Booth Style Demos: Quick Connections can Lead to Lasting Partnerships

Posted on behalf of Marianne Soucy, Director of Client Solutions
Summit Healthcare is at HIMSS this week (come visit us at booth 3635!) and we’re having a great time connecting with everyone here.
A show like this can be such a rush of information that sometimes it is hard to step back and take it all in. There is so much here to see and do, Healthcare IT is a rapidly expanding field and seeing some of the cutting edge ideas and vendors is to us one of the most exciting parts of the show.
The other best part is the valuable opportunity to showcase our own offerings to both existing and potential clients. Booth connections and demos have their own unique flavor. For me, showing someone our products in person in a quick fashion gives me so much more value in really getting to understand what they are looking for and excited about.
How is a demo in booth different than a traditional interaction?

  • Keep it short and sweet. Customers have a lot of value tied up in being at the show. We make sure to respect the limited time they have to share with us here.
  • Keep it high level. Booth inquiries tend to be initial investigations or interest gatherings and a show is no place to absorb every nuance.  As interest deepens we can go deeper into technical details and advanced features.
  • Keep it on topic. An in person interaction helps us to see what points we are making are truly interesting for a customer versus just part of the spiel. I’m always happy to take the conversation deeper into what they are truly interested in.
  • The more the merrier! Meeting clients in a group helps make sure we cover topics of interest to more than just one person or department. It can also help with clarifying questions based on group discussions. The folks attending shows are often not the same people that usually attend technical demonstrations when done remotely so it’s a great chance to gather info and feedback from angles we don’t always get.
  • Ask don’t just show! I joke that customers themselves are our best sales people. We try and “ask more than we show” to make sure what we are showing is truly relevant to their specific needs. Once we get to the actual demo, the Products show better when a lively discussion prior brings up multiple use cases
  • Seeking strategic partnerships – for us these shows are a great way to stay on top of the industry trends and how Summit fits into the greater landscape of Healthcare IT. Many of our most valuable partnerships have started as show inquiries!
  • Appreciate the opportunity to meet in person! I have many wonderful clients who over the years have become “friends I’ve never actually met”. It’s always wonderful to get to actually meet them after working together remotely for so long!

I hope to meet more of you here this week (booth #3635)!