From Overwhelmed to On Track: A Coaching Approach for Community Pharmacy Success

Brian joined Cencora in 2020 after a career with Walgreens as a pharmacy and retail district manager. When he saw the Good Neighbor Pharmacy business coaching opportunity, it immediately matched the work he enjoyed most: Partnering with stakeholders, setting growth goals, and strengthening profitability. “The business coaching role had a lot of the areas that I was interested in, such as working with business owners, setting goals and building out more profitable businesses,” Brian said.

While business growth planning was a natural fit, Brian says one of the biggest surprises was how many resources are available to member pharmacies and how coaches help owners put them to work. “One aspect that I wasn’t expecting is how you can help the pharmacy owner in many ways due to Cencora’s vast resources,” he explained. “There are so many solutions and resources that Cencora and Good Neighbor Pharmacy offer and a lot of times the business coach is making sure the owner knows everything that’s available to them.”

That coordination becomes especially valuable in a fast-changing environment. A major challenge many pharmacy owners face is the shifting reimbursement landscape. “The reimbursement landscape is one of the tougher ones for pharmacies to deal with — keeping up with different payment models and government programs,” Brian noted. His coaching approach is grounded in focus: Understand what’s changing, then prioritize what the pharmacy can control. “I like to work with them on the things that we can actually impact at the pharmacy,” he said. “Rather than spinning their wheels on things they can’t control.”

Brian also sees time pressure as the real reason owners resist change. “A lot of the owners are resistant to change, not because of the change itself,” he said. “It’s more about time management. There’s so much on their plate.” His solution is practical: Simplify, prioritize, and build an action plan that fits into real life. “I really enjoy working with the owners on trying to simplify what they’re trying to accomplish,” Brian said. “Maybe they have ten goals… simplifying that into the one or two that we can actually work on for the next three months, break that into an action plan, and help them proactively solve for barriers.”

That focus creates quick wins — and momentum. “Once you kind of start that momentum, owners are like, ‘Wow… that was easy. We accomplished this goal quickly,’” Brian shared. “Then it kind of falls into place… ‘OK, give me the next one or two goals.’”

One recent example: A pharmacy owner wanted to improve overall Rx margin. Brian helped design a plan centered on growing immunizations through targeted prescriber and patient education, paired with the operational discipline to support demand. “We put together a plan around prescriber marketing,” he explained, ensuring prescribers knew which vaccines the pharmacy offered and when. On the patient side, the plan focused on making sure patients understood what vaccines were available, what they needed, and exactly how to receive them. “It was an educational marketing campaign to prescribers and patients,” Brian said. Just as important: Inventory readiness. “We don’t want to do all this advertising and not have a proper inventory supply of vaccines to service the patients,” he added.

Alongside immunization growth, Brian identified a pay-for-performance adherence program opportunity. He coached the owner through the rules, timeline, and how to access the eligible patient list, then built a sustainable plan to keep refills on track throughout the year so the pharmacy could capture the full benefit. The results were significant: Immunizations increased, the pharmacy succeeded in the pay-for-performance program, and Rx margin improved beyond expectations — surpassing the initial target of a 250-basis point growth. Ultimately, the plan delivered growth of over 300 basis points year over year.

Brian also magnifies impact through leadership. As Program Lead, he leads a team of Good Neighbor Pharmacy business coaches, aligning their work to help more member pharmacies turn goals into outcomes through practical planning and consistent execution.

Want a clearer plan to grow profitability, strengthen operations, and navigate change with confidence? Learn more about how Good Neighbor Pharmacy business coaches can support your pharmacy.