2021 HME Business Handbook: Strategy
Harnessing Data to Navigate the Post-PHE and Grow Market Share
The market data solutions now available are light years beyond what we once had. How so, and how does an HME sales organization maximize its effectiveness with them?
The post-acute
marketplace continues to
shift into a new normal. This
journey that we’ve been on during
COVID-19 has been an adventure,
and true to most expeditions, it’s
not always followed a specific
course.
There are many things we
learned along the way. One key
learning for many HME providers
is that the previous way of doing
business, specifically, sales and
operations, did not hold true, and
it continues to evolve.
Many found sales and
operations were in deep water, in
trouble, and out of one’s comfort
zone. But as many providers
would discover, this did not leave
them high and dry or stranded
without hope but instead was a
temporary change in navigation
and course-correcting as required.
For many HME leaders, this
sales course correction began with
a deeper dive into the referral
community to better understand
the currents below their businesses
The referral community, while in
many cases steady, proved to be
dead in the water with no progress
to be made. By looking deeper
into referrals, providers relied
on market data and real-time
intelligence to ensure they were on
the right track and set a course of
action to help them navigate to
today’s new normal.
Prior to the Pandemic, some providers
had market data and, in some cases,
did not use this to navigate their sales
efforts. For some, the sales efforts were
smooth sailing, and they used the market
data to back up or to validate existing
referral sources. This would prove to be a
navigational error.
RE-APPROACHING SALES
THROUGH MARKET DATA
With market data, a provider can use
HCPCS to validate a prescriber’s volume
of referrals. This can be done for both
existing and prospective referral sources.
The market data and in-depth physician
profile help the sales professional navigate
and find what additional opportunities
exist with current referral sources and what
new and untapped sources are available.
Market data can be filtered for a
specific market strategy, down to the
zip code or territory as needed. A
provider can filter this data geographically
to expand an existing territory or
set a course for a new one. Market data
can filter by Dx and referral volume, a
tremendous navigational tool for the
sales professional to have a holistic
view of a prescriber. When a provider
wants to focus on a niche business,
the market data can be also be filtered
by Practitioner Type. This will then
help in a targeted market approach
with messaging that would capture
opportunities.
A provider can also filter the market
data by payer mix. Having a clear
understanding of the prescriber’s
payer mix and how it parallels or varies
from the provider’s business is a great
tool and can be valuable in selecting
referral sources to focus on. Finally,
market data offers the provider a clear
view of the competitors working with
each prescriber. This is invaluable to a
sales professional. This will help with
the marketing message, approach, and
understanding of pain points for each
prescriber.
Having this data prior and now postpandemic
will be the course-correcting
platform needed for a sales team.
Without the help of market data, a sales
professional will get off-course and
spend countless hours drifting down a
navigational path with a would-be referral
source only to confirm there are no referrals
to be had from that propsect. Also,
without market data, a sales professional
might assume that they are receiving the
majority of referrals from a prescriber,
when, in fact, they are receiving a very
low percentage of that source’s referrals.
With market data, the sales professional
can know the right prescribers to engage
and receive the referrals.
This will set a new course for every
provider and the team of sales professionals.
Finally, a provider who runs a
tight ship can turn the corner and pass
this critical point to a new normal for
sales efforts. In nautical terms, this would
be considered making up leeway or
making up for lost or wasted time.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- It is time for HME providers to
course-correct their sales efforts.
- Market data will bring providers to
the right track (your compass).
- Market data can grow existing and
new prospective opportunities.
- Filtering tools within market data
will offer diversification in market
approach.
- Filtering options include
geographic, demographic and
referral volume, practitioner type,
payer mix, and competition.
- Market data provides a deep
dive into prescribers’ and referral
sources’ business.
- Market messaging and predictive
analysis are directly tied to market
data.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about market datadriven
sales strategies and resources,
schedule a PlayMaker Health Data
Solutions Demo at playmakerhealth.com/request-a-demo.
This article originally appeared in the May/Jun 2021 issue of HME Business.
About the Author
Ty Bello, RCC is the president and founder of Team@Work LLC, which offers more than 50 years’ combined experience in assessing, developing, and coaching sole proprietorships, sales teams, C-suite executives, individuals and teams in a variety of industry settings. Bello is an author, communicator and registered coach, and can be reached at [email protected] for sales, customer call center, and management coaching needs. Please like Ty on LinkedIn and visit www.teamatworkcoaching.com for more information and join The Coaches Corner at teamatworkcoaching.com/coaches-corner.