Many of the people I meet in medical sales have healthy egos. I don’t mean that in a bad way. A healthy ego is necessary to sell to highly-educated healthcare professionals. But ego can blind you and make you lose the sale. Medical sales is a job where most people work alone. Even when salespeople […]
Even average medical sales reps speak a lot about meeting customer expectations. They also speak a lot about pre-call planning, asking for the business, and the importance of effective follow-up. The problem, is that just talking about these things, has little impact on your business. We are all consumers. We all have expectations for the […]
People are often hired as medical and pharmaceutical salespeople because of their good looks. Most hiring authorities will deny this, but I’ve worked in these industries long enough to know better. Multiple times I’ve walked into rooms to deliver a sales program to a healthcare sales force, thinking I was on the set of a […]
“The materials manager called. She said I need to lower my price by 5% or she’s going to have to change vendors. Price is the only thing she cares about. She just doesn’t get it.” Medical sales reps say that price is one of the biggest issues they face on an ongoing basis. No surprise […]
How frequently should you call on a customer when you sell in healthcare? If you call on someone too often, you might anger them (at least this is what many reps tell themselves). And if you don’t call on them often enough, you’re losing opportunities to make a sale (which is true). I always ask […]
There is a great maxim in sales that says, “Once the sale is made, stop selling.” That’s good advice. At some point, though, you should find out why the customer bought. Medical sales is very competitive. No one likes to lose the sale to another company or rep. In fact, when it happens, it can […]
Medical sales representatives are busy people. As a result, they sometimes take things for granted, which leads them to make assumptions that cause grief and lost business. The most dangerous assumptions are when you assume to understand a customer’s expectations or assume that a customer understands your intentions. In healthcare, unclear communications cost time, money, […]
This morning I read a quote from friend and fellow speaker, Terry Brock www.terrybrock.com, who was interviewed in this month’s Speaker Magazine. Terry discusses the use and misuse of the ever-present devices in our lives and one of his quotes really resonates with me: “When the person you’re with complains about his or her phone […]
The beginning of a new year is when many medical sales reps look take a look at their territories. They look for ways to develop new customers and sell more to existing ones. It’s a fresh start, at least from the standpoint of your sales numbers. One thing all rational salespeople realize: If they keep […]
As a medical sales professional, you’re probably looking forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday. It’s a chance to take a break from your hectic work life and enjoy time with family and friends—assuming you don’t have to work over the holiday weekend. But even if you have to take care of business over the next few […]
