The Demise Of The Cowboy

So, what makes healthcare sales so difficult?

And, why is it more difficult than it has been in the past? 

In The Pain of Healthcare Sales blog post, we began to explore the different factors driving the difficulty of decision making in healthcare sales. The first of those four factors is:

The Demise of the Cowboy

So, what exactly does that mean and how does it relate to healthcare sales? As McDougal outlines in his book, Selling to the Pain, the Cowboy is a type of healthcare executive.

So, who is the Cowboy? The Cowboy is a healthcare executive who goes into the decision process “boldly, often alone, and with little fear of consequences, professionally or personally.”

The main takeaway is that these executives were not afraid to make a decision, even a difficult decision.

This type of healthcare executive is becoming a rarity in the world of healthcare executives. This is due to a number of factors, Career Risk being one of the major factors. It is not that Career Risk did not exist before, but it has become more prevalent. The levels of Career Risk a decision maker perceives directly relates to the level of risk they are willing to take in making a decision.

Along with Career Risk, the demise of the Cowboy has also been a result of delegating part of the decision process. The Cowboy may still have the final decision, but committees are now discussing opportunities and your solution may never reach the decision maker.

The demise of the Cowboy is just one piece of the puzzle impacting the difficulty of decision making. Next week will will cover the second factor, The Rise of Information Overload.

If you want to learn more about the solutions to the pain of healthcare sales you can contact Gylen Castle for consultation services or purchase a copy of the book on the Gylen Castle website or Amazon.