How To Reach Profitability In Half The Time
By JOSE’ “JOE” L. MIR
Partner
[March 3, 2021] – If I told you today your awesome new medical device will start generating meaningful profits within a year, you’d probably smile. If I told you today your awesome new medical device could start generating meaningful profits within six months, I’m willing to bet that smile would widen and your pulse would quicken.
It can. But how …?
Let’s take a closer look at ways to get you from here to there in half the time.
Strategist versus Sales Professional
Hey, there’s nobody out there who respects the role of a healthcare sales professional more than I do. They’re determined and dedicated and earn every last dime in their compensation package. You certainly will need them in the mix, just not at the beginning of this journey to profitability.
In the same way a great horse trainer rarely makes a great jockey, a great sales professional rarely makes a great strategist. And that’s what you need right now. The roles are unique with distinctly different skill sets that can, with proper timing, become yin to each other’s yang.
Just not at the outset.
More than ever before, a medical device company with a promising new product absolutely must have the services of a Strategic Account Professional; one with established relationships, keen insights and comprehensive understanding of the often complex Group Purchasing Organization [GPO] and Integrated Delivery Network [IDN] landscape, a track record of success, and a few battle scars picked up along the way. [They’re great teachers, actually.] Experience doesn’t come quickly or easily when it comes to cracking the GPO/IDN code.
Point is: No two GPOs or IDNs are alike … and the savvy Strategic Account Professional knows this. And he or she knows a lot more, too. For instance, some GPOs or IDNs are basically transactional, some are more strategy-based, and others focus more on innovation and are ripe for an exciting peek into the future.
What makes a Strategic Account Professional successful is having a wide-ranging understanding of the healthcare industry and a relentless willingness to dig deep – very deep – before making the first move with a specific GPO or IDN. This involves extensive study and research, ranging from scouring the customer’s website and annual report to exploring and truly understanding what drives them. [Trust me, if you can find alignment between their Mission and Vision and the Mission and Vision of the company with the new product, you will have successfully differentiated yourself from competitors.]
It also involves following company leadership to best understand their “hot buttons” – what grabs their attention and what causes their eyes to glaze over -- and the ability to prove how what you have to offer is something truly special and not just another product. All of this is done to find the best way to marry their specific needs with the specific attributes of your product.
The Bottom Line Is the Bottom Line
Also, the solution to their challenge isn’t limited to you being able to demonstrate meaningful cost savings, greater efficiencies and more favorable patient outcomes. It also involves finding ways to help them on the revenue side of the business. Hospitals and other medical facilities are struggling right now, we all know that. Healthcare professionals and administrators wake up each day hoping to save or improve more lives than yesterday. And they want to be able to achieve these improved outcomes at a lower cost outlay and at the greatest value so there’s more money left in the bank.
If you’re a supplier, you’re used to getting hit with a barrage of pricing questions and are expected to present proven cost-saving models. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. The Strategic Account Professional will also understand and be able to articulate how and why your product performs better than competition and delivers the greatest ROI. They will be deeply knowledgeable about the patient population and how your product will impact that patient population. Alignment, alignment, alignment is the key to success.
If you think that sounds easy and logical, you’d be half right. It is logical but it’s not easy and it takes more. It also takes …
Targeting
Getting your product to market – and more importantly, profitability – is no time to take a ready-fire-aim or scattershot approach. It takes strategic, laser-like targeting. Most medical device companies are very good when it comes time for the sales pitch but they tend to whiff on the all-important steps of what I call “pre-search” and targeting.
When you’re standing at “Square One” with a great new product and you’re seeking to slay the GPO and IDN dragon, trust me, it’s very, very daunting. What do I do first? Who do I call? What do I say? What will they ask? Is there even interest? How long will this take? What if they don’t return my phone call, or my follow-up phone call, or my 10th phone call? And on and on and on. Again, that’s why you need the services of a Strategic Account Professional.
Once the Strategic Account Professional has completed the “pre-search” phase, he or she will automatically know specific GPOs or IDNs that are the right fit for your new offering. With so many distractions the past 12 months, driven primarily by COVID-19, not all “right-fit” GPOs or IDNs may be willing to meet with you. Your Strategic Account Professional will know which ones on that short list will be open to receiving your pitch now. That’s important stuff to know … unless you like wasting time, money and effort barking up the wrong trees.
So you need the services of a seasoned Strategic Account Professional who can do extensive “pre-search” and hyper-target specific GPOs or IDNs. Ahhhh, but there’s more. It also takes …
Referrals
Do you know the difference between cold-calling and referrals? Everything!
The best way to catalyze a new relationship is to do it through a referral. Excelerant Consulting is your referral network! We have long-standing, trusted relationships at all the GPOs and IDNs, a history of success, and an insider’s understanding of GPOs and IDNs that would make your head spin. [And, yes, we have plenty of those battle scars mentioned earlier.]
When one of our team members picks up the phone at just the right time to call just the right person at just the right GPO or IDN to introduce you and your new product as just the right solution to their specific challenges, you’ve struck gold. We can get you in those hard-to-open doors and make those all-important introductions you need to expedite your journey to profitability.
It would cost you a boatload in cash and benefits to hire a full-time Strategic Account Professional. Don’t do it. Contact Excelerant Consulting today. It’s what we do. We’ll get you from here to there in half the time.
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ABOUT JOE MIR -- Joe has 25+ years’ experience in medical devices, including positions in sales, marketing, international business, and national accounts. He has negotiated and executed numerous contracts with regional GPOs and IDNs throughout the country and has extensive experience developing relationships with senior leaders and key clinical personnel at health systems. Prior to joining the Excelerant team, Joe served 24 years at Johnson & Johnson in a variety of roles domestically and in Latin America.
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ABOUT EXCELERANT CONSULTING
Excelerant Consulting is the go-to organization for med-tech companies that need to position products and services successfully for value analysis committees, contract acquisition, and sales modeling and execution to commercialize the launch of medical devices or services with Group Purchasing Organizations [GPO], Integrated Delivery Networks [IDN], or Regional Purchasing Coalitions [RPC]. Our clients rely on us to enhance their product positioning, navigate corporate contracting opportunities, and provide sales support to accelerate sales growth.
For more info, contact Excelerant Consulting at info@excelerantconsulting.com.