From our vantage point, too many product, service, and technology offerings are similar propositions, which isn’t very exciting for your customers. Yet, there are a myriad of ways to differentiate your product, service, or technology to make it a new opportunity for your clients. For example, we recently gave a presentation on our CliniTrack™ Value Analysis software to a healthcare system’s value analysis team who were looking for a better way to manage their new product requests. Although our competition was also making a presentation and had some features that we don’t have, we emphasized that we customize our software to the client’s exact specifications which makes it their own. This got them excited about the opportunity that customization can be offered to their healthcare system.
Stop Selling Stuff and Start Selling Opportunities by Conducting a Value Analysis Study
One way to stop selling stuff and start selling opportunities is to offer to conduct a value analysis study of your product category. Why? Nine out of ten times you will uncover an opportunity for your customer to save money and/or improve quality, safety, or their outcomes with your product. For instance, we conducted a value analysis study in the past after convincing our client that we estimated they were purchasing twice as many diabetes test strips than their peers. During our VA study we identified the problem; this client’s nursing staff had to use two diabetes test strips from their current vendor to enable them to get the correct glucose reading. This one observation saved this client over $150,000 annually when a change was made to their test strip vendor. Wouldn’t you like to be the vendor who showed this customer a new savings opportunity?
Every Year Represents New Selling Opportunities
Every year there is goal setting by healthcare organization department and division heads to improve their operational areas. This goal setting process opens the door for sales representatives to create selling opportunities for their corporation. However, this can’t be done unless you tap into these individuals’ goals and objectives for the current year. One medical device manufacturer we worked with accomplished this task by having a formal annual goal setting session with their customers. During these working sessions, the manufacturer’s representatives would ask their customers what their goals were for the coming year and then try to match them with corresponding goals that the manufacturer could meet. Examples of goals agreed to in these sessions might be to reduce catheter infections by five percent, decrease decubitus ulcers by eight percent, or guarantee 98% on time deliveries of their product line. Generally, the manufacturer would be permitted to have pilot studies of their products that would satisfy the goals that they agree to during these working sessions. Hence, creating a win-win scenario or opportunities for both parties. That’s why every year represents new selling opportunities for you.
| About Robert T. Yokl, Founder & Chief Value Strategist for SVAH Solutions |
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| Robert T. Yokl is President and Chief Value Strategist at SVAH Solutions. He has four decades of experience as a healthcare supply chain manager and consultant, and also is the co-creator of the Clinitrack Value Analysis Software and Utilizer Clinical Utilization Management Dashboard that moves beyond price for even deeper and broader clinical supply utilization savings. Yokl is a member of Bellwether League’s Bellwether Class of 2018. https://www.SVAH-Solutions.com https://www.SavingsValidator.com |
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