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Don’t Give Away Your Business! Get It and Keep It
By Miki Fairley The sales reps aren't taking business away--the
orthotic shops are giving it to them. --Mark DeGroff, DeGroff
Orthopedic Supplies, Commerce, Michigan
It is not about marketing--it is about forming
relationships.--Joyce Perrone, consultant, Promise Consulting
Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
These two comments from observers close to the O&P
industry scene reflect what many certified practitioners are
failing to do to keep and increase their share of the
business.
"People have complained on the OANDP-L listserve about sales reps
going into medical facilities and taking business away from them,"
Perrone says. "My question is: 'How often are you in the medical
practice office?'"
"Frankly, it's about time that orthotists stand up and sell that
training--that professionalism--to the doctors," says DeGroff, who
is a sales representative to O&P facilities. Orthotists need to
go after the business--sell their services and their professional
accreditation to referral sources, he added.
What emerges from talking with Perrone and DeGroff is simply that
physicians often have a closer relationship with the sales rep than
they do with the orthotist, and that the rep often gives better
customer service. Perrone comments that all too often orthotists
simply go to the hospital, see the patient, leave, perhaps drop off
a brace, but do not see the doctor. They do not follow up with the
doctor and leave him/her a copy of their notes. They do not tell
the doctor, "When the patient comes in again I will come and work
with the patient while you're in the room, so we can be sure that
we get the outcome we want."
The practitioner simply does what he has to do to take care of the
patient and leaves, Perrone continues. "Then the patient is
magically supposed to show up at the O&P office just because
the doctor sent them there, since 20 years ago he formed a
relationship with the owner."
In contrast, the sales rep works with the doctor right in the
office, fits a knee brace or other device, thus not inconveniencing
the patient at all.
"If I were running a medical practice, and a CO from an O&P
company comes in and says, 'Here is a bunch of brochures; send your
patients to me; thanks, 'bye,' and a sales rep comes in and says,
'Tell me when you have a patient and I will be here to measure him
and then we'll have the patient come back for fitting in your
office,' I am going to go with the rep. Why should I have my
patient go across town?" She stresses, "You have to get out there
and make those relationships and form bonds!"
Commenting on commoditization, DeGroff says that off-the-shelf
(OTS) products open the way for "everyone and his brother to become
an orthotic fitter. My concern is for the patients--that's what
it's supposed to be all about." Even with OTS products, patients
can develop some sort of problem, "and if a sales rep or someone
like that is putting the product on, where does the patient go when
he needs help?"
Speaking as a sales rep, DeGroff says he does not want patients
calling him, since the orthotist is the one who is the trained
professional.
However, sometimes when DeGroff calls at some O&P facilities
and offers products, the orthotist says, "Well, go out and get the
scrip, and we'll put it on." DeGroff continues, "They've done that
to [big-name orthopedic manufacturers/suppliers], so the reps go
out and get the scrips--and guess what else? They now have the
relationship with the physician!"
This leads to two concerns, DeGroff points out. 1) Since not all
companies have the best products, the orthotist might be fitting
the patient with a product-specific prescription that may not
benefit the patient, or could even do harm. This type of situation
reduces competition among manufacturers and suppliers, which in
turn can raise product prices. The orthotist also likely will have
to spend more time later providing service to a patient who isn't
benefiting from the product.
Although of course the orthotist could, if he/she thought the
product was not the best choice for the patient, simply call the
physician and discuss this, DeGroff observed, "But more often than
not, the orthotist will just do what's called for in the scrip. It
seems to me that sometimes these orthotists just forget that they
do have some control; that they are the professional."
He adds, "I believe the orthotist in conjunction with the physician
should make the choice of product for the patients, not the sales
rep."
DeGroff says he sees his job as giving the O&P facility the
best value per dollar for good products: "My name is on the
products, and I learned a long time ago that you don't keep
customers by giving them bad products. If I find products that
don't work, I find substitutions real fast." He also sees his job
as "getting the products to them when they need them." DeGroff also
will assist the orthotist with patients if desired, make products
available for their presentations to referral sources, and even
give presentations on behalf of his O&P company
customers.
Says DeGroff, "I believe in the industry."
So the path is clear: O&P professionals must be willing to
provide great customer service and go to physicians and others to
sell the value of their professional qualifications and expertise.
"Marketing" isn't a dirty word. 
Table Of Contents - July 2006
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