ATLANTA – HME providers have been steadily entering the retail/caretail market, and finding the best products at Medtrade every year is a great way to boost chances of success. Medtrade speaker Greg McGough, regional manager at Medical Xpress, Euless, Texas, agrees that products are important, but he also maintains that hiring the right people is just as important.
Medtrade attendees who need strategies for making the best caretail hires may wish to attend his educational session; Retail Talent Management (Hiring for Retail), scheduled for Wednesday, Nov 2, from 1:30 – 2:30 in room C208 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. A conversation with McGough reveals optimism about what is possible.
Medtrade: What is the focus of your educational session?
Greg McGough: The focus of my class will be about hiring retail/caretail-minded people to help grow your HME retail business. I will also touch on the importance of running your retail stores as retail stores—not an insurance business that might sell a few retail items.
Medtrade: How high is the level of retail awareness in the HME industry?
McGough: A lot of the people I have talked with in this industry do not have retail people running their stores, and I feel that is a mistake. They have taken people who worked on the insurance side of their business and placed them in the retail stores and cannot figure out why their stores are failing. I plan on trying to teach people the importance of having the right retail person running their retail stores.
Medtrade: Competitive bidding came to every city in America this year, and it’s been difficult for many HME providers. What is your level of optimism for the industry these days?
McGough: In my role as regional manager for our retail division, I have always asked my team, “How do you spell Medicare?” My answer is “CASH.” With the retail side of our business, we do not look at competitive bidding that much because we want your CASH. As for optimism, right now the sky is the limit. We are trying new things on the retail side of the business that you would see in traditional retail stores and they are working. Are we perfect at it? No. Are we working on it? Yes. Everyday we try to become better.
Medtrade: Why should providers spend the time and money to get out of the office and attend an in-person event such as Medtrade?
McGough: Medtrade is key to the growth of the HME business as a whole. I always take a few of my managers to Medtrade so they can see the new products and network with other people around the country to see what works for them. I think it’s very important to get out to shows like Medtrade and interact with vendors who can help you make the changes in your business—to help you make it to the next level that you want to achieve.
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