Prescription for Sales
Convincing your clients to buy wellness (or any) products requires your in-depth knowledge of the strongest and weakest aspects of those products. Even though personal and healthcare products seem straightforward, their complexities are not always easily understood. Do you know what manicure set is best, why vegan lotion is better for you or how privacy regulations impact hospital forms? You need to.
We interviewed wellness-savvy suppliers Bill House, vice president, sales and marketing for Alexander Manufacturing, St. Louis; Lindsey Whitney, president of Solar Advertising, Castle Rock, Colo.; and Jim Magdaleno, product manager for TFP Data Systems, Oxnard, Calif., to find the what, why, who and how of selling health and wellness products in 2012. Study the tips they provide and use your new know-how to close your healthcare sales.
SPA GOODS
What: Lotions, nail clippers, hair brushes and anything else from the necessary to luxurious. House cited salon boards, emery boards, clippers, manicure sets, sanitizers and lotions as the most popular wellness products.
Why: Everyone can use personal care products, so finding your target market for them is not difficult. "In most cases, our products are given to be used in the home or at a healthcare facility," said House. He added spas as a favorite market for personal care products. These broad options allow you to sell to all of your clients, especially as the number of businesses participating in wellness programs grows every year.
Who: According to House, healthcare facilities, cause-marketing programs, trade shows, special events, incentive gifts and senior living communities are good markets for personal care products.
How: House offered examples of wellness products sales. "We have several instances where emery or salon boards have been used as gifts for residents of senior living facilities," he said. "Salon boards [are] given as branding tools by doctors' groups, healthcare companies and equipment companies," House explained. Though his example took place at a senior living community, the idea is useful for almost any industry.
VEGAN PRODUCTS
What: Though organic products have been a staple of the promotional products industry for years, vegan products are only starting to make their way into health and wellness programs. Whitney explained the difference between organic and vegan by describing the difference between vegetarianism and veganism. "The best example I can give to illustrate the difference [is] that while vegetarians do not eat beef, they do consume milk. Vegans, however, will not even consume the milk because it is produced by cows," she said.
As for how this impacts promotional wellness products, Whitney noted that the most important factor is beeswax. "In relation to personal care products, a vegan will choose not to use anything containing ingredients such as goat's milk, sheep's milk, beeswax, lanolin and other animal products that are often used in lotions, soaps and lip balm. So while our lip balm products have been natural and organic for many years, they were not vegan as they contained beeswax."
Why: If clients are not enticed by the vegan attributes, consider many of the other positive traits. "The products in this [vegan] line are all-natural, recyclable, paraben-free, sulfate-free and eco-friendly," Whitney said.
Who: Whitney mentioned the market for vegan products is not as large as other wellness products, but Solar Advertising saw a demand. "We have had calls over the last few years from distributors hoping that our products were vegan in addition to being natural," she explained. "It was a need we heard from our customers that wasn't being met." The markets wanting vegan products are select, but big-budget, such as resorts and hospitals. Whitney also recommended hospices, salons, spas and female-oriented businesses and events as markets for vegan wellness products.
How: The word "vegan" can deter as many people as it can attract. Instead of avoiding the conversation altogether, do as Whitney does and admit that "veganism" might be a fad, but the organic qualities are still strong sales hooks. "There are people in the natural and organic industry [who] emphatically [believe] veganism is the solution to all the world's problems from cancer, to obesity, to poverty," said Whitney. "However, there are equally qualified people [who] see veganism as a fad. It all depends on your point of view."
Focus on the organic qualities over the vegan ones, because the all-natural ingredients are the healthy ones. "Vegan" means fewer extras, not more of anything. Whitney offered an example. "The [Hellowmellow] avocado-mango butter, for example, is incredibly moisturizing and nourishing—while not containing any fillers or additives to downgrade the natural ingredients," she said.
FORMS
What: A longtime staple of hospitals and doctors' offices, forms continue to dominate the healthcare market. "While other industries struggle due to the economy, healthcare continues to grow," Magdaleno said. He mentioned that the CMS-1500 Laser Form is a best-seller. In addition to steady sales in billing forms, Magdaleno mentioned an increase in privacy compliance. "We have seen a sales increase in HIPAA-compliance tools and forms," he said. "The healthcare industry is taking notice as HIPAA violations are reported in the news regularly across the country."
Magdaleno elaborated on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and how it relates to healthcare forms. "The healthcare billing mechanism requires uniformity and compliance," he commented. "These forms must adhere to strict printing standards that govern the layout, paper and ink. Each must have accurate content and must conform to [HIPAA]."
Why: "There are approximately 600,000 establishments that make up the healthcare industry. About 76 percent are offices of physicians, dentists or other health practitioners," Magdaleno noted. All of those offices need forms to write prescriptions, collect patient information and send bills. "Health insurance companies and government agencies use these forms to process more than 25 billion claims each year," Magdaleno explained. "These forms bring in sales throughout the year because customers need to replenish regularly."
Despite advances in technology and electronics, Magdaleno insisted that hospitals demand paper goods. "Although we are in the electronic age, data still shows that 89 percent of small medical facilities are still filing paper and that 74 percent of electronic files keep a paper copy for their records in case re-filing is necessary," he said.
Who: "The obvious targets are medical facilities, doctors' offices and hospitals," Magdaleno remarked. "But other strong candidates are surgery units, laboratories and skilled-nursing facilities." Magdaleno added that he has seen growth in smaller medical facilities and diagnostic units.
Once you pick your healthcare target, Magdaleno stressed the importance of finding the right contact. He suggested office managers, purchasing staff, administrative assistants and facility managers as good buyers.
How: "Know which form is used by which customer," Magdaleno advised. "The CMS-1500 is used by doctors and other private practice providers. The UB-04 is used by hospitals and other institutions. The ADA Form is for dentists." Magdaleno believes the best way to stay up-to-date on healthcare needs is to have a confidante in the healthcare industry. "Align yourself with a partner who is a healthcare expert with extensive experience creating and distributing 100 percent compliant government forms," he said. 
- Companies:
- TFP Data Systems