Whether it's fitting a bra after breast surgery or suggesting incontinence products, women's health requires a sensitive approach.
How do you properly sell women's health items such as post-breast surgery products? For Syndi E. Salat, CMF (BOC/ABC), product manager at Positive Care in Schwartz's Intimate Apparel, Wilmette, Ill, it's all about sensitivity.
HME Today: What is your approach to interacting with post-mastectomy patients?
Salat: There are so many breast surgeries now that are not necessarily mastectomy—the literature says "post-breast surgery." There are so many lumpectomies; they do a lot of tissue conserving—but you still need to approach patients the same way, because a lot of them will come in with drains, or needing bras or breast forms—but it's not always a mastectomy.
Our approach is basically: 1) You have to be a people person to start with; and 2) If it were yourself, your mother, or your sister, how would you like to be treated? You want to be treated with compassion, with dignity, and certainly not condescendingly in any way.
I greet these patients as I would any other of my clients: "It's so great to meet you. Did you have any trouble finding us?" Generic questions put people at ease. These customers are usually kind of edgy, and they don't know what to expect. There is an emotional edge to the fitting, so I stay with the generic questions—it breaks the ice. Any kind of specific questions I wait to ask in the fitting room where it is more private.
You certainly always have to get the intake information, the insurance, and things like that. But I feel people out; if someone is really nervous, sometimes I leave that until the end—even though in our industry it's not always the proper thing to do, so to speak—but patients are not always comfortable with doing all of that paperwork right away.
Tools and Tactics
- Use generic questions to put people at ease.
- If someone says, "My doctor did not know where to send me," find the physician and educate her about your services.
- Keep a small resource center in your store with brochures and product details.
- Do in-services for physicians. Remember, physicians want to know where to send patients.
- After a referral, maintain follow-up with the physician.
I always sit on the same level as the customer, so that we are speaking eye to eye, as opposed to standing over them, or standing with my arms crossed. People are more comfortable sitting. At this point, you say, "OK, so tell me what's been going on." And from a woman-to-woman perspective, if you show a genuine interest, they do want to tell you their story. They will open up a little bit. I always explain what I'm going to do. I ask if they have seen a breast form before, because just opening up a box and handing them something can be a little traumatic.
HME Today: How do you tactfully suggest other helpful items such as incontinence products?
Salat: Well, remember that this is a sensitive item. So, right off the bat, you're in a fitting room, they're half naked, and you're one of only a handful of people outside of that medical community who has seen them without their clothes on. Some of them, even their significant others, have not. In the course of the conversation, we talk about a lot of other products. With an accessory product, such as a camisole, I'll say, "You know, if you get really warm, sometimes that internal thermostat..." and they'll say, "Oh yes, at night I'm so warm." And then I can say, "Well, we have this wonderful wicking type of fabric," and then we talk about nightwear and undergarments. I say, "And even underwear, if you stay within this type of fabric...," and then I hear, "Well, I have to wear a pad...." And then I can lead into telling them that we have really pretty and nondisposable items. Sometimes it migrates to that. It depends on someone's personality. Some people want to share, some don't.
We keep a small resource center in our store, which I think all stores should do. There is, of course, our brochures that detail our products, and there are brochures from our manufacturers. That is where I'll usually have them sit. It's comfortable, and we always have bottles of water, things like that. And then they can look at those brochures without really having to tell me what they need. They take in information, and sometimes they call afterward. I always put our brochure in their bag. So again, in the privacy of their own home, they can look that over and see that information.
HME Today: How do you build and maintain your referrals?
Salat: I find that word of mouth is really the best referral—when friends or family members tell patients to come to us. Above and beyond that, the doctor referral seems to be the best. Maintaining follow-up with a physician's office is wonderful once you get your foot in the door. I keep sending them information, and I send thank-you notes when they refer us.
You have to know the office managers and nurses. Those gatekeepers are the most important. They are the ones who are going to do the referrals; they are the ones the clients usually ask. Usually, if I can get the e-mail addresses of the office managers, I'll send them quick e-mails to thank them, or thank-you notes in the mail.
As a small business, it's almost impossible for me to be in every office in such a large metropolitan area. If I have a client who comes in and says, "My doctor didn't know where to send me, but Aunt Mildred told me to come here," I immediately want to know who that doctor is because I need to send them information. I offer to do an in-service, and doctors love that, because they would much rather know where to send someone. I always try to feed off of the information my clients give me, and then I always follow up with that doctor's office. If I keep doctors' offices updated on what is going on, I'll have clients come in with the information I sent their doctor in hand and say, "I want this one." Information makes it easier for your referral sources and for your client.
HME Today: What are the keys to negotiating good insurance contracts?
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Salat: What state you are in will tell you what it's going to be like—since insurance contracts vary so much by state. I would tell people to do their homework, know how much your product costs to fit to your client. Not just the price of the product, but the time involved in it. When you're negotiating a contract, make sure you're looking at the price level that you can truly sell that product for, and dispense it to your client in the proper manner. You have to know your clientele, you have to know what area you are in. If you are in a higher-end clientele, and you know they aren't going to want just what is medically necessary (usually, insurance companies pay only for what is medically necessary), you make sure that you have that upgrade cost.
I have been a part of Essentially Women (a buying group), and the information I have gotten from that is amazing. I attend their educational conference every year, and they have entire seminars on insurance contracts. How do you know when to mark something down? How do you know how much that true cost is? It is these kinds of seminars, and belonging to an organization like that, that allow me to know how to negotiate a good contract. This gives you leverage, too. When you are armed with information about how much an industry total is, or how much a Medicare balance is, they know they can't mess with you.
HME Today: Among those who wish to pursue women's health products, what do you find is the biggest misconception?
Salat: You have the wonderful survivors who decide they want to go into this industry. And, of course, they are thinking with their hearts and not as businesspeople. I would tell people to be really careful with that; it is still a business.
On the other side of that, I hear of people who are within the DME industry, who want to just add this as a sideline. I would tell them that it is more complicated than it looks. They say, "It's just fitting a bra. What's the big deal?" But it is a big deal. You have to take the time to become educated on the products that are out there. If you are going to do it, don't make it a sideline.
Katie Griffith is the news editor for HME Today.
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