If you’ve been paying attention to the presidential primaries, you’ve observed some sales presentations — mostly bad ones. There are some great lessons in how not to sell. Many of the leading candidates spend a good portion of their time trying to tear down their competition instead of describing in detail how they’re going to improve […]
Human beings hate change. Sure, there are changes we seek, like a new hairstyle, new clothes or a new car. But in terms of our routines and habits, we prefer most things to stay the same. We get comfortable. In a rapidly changing industry like healthcare, comfortable is dangerous. Change is unavoidable, and if you’re not changing […]
Medical sales reps can improve their closing ratios by using effective trial closes. A trial close is not asking for the business, but asking how the prospect feels or perceives something specific about what was covered in the sales conversation. Most medical sales reps I meet have a fear of coming across as pushy. It’s […]
…By the Way, So Does Pharmaceutical Sales! As someone who spends a lot of time providing medical sales training, I’m all too familiar with pharmaceutical sales reps who use the detailing sales model to sell (I use the word sell with hesitation). What’s sad are the number of medical device sales representatives using the same approach. […]
Medical sales training courses rarely mention the TV show, “24.” However, my training does. You frequently heard the main character, Jack Bauer, utter the words, “Trust me.” In these scenes, he was usually asking for information or for permission to help someone. Usually, these people were in dire circumstances with little choice other than to trust […]
Intuition is the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. It can help you to avoid dangerous situations or to recognize opportunities. Or, it can kill you. Let me give you an example. Intuition kills dozens of pilots every year. One of the first things that pilots learn is what happens […]
A few weeks back, I got a call from a medical sales representative named Roberto. He just completed a sales call with a hospital CEO that did not go well. He found my medical sales training site and wanted to know if I could help him undo the damage. The purpose of Roberto’s appointment was […]
There is a huge myth in the medical sales community that relationships are everything. That’s a bunch of BS. Are relationships important? Yes, to a point. The problem is that too many medical sales representatives base their sales approach on trying to be liked instead of trying to be effective. I have to stifle my […]
As a medical sales rep, you may feel like you’re constantly dealing with a delicate balance. You want to sell as much as you can to your customers, but you don’t want to over-do it—you want to be reasonable. How much is enough and how much is too much? It depends on you. If your […]
If you’re a medical sales professional with a large territory, the geography you cover offers an additional challenge to the many you face. The challenge is getting in front of customers on a regular basis. Instead of strategically planning personal visits, reps default to cold-calling by telephone or email to land appointments. The problem is […]
Medical Sales Reps Must Never Mistake Customer Loyalty for Reduced Expectations Medical sales reps sometimes make the mistake of thinking that the longer they’ve had a healthcare professional as a customer, the more secure that business is. It’s as if the length of the relationship buys you some forgiveness and understanding if you can’t always provide […]
Medical sales representatives have something in common with their customers: they are consumers. We all buy goods and services. It’s normal to want the best product, with the best service, at the best price. If we can’t have all three, we might be willing to compromise if one or two are significantly high to outweigh […]