Last week as I began my day in the office preparing for a keynote presentation, the cloudless blue sky beckoned me to take my airplane (Sales Pilot, remember?) for a short ride. I launched on a quick flight to get some breakfast at an airport café about 20 minutes away. Flying conditions were perfect with […]
Scenario 1: Sales rep who has called on the account for 8 years receives news from department and purchasing that a directive was received from the C-Suite to buy a competitive product. Sales rep (let’s call him Bob) asks for directions to executive offices in hospital and goes there. He enters the suite where he […]
Medical sales representatives tend to be competitive people who like to produce results. Unfortunately, many don’t consider a win, a win unless they achieve it on their own. This is a mistake, especially since many sales reps have a host of people they can call on for assistance. The sale is becoming more complex with […]
People drop an iPhone or Android into their pocket and act as though they just received a doctorate in world knowledge. Yes, I understand the power that is felt by having instant answers to virtually any question at your fingertips, but it doesn’t make you smarter nor will it bail you out of a tough […]
Almost every medical sales rep thinks his or her product is the best thing since sliced bread, i.e., something the customer “must have.” But how do the decision-makers in your accounts consider your product or service? Is it a “must-have” or just a “nice-to-have?” You may have even heard the actual words from your customers. […]
In a recent blog about the increasing power of group purchasing organizations, blogger Brian Johnson http://bit.ly/MMEeIV refers to a poll of endovascular specialists who were asked how much their product decisions are influenced by medical device sales reps. Only 14% said that medical device sales representatives had a strong influence on their product decisions. It […]
Weird title for a blog about medical sales, huh? Well, medical selling is a lot like dating—you need to capitalize on the “opportunities.” Let’s skip dating for a moment and talk selling. Your job is to grow your business, both for yourself and also for the companies you represent. There are essentially two ways to […]
It can be difficult to sell a technology, procedure, or product that is similar to one with past failures. Salespeople hate this scenario, especially in healthcare where failure is a dirty word. But what if you have a product or service that you know works and the customer believes otherwise. How do you change the […]
When medical sales reps hurl excuses at their managers and others (including me) as to why their sales numbers are flat, I tell them N-O-R-C. I like these four letters because they are easily text-able (today’s medical reps like to communicate with their thumbs, and that’s a separate issue I will address at another time) […]
I have all of my wellness checkups done in June. It’s not fun being a patient, but it is fun to observe sales reps who come into the doctor’s office while I’m in the waiting room. Pharmaceutical reps all seem to sound alike. Their short conversations sound like this… “Hi. Barbara with [name of company] […]
