Cash Sales Promotion and Focus!

Medtrade October 15-18

The market is dramatically changing; DME/HME providers and dealers are seeking OTC cash sale opportunities. They can no longer depend on CMS, Medicare or Medicaid. So, the folks at Medtrade are guiding the exhibitors to make cash sale programs an important part of their displays.

This need for cash sales is so important that Medtrade is setting aside 4,500 square feet of the exhibition floor as a HOME & RETAIL DESIGN CENTER. Do you realize how big this space is? You can definitely expect to see many new ideas and products!  You can also read more here: Click Here

You must keep all your Medicare and Medicaid customers. Experience has taught us they all have family caregivers who are looking for comfort items to allow them to maintain their own domicile. We are very aware that most Medicare clients have disposable dollars in their pockets and are looking for the same products. I know this is true because at more than 85 years old, I attend many meetings and speak to all my cronies. Finding comfort items is always a topic.

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from a dealer in Ohio. I was told his company sponsored a discussion on “Caring for the Elderly, Mom and Pop.”  He invited two local physicians to speak. They each delivered a brief message. The rest of the allotted time was spent answering questions from the audience. I was told that the response to this was fantastic. He felt that scheduling it from 9:00 AM until noon was sufficient.  He plans to do it again. He also invited many of his vendors to set up small displays with samples and hand-outs. Did this pay off? Yes!

Let this be your guide to many new sales and additional profits. At Medtrade you can arrange with the manufacturers for their aid in doing a promotion along these lines. Plan to visit the Home and Retail Design center and be sure that many of your staff as possible will view the same. 

I recommend that you make the investment necessary to bring staff members to Medtrade. Experience has shown us that there is a very large ROI (return on investment) when you bring them with you. 

Change & Opportunity

When you make any changes in your DME/HME company operation and it is successful, that move is usually permanent! Problems can happen when any change is made in haste without proper preparation. When it does not work out as anticipated, the opportunity is lost!

In the last few blogs we wrote about ROI, family caregivers, OTC cash sales, listening, e-mail and other normal day-to-day opportunities. This morning I received a phone call (877-553-5127) from a young lady who told me that this Medtrade in 

Las Vegas will be her first one. Her enthusiasm is high!

She wanted to know to whom she should visit while at the show? I told her to seek out the companies she currently buys from. Meet them and tell the about her operation (her company is less than a year old). Then I recommended that she look at all the vendors to see which other products fit into her operation.

She wanted to know if she could attend the lectures and seminars without having registered for each. I explained that these seminars are an integral part of Medtrade. Hearing that she told me now she would bring a staff person. She realized that could earn her a good ROI!

Sometimes you forget that there are many opportunities waiting for you on the showroom floor. Yes, Medtrade is also a great social event where you will meet many friends and peers.

At the exhibition everyone will have to have the ability to find new products and new services. All of these will enhance your business and increase your profits. Another major benefit at Medtrade is the ability to meet with the industry associations, buying groups and publications. There is nothing that compares with what you can get at Medtrade; new opportunities and great ideas for changes! Seek and ye shall find. I hope to see you all in Las Vegas!

If you haven't registered yet, there is still time! https://www.xpressreg.net/register/MEDS042/landing.asp?h=&sc=EREG6SIC

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!

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=