Smart Selling: Distributor Sales Strategies From HIDA
Elizabeth Hilla
By Elizabeth Hilla, Senior Vice President, Health Industry Distributors Association
You may have heard from many of your post-acute and home healthcare customers about the difficulties hiring workers in this space. But did you know this is part of a national trend?
Demand for home healthcare workers is expected to outpace supply over the coming decade. Demand for home healthcare aides is expected to grow by 63 percent by 2023, according to a HIDA analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). Demand for personal care aides is projected to rise by 56 percent during the same period. Meanwhile, separate research suggests that over 446,000 home health aide positions will be unfilled by 2025.
Here are some key factors driving this trend:
- Aging population. The U.S. population is continuing to age, and will drive demand for home healthcare services. In 2016, 49.2 million Americans were aged 65 and over, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2020, this figure will reach 56.1 million, rising to 73.1 million in 2030 and 80.8 million in 2040.
- Low pay. Home healthcare continues to be paid among the lowest-paid professions in the United States. Home health aides earned $23,210 on average in 2017, while personal care aides earned $23,210 on average that year. By comparison, janitors earned $24,990 on average.
- High turnover. Between 2016 and 2026, 125,000 home health aides will quit their jobs, with 68,500 leaving the field entirely, according to a HIDA analysis of BLS data.
What does this mean for your customers?
Providers everywhere are looking to do more with less, and this is especially true in the home healthcare segment. Any time clinical staff spends working on problems that do not directly involve a patient is time that the organization is not getting paid for. Anything you can do to free up time will benefit and help the organization’s bottom line. There are a several ways distributor reps can help:
Make product recommendations. Point your customers to products that are easy to use or transport, ones that improve patient care and are simple to learn. By expertly deploying your knowledge of the products your company carries, you can help your customers select the products and services that are right for them.
Offer logistics expertise. If your home healthcare customers are struggling to manage their inventory space, show them ways to make the most of their limited time and storage space.
Consider customized delivery options. Deliveries to satellite offices or directly to patients’ homes reduce the amount of time home healthcare employees spend in transit, making their lives easier and increasing the time they can devote to patient care.
As HIDA’s research shows, ongoing worker shortages are going to make life more difficult for home healthcare workers. As a rep, you have the opportunity to alleviate these challenges with your insight, experience, and expertise. Helping these providers do more with less will make you a trusted and valuable partner during challenging times.