Archive for January, 2008

Getting Hired or Working the Territory – Medical Sales Requires Practice

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

An actor would not dream of going on stage without rehearsing his lines. Professional golfers spend time on the driving range before teeing off on the course. Concert pianists don’t go in front of an audience until they have practiced the recital piece to where it is second nature.

What about medical sales representatives and those who are trying to get hired in medical sales? From my experience, too many people from the two groups that I just mentioned don’t think that preparation is necessary. For those representatives who have been in the field for a while, complacency develops that causes them to believe that they can just “wing it” and close the sale. Medical sales candidates frequently make the mistake of believing that there is nothing to be done to prepare for a job interview other than cosmetics — get a haircut, brush your teeth, and put on a business suit.

What is the outcome from this lack of preparation? I am talking sales performance and interview performance far below that which brings the desired results.

The sales presentation that you stumble through with a bunch of “aaahhs” and “ummms” as you are searching for the right words to describe your product or service usually falls flat. The sophisticated medical buyer senses what seems like insincerity and a lack of knowledge making you someone they won’t want to do business with.

Medical sales candidates who have endured a few interviews understand that these are often more than casual conversations. Situational questions will be asked and answers that are anything less than clear, concise, and relevant allow you to continue your job search. I don’t care how much charisma you think you have — you need to prepare for each interview in advance and doing it properly will take you many days of practice. If this is news to you, you may have just learned why you’re not being offered a job.

How can you tell if you are ready for the sales presentation or the interview? Rehearse with a sales colleague if you’re already working a territory. If you’re a job candidate, find someone who has experience with medical sales interviews. Go through the presentation or mock interview from beginning to end and invite honest feedback from the other person. Keep it real — no laughing, no breaks, and no saying, “let’s rewind and try that again.” I highly recommend that you record these sessions with some type of audio recorder or better yet video yourself so you know what you look like as well as sound like. I promise you that you’ll be surprised by how you look and sound, and be prepared to be unimpressed unless you have really practiced.

Professionals practice before they go “on stage.” When you are in front of a customer or in front of the people who are doing the hiring, this is not the time to be learning where you need more work. If you want the prestigious medical sales job, and you wish to earn the income that medical sales professionals earn , then do what professionals do before they go on stage – practice!

Posted in Getting Hired, Medical Sales Skills | 7 Comments »

Are Your Sales Efforts Being Thwarted By A $10 Per Hour Employee?

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008

The receptionist in a healthcare practice is usually the least-skilled, lowest paid employee. We’re talking someone who probably earns $10/hour on average.

Compare the medical sales professional to the receptionist. The sales rep often has a college or graduate degree and earns many times what the receptionist earns. The medical sales rep has excellent sales skills, relationship skills, and expertise combined with products or services that offer solutions to the healthcare provider. That is, if the sales rep can figure out how to get past the $10 receptionist.

Don’t misunderstand me – I mean no disrespect to the receptionist. These are often hard-working, nice people that are just doing what they are told to do – “not to let any sales people into the office to waste the doctor’s time.” If you, as a sales person, are there just to waste the doctor’s time, than you should allow your life to be controlled by the receptionist. However, if you bring value in the form of solutions and innovations that can improve the doctor’s practice and the lives of his or her patients than you need to start earning your money.

Always treat the receptionist and everyone in the doctor’s practice with courtesy and respect. But part of the reason you entered medical sales is to earn a professional-level income and that won’t happen if you can’t get past the lowest-paid employee in the practice. The reps that are making the money that you want to make know how to do this.

Don’t you think you should learn how?

Here’s a hint: what information could you communicate to the doctor that would make him or her want to speak with you? Here’s another hint: What’s in it for the doctor and the patient? Final hint: It’s not about you or your company – the communication should not start off with “I” or “my company.”

One last thought – How could you get the receptionist to help you get in to see the doctor?

Are your sales efforts being thwarted by a $10 per hour employee? Think about it…

Posted in Medical Sales Skills | 2 Comments »

Do You Think Your Problem Is You Can’t Close?

