March 5, 2021
Dear Kinamed Agents and Reps,
As a brief follow up on the email sent last month on the topic of VA Hospitals, I’m pleased to share this recent success story from Steve Barber, our Agent in Kansas and Missouri, who took our advice on VAs and pounced on the opportunity in a big way!
Here’s the success story: A longtime SuperCable customer of Steve’s informed him that she was going to start doing cases at the local VA. Steve reached out to Kinamed for a price quote for one basic SuperCable set and stock of cables, submitted it to the VA along with the Kinamed VA vendor info we recently shared, and…yesterday we received a PO for – not one – but two SuperCable sets! Not only was there no VAC committee to go through, but the hospital stayed true to the VA policy which requires at least 2 sets of instruments to ensure a backup is always sterile and available.
Of course, VA’s don’t always move this fast. To get this sale closed, it took the diligence and follow-up that Steve is well known for. Steve’s commitment paid off in the form of a $13k order (which will give him a nice boost in the “In it to Win it” Sales Contest) and another customer that will likely be paying sales dividends for years to come!
Congratulations Steve! Here’s to many more successes in the year ahead!
And to all Kinamed Agents and Reps with a VA Hospital in your territory: This is low-hanging fruit. Here’s what you can do NOW to seize the opportunity:
1. Find the VA’s in your territory: https://www.va.gov/find-locations
2. Find out which Ortho surgeons practice there
3. If they aren’t familiar with or already using Kinamed products – sell to them.
4. If they are familiar with or already using Kinamed products – help them get access to those products by getting the VA to purchase.
Finally, once you seal the deal, take advantage of the fact that VA hospitals tend to have a lot of staff churn. Surgeons, Fellows and Residents from nearby teaching facilities will often do cases at the VA. Be sure they all get to use Kinamed products while they’re at your VA, then help them spread it to their other facilities.
Let’s Make it Happen!
Best,
Patrick Miller
Sales & Marketing Manager
Kinamed, Inc.
pmiller@kinamed.com
805-384-2748 x207
[Below email sent January 29, 2021]
Dear Kinamed Representative,
We want to share that several Kinamed reps have recently experienced a number of very nice new account wins at VA hospitals. VA hospitals are proving to be relatively easy targets for new CarboJet and SuperCable sales, and on top of this, the new business has more often than not been via instrument set and inventory purchases right out of the gate!
We don’t know to what extent this success is because Kinamed is a registered VA vendor (see info below), or because part numbers for these products are “in the system”, or simply because VAs are pushing back less on new products. In any case, we highly recommend that you quickly identify and pursue all VA hospitals in your territory for both CarboJet and SuperCable as we are confident your odds for success are high!
Kinamed is registered with the VA’s System for Award Management (SAM).
Vendor Cage Code: 4VM91.
DUNS number: 18-4896645.
The other interesting and welcome phenomenon is that, in a couple of cases, we initially sold one set of instruments to a VA hospital and then, with no fanfare, they soon after came back and ordered a second set, saying they’re required to have two sets of instruments for each system they use in the O.R.
In one instance, Kinamed reps Josh Mantle and Eddie Rosstamian were able to sell a complete SuperCable Grip & Plate system to the VA Long Beach in support of a surgeon who had originally used SuperCable at a nearby teaching facility (UC Irvine). After sealing the deal on the first set, a second set was purchased within two weeks, with the rationale that VA Hospital Policy requires there to be a backup for every surgical instrument set they utilize. It’s also been common for VA hospitals to purchase a pair of CarboJet sets to get started.
Besides the easy new product access we’ve experienced, the other great benefit of targeting VAs is the fact that they often have Residents and other staff from teaching hospitals doing the surgery. This of course can lead to cross pollination and new business at the other hospitals where these surgeons work.
Pat Miller is familiar with these recent successes and can assist you with preparation of quotes (pmiller@kinamed.com). If you have any insights or success stories selling to VA hospitals to share, please share – we’d love to hear them!
Stay well and all the best for 2021!
Bob Bruce
VP, Global Marketing & Product Strategy
Kinamed, Inc.
rbruce@kinamed.com