Why relationships still decide who gets the meeting

Alan Shoebridge,  AVP & Chief Communication Officer (National) at Providence, has seen how vendor relationships form, stall, or quietly disappear. He broke down the patterns that shape buying decisions and the signals that tell him whether a partnership stands a chance.

Key Takeaways

Relationships Drive 75% of Purchasing Decisions. Shoebridge says that three out of four purchasing decisions at large health systems come from existing relationships—not cold outreach. Ghosting a Prospect is a Problem. Buyers remember how vendors aggressively engage for a few months, then vanish if a deal doesn’t close. Startups Need More Than Logos. New vendors face a steeper climb. They need proof that comes from strong case studies. Without those, it’s hard to win enterprise trust. Vendors should clearly and transparently communicate with customers Deliver on promises and hold each other accountable Vendors should challenge customers and tell them what they could be doing better Why existing relationships get picked over impressive demos

Shoebridge doesn’t sugarcoat it. Most decisions at health systems come from years of familiarity, not a tight demo or polished slide deck.

As he put it, “I think probably it’s maybe 75/25. Seventy-five percent of the time the existing relationship wins.” For new vendors, this means you are pitching uphill to health systems with an incumbent solution. And even when there isn’t an incumbent, existing vendors who are willing to create new products may have an edge.

What can a new vendor do? Show up consistently at industry events and become part of the community. Share valuable educational information on social media. Engage with prospects with the goal of establishing a relationship not landing a deal. Fail to do that and your polished pitch will fall flat.

Ghosting isn’t forgotten. How vanishing after early enthusiasm erodes credibility

Shoebridge called out a pattern that every healthcare buyer recognizes: an enthusiastic burst of comments, likes, and DMs that dissolves the moment a deal doesn’t materialize.

“After three months [of intense social interaction], I never hear from them again,” he said. “I always feel like that was clearly just something transactional.”

Those disappearances linger. Buyers remember the names attached to that behavior, and the absence of follow-through. It is hard enough to land a deal in healthcare, there is no need to create your own roadblocks.

Logos don’t carry the weight vendors think they do

Brand recognition can get someone’s attention, but it rarely closes a deal. Health systems want to know whether a solution worked somewhere comparable, at scale, with results that can be verified.

Shoebridge has watched vendors lean heavily on impressive customer lists without explaining what those customers actually achieved. “Hearing a couple of really great case studies… that’s always going to have a lot of power,” he said. A wall of logos signals reach. A case study signals depth. Buyers always check which one holds up.

Why trust, not urgency, decides the long-term winners

Shoebridge’s observations point back to a simple truth. Healthcare buying is shaped more by consistency than bold pitches. Trust forms quietly over time and reveals itself only when contract windows open. The vendors who show up with patience, clarity, and a long view often look like overnight successes. They were simply present long enough for the relationship to matter.

Learn more about Providence at https://www.providence.org/

Connect with Alan Shoebridge on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoebridge/

Check out the other articles + videos in this series on B2B Healthcare Sales + Marketing Myths: Drip Campaigns, Cookie-Cutter Pitches, and Other Ways to Blow a Healthcare Sale featuring Pam Landis from Hackensack Meridian, The Myths Wasting Your Time in Healthcare Marketing featuring David Tytell from MIT Health.