I am having a hard time getting good response ratios on my cold calling efforts to request 15-20 mins with clinical professionals for customer development interviews. Any tips /suggestions on how I can be more effective? I have tried emailing/LinkedIn General Physician and Specialist Nurses in my area of interest.
The struggle is REAL! MDs used to get paid by Pharma labs to get their attention (real life exemple: $30-80 just to fill a tiny online form). To my experience (consulting & entrepreneurship in healthcare/medtech), I would say that most MDs do not like emails, social media or cold calls. The best way to have their attention is to get recommandation from other professional... Maybe you should try to contact some specialized medical associations or communities (dedicated groups on LinkedIn, experts on Clarity / Quora, etc.) Hope that it helps!
I've worked with several startups that faced this problem and were able to get around it in different ways. It's not easy, and there are lots of angles to it. I'd be happy to help you out on a call,
best,
Lee
Have you tried an Inbound approach? I would start by creating valuable content for your target and defining clear buying personas with specific value propositions for each. This would requiere analyzing your current strategy and building a new sales pipeline. I would gladly help you with that. Cheers!
Consider going to a large professional society meeting. For instance, the RSNA in Chicago every year attracts thousands of radiologists. Other professional societies have similar large events. When there you can approach the professionals in person, try to attract them through Twitter or set-up an interview booth and offer them something for their time such as an invitation to a happy hour after the conference.
As a 20 year pediatrician, I can say that in order to get our attention, you simply have to be doing something incredible for patients. Be Compelling, add value. What linked in groups are your targets in? What kinds of providers are you looking for? What do they care about? If you can get access to the linked in groups, ask questions there. Start with what are your top three challenges in your work? Follow the influencers that your target providers follow. Comment on content and engage with those who hold similar positions. Go to healthcare meetings which your targets attend. Be curious. Good luck. We need healthcare disruption now more than ever. There is no shortage of problems in our work. Natalie Hodge MD
