A Glimpse into Success, Part I

As Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ConMed, I have the privilege of working with extremely talented people every day. I do not take this for granted, and I have decided to take a few weeks and shine the spotlight on some of our terrific employees and leaders. I wish I had time to highlight every single person’s achievements at ConMed! I hope you will enjoy reading about these remarkable people and their secrets to success in medical sales.

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John Christenbury has served as an Area Manager at ConMed since 2011. In just a year, John has made remarkable strides in the sales for his territory and is on track to finish this year as one of ConMed’s top Area Managers, thus securing a prestigious ConMed award—President’s Club. John is described as a top leader and a mentor to his Territory Managers, encouraging their success through coaching by objectives and taking an active role in their development.  I am privileged to work alongside John, and I recently asked him some questions regarding his sales career:

 

If someone wants to be in medical sales, and, more specifically, wants to sell Altrus for ConMed, please describe what types of scenarios to expect.

If you love a challenging, intellectual sell, then you would love selling Altrus. With Altrus, you are in one of the most competitive environments in the OR. You have to be aggressive, and you also have to know the anatomical “lingo.” This isn’t a job for the average salesmen. If you hate a challenging sell that requires doing your homework before stepping into the Operating Room, then maybe this isn’t the job for you.

 

Have you ever had a surgeon that, at the outset, was completely disinterested in your product but is now a big believer? What changed that surgeon’s mind? How did you get through to him or her?

Absolutely. There have been a few different instances when the surgeon who shot the product down initially ended up as a top Altrus surgeon. One instance that comes to mind involves a general surgeon I pursued for a few months. He explained to me in several ways how he had no problems with his current instrument. I was in the Operating Room one afternoon when he had a colon resection added to his schedule. I asked to observe his procedure just to learn his technique.

In the middle of the procedure, his instrument broke. The staff tried hooking up a new instrument, and that did not work either, so he looked at me and said, “Here’s your chance.” I hooked up Altrus and put it in his hands. Immediately, he loved how quick it was and the hemostasis achieved with it. If I hadn’t been persistent with him, then he may have never given me the time of day. 

 

What has been your most exciting moment in the OR?

My most exciting moment in the Operating Room had to be the first time one of my surgeons used Altrus. I was the third or fourth rep in the company to sell Altrus, so using this product in a human procedure was still fairly new. The procedure was a hysterectomy and went flawlessly! The surgeon was so sold on the benefits of the instrument that he began coaching his partner midway through the procedure on why Altrus was better than what they were currently using. I knew Altrus was a game changer at that point!

 

What has been your most challenging moment in the OR?

My most challenging moment in the Operating Room probably came when I was just starting out. I was about a month into my first medical sales position without my manager. I was told to work with a surgeon that was currently using our equipment but was unhappy with it because he didn’t see the hemostasis he was looking for. I naively approached him before the procedure, suggesting that since our equipment was in the top hospitals in the U.S., I wasn’t sure anything was wrong with the equipment.

That was the WRONG thing to say. He didn’t care about those top hospitals at all, and he let me know it. I had to go outside the OR and call a colleague for help. My colleague’s advice was to ask questions and use my technical knowledge. Eventually, we found out what was not working and diffused the situation. I learned to ask questions rather than act like a know-it-all. 

 

How important is goal setting to your success? How do you go about determining your goals and achieving them?

I use goal setting religiously. At the beginning of the year, the beginning of each quarter, and the beginning of each day, I set goals. It’s important to set your long-term goals and then also have short-term, achievable goals that build up to hitting those long-term goals. It’s very important to write those goals down on a sheet of paper. To me, writing them down makes them that much more real. I keep track of my goals by checking them off the list and then measure where I’m at quarterly in relation to my long-term goals.

 

How do you handle adversity in the field when things don’t go your way?

Not every day is perfect. When things get tough, I try to step back and slow everything down. It’s easy to respond quickly, but sometimes you may shoot yourself in the foot with a quick answer. I try to use questioning to uncover information and then plan a way to handle what’s come up unexpectedly. 

 

How do you plan your day?  How far in advance do you plan?

In a perfect world, I plan out my day two weeks in advance. It’s helpful to set meetings far enough out to give plenty of time to prepare. I always made sure as a rep to get in the Operating Room first thing in the morning. Our highest chance of success begins and ends in the Operating Room. Working procedures in the morning and attending set meetings with decision makers in the afternoon was always the template I tried to abide by. 

 

What is your best advice for a brand new salesperson? 

My best advice for a new salesperson is to reach out to the individuals that are the most successful in the company. Those people are successful for a reason. Find out how they’ve become successful, and incorporate small aspects of their strategies into your job.

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