Art of the Prewire 2013

1. Art of the Prewire Making Every Member Interaction Count Why Prewires Matter? Prewire Goals and Objectives Prewire Dos and Don’ts Anatomy of a Prewire Post Prewire BDPs

2. Why Prewires Matter Marketing Training “Pre wahyuhr” a phone call conducted before an onsite visit, meant to ascertain who the key decision makers are, what top of mind priorities they have, AND to make sure they are in your meeting Ideally, we prewire as many visits as possible to elevate the overall meetings but its not always possible with an average month of 16 visits. Work with your MA to make scheduling a prewire part of the standard visit scheduling process Identify and prioritize visits that absolutely need a prewire and pull forward 2-3 weeks before visits in key times of year

3. Testimonials from Top Marketers Marketing Training “A good pre-wire takes all nervousness out of the meeting because I know entering the room that there are no land mines out there. I know the areas they feel they are great in and I know where they are struggling so I can position the case studies accordingly. I know who will likely be supportive of the project and who will be the trouble-maker. I feel most comfortable and my meetings are most successful when I have talked to every key player before entering the room.” -- Liz Davenport Hughes “Walking into a meeting that I haven’t pre-wired is like walking into a meeting naked. I would never do it. Walking into a meeting I have pre-wired is like wearing a new Armani suit – it just feels so right.” -- Troy Wasilefsky “What’s wrong with walking into a meeting naked?” -- Adam Spiegel

4. Primary Objectives of the Prewire Key Objectives and Goals Marketing Training • Primary Objectives: • To sell the visit - Competition for member's time and attention is fierce. You need to paint a compelling vision for why your meeting is a great use of their time • Togather the intelligence that will help you craft the value proposition during the meeting (and determine accurate pricing and urgency levers) • To secure key attendees – provide your contact with a reason to invite key execs and confirm their attendance • Tobuild advocates - who will your supporters be? • Secondary Benefits: • There is a lag between when a visit is scheduled and when it occurs – pre-wires help you sustain the momentum and share the excitement created in the Intro PA or Straight to Visit outreach • It allows you to begin the process of creating urgency and assessing whether the person you are speaking with would be supportive of the project

5. Prewire Dos What the Best Marketers Do Marketing Training • Treat pre-wires as an integral part of the sales process – they are as important as the meeting • Demonstrate excitement and passion for the research and project (remember – you are still selling!) – you convey in your every word how excited you are to be visiting with them • Prepare for the conversation (DO YOUR HOMEWORK) – you know the questions you need answered by that contact, you have a specific agenda to cover and you know what to probe on and it relates to the research • Send the Agenda for the call in advance – this ensures that the call will stick • Pre-wire multiple people – If multiple people will be in your visit, prewire each individually • Pre-wire 2 weeks prior to the meeting – this gives you time to adjust the meeting date/time if necessary. That said, any pre-wire is better than none – even a voicemail to a key contact you want to attend the meeting can have a meaningful impact. • Ensure you feel comfortable describing the project and are clear on what you want to achieve in the meeting (lay the groundwork for your urgency and introduce the commercial): “My instinct is that the membership and our newest research agenda will resonate with you given your priorities in this space. My hope is that we can use the last 15 minutes of the meeting to assess whether this is a good fit.”

6. What happens when you don’t? When Prewires simply become Check the Box activities What a Bad PW looks like…. Marketing Training • You DON’T focus on re-selling your visit (no excitement or passion) or setting context for your call and the member is not engaged in the meeting • You DON’T have compelling reasons for your contact to invite CXO (if needed). Your evaluation is stalled • You DON’T have specific questions or your questions DON’T link directly to the research agenda you are sharing – you miss the opportunity to get the information you need to make your meeting better • You DON’T mention the membership – they leave the call not knowing that this meeting has a “sales” component • You DON’T do your homework and are caught off-guard by something obvious – recent marketing visit, service misstep, upcoming renewal, etc • What’s Wrong with this Statement? • “Hi, Bob! Is this still a good time? Great, I just wanted to get feedback from you before our meeting on Friday.”

7. Key Moments of the Prewire The Kick Off and Context Setting Marketing Training • I. Introduction • Context – Introduce yourself and set context for why you are calling • Relationship building – Refer back to conversations with their colleagues and convey excitement • Confirmation – Ensure the meeting is on their calendar and that they are planning to attend • “Hi Mr. Hutcheson. I’m Aviah Altman from the Advisory Board. I serve as Associate Director with our Clinical membership programs specifically the Cardiovascular Roundtable. I’m looking forward to meeting with you later this month. In advance of our visit, I wanted to confirm that the meeting was on your calendar and share with you an overview of the research we’ll be covering but most importantly. I’d like to learn about the priorities you have in this space so we can tailor the presentation and materials to your organization.”

