The Circle of Influence

We’ve heard the comment “how do you expect me to contact healthcare providers, it takes me six weeks to get an appointment for an examination, let alone to sell financing.”

Healthcare factoring prospects usually have very little time in a normal business day to take time away from patients and discuss finance options. Most doctors work through their lunch hours grabbing a quick bite of a sandwich between patients. Their mornings are usually rushed having just concluded hospital rounds and returning to a patient filled office. The end of the day is usually unpredictable as one never knows how far behind in the daily schedule the doctor might be and thus when office hours will be officially over. How do we get the time and credibility to attract some attention from this doctor in order to introduce a solution to cash flow issues?

Many successful consultants focusing on healthcare providers tap into a medical provider’s “circle of influence.” This group of people has one thing in common; they all provide goods or services to the doctor. Most doctors have vendors that deliver medical supplies,  pick up lab work, deliver office supplies, sell pharmaceuticals and surgical products, and provide accounting and legal services to mention but a few.  It is through these individuals that the factoring consultant can be referred and can have the credibility (coming from a person known by the doctor) to set up an appointment. Very often the referral source will arrange time for you during the time scheduled for his/her next visit. It is through the medical provider’s “circle of influence” that we get our time needed to discuss how factoring medical claims can best work and improve cash flow.

We only need to look further into this concept to realize that all business owners have their circle of influence and getting an introduction to a potential factoring client is best achieved through this approach. The conclusion is that we not only must look for factoring clients, but for direct contacts to those prospects for a credible and powerful introduction. As your July 4^th BBQ heats up in preparation for that family sized London-Broil, take some time to write down those types of businesses that would fall under the heading of “circle of Influence” to a factoring prospect.