Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear Sam,

Approach this call as a sales call and it will go south pretty quickly. Approach it as a helpful resource, OR, better yet, as someone seeking an opinion or advice, and you might just make some headway … BUT … you first need to figure out which doctors NOT to call. Know this going in: getting to speak with, let alone MEET with a doctor is going to be tough: lots of gatekeepers, lots of "I'm too busy: you're not important enough" thinking and blocking. The sooner you disqualify the doctors who won't talk, who never refer, and who are time sucks, the sooner you'll make headway with the doctors who are more likely to refer to you. You might also do well in the first instance by speaking with the senior nurse, or with physicians assistant because these people are the ones with their finger on the pulse of the families and patients in needs of the most help.

You need to think about ways in which your facility can help the doctor.

Are you seeking to meet with primary care docs or with hospitalists?

You need to find out what their percentages of frequent fliers are: the multiple readmits, the regular ER visitors, and the patients calling the office the most often. You also need to connect with and make nice with several people at your nearest non-profit hospice NOT the big name outfits, a non-profit. There is mutual ground to be carved out here: they refer to you, you refer to them.

The person you may really wish to talk with is the medical office manager, not (initially) the physician. They're often the gatekeeper in a busy office practice.