First, Dear hopeful vendor to TPAs, carefully read and absorb what is being said in the candid descriptions of the industry on this website, such as "Everything You Wanted to Know About TPAs." People often read them, and then call to ask if I really meant what was said. Yes; everything is straightforward, because we want you to be successful, because if your product/service is worthwhile, that helps the TPA and clients. So, read & heed as much as you can.
It is also important that you understand which kind of "TPAs" you are seeking. There is a detailed explanation in several of the pieces on this website. SPBA's 160 member firms constitute virtually all of what I call "comprehensive service" TPAs. However, there are many other kinds of entities who (wishful thinking or stretch of the imagination) call themselves "TPAs". This is also sometimes triggered by flukey language in 50 different state laws about what "TPAs" need to have licenses. So if you have a list of more than about 160 TPAs, you've got a collection of different kinds of entities. Most of the others would have no idea what the product or service you are selling.
The reason that understanding your market is the vital first step is that TPAs constantly get marketing approaches from entities the TPA can quickly tell has no idea of what a TPA is and what are the driving factors of the business. That's an instant turn-off, and one of the reasons that TPAs are skeptical when approached. You need to show that you made the effort to REALLY understand the legal and customer-service and business-structure nuances that make this business unique.
Second, don't ask us "Who are the biggest?" Size of the TPA is relatively unimportant in their work. Because the key to TPA success is intense personalization for the client, even the largest TPAs try to make their clients feel the TPA firm is targeted just for them.
From a practical perspective, marketers have reported to me that sometimes very large TPAs have their own ideas and development functions for extra services, so outside vendors are not sought. Or, in some large firms, a marketer has a hard time finding a decision-maker who has the kind of whole-operation intimate familiarity that is needed to judge whether the offered product or service will work for that TPA. So, size should not be a guiding criteria in your marketing. Often mid-size firms in the $1 million to $10 million (of fee income for services) are the best place for vendors to start, because you can often find CEOs who have a hands-on familiarity with all the functions & needs of the TPA firm and client employers and plans. They can quickly grasp the big picture and how the product or service would fit. They will also probably be candid if they see shortcomings or that it will not fit. That is invaluable insight you should take to heart.
Third. Another hint for your success is to understand how TPAs are paid, and thus how you should price your service or product. TPAs are service providers, much like your lawyer or CPA. If you have a product or service that will save plans gazillions of dollars or make workers healthier, that's nice, but it does not earn the TPA an extra penny, and many employer/plan sponsors are skeptical. So, if your product/service is expecting the TPA firm to pay for the service/product from which they will get no financial results, then that's not a good deal. So, when possible, think of ways to package your product/service and the cost so that the TPA can offer it to clients on some per-head or per-client basis. The TPA can then have the ultimate beneficiary of your savings or improvement be the one paying for the service/product. In most cases, in this process, the TPA is obviously providing valuable services to provide the product/service to the interested users, and thus TPAs are compensated for providing those vital services. Because of ERISA fiduciary duty rules, it is better to have payments reflect the value of the service the TPA is providing in coordinating your product/service to the users and handling the payment & paperwork thereof, rather than bonus and other kinds of payment systems common in other markets. The TPA will know where any tender areas are. Be flexible and work with them, because they are keeping your whole product/service arrangement out of trouble.
Fourth, SPBA does not have any advertising, exhibits or sponsored events. In fact, SPBA members enforce a strong policy of "non-commercialism" relating to SPBA. By that I mean that SPBA members tend to think of SPBA as "family", and thus SPBA meetings and communications as family gatherings. So, I warn vendors that TPAs have the same low threshold for being annoyed by commercialism as you would have if someone tried to insert a sales pitch into your Thanksgiving gathering.
What's the best way to find good TPA prospects? As noted earlier, SPBA's membership is virtually all of what I informally call "comprehensive service" TPAs. That does not mean that every SPBA firm provides every service to every kind of client & plan, but they provide or coordinate one-stop-shopping for clients within their market sector.
Some vendors are serious and some are just fiddling around. For the serious vendors who want success from their investment of time, the best tool is the SPBA DIRECTORY (see a description elsewhere on this website). It shows the name address & contact person for each firm, and about 25 characteristics about each firm in a chart format. These include everything from primary types of plans served (the main way TPAs differentiate themselves and think of themselves), to geographical regions served, to the various types of services provided and a size category guide, The chart format lets you quickly note trends to plan who and how to approach the market. The TPAs you contact will know you've done your homework, and you'll get the subsequent respect. That's the good news. The bad news is that it costs $900. If you are serious, buy the Directory. If this project is not worth $900, the TPAs soon pick up that it is not a serious venture. (oddly enough, we get marketers who are willing to spend thousands on blind mailings or for exhibit or sponsorship, but balk at $900 for the Directory. Go figure!)
So, what is the secret of success to breaking into the TPA market?
(1). Do your homework to really understand the TPA industry and nuances involved, and also use the Directory to get to know some manageable group of TPA firms. Be as eager to hear what they say as you are to give a sales pitch. They will often give you insight that allows you to tailor the product to avoid failure (though, remember, that every TPA is unique so one person's opinion is not the whole industry).
(2). The secret of success is to make a few TPAs (and their clients) happy, and the TPA grapevine works VERY well. For some products or services, the vendor gives the TPA an extra-good deal in exchange for letting other TPAs come and see the product/service in action.
Finally, you may want to go back and re-read this. We realize that legal factors (such as ERISA as the ultra-strict consumer protection federal law) and business customs of the TPA industry are different from other industries and standard business assumptions. SPBA wants you to be successful, because if your product/service is as good and as applicable as you believe, then it is a win-win-win for you, the TPA and the end-user client or patient. We wish you good luck for a mutually successful venture.