Everything you need to know about working with Mainsail Group
For Health Systems
What does Mainsail Group actually do?
Mainsail Group is a strategic advisory firm purpose-built at the intersection of healthcare and commercial partnerships. We help large health systems unlock non-organic revenue through three primary channels: beverage deals, brand and apparel partnerships, and patient entertainment programs. We also provide expert advisory services for health systems that hold - or are considering - sports sponsorship agreements with professional and collegiate teams. Our executives bring 50+ combined years of direct experience from organizations including the PGA TOUR, Nashville Predators, and major health systems.
How is Mainsail different from other healthcare consultants?
Most healthcare consultants focus on operational efficiency, clinical optimization, or supply chain savings. Mainsail operates in a space that virtually no other firm occupies - helping health systems treat their massive daily audience (patients, visitors, and staff) as a strategic asset. We are not a generalist firm. Our team has negotiated and managed these types of partnerships from inside sports organizations and health systems alike, giving us a perspective no other advisory firm can offer.
What kind of revenue can a health system expect?
Revenue varies significantly depending on system size, number of facilities, geographic market, and existing contracts. A well-structured beverage deal alone can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars - and in some cases, millions - in new recurring revenue. Brand partnerships and patient entertainment programs create additional revenue streams on top of that. We provide detailed projections during the Executive Briefing process based on your specific system profile.
Will this distract our leadership team from patient care?
No. That is a core principle of how we operate. Mainsail manages the entire process - from strategy development through negotiation and ongoing partnership management. Your leadership team's involvement is limited to approvals at key milestones. We designed our engagement model specifically so that health systems can unlock this revenue without diverting any operational bandwidth from clinical priorities.
We already have beverage contracts in place. How can Mainsail help?
Most health systems negotiate beverage contracts through their supply chain or procurement teams, optimizing primarily for cost per unit. Mainsail approaches these deals from the other side of the table - as a sponsorship and marketing asset. Our executives have been structuring and managing beverage deals for health systems longer than any other firm in the country, bringing unmatched benchmarking data, vendor relationships, and negotiating expertise. In almost every case, we identify significant unrealized value in existing agreements.
Do we need to be a Vizient or Premier member to work with Mainsail?
No. While Mainsail maintains strategic partnerships with both Vizient and Premier, membership in either network is not a requirement. Our relationships across the healthcare landscape run far deeper than any single GPO. We work with health systems directly, regardless of their purchasing affiliations.
What types of health systems do you work with?
We work with large health systems - typically those with five or more hospitals and significant patient volume. The economics of brand partnerships, beverage deals, and sponsorship advisory services are most compelling at scale, where the audience numbers make the business case undeniable.
How does the engagement process work?
It starts with an Executive Briefing - a focused conversation where we learn about your system, your current contracts, and your goals. From there, we develop a customized strategy, identify the highest-impact opportunities, and manage execution from end to end. A typical engagement runs six to twelve months from initial conversation to first measurable results.
For Consumer Brands
Why should our brand consider healthcare partnerships?
Health systems serve massive, captive audiences with above-average income. HCA Healthcare alone generates 126.2 million annual encounters - 3.1 times the combined attendance of the NFL and NBA. Healthcare workers are trusted recommenders in their communities, and patients spend an average of 5.5 days (132 hours) per hospital stay in an environment with virtually zero advertising competition. No stadium, arena, or media buy offers that combination of audience scale, trust, and uninterrupted attention.
What kind of brands does Mainsail work with?
We focus on brands whose products or services genuinely enhance the patient or staff experience. This includes apparel and footwear (Nike, Hoka, Brooks, On Cloud), beverage companies (Pepsi, Coca-Cola), patient entertainment (Netflix, Apple TV+, Spotify, Prime Video), financial services (Mastercard, Visa), and wellness and cleaning products. We are selective - only brands that support a better experience for patients and staff qualify. We treat the hospital environment as sacred, and every partnership must add real value.
How is this different from traditional healthcare marketing?
Traditional healthcare marketing means advertising at or near hospitals. Mainsail's model is fundamentally different - we create partnerships where the brand becomes part of the care environment. A streaming service providing in-room entertainment during a 5.5-day stay is not an ad. A footwear brand supporting nurses who walk 5 to 8 miles per 12-hour shift is not a sponsorship. These are experience improvements that happen to create powerful brand association and revenue.
Does Mainsail help connect us with specific health systems?
Yes. We identify the specific health systems and facility types that align with your target audience. Drawing on 20+ years of direct relationships across the healthcare landscape, we match your brand to the right environments where the partnership feels natural and adds genuine value. No GPO membership is required on either side.
Working with Mainsail
How does Mainsail charge for its services?
Our model is success-based. We earn when you earn. This aligns our incentives directly with your results and eliminates the risk of paying for advice that does not produce measurable outcomes.
Where is Mainsail Group located?
Our headquarters are in Brentwood, Tennessee (Nashville metro area). We serve health systems and brands nationally.
How do I get started?
Request an Executive Briefing through our website or contact us directly at info@mainsail-group.com or (615) 416-3866. The briefing is a focused conversation - not a sales pitch - where we learn about your organization and share how Mainsail's approach applies to your specific situation.
Who leads Mainsail Group?
Mainsail Group was founded by Ronn Hollis, who holds a Master of Management in Health Care (MMHC) from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management. Before founding Mainsail in 2013, Ronn held executive roles at the PGA TOUR, Nashville Predators, HealthSouth, and St. Thomas Health Services (Ascension). The Wall Street Journal featured this approach over 20 years ago - Mainsail has been refining it ever since.