Why Health Systems Are Different
Selling to enterprise health systems isn't like selling to other enterprises. The buying committee is larger (often 10+ stakeholders), the compliance requirements are stricter, and the decision timelines stretch to 12-18 months.
Traditional demand generation doesn't work here. You need ABM.
The Account Selection Process
At PatientIQ, we started with a universe of ~400 potential health system targets. We narrowed this to 100 accounts using:
Fit Criteria:
- Orthopedic service line size (our sweet spot)
- Existing outcomes tracking (or lack thereof)
- Technology infrastructure (Epic vs. other EHRs)
- Geographic proximity to existing customers
Intent Signals:
- 6Sense intent scores for "patient outcomes" and "PRO software"
- Job postings for quality or outcomes roles
- Conference attendance patterns
- Recent press releases about quality initiatives
Relationship Mapping:
- Existing connections through investors or advisors
- Alumni networks (our CEO was a former health system exec)
- Shared customers with integration partners
The Tiered Approach
We organized our 100 target accounts into three tiers:
Tier 1 (10 accounts): White Glove
- Named account owners (1 AE per 2-3 accounts)
- Custom content and research
- Executive-level outreach
- Event-based engagement
Tier 2 (30 accounts): High Touch
- Personalized email sequences
- Industry-specific case studies
- Targeted LinkedIn advertising
- Regional event invitations
Tier 3 (60 accounts): Programmatic
- Automated nurture sequences
- Industry webinars
- Retargeting campaigns
- Intent-triggered outreach
The Multi-Threading Strategy
Health system deals die when your champion leaves or gets overruled. We developed a systematic approach to building multiple relationships within each account.
Persona Mapping:
We identified 6 key personas in every health system deal:
- Clinical Champion (usually a surgeon or department head)
- IT Decision Maker (CMIO or VP of Applications)
- Quality/Outcomes Leader
- Finance Stakeholder
- Executive Sponsor (C-suite)
- Implementation Owner
Content by Persona:
Each persona received different content:
- Clinical: Peer-reviewed research, clinical outcomes data
- IT: Integration documentation, security certifications
- Quality: Benchmarking reports, compliance information
- Finance: ROI calculators, case study economics
- Executive: Strategic vision pieces, industry trends
The Conference Strategy
AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) was our Super Bowl. Here's how we maximized it:
3 Months Before:
- Identified all target account attendees through the registration list
- Created personalized pre-show outreach sequences
- Booked dinner reservations at top restaurants near the venue
At the Conference:
- Hosted a private dinner for 20 clinical champions from Tier 1 accounts
- Ran targeted ads geofenced to the convention center
- Had customer speakers in our booth sessions
Post-Conference:
- Immediate follow-up within 24 hours
- Custom recap content for each conversation
- Fast-tracked demo scheduling for hot leads
The Customer Reference Network
Our biggest competitive advantage was our customer reference network. Health systems talk to each other. A positive reference from a peer institution is worth more than any marketing content.
We built a formal reference program:
- Identified "super-fans" at each customer site
- Created incentives for successful reference calls
- Tracked reference activity in HubSpot
- Matched references by geography, size, and specialty
Measuring ABM Success
Traditional metrics don't capture ABM value. We tracked:
Engagement Metrics:
- Account engagement score (composite of all stakeholder activity)
- Multi-stakeholder engagement rate
- Persona coverage (% of key personas engaged)
Pipeline Metrics:
- Target account conversion rate
- Average deal size (Tier 1 vs. Tier 2 vs. Tier 3)
- Sales cycle length by tier
- Win rate by engagement score
Efficiency Metrics:
- Cost per engaged account
- Marketing-influenced pipeline by tier
- Reference utilization rate
Results
Over 18 months:
- Closed deals with 4 of our top 10 target accounts
- Average deal size for ABM accounts was 2.3x larger than inbound
- Win rate on Tier 1 accounts was 40% (vs. 15% company average)
- 44% of total pipeline came from ABM programs
Key Learnings
1. Patience is mandatory. Our shortest Tier 1 deal was 9 months. Most were 14-16 months. Budget for the long game.
2. Sales and marketing must be one team. Weekly ABM standups, shared account plans, and joint QBRs are non-negotiable.
3. Content quality > quantity. One exceptional case study from a marquee health system outperformed 50 blog posts.
4. Relationships compound. An engaged contact who moves to a new health system brings you with them. Play the long game on relationships.
Running ABM for healthcare? I've got templates for account plans, persona mapping, and conference strategies. [Let's connect](/contact).