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

When I’m interviewing experienced medical sales reps prior to customizing a training program for their company, I ask them what their biggest challenges are. The subject of closing the sale often comes up. “I do pretty well with the sales presentation. My problem is closing the sale.” When I ask what they think would solve the problem, I am usually told, “I need to be more assertive or learn how to ask for the business.”

Closing is important in that all of your efforts are for nothing if you can’t accomplish this part of the sale. But too many experienced medical sales professionals make the mistake of thinking that the sales magic is in the closing. 95% of the time, closing is not your problem. The problem is that you have not helped the prospect to establish enough value in the solution that you are offering to his or her problem.

Your prospect did not walk into the office, clinic, or hospital this morning thinking about why he or she wants to buy your product or service. The stark reality is that the medical professional that can benefit from using your product or service doesn’t even know that he or she needs it. This is where you come in. Are you a good enough presenter to be able to paint a vivid picture of how the clinician’s practice and the outcomes for the patient can be improved?

You see, once your prospect can anticipate emotionally and pragmatically that your product or service can yield a solid return on investment despite the risk associated with the learning curve or the pain of change — closing is a breeze! In fact, when you have done your job well the prospect will usually say, “I would like to try it.” But if he or she doesn’t speak up, all you have to do is ask if he or she has a patient, procedure, or surgery on the schedule to give it a try?

The “meat and potatoes” of getting the sale is in the presentation, not the close. The close is merely getting a commitment to evaluate or purchase your product or service, or to take a step to advance the sale. A “closer” is a salesperson that can deliver an effective presentation where the value of the product or service is clear. The closing does not occur only at the end of the presentation — it’s occurring the entire time that you help your prospect to understand the value of your offering.

Posted in Medical Sales Skills | 2 Comments »

The Myth of The Athlete in Medical Sales

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008

As I browse many of the blogs, forums, and bulletin boards many posters espouse the myth that medical device companies prefer to hire athletes for sales. Certainly, there are companies that view a history of organized athletics as a positive. There is even one company that makes 2 years of intercollegiate athletics a requirement for applying for a sales position with their company. So what’s the deal?

There are benefits of having played team sports. Athletes tend to be competitive and that is indeed important in the medical sales arena. Many understand the importance of being a “team player” and those sales reps who embrace the team concept will accomplish more in less time. I could go on and on with metaphors and examples, but after 25 years in this industry, I don’t think that competitive athletics is that much an advantage in the long run. In fact, there are many instances where I have witnessed it as a liability.

I have known several medical device “jocks” over the years whose companies told them to put on their game face and to go out there and win. Some of these guys took it to extremes. They had policies of not ever speaking with their competitors, trying to psych them or inspire fear in them, and even threatening to get physical with their competition when the competition was doing a better job of selling against them. Many times I have witnessed the testosterone reaching dangerous levels at really inappropriate times (such as in the operating room during a procedure!).

While many of these reps get the same charged feeling that they did on the gridiron or baseball field, what matters is the impression that is made with their customers. Medical selling is in many ways a competitive game, but the rules are drastically different. The team you play for is your company, but your company is part of a bigger team — the team that provides patient care and the ultimate winner must be the patient. Too many times have I witnessed the “athlete salesman” working only for the solo victory or the sale.

Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I have seen former athletes blow the doors off of the sales numbers in their territories. But I have witnessed the same results more frequently from men and women who never spent a moment on an athletic field outside of gym class.

Do you need team spirit, drive, and competitiveness to excel in medical sales? Absolutely. But those qualities derive from many, many other places besides athletics. In the final analysis your customers may be impressed with your athletic past and present, but they will only do business with you if you bring all of the other essential elements to the table.
It’s not the better athlete who wins in medical sales. It’s the more experienced, more prepared, and more determined sales professional. Don’t be intimidated or dissuaded by the myth of the athlete in this career. If you know how to play the game and are not afraid to do the right things to win, you will.

Do you have a difference of opinion here? Please share it with me and the rest of the Medical Sales School community. Thanks.

Posted in Getting Hired | No Comments »