The healthcare industry is in the global spotlight due to COVID-19. Analysts expect the healthcare market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.6% from 2020 to 2027, reaching $520.6 million. For those in healthcare sales, business is set to boom.
However, COVID-19 has wholly upended the healthcare sales cycle. Face-to-face interactions have decreased. Conferences and other large-scale industry events have been canceled. As medical providers and facilities come under financial strain dealing with a widespread pandemic, buyers are reassessing how to best invest their money.
It’s a moment of massive upheaval. You can either adapt and leverage the current changes to your advantage — or stay stagnant and let the sales opportunities pass you by.
This blog examines changes in healthcare sales in COVID times and provides practical pointers on how to increase your market shares in the evolving landscape.
How are Healthcare Sales Changing in COVID Times?
The sales sector has changed in every area. A survey of B2B sales businesses spanning 11 countries identified trends in three key areas:
- Change in spending: In general, companies are decreasing expenditures. However, specific sectors, including healthcare, are seeing a rise in spending.
- Emphasis on digital: Across the board, B2B companies anticipate more digital interactions. Traditional sales interactions, like face-to-face meetings and mingling at conferences, are expected to decrease in importance.
- Increased remote work: As of April 2020, nearly 90 percent of sales had moved to video conferencing, phone, or website models. Compared to previous skepticism, confidence in such models has increased.
These trends become even more pronounced in the medical field. For instance, physicians report that patients are increasingly embracing telemedicine over in-person appointments due to fear of COVID-19 infection.
As a result, healthcare organizations may consider redistributing budgets to invest in improved video conferencing capabilities. Healthcare practitioners will be required to become more tech-savvy in this field. As a sales professional, it’s essential to understand such changes in supply and demand in healthcare.
4 Tips for Effective Healthcare Sales in COVID Times
Understanding the changes in the sales industry is only half the battle. You have to take this knowledge and adapt accordingly. Here’s how.
1. Identify Your Audience’s New Burdens
Whether you sell ultrasound diagnostics equipment to integrated delivery networks (IDNs) or patient data management software to group purchasing networks, your target audience has undoubtedly experienced changes since COVID-19 began.
Educate yourself on the new burdens your target audience faces. For instance, healthcare practitioners have had to change treatment protocols, while organizations grapple with supply chain disruptions. Surveys are a great way to identify barriers — and then determine how you can help address them.
Knowledge of your audience’s needs also allows you to adapt your sales pitch and messages accordingly.
2. Master Virtual Communication Tools
When touching base with existing clients or having a first-time meeting with a new client, odds are the exchange will be virtual. Be prepared to adapt to your customer’s needs. Acquaint yourself with the most popular virtual communication platforms, including Zoom, WebEx, and Google Hangouts.
This way, you can always quickly adapt to your client’s preferences. With COVID-19 draining healthcare resources — including time — you don’t want to demand more of your clients by asking them to download or learn new video conferencing technology.
3. Take Advantage of Digital Events
Conferences used to be a prime spot for building relationships in the healthcare sales space. While some events are continuing with new COVID-19 safety measures, others are moving online (an excellent opportunity for digital advertising in healthcare). Do your research on what events are ongoing.
There is also a new opportunity in the digital space. You don’t have to attend enormous conferences. Hosting a webinar or a virtual round table discussion on a niche topic in your field is a great way to reach your target audience and establish yourself as an authoritative knowledge source.
4. Monitor Your Success and Be Prepared to Pivot
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s the importance of adapting. Major companies have gone from housing employees in offices to having them work from home. Fitness buffs have taken their workouts from the gym to the living room. Schoolteachers have found ways to engage kids via remote learning.
If you want to succeed in healthcare sales in COVID times, you need to be ready to make changes. To enact positive changes, you need information on what works and what doesn’t. You get this by gathering granular data about your methodology.
For example, if you host a webinar, how many people tune in? How many are existing clients versus new leads? How many of them convert to sales when you follow up with those leads via one-on-one video conferences? With such meta-analysis, you can adapt your sales strategies and improve outcomes.
Get Help Enhancing Your Sales in COVID Times
Share Moving Media can help you find new ways to succeed in healthcare sales in COVID times. We help our clients increase their market share through our full-service media offering, including targeted publications, educational services, events, and more. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest healthcare sales and marketing news. Want help revamping your healthcare sales processes? Contact us today!
