Transcript

The importance of defining success and the problem before engaging in pricing discussions. · Medsolve Dynamics

Yoel Bakas: After 20 years on the vendor side, I can tell you exactly what most vendors think when you ask them for a quote before you know exactly what you're buying. They're thinking, this is going to be easy. A quote, identifies just the product and the price. That's all it does. It does not reflect the clinical capability you are trying to make sure you have. It also doesn't reflect what a service failure would cost you operationally. When a program leads with "send me a quote," the vendor knows three things immediately. The first is, you have not defined what success looks like. The second is you're likely to negotiate on price because you have nothing else to negotiate on. And the third is you're likely to accept the vendor terms rather than your own. The programs that get better outcomes define the problem before the vendor shows up with pricing. What does your program need this equipment to do over the next five years? What does downtime actually cost you per day? Those answers are your leverage. A quote is not.