye doctor. I recently asked a fellow airplane traveler who sold to dentists. He has over 1000 dentist customers in southern Colorado. That could be a career of prospects.
I also learned a key lesson from my son, a doctor. He told me “doctors spent a third of their lives and over $150,000 in education…just to learn how to help people, not to run businesses. Doctors know they are under pressure to add new technology to follow new regulations. They sense their practices’ profitability is shrinking from Medicare reductions, insurance denials and patient payment write-offs.”
Many healthcare providers are threatening to get out of their own practices due these changes. To me, this sounds like businessmen with needs, who have no time to waste on weak value propositions. If we present a strong value, they will buy!
The bottom line is, educate yourself on the healthcare industry in as many ways as you can. Knowledge is half the battle and the strategies you’ve used to succeed in the past can help you here as well. Mercury is here to support you, I’m here to support you, and together we can get a toehold in this surging industry.