The Health Management Academy

What Leading Health Systems Wish Industry Partners Knew: Part 3

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In this three-part series, we’ll outline what Leading Health Systems view as essential for a successful partnership, and what they wish potential industry partners knew.

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Tell a Compelling Story

Tip #1: Make your materials stand out in a crowded field

LHS executives are inundated with pitches from industry companies – often, hundreds a year.

To cut through the noise, take the following steps:

  • Start your pitch rooted in the environment of your listener, not by talking about your company. Paint a compelling picture about the challenge(s) they are facing before explaining how your product solves it.
  • Avoid generic messaging. Customize your materials to the specific LHS and executive, based on what you learned in preparation.
  • Emphasize quick wins. Even as you play a longer game in building relationships, recognize the importance of showing early returns in opening the door.
  • Discuss ROI in hard-dollar terms. LHS are stewards of community health, but also businesses. Be explicit (while also realistic) about how your product will improve financial margins.
  • Explain your technology integration strategy. LHS have invested heavily in IT solutions already; you should be clear how your product will play seamlessly in that environment.

Tip #2: Watch your language

Written sales materials often suffer from a lack of clarity and an inability to convey what solutions actually do.

Keep the following tips in mind:

  • Be concrete about what you do and the value you provide. Offer tangible use cases to show benefits, and avoid lofty, generic buzzwords that could describe any number of products.
  • Be careful with jargon. Many trendy terms (“platform”, “AI”) are used so often that they become meaningless. If you must use jargon, clearly define what you mean by it.
  • Avoid over-selling or use of throwaway, non-specific adjectives. Nearly every industry company claims to be “market leading” or “next generation”. As a result, such qualifiers may actually backfire, raising LHS executives’ skepticism.