Live Long and Prosper

This is definitely not the time for sack cloth and ashes. Home care as an industry is not passing on. On the contrary, it is being restructured.

My concern is that not every DME/HME provider sees this situation as an opportunity. The competitive bid will not be shared universally. Some bids will not be accepted by CMS. Many providers will opt not to bid because the profit dollars have been diminished to a point where they feel it is not worth their effort.

But they will NOT close their doors. They will seek new opportunities and new ways to build business.

Will Rogers has been quoted as saying, “This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.” Nothing has changed over the years since he made that observation. Perhaps today for this industry, the baby can best be identified as CMS, and it is currently holding the hammer.

Providers have been calling to tell me that they are frightened, and that they fear the consequences of competitive bidding. I understand that, but I also know that this fear should only be a catalyst to make you aware of the opportunities that are available in your market.

Another quote from Marie Curie: “Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” I want every reader of HomeCare magazine to recognize that there is a future for the industry, and to understand that this should be viewed as an opportunity.

It is time to sit down and chart a new course for your company. The HME industry is being restructured, and you have to do the same. Rather than sack cloth and ashes, now is the time for a rebirth.

Build a new foundation for your company to work from based on cash sales and over-the-counter business. The sales are there, and you can develop, find and then expand them. Look how successful Wal-Mart and Target and many other retailers have been in increasing their company’s sales. Notice how brightly lit their stores are, how everything is priced and how customers are treated like an old friend. No one can do this better than you.

Work together with your entire staff. Hold a special meeting to detail your ideas for expansion, and then ask your employees for theirs. Arrange for one member to speak first with an idea. Once the ice is broken, they will all offer ideas and suggestions based on their experiences. Write these all down. There is no better source of information than what your team will recommend.

Try it. Put these ideas to work with a new business plan.

Your friend, the manufacturer’s rep

After hearing from your staff, look to the next best source of information for ideas: your manufacturer reps.

When they call on you, please do not allow them to wait. They are your allies! Give them attention ASAP. They cannot afford the time to stand around idle. They must see as many providers as possible each day.

However, they are truly the best friends a DME/HME provider can have because they know what is selling and where the profit dollars are, and they will share that information with you. See if what they have will fit into your operation. It’s that easy.

Over the years, manufacturers’ reps have helped build our industry from fledgling operations into big business in every community. When you want to put on an open house, they are the first to volunteer. If you need promotional material, they bring it. When a new product is developed, they will make joint sales calls with your salesperson.

(Remember that when you plan any special promotion, send press releases to the local papers, radio and TV stations, and send announcements to all your customers that will remind them of the important role you play.)

These hard-working people are always available so that your sales staff can maximize their knowledge to help you expand your company’s sales. Please use — don’t abuse — your friend, the manufacturer’s rep or salesperson. Both companies will prosper.

Sheldon “Shelly” Prial is based in Melbourne, Fla., with Prial Consulting and also serves as the director of government relations for Atlanta-based Graham-Field Health Products. In 1987, he founded the Homecare Providers Co-Op, now part of The VGM Group. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 877/553-5127.