Page 36 - HME Business, April 2017

Contents
Helping pharmacy owners and operators expand their DME businesses.
6 Orthopedic Opportunities
By branching out into orthopedic softgoods, as well as related items, such as compression and pain management, DME pharmacies can tap into all new markets. How should they approach this opportunity?
11 Polishing Your Point of Sale
An effective point of sale not only ensures efficient customer service, but can help create the kind of “retail experience” that drives more sales per customer. The key lies in blending technology and merchandising.
14 Incontinence Marketplace The demographics of incontinence make it a key care and business opportunity. What kind of products should DME pharmacies offer?
EDITOR’S NOTE
April 2017
A S P E C I A LF RP OU MB L I C A T I O N
A p r i l 2 0 1 7
Pharmacies’ retail revenue can take flight through orthopedic softgoods.
hme-business.com
Branching Out
Editor Products Editor
Publication Design Production Coordinator
Director of Online Product Development
Group Publisher
David Kopf
(949) 265-1561
Sydny Shepard
Wendy Byle, Byle Design Charles Johnson
Marlin Mowatt Karen Cavallo
(760) 610-0800
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Driving Sales, Relationships Through Education, Service
Steve Ackerman
President Spectrum Medical
Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq.
Chairman of the Health Care Group of Brown & Fortunato, P.C.
Rob Baumhover
Director of Retail Services for VGM Retail Services
Georgie Blackburn
Vice President, Government Relations and Legislative Affairs BLACKBURN’S
Todd Blockinger
Senior Director of Sales The MED Group
Rob Boyeye
Executive Vice President of HME Brightree LLC
Sandra Canally
President
The Compliance Team Inc.
George Coppola
Director of Marketing CAIRE Medical
John C Eberhart
President Eberhart Home Health Inc.
Brian LaDuke
Vice President, Marketing for North America Invacare Corp.
John Letizia
President of Laurel Medical Supplies Inc.
Joe Lewarski
Vice President of Global Respiratory and Sleep Drive Devilbiss
Ron Resnick
President Blue Chip Medical Products Inc.
Tom Ryan
President and CEO AAHomecare
Wayne Slavitt
Founder and CEO Mobül: The Mobility Store
Wayne van Halem
President and Founder The van Halem Group LLC
Many new DME
customers will come into your business looking for direction. For some, they might have just been diagnosed with a medical condition and have been prescribed a particular item. Others might have
arrived at their product need entirely on their own. Whatever the case, they’re looking for answers, and in some cases might be too shy to be up front and ask.
This is your moment to shine. Regardless of how these customers come to your pharmacy, it’s clear they have a unique and perhaps complex need that you can serve. The key is to provide excellent service and education.
This hinges on an attentive team. Sales comes down to consulting with the customer. If staff can work with a client to better understand his or her needs, then staff can present the best solutions for those needs. If management and staff can adopt that frame of mind, then they can position themselves for sales success.
Your staff should start out by asking ques- tions. They must learn from the customer to understand his or her situation and needs
as much as possible. The key is to ask open- ended questions that elicit as much detail
as possible. Also, they must be caring and considerate. If the condition is potentially embarrassing to the client, establish a private space where your staff can discretely consult with the client.
Make sure your team has deep product knowledge. In the same way pharmacy staff
Rx 4 April 2017 | DME Pharmacy
must understand their clients’ needs, they must understand all the product options you stock so that they can provide expert advice and steer them toward a solution from which the patients will benefit and find value.
Your staff should then be able to combine their understanding your customers with their product knowledge to start presenting options in an informative way that fosters confidence. The ability to present well to customers does not come naturally. Even the best sales profes- sionals take the time to polish their act. Work with your team to outline sales scenarios and act them out. Come up with answers to tough questions. Write out sample dialogues and exchanges and have your team practice them. It might seem a little silly at first, but once the team sees how much more successful their sales performance becomes as a result, they’ll take that practice seriously.
Focusing on education and top-tier service has multiple, lasting benefits. To begin with, those patients will remember the satisfac-
tion they derived from their experience and will return to your pharmacy when they need something else. They will also tell their friends. Moreover, even though the pharmacy team won’t be able to make every sale, it will still establish the business’s reputation as the best DME resource in its market place.
David Kopf
Editor
DME Pharmacy & HME Business
INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
President & Group Publisher Group Publisher Group Circulation Director Group Marketing Director Group Social Media Editor
Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Technology Officer
Executive Vice President Executive Chairman
REACHING THE STAFF
Kevin O’Grady Karen Cavallo Margaret Perry Susan May Matt Holden
Rajeev Kapur Henry Allain Craig Rucker Erik A. Lindgren
Michael J. Valenti Jeffrey S. Klein
Editors can be reached via e-mail, fax, telephone, or mail. A list of editors and contact information is at www.hme-business.com.
Email: email is routed to individuals’ desktops. Please use the following form: firstnameinitial,lastname@1105media.com. Do not include a middle name or middle initials.
Telephone: The switchboard is open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. After 5:30 p.m. you will be directed to individual extensions.
Dallas Office: 14901 Quorum Drive, Suite 425, Dallas, TX 75254 (972) 687-6700; Fax: (972) 687-6799; www.1105media.com
Corporate Phone: (818) 814-5200; Fax: (818) 734-1522
hme-business.com