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Directly Speaking
When Was The Last Time You Made An ICHP Sale?
by Scott A. Meyers, Executive Vice President
I never wanted to be a salesman and it took a little while in this job with ICHP to realize that I had become one. A big part of my job was selling ICHP to non-members and an equally large part is selling the pharmacy profession to others! Now I assume since you’re reading this that you’re already a member, unless you have picked up the complimentary copy we send to each hospital pharmacy director in Illinois with each issue. And if the latter is the case, why haven’t you joined? If you’re not a member, don’t answer that, hopefully this article will convince you to do it. If you are a member, hopefully this article will help you realize why it is important for you to become an ICHP sales person!
When I took this job some 27+ years ago, I knew membership recruitment and retention would make up a big portion of my responsibilities. I had a pretty good idea of the value ICHP offered for the very low cost of membership (then and still today). We offered great educational meetings, a newsletter with important information, local affiliate meetings where we could network with our colleagues from other hospitals, and eventually health-system pharmacies, and more. But I didn’t consider myself a salesman. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was.
As I visited with pharmacists, technicians and students at the various meetings and listened to what kept them up at night, what hurdles they faced in their work sites, and what their hopes and dreams for the profession were, I realized that we needed to do more and be more. But I also realized that we couldn’t do it without our current members and a lot more new ones too.
In the early days of the Illinois-based ICHP - it’s a story for another day - we had great programming, solid networking, and strong member communication, but we lacked a legislative and regulatory foundation. A foundation that could help us truly have an impact on the future of practice and help address the problems our members faced daily.
In those 27+ years, ICHP has built that strong foundation with the General Assembly, the Board of Pharmacy, and the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. And that foundation now makes selling ICHP easier than ever! Being informed is so important these days and we, the Board of Directors, our Divisions and Committees, and the ICHP Staff, do our best to get the information on practice changes to you as quickly and efficiently as possible. We send out e-mail blasts, as well as post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We send out monthly Champion News Briefs and quarterly KeePosteds. While some of the local affiliate networking and educational meetings have gone by the wayside, it’s only because we can find the local leadership to get them going. Several of our affiliates still offer presentations throughout the year with support of industry, just not in quite the same format as we used to do.
ICHP is a well-respected and vibrant organization, actively involved in molding the future of pharmacy practice. And we could go so much further with even more actively engaged and enthusiastic members than we have right now. You will see in this issue the number of active volunteers who jumped in this past year, taking on jobs as simple as a CV review or as complicated as leading a division or committee. Many of these individuals jumped in this year for the first time, but my bet is they’ll be back for more this year!
The point is, most of these members joined ICHP (think back to yourself) because someone invited them to join and come along to a meeting or work together on a project. And that’s where you all come in. If you’re not a member, I’m personally inviting you to join ICHP and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about it (ICHP) or any job you might be interested in tackling this year. If you are a member, I’m asking you to invite a co-worker, classmate from pharmacy school, or even your boss to become a part of this great organization. I’m happy to help you with talking points beyond those listed earlier.
Selling ICHP shouldn’t be hard. We have so much to offer and I know you will find that the more involved you get, the more you will receive. I bet many of you are thinking, “I’ve already done this before; I’ve already made an ICHP sale.” So why not see if you can make another?
PS. Don’t forget that ICHP offers a “Double Dose” discount when a current pharmacist or pharmacy technician member renews their dues with a non-member of the same membership category, for the price of one! You save - and your new member colleague saves - for one year and if you’re a good salesman, you can save every year with someone new!
