By: Kriss Barlow, RN, MBA | kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com
Looking ahead often starts with a little time in the here and now. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and take a minute to consider:
(1) Am I personally happy and fulfilled in my job?
(2) Do I create a measurable and personal impact with my field effort?
(3) Are my personal processes and patterns aligned with the obligations of today’s market?
All three questions matter and market forces are requiring a re-look at the role. Personal capability counts as much as great data, good clinical access and issue responsiveness. If we have it all, that is phenomenal, but Wow!, that’s rare. The focused students of their craft who can read the market and their organization and adapt are the winners – even if the other elements don’t quite add up.
Personal goals are a great tool to help us focus and elevate those elements we can directly control. I was taught that a goal should be specific, measurable and include a timeframe. If your goal is a year, consider setting quarterly marks along the way. Clearly call it out and write it down.
While I know you have a host of ideas for your goal-setting, I could not resist the opportunity to share a few.
- Leverage the Data. While measuring outcomes can be complex, most organizations have claims data which is a remarkable tool to provide insights, trends and patterns that inform the visit. Why not set a goal of looking at the data for certain splitter contacts or do a data deep dive for all prospects targeted for a specific clinical area. If claims data is not available, there are also wonderful internal sources. Commit to finding one or two sources of data that can provide a sense of the physician referral patterns with your organization.
- Work a Plan. While departments often have broad plans for the team, it is important for each field representative to create a personal sales plan. The plan should clearly define and segment the target referring physicians and the specific actions planned to advance the referral relationship at that level. If you’re getting started then set your goal to create a sales plan for your top 20 prospects, then work the plan, adapt the plan and add more. And if you’ve uncertain about the sales planning process, reach out to my colleague, Susan.
- Clinical Knowledge. It’s hard to earn a referral relationship without clinical depth in today’s tightening market. Commit to learning about the niche clinical offerings and to translate the learning into conversational use. The goal might be to learn about a specific clinical application and then create six questions for a select primary care physician to determine if it is applicable for their patients.
- Relationship skill enhancement. Good relationship sales skills are foundational to enhanced field effectiveness. Consider if you are seasoned whether you’ve gotten lax in the rigor of your skill. Or, if you are newer to this industry and you need a little translation, is it time to up your game? Call out the area where skills need attention and put a number to it – like, commit to getting through five gatekeepers per week. Another example might be, prepare for 70 percent of each week’s visits with at least two good, customized questions each week. Skills are essential.
It’s exciting to look ahead and to envision what might be. After a little time of reflection and memory-making over the holidays, we’ll be excited to see you demonstrate all those good ideas in 2025.
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Let us help with strategy or implementation for your physician relations effort. Let’s set a call and get the conversation started. Please reach out to me at: kbarlow@barlowmccarthy.com