KOLs, IDN selling, GPO contracting, and the chasm in between
Hospital sales cycles run 12–24 months and route through clinical champions, value-analysis committees, supply chain, and finance. The fastest medtech launches engineer all four conversations in parallel from day one - not sequentially after FDA clearance.
Your trial sites become your launch sites become your KOLs become your peer-reviewed evidence engine. Pick principal investigators who publish, present at AHA / RSNA / ACC, and sit on guideline committees in your specialty.
Selling into Integrated Delivery Networks means winning four conversations in sequence: clinical champion → value analysis committee → supply chain procurement → finance/CIO. Skip any one and the deal stalls indefinitely.
GPO contracts (Vizient, Premier, HealthTrust) compress your margin but unlock thousands of facilities. Distributors carry your product into smaller hospitals you can't reach directly. Both decisions should be made before you hire the first sales rep.