You can make a difference!

I saw a quote from Elbert Hubbard, an American author born in 1859. It is so appropriate today that I felt you also must see it: “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.”

Interesting that in 1859 citizens faced similar difficulties to what we do today. Things happen so quickly that by the time a dealer has adjusted to one, another appears. In the past 62 years many opportunities and difficulties have risen to the surface and I have watched how dealers get things done. The entrepreneurs adjust while the others are thinking, “what should I do.”

Via these blogs I have been showing original marketing ideas that DME/HME dealers have shared with me. One of the reasons I stroll the show room floor at Medtrade is to greet and chat with attendees. What has always fascinated me is how so many have coped with change. I report these in my blogs and will continue to do so. Please feel free to e-mail (shelly.prial@att.net) some of your accomplishments so that other DME/HME dealers will see them. In this fashion you will make a difference.

When I speak to dealers I always ask if they belong to their state and national associations. Invariably the answer is “yes, we do!” Yet it appears far too many DME/HME dealers do not. There are two national associations, AAHomecare and NAIMES, as well as the state DME associations. A dealer may think, “well it’s OK because they work for me whether I belong or not.” I have heard that comment often. It is wrong! You can make a BIG difference when you belong to your state and national associations. Your dollars will make them much more effective and maintain you in business!

When I discuss this with accountants or attorneys, they all agree that membership is a normal cost in operating a business. They indicate very specifically without the support and work these associations do on your behalf, you might find yourself forced to close. Make a difference¡ If you are not currently a member, please become one and then solicit the other providers and dealers you know to get on board. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Attention DME Manufacturers

Attention DME Manufacturers

The interest level for OTC sales is growing daily. New items to show dealers and how to better market existing items by matching what they display more effectively to their clientele is key. You have to lead the way. This blog is being directed to the manufacturers and exhibitors who will be displaying at Medtrade in Atlanta this fall. 

My e-mail and phone calls have been filled with requests to know:

“How many new products are currently available?” 

“Which exhibitors are bringing excellent OTC items?” “Will we find many new opportunities this year at Medtrade?”

“Which vendors will show me how to develop new sales?”

These are the questions that I am constantly hearing today and the volume keeps growing. This is a direct challenge to you, the manufacturer and the exhibitor. When answered, it will open many new doors of opportunity for both your company and the dealer! I have attended every Medtrade since its inception and never have seen this much searching for help and seeking new items to market. This is why the Medtrade Exhibition this year is more important than ever. The attendees are reaching out to you.

The providers and dealers realize they can no longer depend on CMS or Medicare. They want to develop more cash sales! You have the products, so come prepared to attract many new customers. This year the DHME attendees will be in Atlanta trying to identify the many new items which will be introduced.

As a manufacturer, showing your wares at Medtrade, this becomes a golden opportunity. I urge you all to take advantage of it. Every DME/HME provider wants the ability to tap more deeply into OTC cash sales. They all feel they are really more effective than the giant stores. They know their clientele, the patients and the family caregivers and are best positioned to move products.

This Medtrade, bring with you aggressive programs for building sales. Offer the opportunity to have your reps make joint calls with their staff.  Hold “dog and pony” demonstrations for all the providers' employees to introduce and expand your line of products. When this happens, everyone wins! You win, the dealer wins and so does their customers. 

Do you know the ABCs and ROIs of DME/HME?

ROI means Return On Investment. A good ROI is what every principal of a DME/HME company and their accountant seek.

Every service you offer requires an investment. It can be number of dollars or time spent. No matter what how you identify it, there is an investment made. Taking an advertisement, offering to do a seminar, holding an open house, speaking at schools and churches, all of these are time consuming and each has a cost. So be sure what you offer will provide you with an ROI. When done correctly these all will pay-off for you.

My main concern is how you maintain your inventory. A dealer last year at Medtrade told me about a “great deal” (his words) he obtained from one of his vendors. He purchased a six-month supply of their products for an extra discount. He thought he made a lot of dollars. I had to disagree!

