By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com
We work hard day-to-day, week-to-week delivering on the activities our roles require of us. We work toward the goals our leaders have set for us. So, how do we know if we have the right strategy and tactics to achieve what the organization needs today and what it will need in the future? How do we know if our physician relations strategy needs an update?
Let’s start by clarifying the difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy focuses on where you are and where you want to go. Tactics focus on how we “execute” the strategy. We often change our tactics, but if our tactics are based on an old, ineffective strategy, it’s time to rethink our strategy.
Here are five signs that it might be time to rethink your strategy. Ask yourself how often you hear or say each of them.
- “We have very few independent physicians left in our market.” Alignment is tight everywhere, so we need to know exactly what referrals we can earn. No one will change a referral pattern just because you are as good as your competition. Differentiation is king. If this is an area where you struggle, take it on. Every visit you make today is to take business away from a competitor. Work with your internal stakeholders to define your unique benefits and then dig into your competitor to understand why you are a better choice.
- “I need to know what’s not working so we can fix it.” Fixing problems doesn’t grow business; it just gives you the right to earn back what you might have lost. I’ve never met a physician who is shy about sharing what isn’t working or what’s frustrating them. If more than fifty percent of your visits are about hearing or solving problems, rethink your visit strategy. If you tend to start your physician conversations with “What can we do better?” you are likely to only hear about what’s not working. Or, you may hear the opposite response that everything is fine. Neither response gets you to understand their patients’ clinical needs and how you are the right solution.
- “I’ve had the same target list for years.” Creating a data-driven target list that identifies the best potential relationships to earn additional referrals is a must today. You need to know exactly what type of referral you need, who is the best target to earn it from and how many referrals you think you can get. Your time is precious and so is the referring physician’s time. Calling on the wrong physicians doesn’t help either one.
- “We can’t track referrals, so measuring results is impossible.” Leaders want to know the impact the team is making toward the organization’s goals. The tighter we can connect our field activity to volume results internally, the better. Generally, no one has great internal referral tracking. A long-term strategy is to take that on and look for improvement solutions. But, don’t ignore the short-term need. Use the data you have in combination with your intelligence from the field to package your story of success. Not measuring results is not an option.
- “Doctors don’t have time to meet with field reps.” That’s not how it used to be, that’s for sure. So, if you are doing what you have always done in the field, it likely is not effective today and won’t be effective in the future. “Checking in” with a busy physician isn’t a good use of their time. If they do meet with you, they probably have a complaint they need to share. You’ve got to know precisely what type of patient and the specific clinical need in a designated growth area to get their attention. And that’s before you walk in the door. Create your strategy to learn about their patients that might be a match. What’s your question strategy? Is it time to retire some of your standard questions? Think about it, if you’re using the same basic questions, I bet the physician hears them as basic as well. Great questions not only help you learn more, but also will make you stand out.
Consider this a place to start on your strategy journey. Change is constant so staying on top of strategic change is a must. If we don’t, we risk becoming irrelevant.
Is it time for you to take a deep dive into your strategy? Consider our Physician Relations Deep Dive Training, we’ve got a great line up of content ready for you. More details HERE.