Connexio Health shares how sales augmentation addresses stretched field teams. Learn why the 80/20 rule leaves accounts underserved, and how pairing strategies improve coverage, efficiency, and growth without burning out teams.
Explore the pros and cons of in-person, virtual, and hybrid account management in healthcare. Learn how organizations strike balance and discover what truly drives stronger relationships and better outcomes.
In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, reaching the right stakeholders with the right message at the right time is more complex than ever. Field teams remain a cornerstone of engagement, but even the most seasoned representatives face limitations—time, geography, access, and bandwidth. As we strive for more meaningful, sustained connections in an omnichannel world, Virtual Account Management (VAM) has emerged as a powerful complement, enabling organizations to expand their reach, deepen relationships, and unlock new levels of performance.
While field teams offer invaluable face-to-face interaction, they often face access restrictions, particularly in specialty areas where providers are time-constrained or dispersed. Virtual Account Management fills critical gaps, allowing healthcare organizations to:
With a VAM layer in place, teams can extend coverage, deliver consistent messaging, and adapt more nimbly to the evolving access environment.
When done right, virtual account managers do more than echo field messages—they amplify them. This hybrid model fosters coordination and balance between roles:
Together, they create a surround-sound experience that fosters trust and guides providers through the decision-making process.
Integrating virtual account management with data intelligence tools—such as predictive segmentation, whitespace identification, and next-best-action algorithms—supercharges targeting strategies. By leveraging insights from prescribing trends, engagement history, and clinical behavior, organizations can determine:
This kind of precision ensures field and virtual teams operate in lockstep, reducing redundancy and boosting ROI.
Healthcare organizations that adopt hybrid models often report measurable gains:
In short, virtual account management isn’t a replacement for field force—it’s an evolution. One that empowers teams to work smarter, adapt faster, and ultimately deliver better outcomes for providers and patients alike.
In an era where personalization, access, and agility reign supreme, augmenting field teams with virtual account management is not just a trend—it’s a transformation. Those who embrace this model will find themselves better equipped to meet the moment—and the future—of healthcare engagement.
For MedTech startups navigating the complexities of commercialization, an accurate sales forecast is not just a numbers game; it’s a strategic imperative. Sales forecasts fuel investor confidence, inform staffing decisions, shape marketing strategies, and ultimately, dictate the pace of market entry. This whitepaper offers a structured approach to sales forecasting tailored to emerging medical technology companies, focusing on the key drivers, decision points, and process dynamics that shape successful go-to-market plans.
Before you input a single number into a model, consider the following foundational questions:
The model in your spreadsheet uses a Yield-Based Sales Funnel that breaks down the customer acquisition process into conversion stages. This gives startups clarity on where pipeline attrition happens — and how much activity is required to hit revenue targets.
| Step | Description | Example Yield |
| Campaign Target | Total contacts engaged | 100% |
| Decision Maker Reached | Contacts reached | 60% |
| Opportunity Identified | Qualified interest | 50% |
| Product Demo | Engaged leads | 75% |
| Sale | Closed deals | 30% |
This example results in a 6.75% overall conversion rate (0.6 × 0.5 × 0.75 × 0.3), meaning you’ll need to start with ~15 prospects for every sale
Many MedTech startups lack historical data early on. In this case, apply the 10:3:1 Rule:
* For every 10 people you talk to, 3 will be interested, and 1 will buy.
This rule of thumb is a reliable proxy to model early activity until actual conversion metrics emerge. It equates to a 10% close rate on total outreach.
Application Example:
If your goal is 100 new customers, then:
Use this rule to estimate:
One of the most overlooked aspects in startup sales forecasts is the time lag between launch and scale. Your model smartly includes:
This reflects real-world adoption patterns, particularly in healthcare, where provider trust, procurement cycles, and clinical validation all cause friction.
Recommendation: Use a conservative ramp profile, and validate with similar MedTech analogs if possible. Over-forecasting Month 1 revenue is a rookie mistake.
4. Understand Revenue Sources
MedTech companies typically derive revenue from:
Your model includes average order value, monthly value per customer, and projected upsell impact (e.g., 10%). Use industry benchmarks but validate with pilot data or early customers when possible.
5. Staffing and Capacity Assumptions
Your ability to reach, convert, and retain customers depends on team capacity. Use the following logic:
Pro Tip: Forecast sales and support team growth in sync with your revenue ramp. Overhiring too early kills runway. Underhiring bottlenecks growth.
6. KPIs to Track and Refine
Every forecast should come with a feedback loop:
Conclusion
Sales forecasting for MedTech startups is not just about math. It’s about thinking critically through your commercial assumptions, mapping the buyer journey, and designing a funnel that aligns with real market behavior. The included model offers a robust foundation, but your ongoing discipline in testing, learning, and adjusting is what will ultimately ensure success.
Tariffs may seem like geopolitical headlines or economic policy levers, but they have immediate and measurable effects for healthcare manufacturers. From increasing costs on essential materials to forcing shifts in commercialization models, tariffs can dramatically alter go-to-market strategies.
At Connexio Health, we help medical device, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and biotech innovators respond to disruption with agility. Here’s what healthcare manufacturers need to know—and do—when tariffs are in play.