8. Key Moments of the Prewire Selling the Visit Marketing Training • II. Selling the Visit– Description of the Research and Membership • Remember that you are still selling the visit – initial focus needs to be on getting them excited about the meeting • Be brief – give them enough to whet their interest, but explain that you will go into greater detail in the meeting • Set agenda for site visit – make it sound compelling • We are hearing from our member CMOs’ that their roles are getting harder. Rather than focusing primarily on medical staff issues, physician executives today are spearheading organizational change and care transformation efforts. Yet, they have limited resources at their disposal to support them in these efforts. The Physician Executive Council is a resource exclusively designed to meet this need, providing playbooks for action on the challenges of today, and frameworks for investment to support the needs of tomorrow. • We are just about to kick off our inaugural CMO forum on November 27th where we will be providing a preview of our latest research through a combination of facilitated discussion and sharing of best practices on topics like the evolving role of the CMO, increasing physician engagement and partnership, developing a culture committed to evidence-based medicine, and understanding infrastructure requirements to hardwire adoption of clinical guidelines. • When we meet in person, I look forward to sharing with you more details about this forum and exploring how we might partner with X Hospital. In order to make the best use of our time together I’d love to learn a bit more about X Hospital….

9. Key Moments of the Prewire Intel Gathering Marketing Training • III. Information Gathering – Positioning Questions for Maximum Effect • Gain information you need to create compelling introduction, position case studies effectively, and to customize your urgency run • Start with specific questions that link to your presentation material • Bad question: “What are some of your top priorities right now?” • Good question: “In our research interviews, we heard that most of our members are struggling to balance the need to excel in the current environment while preparing for the future value based models. How are you dealing with these issues? Where do you feel like you have made strides and where are you still struggling?”

10. Managing Questions and Common Pushback Be prepared to handle commercial questions in the prewire Marketing Training • Q:  Great – so how much would it cost? • A:  The fees are always customized and vary based on a number of metrics, such as your organization’s size, the scope of your current relationship with the Advisory Board, what level of services you would want, the timing by when we enter a partnership, etc.   I can start looking into this for you but I’ll need to consult with others on my end and report back.  Do you happen to know who signs off on Advisory Board programs/similar expenditures in your organization?  Has it been a smooth process/difficult process?  (always try to deflect back with questions of your own).  Okay, I will definitely commit to bringing you cost info for our meeting if not beforehand.  (be non-committal as to when you can have this available as you ideally want to wait until the visit to share). • Q: We may be interested in taking a visit but would need to know how much this costs first. • I’m hesitant to discuss fees prematurely as there are a number of variables that drive the fees up or down and I don’t want to mis-speak.  (play dumb) • If I can get some information from you first I can then pass your interest in knowing cost information on to the “experts” on my end and report back. • We have a methodology for calculating exact pricing for our members based on size, scope, existing relationships and timing of partnership commencement • Let me suggest that I send over to you via email the metrics we’d need to know to establish pricing and I promise I’ll come prepared to discuss with you the range of options when we meet in person • Depending on where your fees scope out, I can definitely plan to complement our meeting with a discussion of how members demonstrate the ROI they gain from membership to offset the cost of participation. • If they really push – either (a) give a ballpark or (b) get the info you need to do pricing and schedule a second call to confirm meeting attendees and to talk them through it.

11. Cancel or Not to Cancel? Knowing when to push, cancel, or proceed with visit Marketing Training • Q: How often do you cancel visits after a pre-wire? • A: It is not unusual for us to move visits after the pre-wire to get better attendees, but we cancel less than 5% of the time. The answer really should be never because you never know. People who tell you they will not buy anything else this year during the pre-wire convert a week later. You just need to shift the focus of the meeting appropriately – if you just have directors, your job is not to close in the meeting but rather to get them SO excited about your product that they sprint to the phone when you leave (or even sometimes during the meeting) to get you in front of their boss.

12. Post Prewire – Prepping for the Visit Communication and Planning is Key Marketing Training • Share Results of Pre-Wire Immediately with MA: • MA – immediately call AA to discuss new attendees • MA – offer to move meeting if a new date = better attendee list • MA – add marketers notes (which they typed up!) to invite • MA/Marketer – reach out to internal colleagues if add’l info is needed • Use Info from Pre-Wire to Guide Visit Strategy: • Marketer – Document info in an email while it is still fresh – cc. MA and PSS • Marketer – Write out bullet points for your intro and urgency run • Marketer – Determine how you will position research run and case studies • Marketer – Is there any add’l collateral you could bring as a service touch? • Marketer – Did you surface any leads for One Advisory? • Create Visit Quality Blocks with your MA: • Dedicated time each week to re-confirm attendees post pre-wire • MA ensures that PSS has seen pre-wire notes • MA ensures trip prep includes materials discussed during pre-wire • MA re-focuses marketer’s time on meetings with missing attendees • MA ensures that all visits have pre-wires set two weeks in advance of meeting • Post Pre-Wire Checklist: • Do I need to follow up on pricing? • Has my MA reached out to confirm new attendees? • Are there any other marketing visits or delivery issues I need to look into? • Can delivery provide me with any anecdotes or case studies that will resonate with this hospital? • Have I put pre-wire notes in the visit invite and shared them with PSS?

13. PW’s Getting Started Beginners Guide • Shadow PW’s with Marketers on your product • Write your own PW script with current urgency levers and content updates • Have you manager listen in to your PW’s as a silent listener to offer feedback and suggestions • Prep for your PW as if it is the visit • Have your MA sit in on your PW’s and take notes • Relax, it is just a phone call