132: Healthcare Sales Done Right

Are you making this mistake in healthcare sales?

You’re doing healthcare sales wrong. At least, a lot of people are making the same mistake in sales calls or demos. I talk to a lot of healthcare startups and tech companies who are trying to drive sales and awareness. But they’re going about it all wrong.

They’re not doing anything crazy, like spamming people in the LinedIn Message Inbox (cause that’s just annoying, am I right?) But, they’re messing things up when they get into a discovery or demo call. They spend most, if not all, of the time with a prospective prospect “presenting” them with all of the value add, features, benefits, etc. But they glance over the MOST IMPORTANT part of these initial conversations: understanding the prospective customer’s situation, context, and value-drivers..

Many healthcare sales folks spend too much time trying to “convince” a prospect that their solution will solve their problems. But they never actually take the time to understand what problem the prospective customer actually wants to solve.  All sales, including healthcare sales, need to first start with a simple conversation.

And that conversation has 2 goals:

1. Understanding the prospect’s situation & the nature of the problem they are seeking to solve
2. Determining whether there’s a good fit between your solution and their problem; and whether that fit warrants moving to the next step

Sometimes, the answer is “no”, and that’s fine; but it’s not fine to waste too much time getting to that ultimate conclusion. The goal in any initial demo or discovery conversation is to understand whether or not you should even continue the conversation. The faster you answer that question, the more efficient your sales process becomes. So stop presenting or trying to bombard prospects with your solution’s benefits or features, and spend more time trying to actually understand the prospect’s situation. Then see if there’s a fit between that situation/problem and your solution.

What we cover in this Episode:

• The importance of positioning on lead generation
• Understanding the role that specific value plays in a healthcare sales conversation
• Driving sales with conversations
• How to craft a value proposition for your healthcare business
• Understanding the barriers to adoption of healthcare solutions
• Aligning business models and incentives in the healthcare sales process
• Achieving Better Outcomes by replacing demo presentations with value conversations

We post videos of certain podcast episodes, including this episode, which can find on the YouTube Channel.

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• LinkedIn (Rafi Salazar)
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For More:

If you enjoyed this episode: Join Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi), principal of Rehab U Practice Solutions and host of The Better Outcomes Show as he explores the possibilities of a new healthcare. Guests range from clinicians trying new techniques and treatments to executives and entrepreneurs exploring new service delivery methods, business models, and organizational structures. You can sign-up to receive new episodes delivered directly to your inbox by filling out the form below.  Learn more about Rehab U Practice Solutions by reading The Manifesto for a New Healthcare, or listen to Episode 000. Or, grab a copy of the book: Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare.

Are You Ready to Humanize Healthcare?

If you run an innovative healthcare company and are looking to develop a strategy that leverages best practices, new technology, and marketing/messaging in a way that returns the focus of healthcare to people, please reach out. I’d love to talk with you about how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help help you craft an business development strategy that leverages positioning, market research, stakeholder alignment to drive business development strategy for specific healthcare stakeholders.

Work With Me

Are you building something innovative in healthcare—like a digital health product, service, or platform that’s aiming to truly improve the patient experience?

I help healthcare startups, SaaS platforms, and forward-thinking provider organizations develop clear positioning strategies, identify high-value offers, and build go-to-market plans that actually resonate with both users and buyers.

Whether you're launching a new product, scaling an existing service, or navigating digital transformation, I bring 12+ years of experience across clinical operations, healthcare innovation, and strategic development.

How I help:

• Clarify your product/service positioning so customers “get it”
• Align your offer with real market needs
• Build a Digital Health Roadmap to scale your healthcare organization effectively
• Support business development with industry-informed strategy

I’ve consulted on projects from multi-million-dollar state initiatives to early-stage product launches. My work’s been featured in Forbes, and I also speak at healthcare events and conferences on topics like innovation, digital health, and humanizing care. I also speak and train at healthcare conferences, events, and organizations on topics related to technology-enabled care, healthcare innovation, healthcare positioning, and humanizing the healthcare experience.

👉 Let’s connect and see if we’re a good fit.