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Great article on SalesBlogCast.

Cold calling on foot: Only if you're exceeding your number!

http://salesblogcast.com/2009/01/12/the-effectiveness-of-cold-calling-on...

When did $1,000,000 turn into $250,000? That's the difference in the threshold between being taxed more under the proposed senate bill. By driving down the threshold for new taxes, the Senate has been able to "save" $150 billion in the deficit. Who's saving exactly?

Oh well, at least it's not at the $50,000 income level.

At that level people remain in the middle of a no-man's land where increases in insurance costs (which are imminent) will squeeze so hard eyes will bulge.

If you sell anything you will get a kick out of this video. I recommend you watch it twice for the full effect.

"We didn't budget for this much."

Does this sound familiar?

I) Recruiting Manager [RM] and Hiring Manager [HM] Challenges
[RM] I tell you; sometimes I’m not sure some of the younger candidates I’m interviewing are from the same planet as me. The things they are interested in regarding comp and benefits are totally different from what my generation values! They want it all now in compensation and prefer to manage their own retirement, if at all.

A few weeks ago I asked the members of our LinkedIn group to define their personal value proposition in exactly 7 words. The responses we received were impressive, indicating a clear understanding of the essence of a value proposition. There were two groups of value proposition statements: external and internal, and I’ll dig into both.

External Value Propositions

Geoffrey James has a blog that I frequent.

This entry follows a quiz with virtually equal responses between "introducing yourself" and telling a joke...

http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=5030&page=3&tag=col1;post-5030

He advises quoting a statistic that is meaningful and sets the tone for the meeting.
I think that's OK, but I would suggest that you use the statistics to build your credibility, i.e. you know something that the audience does not, but should.

If you don't subscribe to Modern Healthcare you will have to wait a day or two to see the headline above.
The AHA released statistics that show a 61% decline in the net income (net profit) of all nonfederal U.S. hospitals.

2007 was a record setting year for net profit, boosted by large investment returns. We all know what 2008 was like, so the report is not surprising.

Investment losses caused hospital managers to hoard cash to stabilize pension fund obligations. These pension funds lost value just like hospital's own investment portfolios, so the double-hit froze budgets.

I just reviewed an article by the HFMA in the semi-annual Leadership publication. In it is a case study of global capitation of patients health care costs. The reported programs were initiated by the Blue Cross Blue Shield organization in Massachusetts.
In these programs the primary care physicians groups control the entire care delivery process and are paid for everything in one lump sum; they in turn contract with specialists and hospitals for medical services.

I agree with Las Masterson about the likely outcome of the Senate reform bill.

He says it as well as anyone, and I encourage you to read this short article.

In short:
1. Medicaid will be greatly expanded; I guess the middle class is now a vulnerable population
2. More insurance regulations will be added, but no anti-trust exemption removal; we want to make a turn, not tip the whole industry over.
3. Complicated insurance exchanges will provide more options; there will be a new land-grab in the health insurance market.

We won't get:
a. A public government run insurance program

Friends,
Attached is a link to a very tight piece on selling.
Enjoy these 8 great insights.

http://blogs.bnet.com/salesmachine/?p=6309&tag=col1;post-6309

Everyone is coming to terms with the Proposed and final ruling on “Meaningful Use” as a moving target. The good news lies in with the tightening requirements, comes broadening of the definition and qualification. Dr. Blumenthal reiterates that EMR is only PART of this industry-wide initiative, and that providers need focus on and impact what he defines as five key domains including:

1) Improving the U.S. health system
2) Safety and quality
3) Engaging patients
4) Populations
5) Privacy

Here's a short article that refers to our HFM article. The tone is rather negative on hospital survival in health care reform. It has been a theme in some of my talks--hospitals are consolidating. Here's another guy's take on the situation.

http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=349DF6BB879446A...

For a free resource to use as in formed health care consumer, or as part of your pre-call plan where you'll be discussing quality performance (hopefully a frequent topic), check out:

www.hospitalvalueindex.com/

Click on Find a Hospital and select up to 5 by clicking on the number.
You can drill into each account to examine the core measures performance.

Most hospitals also have a value index score that rates their affordability, efficiency, and quality.