Know-How Exchange : Strategy

There are some real experts here on medical marketing so leave this open a while.

If it were me I would not focus so much on "dropping off" a brochure. Make sure you spend a few minutes asking probing questions to determine who you should contact when you call back and a good time to do so.

The Rx reps will tell you that food does wonders but Phil is right, it's not the Doc who is doing the evaluation.

Michael

Phil is right. When I worked in business banking I worked a lot with doctors and they are very difficult to get a hold of and they get swamped with pitches from different reps. Your software might be great - but ultimately unless its something the doctor desperately needs - it equals more work for the doctor and their staff. Call the Office Manager and ask if there is a day the doctor sees reps (many have a day or half day where they catch up on admin and take appts). The next question should be whether it would be better to talk to the Office Manager. Explain what the benefit would be - how it would save time etc. Research the doctor and see if there is a website and tie what you read on the website to your offering (then they know you've put thought into it) Try an approach like, "I'd like to come by and give you a quick demo. How about this, tell me a time that works for you and what your favorite Starbucks drink is." Or offer to bring lunch or a treat.

You see Michael is right that food works wonders! The staff and doctor are really busy and they're not always treated well by patients. By doing something a little special for them and recognizing that they are busy you will be more likely to open the gate.

I will add that who is making the decision to buy depends on the office. Sometimes the doctor instructs the staff to filter through the crap - and its just easier to ignore reps.

you have quite a challenge on your hands. fortunately for you, we have people on this forum who are experts in this area... and this question has been asked before from time to time...

You might want to use Google to search previous questions. (You can search previous questions by clicking the link to the upper right... but I prefer to use Google since it has more powerful search options.)

For example, you might do the following Google search:

Appointments Doctors site:www.marketingprofs.com/ea

Target one or two practices to start with. Find out their needs. Find out what their solutions are. Then figure out how your solution is better than what they're using. Develop case studies of how much money/time practices save.