Why can’t I get an IDN’s attention? This is why! 

This one slide from a presentation by Matt Palcich, System Director, Analytics and Process Improvement at MultiCare shows it way better than I can articulate it!

Last week Amazon hosted IDN Insights West at their H.Q. in Seattle, Washington. In two days, we covered a lot of ground! 

Over the next couple weeks, I will share some interesting takeaways from the two-day meeting that brought IDN Supply Chain Leaders and National Account Executives together. 

For years I have been trying to help Suppliers understand the chaotic environment Providers live in. In a single day they get hundreds of emails, dozens of phone calls and many, many interruptions. 

I love to ask Suppliers if they had 2-minutes to chat with a IDN prospect, what would you want them to know about you, your product or solution and your company? Reflexively they start right in on what differentiates them from their competitors. Very rarely do they address any of the issues Matt illustrates in his slide.

One sure way to get their attention is to promise to (and actually do!) help with one of the above challenges! Lead with their issues, not your wants.

One of the best strategies I have seen deployed by Suppliers wanting venue with IDN decision makers is offering to teach them how to evaluate your category. Again, not heralding your features, benefits and service outputs, but the opportunities to seek and pitfalls to avoid in your category.

I see it repeatedly -- those that lead with empathy from listening first rather than answers -- will earn the right to help solve a problem.

Please contact me if you’d like to discuss a few ways to do this with our nation’s top IDNs!

The IDN Directory provides insights into the supply chains for the biggest health systems in the country to give manufacturer reps, distribution reps, and national accounts managers a quick, accurate view of what’s going on with their customers - right now. Contact us at demo@idndirectory.com to schedule a demo today!