Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
When it comes to selling to a health system, however, you often only get one shot, so you need to make the most of it.
At Healthbox, we have spent time with entrepreneurs, helping them to get their foot into the door at major health care organizations such as Guidewell, Intermountain Healthcare, Keck School of Medicine of USC, and UCLA Health.
We have also spent time on the other side of the table, helping health systems such as Baylor Scott & White Health source and evaluate solutions from companies of all sizes. This gives us a vantage point in knowing how companies can make that first impression count and maximize their chances of landing the pilot or long-term contract.
Do your homework
Every system is different. It is important for you to understand the intricacies inherent in each customer. Know what the system and team’s strategic priorities are and how you fit into them. For example, if your product relies on risk-based contracts to make the economics work, and you are pitching to a health system that has only dipped its toes in the waters being hesitant to dive in further, your time may be better spent elsewhere.
It’s also imperative to understand the health system’s history, specifically if they have used a similar class of technology to what you are proposing. Identify the individuals that were involved in its use in order to answer a big question: What are the biases that may have resulted from that experience?
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Don’t hesitate to show that there is a burning platform in their system. An effective way to accomplish this is by accessing many of the publicly available sources of healthcare data to identify a location or locations within the system that lag in the metrics you are able to improve. There’s medicare.gov as well as healthdata.gov but if the health system is not-for-profit, go to emma.msrb.org and find the organization’s latest bond filing or financial disclosure. Through these sources you’ll find plenty of information on quality, reimbursement and strategy.
At a recent pitch-day we organized for a health system, two of the startups went the extra mile and presented data specific to that system. No surprises that those two companies won the competition and advanced to the next level of discussion.
Develop advocates for your solution
Having both clinical and administrative advocates within the system is critical. They will champion your cause among colleagues as well as introduce you to decision makers and influencers throughout the system.
Perhaps most significantly, these advocates can help to navigate any ingrained beliefs or sensitive subjects creating bias either for or against your offering. Before you present, prep your advocates so they are adept at telling your story in a compelling way that leverages their credibility and expertise within the system.
Inspire confidence in your ability to deliver
Data is king. Know what the pricing model is. If the pricing is flexible, be prepared to discuss key levers that impact price. What outcomes can you drive? Which factors influence your outcomes? How long does implementation take? What resources does the health system need to commit?
The devil is in the details and being on top of them is a key differentiator from other competing solutions that may only work in theory.
Most health systems have peer groups against which they benchmark, as well as a small group that they look up to. Knowing who these health systems are and showing outcomes from these systems will go a long way.
Regulatory and reimbursement questions can halt momentum on even the most highly anticipated initiatives. Show you have thoroughly explored and resolved regulatory and reimbursement concerns so that, in the team’s mind, this will be a non-issue moving forward.
Make executing your solution easy
Showing an understanding of the system and inspiring confidence will remove many roadblocks to getting the contract, but technology alone doesn’t deliver results. You need the customer team to execute. Proposing a pilot that already has many of the details thought out makes the planning process easier and can help to speed up the process.
Use your advocates and publicly available data to determine a location that may fit well for a pilot. Understand if the customer expects to produce statistically significant results and craft suggestions for the size, length, price as well as key performance indicators for the pilot. Even if these are not the final details that get implemented, the team will move more quickly using your suggestion as a starting point.
Be flexible, but don’t bend over backwards
Show the healthcare system that they will be a valued customer and you will be quick to respond and attentive to their needs. Once further along in the discussion, let them know what features are in your product roadmap and use their input to help prioritize it.
That said, resist the urge to over-customize for a single customer. It is important to find the balance between meeting the customer’s needs and staying true to your product roadmap.
As an early stage company, be prepared for health systems to want to share in the upside beyond just goods and services received. Landing a significant pilot or contract can put startups on the map. While the tradeoffs need to be considered on a case-by-case basis, be open to equity or partnership discussions if the opportunity would significantly change the trajectory of your company.
Photo: Getty, erhui1979
