What are the most common challenges faced by companies selling software & technology to clinicians, and how can these be overcome?
As a clinician & clinic owner on the receiving end of sales pitches from companies, and as a consultant that helps these companies get their tools in the hands of clinicians, I’ve seen both sides of this coin. Often, the company Selling Software & Technology to Clinicians misunderstands the problems their tool solves for their potential clients, and the clinicians see the tool as a barrier or extra step in doing their already busy jobs…
To jump this hurdle, you need to position your tool as a high-value solution.
Understanding the Problem Your Tool Solves for Clinicians
The first challenge that many companies face when trying to sell their software or tool revolves around understanding the actual problem it solves for their clients – in this case, clinicians or clinical organizations. Oftentimes, a company might pitch its product as a cost-saving solution or something that consolidates existing technologies being used by an organization. While these benefits may provide some traction initially, they may not address higher-priority issues that would make your product more appealing.
To overcome this challenge, it’s essential to conduct thorough research on what problems your tool can solve within the workflow of a clinician’s practice before positioning it as just another cost-saving measure. For example, if your technology helps with patient engagement by reducing no-shows and cancellations – which is a much greater concern for most clinicians than saving money on software expenses – then you should focus on highlighting that aspect instead.
Positioning Your Technology as a High-Value Solution When Selling Software & Technology to Clinicians
Once you have identified how your tool addresses high-value concerns within a clinician’s practice (such as improving patient engagement), you must position it accordingly when presenting it to potential clients. Rather than simply touting cost savings or consolidation features alone – which could lead them to question whether switching systems is worthwhile over such small monetary gains – emphasize how your technology can generate significant revenue or savings in other areas.
For example, if your software can reduce a clinic’s no-show rate by 50%, leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings over the course of a year, present that information when pitching your product. Even if it costs slightly more than their current solution, focusing on these high-value benefits will make it much easier to sell.
Adapting to Clinician Workflows and Integrating with Existing Systems
Another challenge faced by companies selling software and technology to clinicians is ensuring their products integrate well into existing workflows and systems. It isn’t easy for most clinicians to adapt quickly to new technologies, especially those that could potentially disrupt their daily routines. As such, ensuring that your tool fits seamlessly within this environment without causing unnecessary disruptions is crucial for adoption success.
To tackle this issue, consider working closely with clinicians during development phases so you can gain firsthand insights into how they work and what features would best meet their needs. Additionally, designing software or tools that are flexible enough to accommodate various workflow styles will help ensure smooth integration across different clinical settings.
Summary
The challenges faced by companies selling software and technology solutions to clinicians are numerous but not insurmountable. By understanding the problems at hand – both big ticket issues like patient engagement as well as smaller concerns like cost-savings – you’ll be better positioned to develop solutions tailored specifically for healthcare professionals’ needs while positioning them appropriately when presenting them as potential investments.
By taking these steps toward overcoming common challenges in clinician-targeted sales pitches alongside fostering productive relationships through collaboration efforts during development stages – you ultimately increase your chances of success within this competitive market space where every advantage counts!
What are some other common challenges companies have when selling software to clinicians?
For more content like this, check out our Insights Page and check out The Better Outcomes Show. Or if you want to humanize healthcare through your business or organization, learn how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help here! You can also schedule a call with Rafi to discuss your company’s positioning strategy and brainstorm a business development plan here. Check out Rafi’s latest book, Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare, on Amazon!
Rafael E. Salazar II, MHS, OTR/L (Rafi) is the Principal Owner of Rehab U Practice Solutions and the host of The Better Outcomes Show and the author of Better Outcomes: A Guide to Humanizing Healthcare. His career trajectory includes 10+ years of experience in healthcare management, clinical operations, programmatic development, marketing & business development. He even spent some time as an Assistant Professor in a Graduate Program of Occupational Therapy and has served on numerous boards and regulatory committees. He has worked on projects ranging from patient engagement initiatives to marketing communication campaigns to a multi million dollar project assisting the State of Georgia's Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities transition individuals out of state institutions to community residences. His work on Telehealth has been discussed in Forbes.
Today, Rafi helps innovative healthcare companies like technology startups, platforms, and SaaS companies develop effective positioning strategy and business development plans through his consulting work. He also leverages his experience as a professor and academic to speak and train on the topics around humanizing the healthcare experience. In addition, Rafi also owns and operates ProActive Rehabilitation & Wellness, a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic treating patients with musculoskeletal pain.
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If you are an innovative healthcare company looking to humanize healthcare through direct service delivery, technology, a device, or software, then reach out. We'd love to talk with you about how Rehab U Practice Solutions can help.
What we can help you do:
✅ Clarify your product, service, or organization's positioning...
✅ Identify what is most valuable and least valuable to your targeted healthcare stakeholder...
✅ Develop a Market Penetration Roadmap to align your company's value proposition with your targeted healthcare stakeholder to develop a bottom up marketing strategy...
We help you not only craft your positioning strategy, we help you identify your highest value offer for your target audience, align that value with your market, and help you develop a business development system that leverages insights from market data & industry-specific resources to enable your business development team to effectively drive business for your organization.
In short, we help your whole organization become focused on the most important thing in healthcare: people – the people who work for your organization, and the people who your organization treats or serves.
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