By: Susan Boydell | sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com
We’ve reached that time of year when we have an opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months and how well we’ve reached the goals we set. Likely, many of our leaders are asking as well. And at the same time, we’re working on goals and plans for the next 12 months. You know the routine.
“Routine,” now there’s something to think about as we assess our past performance and develop our 2022 plans. Ask yourself, was your last sales plan just “routine” or did it challenge you to meet better the needs of your organization and your referring physicians? Let’s dig a little deeper into that. Putting a sales plan together is often just a routine expectation. We put on paper the service lines we need to grow; we list the doctors we plan to target; and we often include the key messages we plan to deliver. Not bad, just a bit routine, a bit broad. What if your sales plan gets laser-focused and pushes your strategic thinking?
Here’s an idea… implement a Targeting Intensive Plan (TIP). It’s a special section in your routine sales plan concentrating on specific clinical priorities, referral targets and tightly defined field tactics. If done right, I’m willing to bet you will see greater results, earn greater credibility with your leaders and advance your role within your organization. So, to help you take on the TIP challenge, here are four steps to get you started:
Step 1: Pick a specific clinical procedure
Get specific with growth of a specific clinical area or procedure. Notice I didn’t say service line. This is about getting to a particular treatment or procedure. Make sure it’s something your leaders want more of and it is operationally ready to grow. Determine specific volume goals, which can either come from your leaders or can be something you define. In addition to your goals, you’ll want to deeply understand everything you can from what symptoms a patient presents with, to clinical indications, to the benefit to the patient, to the referring physician. How are you differentiated from the competition? You get it. This process requires the ability to have deep clinical conversations with your referring physicians, so don’t skip this step.
Step 2: Get tight on referral targets
The next step is to clearly detail those from whom you can earn additional referrals. Your data can help with this, but your knowledge of the targets is just as important. Remember, this is a focused strategy, so select about 10 physician targets. You should be able to articulate exactly why you believe they are an excellent target to earn additional referrals. Consider creating your TIP ideal profile criteria. This can include what you’re getting from them today, what you’ve learned that tells you there is more business to earn, and possible barriers you and the organization might have to overcome, to name a few. It will make this process easier in future.
Step 3: Defining your field tactics
You’ll tend to want to wing it in this section. Don’t do it! For your 10 targets, define exactly how many visits you plan to make and what your sales funnel will include. Be very intentional about what it will take to advance the relationship to earn additional referrals. Consider not only your messages, but also the tools and people you can enlist to ensure success. Flagging your TIP targets in your PRM will help with tracking your progress.
Step 4: Documenting and communicating your TIP
Putting it all together on paper is an essential step for you and your leaders. This is your plan to implement so it must work for you. It’s also your vehicle to communicate your strategy and plan to your leaders. One piece of advice – keep it simple. You will want them to know your planning process and the strategy behind your plan. Remember, they want results. Make sure they can see what you plan to achieve (exact success metrics) and the strategy you plan to deploy to get there. I want them to see your strategic thinking and the actions it takes to earn new business.
TIP requires commitment and focus, which is no surprise. So, I invite you to try it. I know this gave you a high-level overview, so if you need assistance, send me an email and we’ll help you get started. You can reach me at sboydell@barlowmccarthy.com.