About this episode
Obioha Alukogu, owner of Obel Transportation in Dallas, Texas, went from roughly 1,200 trips a month to about 1,600 on eight vehicles, a 33% jump with no added fleet. Route optimization removed the dead miles and pushed each new request to the closest driver, work he had been doing by hand with GPS lookups after dropping software that sent drivers to the wrong places. He wins skilled nursing, rehab, and adult day care contracts by saying yes first and building the capability after, including credentialing with United Healthcare to bill the insurer directly.
Key takeaways
- Trip volume went from about 1,200 to about 1,600 a month on eight vehicles, roughly 400 more trips, after replacing software that had been routing drivers to the wrong addresses.
- Growth by saying yes: he committed to serving a city 50 miles south of Dallas before he had coverage there, signed the contract on the spot, then added a vehicle to cover it.
- He told a client he could bill insurance directly before it was true, then applied to United Healthcare and completed credentialing to become an out-of-network provider who bills them directly.
- His facility pitch targets places that already own vans: he offers to cover trip conflicts and breakdowns, and answering yes to a 2 a.m. pickup closed the contract.
- Portal access is the closer. Letting a facility log in and submit or assign its own trips is what Alukogu calls the game changer when he sells against incumbents.
Chapters
- 0:00 <Untitled Chapter 1>
- 0:07 The 33% Trip Volume Jump in Dallas NEMT
- 2:25 Switching to Run Bambi Run & Route Optimization Efficiency
- 4:42 The Impact: 400 More Trips with 8 Vehicles
- 9:23 Winning Contracts with Skilled Nursing Facilities & Rehabs
- 11:05 Becoming an Out-of-Network United Healthcare Provider
- 11:58 The Key to Success: Always Say "Yes" to Clients
- 14:52 The Critical Role of Family & Team Support
