With 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, another 4 years of residency, and another possible year of fellowship, there are at least 13 years of  training physicians go through before they officially start practicing medicine on their own. That’s a whole lot of school!

During these years of training, one would expect that physicians know everything there is to know about how to become a successful doctor.  Except for 1 tiny detail…

No one taught them how to run a business!

Now, in all fairness, learning how to operate a business successfully requires years of learning, and there are only so many years in a person’s life to spend on learning so many complex fields of study.

Nevertheless, this is the nature of the healthcare industry today and, for better or worse, many doctors need to know how to handle patient care and how to manage their business.

Period.

Running a Private Medical Practice

There are plenty of inherent risks when opening a private medical practice. Regardless of the variables and the specialty of that practice, one such undertaking is said to cost at least $100,000. It includes everything from contractors, equipment, other startup costs, as well as all payrolls and bills until a stable revenue stream is established.

David J. Zetter is a  lead consultant at Zetter Healthcare Management Consultants and a member of the National Society of Certified Healthcare Business Consultants. He said, “If you’re not independently wealthy, or you just have enough money to set out the cost to open but also need to have operating capital until revenue comes in, then you need a loan.” 

As reimbursement declines and physicians are taking the financial hit on the chin, it’s no wonder there has been such an increase of consolidation within the healthcare industry.

Doc’s simply can’t afford it, and typically they don’t have the business chops to find additional sources of revenue to off-set declining reimbursement.

The Power and Influence of the Salesperson

Do the best salespeople teach their docs how to make money?  You better believe it.  (And you wonder why that doc you can’t flip from the competition is SO loyal to the rep who has an inferior product.)

Due to the nature of their business, salespeople are presented with an excellent opportunity to show their real value to physicians. As what we’ve spoken about until this point is a definite problem for most doctors. Salespeople can help by providing valuable insight on how to enhance revenue and manage their practice.

The ‘currency’ of the healthcare industry is, without a shadow of a doubt, physician-to-physician referrals. No private practice can ever hope to be successful if its patients are only those who looked them up on the internet.

Listen up salespeople…

If you’re as good as you think you are, I’m willing to bet you’re pretty well connected in your business.  (ie. You know a lot of people.)  Monetize those relationships!

Become the building block for your physicians.  Introduce your docs to others and help them expand their network.  The value this can bring is immeasurable.

Additionally, keep your ear to the ground.  You’ll hear other reps or some of your physicians talking about “deals” they’re in.  Whether it’s a new imaging center taking physician investors, or some other healthcare related business, introduce these ideas to your customers.  Introduce All of these deals to your customers, let them decide if they want to be involved.

Become the GO-TO person for all things business related for your customer.  You will successfully transform yourself from salesperson to business consultant, and 100% of the business is yours.

Conclusion 

In the new healthcare economy selling a product, even a great one, isn’t enough.  If you can’t become a trusted business advisor to your physician customer, then you’re just like everyone else spitting out clinical studies.  Boring to your customer.

If you truly want to differentiate yourself and solidify your place in your market as the “Go-To” person… I challenge you to start approaching this business differently!

To learn more about becoming a consultant to your physician customers or to learn more about ProSellus, go to blog.prosellus.com