Smart Talk

Q. Why do my reps keep visiting accounts that never grow? A. They spend more time with these accounts because the fear of loss is greater than a potential reward. This fear compounds when the rep is on commission. They may protect their income and the “cash cow” feeding it. They don’t ask for additional lines of business because “it would risk my relationship.” It’s a productive account, but it doesn’t require this much time. Territory reps get sucked...

Q. How do I use data to successfully negotiate with payers? A. Let’s be honest, walking into a payer negotiation without data is like showing up to a job interview without a resume. You need to tell your story with numbers. Start with what makes you different. Do you reduce re-hospitalizations? Get patients set up faster? Have above industry compliance rates? Quantify it. Payers respond to cost avoidance and member satisfaction, so speak their language. Bring market benchmarks to the...

Q: What are the key aspects of my online presence that patients and referral sources look at when evaluating a CGM provider? A: Most people do not call first. They search first. Before a referral source agrees to work with you or a patient picks up the phone, they are looking you up online. What they find in those first few seconds shapes their perception of your business before you ever speak to them. For DME providers, that first impression can be the difference between a steady stream of referrals...

Q. Are my territory reps busy or productive? A. Probably busy and not as productive as you’d like. At the end of each month, a sales rep explains all the calls they made, time they spent driving and money they spent on in-services – they were definitely busy. But how did that equate to productivity? There is a missing factor in this equation. We should be looking for busy, focused and productive reps. All sales reps are busy. Some reps are busy and focused. High performers are busy,...

Q. What do I need to know about navigating payer contracts? A. A payer contract is far more than just a fee schedule. The terms included within these agreements directly impact your cash flow, operational processes and long-term business viability. Before signing any contract, your team (along with qualified legal counsel) should conduct a comprehensive review of the agreement. Key contract elements to review Coverage scope: Confirm the product category, service area and plan types align...

Q. I’m already paying for CGM resupply shipments to go out every 30 or 90 days. Is there a way to make those boxes work harder for my business? A. Yes – every box your distributor ships is a marketing opportunity most providers are leaving on the table. Package inserts are the highest open-rate marketing method available to DME providers. (Almost) every shipment gets opened, providing a near-guaranteed marketing impression with every delivery. Some providers are not using package...

Q. Is my sales team selling outcomes or equipment? A. Good question, and you already know the answer. Do they “show up and throw up” - listing the equipment your company provides to the gatekeeper of an account or someone who walked into your retail space? Do you hear this response: “Do you have information you can leave with me?” or “I’m just looking around.” If so, the sales rep just became a commodity. Or worse, a second option. Here’s...

Q. What can we do about a payment system that's failing DME suppliers? A. Intermediaries and third-party administrators (TPAs) have become significant players in how durable medical equipment reaches patients. For DME businesses serving everyday communities, the burden is becoming difficult to sustain. As the prevalence of TPAs supporting Medicaid Managed Care and Medicare Advantage payers trends upward, our industry needs a game plan to respond to an evolving model that, without proper...

Q. I'm adding CGM patients every month, but my overall program is not growing the way I'd expect. What am I missing? A. Your program might have a leaky bucket. It's one of the most common and costly problems in CGM resupply. Providers focus heavily on new patient acquisition, which is important, but if patients are quietly dropping off the back end, acquisition alone will not grow your resupply program at the rate you're expecting. You could be adding 50 new patients a month...

Q. How can agentic AI reduce cycle time in care delivery? A. When care delivery stalls, the risk isn’t theoretical. It shows up in delayed starts, disrupted therapy and preventable complications. And the root causes of these delays are maddeningly mundane: a missing signature, a phone call that never gets returned, a staff member buried in tasks that a computer could handle. For suppliers operating in an industry where cycle time directly affects patient outcomes, the status quo is...