'I get jazzed up because I see the glimmer in their eyes'

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Seven thousand, nine hundred and eighteen. That's Ty Bello's favorite number. "It's the number of people who turn 65 every day this year," said Bello, who calls himself the HME industry's only certified corporate coach. "The boomers have landed, and they are going to change--if the HME is willing to change--the way HMEs do business." Lately, during his presentations at various industry events, Bello has thrown his favorite number out a lot, especially to providers who believe the sky under the cloud of national competitive bidding is falling. It's not, Bello says, not by a long shot. "Seven thousand, nine hundred and eighteen people are going to need these products," he said. "Tell me they are not going to wake up and find out they are COPDers? Tell me they are not going to wake up and find out they are incontinent." Bello, who's certified by the World Wide Association of Business Coaches, delivers a message of hope in a rah-rah style that's intended to pump up his clients or audience.The coaching process includes studying a company, identifying its weaknesses and, with the client's active input, developing a strategy to help move the provider from where he is to where he wants to be. And these days, Bello tells them about his favorite number, and how, while margins will never be what they once were, the market for HME products is large and growing. "I get jazzed up talking about it because I see the glimmer in their eyes," he said. "I see it when I'm in front of them. It's, 'Oh my word. I haven't thought about that.'"