She mentioned that in 2016 their diverse spend was over eight percent, or over $110 million, and during the last two years their supplier diversity program has helped them to reduce cost by over $2 million. “That means you are directly helping us meet our mission to deliver higher quality assessable and affordable healthcare in the communities that we serve,” she said. Pointing out the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule, Hanlon indicated that Highmark Health in 2016 achieved over a 90 percent inclusion rate relating to it. “In practice, I can tell you that it’s working quiet well.” Not trying to paint a completely positive picture, Hanlon said they know they need to do more and they need to do better and are working to do so as their vision is to be a leader in the health care industry, working to improve the experience of their customers and get health care right for them through a value-based model of care.
Ruiz classifies herself as a communication specialist, bi-lingual entrepreneur, a bestselling author and keynote speaker whose passions are entrepreneurship, empowerment, all things communication, content marketing, social media and technology. “Pitching is an important skill set for small businesses,” she said, noting that often you only get one chance to impress and if you miss the mark, you miss an opportunity. “The need for emotional engagement is critical,” she said. Ruiz also mentioned the secret to creating a winning pitch is not to pitch. While being able to create value during every interaction is important, her three points for creating a winning pitch are to have a unique value proposition, the way you approach a capability briefing and presentation and using the social media platform of LinkedIn to tell your story.
A unique value proposition, she explained, is focusing on how your products or services helps and benefits the company, and how the product or service can help solve a company’s problem.
While presenting during a capability briefing meeting, Ruiz suggests knowing what the decision makers want to hear. “Focus your brain on their business by seeing yourself as a change agent.” She also suggests that if one uses a power point presentation, not to use more than 10 slides. Position oneself as a trusted advisor by demonstrating that you have knowledge about the industry, that you are a change agent and that you have a clear understanding about the current industry trends and showing that you are the expert.
While listening intently the audience heard Ruiz discuss the significance of using social media to tell their story. “LinkedIn is the number one social media platform, it’s the median to tell your story and convey your value. LinkedIn is being used to research people at companies 75 percent of the time. It’s a way that you control how your story is told,” she explained.
Monica White, president and creative director of Design Business Solutions on the North Side, viewed Ruiz’s presentation as very valuable. She and her partner, Chris V. Motley, plan to incorporate assisting their clients in updating their LinkedIn platform. “Michele’s points about LinkedIn were so timely and on point. I don’t think entrepreneurs realize how effective the platform is. We see it as a way for us to help our clients either find a job or recruit prospects for hire.”
Delighted with the results of the first-time event, Ron Alvarado, a representative of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he views Highmark as being on track to meeting their goals. “I can think of no other Pittsburgh company that has done anything close to what you put together. Not only was the Small Business Forum an excellent matchmaking opportunity, but the education portion of the program was ‘content rich’ and provided attendees with excellent tools to help us refine our ‘pitch’ and the insight on accessing capital was equally valuable. I commend everyone at Highmark for ‘walking the walk’ and trailblazing a path that others will certainly want to emulate.”
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