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 […]
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] […]
Most medical sales professionals can answer the following question with little problem: What do you get paid to do? The answer of course is: To sell! Why is it then that I often find medical sales representatives performing low-wage activities instead of what they were hired to do? What concerns me more is that they […]
If you sell medical devices, there are times when mistakes, oversights, and failures will have fingers pointing in your direction. Your company ships the wrong product or a defective product. You relay information to a customer that’s incorrect. You forget to bring something that a customer or patient needs. You fail to show for a […]
If you sell to doctors in the U.S., it’s probably no surprise to you that many are not happy with their jobs and who can blame them. They are losing control of how they treat their patients, the government and insurance companies are telling them what they can charge for what they do, and the […]
After penning the title for this article, it occurred to me that some medical sales representatives probably have no idea what I’m referring to. You might be thinking that the key to success that spends time in your pocket is: Your car keys: Wrong by a long shot. What you drive has nothing to do […]
More and more products in healthcare are being viewed by decision-makers as commodities. In an era of accountable care, products that are good enough are displacing those regarded as the “gold standard.” Selling commodity-type products can be a challenge, but the bigger problem is when you, the sales professional, are a commodity yourself. Hopefully, your […]
During breakfast this morning, my wife C.J. asked, “Do you think corporations have the right to ask job candidates to reveal their Facebook page?” She was surprised by my answer. I said, “Yes. Companies have the right to ask. Job candidates also have the right to say no, but that may not be a good […]
One of the challenges most commonly expressed by medical sales representatives these days is the issue of reduced access to customers. They cite a policy where hospitals no longer grant salespeople free access to employees. They also imply that physicians and other health care customers are dismissive by saying things such as, “Product selection is […]
People who sell in the world of health care have age hang-ups. That should be no shock, as people have concerns about age in most areas of life, both in terms of being judged, as well as judging others. Medical sales is no different. Sales representatives speak to me about the age issue more frequently […]