More money is made by turnover; the number of times you sell an item and replace it. At a seminar I attended at a previous Medtrade this was explained as follows:

On January 1, you buy an item for $90.00 and sell it for $150.00. The gross profit in that transaction is 40%. If you sell that item and replace it only once a month, the ROI in one year of an investment of $90.00 is $720.00 profit. If you purchase a six month supply of the same item to earn an additional discount then you will run into the problem of storage, where and tear and handling. You have tied up your cash and these precious dollars are not available for anything else.

I believe the term accountant’s use is Activity Based Costing or “ABC”. It has proven to be much less expensive to pay few percent more than to fill your warehouse or storage space. Better profits always will come from “turn-over” and that reflects as a better Return On Investment (ROI).

Please discuss ROI versus turnover with your accountant because a fluid cash flow is the heart of any business. This is particularly true for DME/HME where things can change so rapidly.

To attend a seminar like the one I mentioned above, just visit www.medtrade.com and make the trip to Las Vegas April 9-12!

Planning & Implementing

Robert Burns is often quoted as saying: “the best laid plans of mice and men may often go astray.” He is correct!

Over the years many DME/HME dealers have shared with me their thoughts; what they are planning to do to build more sales and increase their profits. I have heard so many excellent ideas.

But there is a difference between planning and implementing and so I want to stir things up a bit. Implementing is to continue the planning. Take your excellent ideas and turn them into reality.

Appoint the members of your staff who are responsible to explain the program you planned. Be sure to give a copy of the plan to each of them. Then appoint specific functions to every employee and have them coalesce. In that way they will meld into a team. Monitor and work closely with your employees.

If any of your preferred vendors products are featured, do not hesitate to ask them for support. You will be surprised with what they can do to enhance your program, which will help implement it.

Planning is only the first step. Implementing is the next step to harvest the crop. It requires a great team effort to reach your goal. Every member of your staff from the voice on the telephone to the drivers of the delivery vehicles has to contribute to your “plan.”

Alexander Dumas said “Nothing succeeds like success” and I want to add that happens only when you implement your plans!

Feel free to call me on my WAT – 1-877-553-5127 or send me an e-mail. I will be delighted to help you with any thoughts you may have. If you are attending Medtrade Spring, please stop me and let us speak.

Are you really listening?

Sometimes we are so busy we often forget to listen. When I recently visited a DME/HME dealer, I was watching their salesperson showing a senior citizen and her husband how to correctly use the new wheel chair ordered by her physician.

He did an excellent job demonstrating all the features of the chair, but … and here is the problem he missed. He didn’t listen to the question that concerned the husband. He was asked about how HE, an 80+ old senior, would fold the chair?

The young man lifted the seat and the chair closed into itself. What he should have done is allow the customer do it by himself. Although somewhat frail he was capable. Other questions were asked, how to travel carrying her pocketbook, how to use the chair when shopping, and how to put it in the trunk of their vehicle.

Think about what your customer wants. When they come to you to make a purchase they are looking for explanations and demonstrations. They seek a comfort level. When they leave and have made the purchase, they are now ready to maximize the benefits. However, when they are not fully satisfied they usually will say “thank you” but they want to speak to their children. You may have lost that sale!

All I can say is please listen very carefully to what your customer asks and pay attention to their comments. Be very sure you address and answer any questions and resolve any doubts they may have.

At Medtrade in Las Vegas, try to arrange with your vendors to have sales training sessions for your staff. These invariably are “win-win”.

Visit http://www.medtrade.com for more information on the upcoming conference this April 2012!

How are you using E-mail Marketing?

