During these uncertain times, what will the future bring for the healthcare industry and its customers? More importantly, how can your sales team connect with valued customers amid a shift to a value-based provider model, pressure to reduce overhead costs, and the demand for a personalized customer experience. 

Experts estimate that the global healthcare industry will exceed over $10 trillion by 2022, with the US spending twice what other countries invest in healthcare services. In other words, the HLS industry offers enticing sales opportunities for every phase of the sales cycle.  

“Today, healthcare enterprises are looking to leverage Salesforce to not just engage with patients, but for their end-to-end business functions and broader healthcare needs, such as reducing technical debt, containing costs, driving patient centricity, and enabling data interoperability,” said Abhishek Singh, Chunky Satija, and Priya Sahni.

They added that healthcare enterprises hope to create a 360-degree patient/member view by leveraging advanced analytics to better engage with and offer personalized experiences to patients/members, improve care outcomes, and drive cost efficiencies. Implementing Salesforce CPQ with your CRM is key. 

By automating sales management with Salesforce CPQ, you will supply your HLS sales teams with the tools they need to increase productivity through better collaboration, secure more sales, and provide a positive customer experience. Here’s how:

 

Increases productivity

To stay competitive, your sales team must prepare more sales quotes in less time. But with today’s leading health and life science companies making faster sales decisions, the pace needed to stay on top of closing deals often raises the risk of increased errors in quotes. 

Through research, experts found that almost 80 percent of B2B buyers believe it’s “very important” to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor and who adds value to their business. But to build that trust, your sales team must build a customer relationship based on responsiveness and integrity. An example is to provide consistent, accurate pricing and quotes. 

By using an automated system that generates preprogrammed rules to ensure error-free pricing of account quantities, discounts, customizations, and product options, Salesforce CPQ will help your sales team streamline large volume quotes and pricing processes. And that means better productivity from your team, a better view of the buyer’s journey, and more profitable sales deals. 

 

Improves collaboration

When TrialCard, the largest provider of patient access programs in the industry, approached Simplus with the need for improved collaborative capabilities, the Simplus team implemented Salesforce to ensure the sales team had access to up-to-date information to assist with designing strategic sales paths. 

According to Salesforce, 77 percent of salespeople say selling collaboratively with other departments is important, adding that your sales teams need to be cognizant of essential service interactions when dealing with customers. 

“Closing a deal is never a one-person job; it requires a coordinated cross-functional team,” said Colin Fleming of Salesforce. There are engineers and product managers to answer customer questions, marketers to nurture prospects through the sales funnel, and executives and attorneys to weigh in on pricing and deal structure. After the deal is signed, service reps solve complex customer issues that can require case escalation and swarming to find solutions.”

 

Enhances the customer experience

One of the most impactful healthcare trends is the move toward value-based care. With this model, hospitals and healthcare providers are paid based on patient health outcomes. The “value” in this model results from measuring health outcomes versus the cost of delivering them. Essentially, when patients make healthier lifestyle choices, providers are rewarded. 

As more healthcare providers use value-based offerings as a guide, MedTech sales teams realize that the product is no longer the standalone strategy. Instead, sales strategies now include additional services, warranties, or subscriptions. 

The next customer seeks a customized experience and flexibility in their buying decisions. Implementing CPQ allows sales reps to quickly create custom bundling and share product quotes and introduce new revenue models, like subscriptions or usage billing. 

 

Increases sales

It’s important for customers to feel they are getting the best value for their money–not just a low price. Your sales team can respond to potential customers by providing reliable quotes within days rather than weeks; pricing that supports real value for the customer. Opportunity means everything in the healthcare industry, so quick, personalized service will support greater customer satisfaction and increase your customer base. 

A company’s success depends on a healthy bottom line. With Salesforce CPQ, your sales team can offer discounts to satisfy the customer and maintain a healthy relationship without compromising a safe profit margin for the company. 

The health and life science industry is constantly evolving. Is your sales team prepared to respond to the fast pace? For more information on ways to improve your team’s productivity, sales, and patient experience, click here.