Selling to the Health Care Industry Is Difficult, Necessary and Profitable
Perhaps you remember the images that pervaded television coverage in the difficult, early stages of the recent pandemic: exhausted, shell-shocked health care providers removing masks worn so long that their noses and ears were rubbed raw. You may remember providers pleading for the supplies they needed to treat their patients and to keep themselves and others safe: ventilators, PPE, alcohol. It was hard to watch these professionals begging for the things they needed, especially when you knew there was nothing you could do to help them. Consider this reality that became clear because of those TV images: the individual who provides medical and health care supplies to health care professions is actually a partner in saving lives and healing their patients, whether there is a pandemic or not.
Prepare Yourself to Sell by Learning to Negotiate
Before talking about health care providers and their needs, the first step in preparing to sell medical equipment and supplies is to acquire the ability to negotiate. Few individuals naturally possess this skill, though it can be readily learned through negotiations training. One key concept to bear in mind about approaching health care purchasers is to maintain an open mind, regarding those you interact with as intelligent equals. Some have noted that there are three steps to negotiating—preparation, probing and proposing—and that these steps are non-linear. This implies a mutual give-and-take between yourself and the person to whom you are selling. Your goal as a salesperson is to provide what your client needs in a manner such that both of you succeed.
Recognize the Size of the Medical Market
Pandemic aside, the American market for healthcare supplies and equipment is huge. Because institutions are required by the government, the insurance industry and their own accountants to keep accurate records, it can be said with some certainty that in 2017—the most recent year for which numbers are available—health care industry expenses were $3.5 trillion. When you remove salaries and other overhead expenses from that number, the amount spent on supplies and equipment is still staggering. In 2017, $64 billion was spent on non-durable medical goods (think bandages and medicine). Another $54.4 billion was spent on durable medical goods (think stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs). It has been estimated that hospitals spent $200 billion in 2018 on new medical equipment. Now consider that these figures are growing by 2-4% a year.
Remember It Is Not About the Money but the Patient
Rather than focusing on the vastness of medical supplies in terms of profit, the proper way to view these numbers is in terms of need. These figures are a reflection of the immense health care necessities the nation faces. The importance of this attitude was reflected in a post by a gastroenterologist who wrote about encountering two salesmen who offered his practice an expensive piece of equipment. During their presentation, they focused entirely on how much money the product would make, how much money it would save and what a good deal it was. Never once did they discuss the impact their product would have on the patient. You will do well to remember that the focus of sales should be on how what you offer can enhance the care a patient will receive.
Become a Colleague in Care
Guiding your interactions with health care professions should be your remembrance of those heroic providers who put their own well-being on the line to save the lives of others. Your ability to help meet their needs in serving their patients can make you a colleague in care. This implies above all that you are a good listener. While you have a product to represent, you understand that it must mesh with the needs of your client. The research that you have done and the probing that you continue enables you to be certain that what you are offering will empower her or his mission to give the best possible care to the patient.
