In this interactive podcast, Hays Waldrop, Founder of IHES, talks to Adam Turinas, CEO & Founder of healthlaunchpad, about their healthcare Networking Groups
Hays talks about some of the challenges they have faced, strategies they have used, and the approaches that organizations can embrace to build successful network-based business models.
Podcast Highlights
0:27 – Podcast Introduction & Purpose
2:20– Hays Waldrop: – Career Background & IHES Introduction
5:14 – IHES: – Networking Groups
6:22 – Benefits of Community Meetings
12:45 – Community Interview Questions & Posts
13:18 – Virtual Networking Meetings: Webinars
15:26 – IHES Journey: – Suppliers Committee
17:28 – Healthcare Community:- Health Catalysts
17:56 – How To Build Healthcare Communities
23:45 – IHES Supplies Group: – Misunderstandings & Progress
29:23 – Hay Waldrop’s Advice: – Self-awareness
31:57 – Final Word & Podcast Signup
Healthcare Communities Podcast Video – Hays Waldrop, Founder of IHES
Podcast Summary With Timestamps
0:27 – Podcast Introduction & Importance
Adam begins with a welcome note and explains the importance of the podcast which is providing you with the opportunity to learn about leaders in the healthcare, sales, marketing, and purchasing world.
Adam then introduces the podcast’s guest speaker, Hays Waldrop, the founder, and president of the health care of the Institute of Healthcare Executives, and Suppliers(IHES)
2:20 – Hays Waldrop – Career Background & IHES
The guest speaker, Hays Waldrop of IHES, shares his career background that spans 20 years.
He then highlights the 3 main networking groups that IHES manages which consist of:
- Providers Networking Group (Vendors & Sponsors)
- Suppliers Networking Group (Pharmacy Executives and Suppliers
- Supplies Networking Group (Supply Chain Executives)
Hays points out that by bringing different players together to share and learn from each other, great things happen!
5:14 – IHES Groups: – Vendors, Sponsors, & Providers
Hay highlights that the networking groups they work with on the side of Vendors & sponsors include:
- Billion-dollar companies
- Mid-level companies
- Startups
Waldrop further explains that their networking groups focus on:
- Limited design network of meetings (up to 20 companies in each of the above categories)
- Vendors and sponsors
- Element Management Systems (EMS) providers
6:22 – Benefits of Group Meetings, Challenges, & Strategies
The podcast Hays provides insights on the following:
- Reasons Why providers attend the meetings
- Challenges faced and how they have dealt with them
- Common Questions on Network Group Meetings
Hays Waldrop shares some of the initial communication challenges he faced especially with attendees, and how he had to continue talking to them until they were familiar with their concept.
This was critical since as Hays puts it, the 3 levels of attendees viewed them as their friend, client, and prospect respectively.
12:45 – Hays Waldrop: Zoom Meetings, Questions & Interview Posts
Hays explains that because common questions were being asked during community meetings, they began doing interviews and then publishing content for online readers.
And through the posts, their site got 1000s of views which have helped in creating more awareness of their activities and sharing of valuable information.
13:18 – Hays – IHES On Virtual Meetings: – Open-Forum Webinars
Hays further shares their experience with Webinar which has witnessed high attendance.
He then gives more insights on their past experiences, lessons learned, and the importance of having open forums which allow participants to freely contribute, have meetings, and finally make valuable business connections.
Hays details the following stages they went through during their group virtual meetings:
- In April and May 2021, he successfully arranged for a virtual meeting forum where participants freely shared their experiences including those who were scared of losing their jobs during the pandemic.
- He got motivated to focus on the supplier committee
- Reached out to some of his providers with 20 discussion questions
- Got CEOs and Pharmacy Executives, and a call was put together for a discussion
- Other people were allowed to listen and ask questions
- Tried different things, invited Analysis Experts, Consultants, Account selling GPOs
- It provided him with a learning opportunity.
- All benefited from the free stuff
- It has attracted 1000s & of 1000s of which include Healthcare Marketing Executives
17:28 – Health Catalyst: – Example of Healthcare Community Company
Heath Catalyst is identified as one example of many companies that have successfully developed a community-based business model.
So the podcast’s insights on health Catalyst reveal that:
- Health Catalyst has created a community around healthcare data for over 10 years
- Their growth is propelled by lots of webinars, online user groups, and a few well-performing companies
17:56 – Hays Waldrop: How To Build Communities
Further in the podcast, you will learn how you can build a successful community by adopting the following approaches:
- Creating a Virtual Meeting platform for user groups
- Start small with a community of your closest customers because they will be more responsive.
- Initiating discussions with those representing your 10 best customers
- Inviting prospects to attend with no strings attached.
- Allowing active community members to invite others in order to increase active participants
- Adding relevant groups or providers to ensure that discussions are richer
- Talking about all the possible challenges customers face
- Apart from focusing on your product, create resources for customers
- Listening & learning from meetings to improve on them
- Helping your customers network with other providers
- Offering advice & sharing valuable information with customers
- If you are the middleman, listening carefully to customers’ needs
- Seeking customers’ views on your marketing strategies
23:45 – Hays Waldrop: Supplier Group – Old Perceptions & Improvements
Hays Waldrop talks about their Supplier Group which includes supply chain members such as Supply Managers and Purchasing Managers.
He confirms that historically, those in supplies have been misunderstood as the “bad guys” or “barriers”
However, then explains that the old negative perception of the group has changed for the better.
This is because their skills have become very important and critical to many organizations’ success.
And so as an illustration, Hays highlights the following as some of the positive improvements they have noticed within their healthcare Supplies community:
- Members are now smarter because they can negotiate for better prices
- They also focus on having the right quantity of products to ensure timely treatment of patients
- Members are more strategic & able to evaluate the total ownership costs of products
29:23 – Hays Waldrop’s Advice On Self-awareness
Now as a healthcare marketer, the following advice by Hays on self-awareness is just for you:
- Remain confident in whatever you do, step forward and do it!
- You don’t have to be great. Just do it!
- And finally, you don’t have to be perfect. Just be good!
Subscribe To The Podcast.
You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and a whole bunch of other places.
You can also view the video of this podcast through a link in the show notes.
We have got a great program of guests coming up.
So do subscribe so that you do not miss out!
In case you have a topic you would like me to cover, please just let me know by emailing me at Adam@healthlaunchpad.com, or reach me through LinkedIn here
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