Achieving Growth in B2B Solutions for Healthcare | Alec Melnikov from Velox

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Alec from Velox, president with them. How are you doing today, Alec?

Alec Melnikov: Hello, Ernesto. I’m great. How are you?

Ernesto: I’m doing great, thank you so much for asking. Well, let’s kick it off, Alec. I’m sure listeners are tuning in, wondering what Velox is all about. So in your own words, can you tell us a little bit more?

Alec: Yeah, sure. When visiting one of the clinics, let’s say, for an X-ray or ultrasound, as a patient, you won’t see Velox anywhere. But there’s a pretty good chance that Velox is running the clinic in the background, taking care of all the mundane stuff such as billing, patient chart keeping, tracking images, and so on. In essence, we’re a B2B company servicing ultrasound and X-ray clinics, especially smaller clinics. We started the company ten years ago, growing slow and steady. Now, we’re up to about 60 employees, and we’re continuing to grow. We have outgrown the Canadian market—dominating it, actually—with more than 50% of the market share, and we are actively expanding in the United States now.

Ernesto: Awesome! Great to hear that. So, to help our listeners get a better understanding of Velox, what would you say is the key problem you solve for clients?

Alec: The key problem is helping clinics stay organized. Our software helps clinics keep patient charts in order, ensures no paperwork gets lost, reminds them to call patients back, prevents revenue loss, and avoids mistakes like missing images or important findings in reports. In short, it’s like a personal productivity tool for imaging clinics.

Ernesto: Nice to hear that. Is there a certain vertical segment that Velox targets? What would be the ideal ICP for you?

Alec: Yes, we focus on a very narrow niche. Our software is somewhat similar to generic electronic medical records systems or general imaging systems, but we’re specifically targeting small to medium-sized clinics. Hospitals are not our market, and we focus exclusively on radiology and cardiology. This focus lets us be competitive in pricing and provide only what our clients need. We cater to clinics without IT staff, those with just a few computers, and we work fine even on outdated hardware.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. How do clients typically find out about Velox? Do you have a top client acquisition channel?

Alec: It’s a combination. Since our niche is so narrow, there are few clinics that can be our clients, so they tend to know each other. They buy and sell clinics, compete, and exchange their impressions of the systems they use, which helps spread our name. We also attract clients through traditional methods—our website, trade shows, and advertising in specialized magazines.

Ernesto: Interesting. For our listeners, if you want to learn more, you can check them out at veloximaging.com. What role does the website play for client acquisition, Alec?

Alec: In this day and age, attention spans are very short, and that’s true for everyone, not just teenagers. Our website is designed to show we know the industry and understand how to address our clients’ specific pain points. For a long time, we just had a single-page website with key points, showing that we know what we’re doing and that there’s a compelling reason to take us seriously.

Ernesto: Interesting. Do you have any tools, tips, or methods you’d recommend for website lead generation?

Alec: My advice may be unconventional, but when we started the company, we noticed many competitors weren’t responding to inquiries. We’d visit their websites, fill out contact forms, and hear nothing back. It’s sad because they had great marketing but no follow-up. For us, our sales team has a standard to respond to every lead within 24 hours, whether it’s a voicemail, contact form, or email. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your advertising budget.

Ernesto: Absolutely, response time is crucial. Let’s switch gears a bit. Alec, let’s talk about you as a leader. What are some key tasks you focus on in your day-to-day work?

Alec: I see my role as both keeping the company running smoothly as a mechanism and nurturing it as a living organism. I focus on setting up and monitoring the flow of customer support issues, sales leads, installations, and maintenance. For me, it’s all about putting smart people together, giving them a clear goal, and letting them do their work. My main tasks involve hiring the right people, setting long-term goals, and, of course, handling crisis management when needed.

Ernesto: Interesting approach. How do you stay up to date with trends and strategies in the marketing world?

Alec: News pretty much comes to us these days. I spend a lot of time on YouTube, where I get content related to my professional interests. But for our niche market, staying informed takes more effort. We attend trade shows and pay close attention to our clients’ questions and concerns, which keeps us up to date with new trends, like the recent focus on ransomware protection.

Ernesto: Great insights. Let’s move on to our rapid-fire questions. Are you ready?

Alec: Yes.

Ernesto: First off, what’s the last book you read?

Alec: The Culture Map—it’s about how people communicate in different cultures in business contexts. It really resonated with me because it helped me understand that being clear and direct isn’t always the best approach. Sometimes, cultures rely on context, and being overly direct can come off as blunt or even insulting. It’s helped me adjust my communication style based on who I’m talking to.

Ernesto: Nice! If there’s one repetitive task you could automate, what would it be?

Alec: I’d automate financial tracking. We calculate key financial indicators monthly, but it would be valuable to see them in real time. If a system could calculate and display profitability, revenue, and acquisition costs on a daily dashboard, it would save us a lot of time and improve certainty.

Ernesto: Good choice. Finally, what advice would you give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer?

Alec: I’d tell myself to focus on building systems and teams for the long run, rather than one-off, heroic efforts. I remember one client project that felt crucial at the time, but it took so much time and didn’t prepare us for future clients. So, my advice is to focus on creating systems and let them handle the work.

Ernesto: That’s great advice. Well, Alec, we’re coming to the end of the show. Before we go, what’s one thing you want listeners to remember about Velox?

Alec: I’d say to remember our focus on leveraging our “unfair advantage.” We’re nimble, and we dominate our market. That’s our strength, and we always aim to turn that into a driving force for our business.

Ernesto: Awesome. For our listeners, check them out at veloximaging.com. Remember, it’s simple, effective, and comprehensive—bringing a new era in clinic solutions. Alec, thank you so much for being on with us today.

Alec: Great, thank you very much, Ernesto.