Medical Sales Training in a New Era of Medical (Healthcare) Sales
Medical sales training must supply more than just product knowledge. It must provide thinking and skills sets that address the challenges of selling in an increasingly 
complex medical sales environment. Learned skills must be relevant, transferable, actionable and measurable.
Medical sales representatives face constant new challenges. These include:
- The changing nature of relationships with health care customers
- Clinicians’ diminishing influence on product buying decisions
- Increased necessity to address institutional priorities beyond clinical issues
- Differentiation of medical products and services is tougher because of standardization and commoditization
- Industry changes and mandates that require new knowledge and skills
- Compliance regulations have changed the rules of healthcare selling
Companies assume their training departments are equipped to handle the ever-changing needs of their medical sales representatives. But too often, training is mainly product-focused without assessing and integrating today’s essential selling skills. Both companies and salespeople themselves often overestimate their true sales abilities, especially when selling to highly-educated healthcare experts.
Customized Medical Sales Training Facilitates Differentiation in a Sea of Sameness
Too often medical sales reps look the same, act the same, and say the same things. How can you differentiate your product from competitors in a setting where there is a push for commoditization?
Tenured medical sales representatives are at much at risk as emerging salespeople. Doing what one has always done often reduces access to doctors, clinical department heads, hospital executives and other key stakeholders in the supply chain. Too often, reps sell their perception of value, instead of using a process to identify critical needs and objectives and strategically positioning the ideal solution to a diverse group of decision-makers. Today, this is a recipe for failure where reps are unable to capture new customers or maintain business with existing ones.
The key is to train your sales team so they are easily distinguishable from their competitors. They’ll stand out and their sales messages will stand out and compel action.
Don’t Work the Territory; Own the Territory!
Does your company’s medical sales training program equip your sales representatives with the skills and knowledge to work the territory… or own the territory?
In the animal kingdom, there is usually one animal that dominates a geographical territory. Competing animals know to either remain clear of another’s territory or to take their place in the hierarchy. There is a top-dog and the pack, which includes the underdog. Each animal knows his place. Should one member of the pack challenge the alpha, the outcome is immediate retribution or a battle. If the challenger is unprepared for battle, he is wounded, driven out of the pack, or even killed.
Consider the hierarchy in a medical sales territory. There is often a dominant player in each market. This is the rep who owns the lion’s share of the business due to tenure, enduring relationships, and a rock solid reputation. Going after the alpha-rep’s business in the territory is job number one for every competing medical sales rep. It’s also a dangerous game, just as in the animal kingdom. Acting impulsively, emotionally, and without a sound strategy can have the opposite of the intended effect—it can weaken the attacker’s position while strengthening the position of the tenured rep.
Medical Sales Training to Strategically and Systematically Own the Territory IS All We Do
Sales Pilot Medical Sales Performance specializes exclusively in medical sales training for medical device, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, capital equipment, dental and biotechnology companies. We take turn medical sales representatives into medical sales professionals in the shortest time possible using a combination of adult learning techniques.
Sales pilot trains salespeople to utilize a data-driven approach to customize their sales conversations. They’ll achieve transformational sales results when they
strategically position products and services instead of “detailing.” The comprehensive sales approach your sales team will use will differentiate them and your products and services from your competitors who tend to all act and sound the same. As a result, they will “own” the territory.
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The Medical Sales Guru Podcast – encourage your sales team to enrich their skills while driving to their next appointment.