Becker's Hospital Review

54 Sign up for the COMPLIMENTARY Becker's Hospital Review CEO Report & CFO Report E-Weeklies at www.BeckersHospitalReview.com or call (800) 417-2035 4. Teach them about body language. How you comport yourself, including eye contact, seems like a little thing, but it can make all the difference between success and failure. Good eye contact shows that you have respect for the person you are selling to and what they are saying. This is critical in a sales situation! Unfortunately, many physicians start turning to their computers after making initial eye contact, never to look back again! I hear this complaint all the time. 5. Help them with speaking skills. The art of selling involves speaking clearly and succinctly without a lot of excess verbiage. No one, particularly a fellow physician, has time to waste on someone who cannot get to the point right away. Being able to tell your story quickly and thoroughly shows respect for the other person. 6. Have them practice in a mirror. Practicing what to say to a prospect is a wonderful way to improve your sales skills. Most great sales people practice what they are going to say to a prospect in front of the bathroom mirror or even to a trusted colleague. 7. Teach them to do advance work. Before calling on potential prospects, a professional sales  person tries to learn as much as possible about them. You should find out such things as the mix of physicians and where they are sending their referrals. 8. Teach them how to close a sale. This can be a very challenging task even for sales people who have years of experience. You have to ask for our potential client's order. After all, that's the objective of selling, to get the client to yes! When they do it is very rewarding! I know, I have been there many times! Physicians are in a great position to sell to their colleagues, but it's not so easy to be successful with this. Not only do you need to have a favorable attitude toward sales, but you also have to realize that it's much harder than it looks. It takes dedication, an outgoing attitude and a willingness to learn. n Chuck Lauer (chuckspeaker3@aol.com) was publisher of Modern Healthcare for 33 years. He is now an author, public speaker and career coach who is in demand for his motivational messages to top companies nationwide. Hospital & Health System Transactions Downers Grove, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care officially added Elgin, Ill.-based Sherman Hospital, now called Advocate Sherman Hospital, as its eleventh acute-care hospital. Board members of Alameda (Calif.) Hospital signed a letter of intent to merge with Oakland, Calif.-based public network Alameda Health System. The City Council of Ashland, Ore., unanimously voted to approve Medford, Ore.-based health system Asante's takeover of Ashland Community Hospital, closing a two-year negotiation process. Dallas-based Baylor Health Care System signed a definitive agreement to merge with Scott & White Healthcare, based in Temple, Texas, to form a new entity to be called Baylor Scott & White Health with a subsidiary service company called Baylor Scott & White Health Service. Bell Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital based in Ishpeming, Mich., signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Brentwood, Tenn.based LifePoint Hospitals. Since the two cash-strapped, New York systems signed a memorandum of understanding to merge in February, The Brooklyn Hospital Center and Interfaith Medical Center, also in Brooklyn, made little progress toward closing the deal, indicating it may never happen. Elyria, Ohio-based EMH Healthcare may soon merge with Cleveland-based University Hospitals, as the two health systems signed a letter of intent to integrate. Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Alliance is accepting prospective partners to acquire or form a joint venture with Franciscan St. James Health, a health system with hospitals based in Chicago Heights, Ill., and Olympia Fields, Ill., and hopes to enter exclusive negotiations this year. Glendive (Mont.) Medical Center and Billings (Mont.) Clinic officially signed an affiliation agreement. Grenada (Miss.) Lake Medical Center board members met with officials from Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center to discuss a lease proposal. Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates signed a letter of intent to lease Munroe Regional Medical Center, a 421-bed public hospital in Ocala, Fla. Pittsburgh-based health insurer Highmark is one step closer to expanding its new integrated delivery network, as the Orphan's Court of Erie County approved the proposed affiliation between Eric, Pa.-based Saint Vincent Health System and Allegheny Health Network. Warner Robins, Ga.-based Houston Healthcare and Macon-based The Medical Center of Central Georgia will partner in a formal affiliation while retaining their independence. New London, Conn.-based Lawrence + Memorial Hospital finalized its acquisition of financially flailing The Westerly (R.I.) Hospital, ending a year and a half of hurdles the ownership deal faced. Lewistown (Pa.) Hospital and Danville, Pa.based Geisinger Health System signed a definitive agreement to merge. The Owosso, Mich.-based Memorial Healthcare board of trustees voted unanimously to cancel its request for proposal agreements with three other Michigan health systems in favor of rewriting the terms of the existing RFPs to be less restrictive and attract more potential partners. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Mount Carmel Health System, both based in Columbus, Ohio, signed an affiliation agreement that will allow the two health systems to work more closely on clinical care and improve care coordination in the area. OhioHealth continues to expand its footprint in the Buckeye State, as the Columbusbased health system and Athens, Ohio-based O'Bleness Health System signed a memorandum of understanding for O'Bleness to merge with OhioHealth. Terms of a proposed lease of Paynesville (Minn.) Area Health Care System by St. Cloud, Minn.-based CentraCare Health gained attention at a Paynesville board meeting. Chicago-based Presence Health plans to expand its footprint in Illinois, as the Catholic health system signed a letter of intent to form an affiliation with Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka, Ill. A new for-profit hospital company is making its way into New Jersey, as Santa Ana, Calif.-based Prospect Medical Holdings and Perth Amboy, N.J.-based Raritan Bay Medical Center signed a nonbinding letter of intent to join. Brockton, Mass.-based Signature Healthcare signed off on a partnership between its Brockton Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, N.J., entered merger discussions with the New Brunswick, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Hartford, Conn.-based St. Francis Care allowed its letter of intent to integrate with St. Louis-based Ascension Health Care Network to expire. Victory Healthcare, a for-profit community medical center firm based in The Woodlands, Texas, will lease property to reopen and operate The Hospital at Craig Ranch, a 24-bed surgical hospital in McKinney, Texas.

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