E-mail, is it a blessing or not? Can a DME/HME dealer use e-mail effectively? This past weekend this topic was a discussion I had with a few cronies (peers). It appears that most senior citizens enjoy reading their e-mails and at the same time abhor the great number they receive. This morning when I opened my computer I found 87 new messages. I deleted all but a dozen, which I read carefully. There was much important information that arrived. Dave Parks sends his HomeCare Newsletter, which is filled with current events. Important? Yes! Then I opened the hmeNewswire, which Liz Beaulieu edits, and this is another good source of news. Since we are about a month away from Medtrade Spring, it is also important to study Medtrade Monday as we all prepare for tomorrow. All that is what a DME/HME provider normally does. How do your senior citizens look at their e-mails? With enthusiasm! They, too, wipe out the obvious commercials in which they have no interest. However, this still leaves a good number for them to review. I was with three other gentlemen my age and two of them both told me the same thing. They look forward to the weekly newsletter their pharmacy sends. There was always a good health idea and occasionally a sale on an ADL item. I have spoken with a number of dealers at the Medtrade meetings. They do the same and tell me sending a Weekly Newsletter, via email, does two things for them. It maintains the loyalty of the customer and increases sales when they offer a single item at a special price. All of the necessary material to successfully send an e-mail weekly newsletter is in your computer. If you have the address of the family caregiver, please include them. The answer to my opening comment is that e-mail can be a valuable tool for a DME/HME provider. If you're looking for an inexpensive way to market to your customers using e-mail, check out Constant Contact at www.constantcontact.com.

Take Action!

The best way to describe action is behavior with energy and resolution. It means getting off your chair and doing something.

In the past few weeks DME/HME providers have been asked to make phone calls, send letters and roll up their sleeves to fight some of the onerous legislation being introduced. You are also being asked to support specific politicians and legislations. Are you doing what has been asked of you?

I have on many occasions, when speaking with providers, tried to determine the response they received from the elected officials they contacted. When I receive a message from the state and national associations, I pick up the phone and make calls, write memos or send e-mails. I am sure that the great number of members of state associations, AAHomecare, NAIMES, VGM, MED Group and similar organizations do the same. They ask you to do something!

BUT……. When I hear from dealers who do not belong to these organizations they answer me with a ‘WHY’? If they don’t belong, they say they have no obligation. This shocks me, because they are “free-loaders” and beneficiaries of another person’s dollars.

Can you imagine how much more effective these associations would be if almost 100% of the dealers and providers paid dues, worked with their associations and joined in the battle? They need your energy and resolution! They need your financial support. They will keep you in business; they will help you fight the changes that can be destructive.

There is no one else who can do this other than you. NO ONE ELSE!

Stand Up for Homecare Medtrade Spring 2011

If you’re going to Medtrade Spring, be sure to join AA Homecare at the annual Stand Up for Homecare Reception. www.aahomecare.org/standupforhomecare

If you aren't going to Vegas for the show, be sure to check out AA Homecare's Action center to find out how you can help on a local and national level! TAKE ACTION

Looking to the Future

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we had a magic globe and could look into the future? We, researching in our magic globe will see what problems are facing us, and then perhaps we can plan to prevent them from happening. Even better, we may discover many good things that are awaiting us and plan around these events. But alas, we do not have that ability.

But there are so many new and profitable opportunities that can be found when attending Medtrade Spring. It is April 10-12 at the Sands expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas and that can be your magic globe!

To obtain the maximum benefits you should make very careful plans! A review with your accountant and bookkeeper should show which segments of the business bring the most sales volume. Finding those that bring the highest profits are very important and which segments need to be improved.

Then, when you review who the exhibitors are and where their booths will be, you can plan ahead. One of the HME/DME dealers I know told me that before he leaves for Medtrade, he contacts the vendors and key reps his company works with and makes appointments to meet their sales manages or company principals at the show. Many good deals and promotions are arranged in that fashion! You can do the same! Their representative and his superior really appreciate when that happens and you will receive the dedicated attention you deserve.

As in the past, you must pay careful attention to all the various products in the New Products Pavilion. Be sure to visit the exhibits and see what’s new and what will fit into your operation. Opportunities galore are waiting for you.

There are many major benefits to be gained from attending Medtrade. When you plan how you will approach the vendors on the exhibit floor you reap a great ROI. I will be walking the floor and so please find me and share your experiences with me. See you in Las Vegas!

To register for Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas visit: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/MEDS042/landing.asp?h=