We did a state-wide blitz of North Carolina last week. As a new specialty pharmacy provider for North Carolina Blue Cross Blue Shield, we felt that it was important to let key current and potential referral sources know that we were now contracted.
The effort to put a half-dozen teams together with itineraries, maps, accounts, scripts, details and contact names was enormous, not to mention the 350 or so binders that had to be put together in advance and shipped. Creating contests for most miles driven, most referrals, most follow up appointments made, and funniest story was the easy part, but essential to create a fun and competitive blitz.
Making all the calls and traveling all the miles in between was a lot of work, and fun, as well. Lastly, and most importantly, will be all the follow up activities, appointments, lunches, meetings and calls to build on the blitz itself to establish the referral patterns that will grow our volume.
We generated a lot of referrals and most importantly, a lot of momentum– both externally and internally.
And, the stories alone were worth it! My funny story came after the blitz was over and several of us were stuck in Charlotte trying to get home. After five hours of delays, and at about midnight, I decided to change out of my business attire and into some casual clothing. I informed my colleagues, and went into the airport men’s room to change. Only then did I remember that I had had to check my carry-on bag on the flight from Raleigh because there was not enough room in the overhead compartments– I had no clothes to change into! Needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed, and my colleagues and I had a good laugh about it. Exhaustion and endless airport delays can play tricks on the mind!
Seriously, if you are a sales person or sales manager, I strongly encourage you to set up and execute a targeted blitz for your area. The time and effort and momentum are worth it.
The greater the challenge the greater the reward!
Bill
