Advice on selling in the Healthcare Space with Brendan McAdams, Founder of Kiinetics

If you’re trying to sell ideas, products and technology in the Healthcare industry, this podcast is for you.

For Brendan McAdams, sales in healthcare isn’t about pushing products, it’s about creating real fit, listening deeply, and helping founders build businesses that last. As the founder of Kiinetics, Brendan has worked with health tech startups and entrepreneurs to navigate one of the toughest industries out there: selling into hospitals, payers, and health systems.

With a career spanning UnitedHealthcare, WebMD, and startups across the health space, Brendan has seen firsthand what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to turning an idea into traction. In this episode of The Irresistible Factor, he shares candid advice on how founders can approach sales not as a script, but as a conversation that builds credibility and long-term success.

Key Takeaways

Don’t Start with Building, Start with Listening

“Early stage startup founders often start by building something. And what I would suggest is before you do any building, go out and talk to as many people as you can in as many different areas.”

Sell the Transformation, Not the Features

“You really need to be selling the result, the transformation that’s gonna take place. It’s not about features, it’s about how this improves the experience for their patient.”

Fit Matters More than the Pitch

“I’m really not looking to make a sale. Of course I’m looking to make a sale, but I’m looking to make a sale within the context of: does this fit? Because if it’s not a fit, if I can’t really solve for them, that’s gonna figure itself out sooner or later. And I’m just wasting my time.”

Brendan’s philosophy is clear: sales is about conversation, curiosity, and fit, not pressure. For founders navigating healthcare, his advice is a reminder that building relationships and understanding the customer deeply is what makes innovation stick.