The True Cost of Tariffs in Healthcare
Tariffs are government-imposed duties on imported goods. When these apply to materials used in healthcare products, such as electronic components, active pharmaceutical ingredients, or packaging supplies, they impact everything from unit economics to launch timelines.
A diagnostic manufacturer sourcing overseas electronic parts may face higher costs and delays. A pharmaceutical company reliant on foreign ingredients could see its supply chain destabilized. Even if a product is entirely U.S.-made, packaging, shipping,g and labeling components might still be tariff-affected.
These impacts extend beyond the supply chain. Increased costs may erode the margin or require price adjustments. For provider organizations under value-based care pressures, this can create friction, especially when outcomes, reimbursement, and budgets are under scrutiny.
The Commercial Model Under Pressure
Research from the Alexander Group shows how leading companies react to tariff-induced disruptions. According to their findings, 83 percent of affected firms permanently adjusted their commercial strategies. These changes include:
This shift isn’t temporary. As global instability, inflation, and tariff risk persist, manufacturers must design commercial models that flex and adapt.
Three Moves to Make Right Now
Whether your company is already feeling the impact of tariffs or simply planning for volatility, there are immediate steps you can take:
1. Audit Your Supply Chain
Map your current supplier base and assess exposure to tariff-related cost increases. Consider alternatives or backup sources that allow for faster pivots.
2. Rethink Pricing and Profitability
Work with your finance and sales leadership to review pricing models. Where are margins at risk? What are the thresholds your customer base will tolerate? Consider bundling, subscription models, or value-based pricing structures.
3. Reposition Your Sales Messaging
Equip your commercial teams with messaging that highlights product value, clinical outcomes, and economic benefit. With many providers operating under tighter budgets, clarity around total cost of ownership and ROI is critical.
The Connexio Health Advantage
At Connexio Health, we specialize in commercialization strategies that account for complexity. Whether you’re launching into a competitive space, navigating uncertain economic conditions, or realigning your sales force, we bring the insights and execution support you need to stay ahead.
Tariffs may be outside your control, but how you respond is not. Now is the time to assess, adapt, and accelerate.
To learn more about commercialization strategies that accelerate success, visit connexiohealth.com.
In today’s dynamic healthcare landscape, flexibility is essential for successful commercialization. No-obligation contracts are transforming the industry by offering healthcare companies the ability to scale services without long-term commitments, providing agility in a rapidly changing market.
In today’s dynamic healthcare landscape, flexibility is essential for successful commercialization. Flexible contracts are transforming the industry by offering healthcare companies the ability to scale services without long-term commitments, providing agility in a rapidly changing market.
Connexio Health offers innovative commercialization support through flexible contracts. Our adaptable model, including fractional services, lets healthcare companies tap into expertise when needed, ensuring agility and cost savings.
Finding the right balance for your Virtual Sales Organization to be successful in the healthcare field can be tricky. With the right mix of people and platforms, you can achieve successful outcomes in the virtual world. Our team has worked with healthcare companies in the medical device, diagnostic and pharmaceutical industries to build virtual sales organizations (VSO) for over 20 years as MMC Healthcare. We’ve built programs for many manufacturers looking for a lower cost of sale solution to reach their customers and prospects. Here are some of the key ingredients we’ve identified for a successful program.
They key to successfully selling a product in a virtual environment is to clearly define the value propositions for the product. Value may be from the perspective of the healthcare providers or the patient, and ideally both. Examples may be clinical advantages, economic improvement or ease of use of the product. Digging deeper may include inclusion on GPO contracts or availability through distribution.
While many sales reps have “gone virtual” in the COVID-19 Pandemic era, finding a team that thrives in this environment is critical. They key is to find individuals with the background necessary to sell, who simultaneously enjoy the benefits of working in a virtual environment. Finding sales representatives that have experience previously selling or have worked in the care setting we are calling on is a big advantage. Having an experience respiratory sales representative calling a respiratory therapist or a dental hygienist calling into dental practices adds credibility to open doors.
Introducing new products to healthcare professionals can be a challenge if they are not familiar with the product or company. We have proven that virtual sales programs are more successful when HCPs are exposed to the product in three to four marketing channels, including phone, email, landing pages, ads, direct mail and virtual education.
Developing a central data platform (CDP) that is tied to tools like Salesforce.com will allow you to manage and prioritize customers and prospects. Giving your team a well thought out target list to nurture is an essential piece of driving reach and frequency within your target audience. Companies like Definitive Healthcare, IQVIA and MedData are great partners to help you build your database. Coupling your database with dialing, response management, video technology and scheduling tools will improve the efficiencies of your VSO. With the right tools, our VSO teams conduct video in-services and present to value analysis committees as if they were right in the room.
Your VSO team should be viewed as part of your greater sales organization. Members of field sales and the VSO should feel like they are on the same team. While we all know there are times that someone needs to be in the hospital or healthcare facility, COVID-19 has proven that a virtual approach can help companies successfully service and support our customer’s needs. When field sales and your VSO work well in conjunction, that is where you will see your greatest results.
Whether you are looking to partner with a full-service sales & marketing agency like Connexio Health or to build an internal VSO, make sure you have the right recipe for success.
