As Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ConMed, it is an honor for me to get to work with extremely talented people every day. I recognize that this is a privilege, and so I have decided to shine the spotlight on some of our terrific employees and leaders at ConMed. This post is the fourth in the series; feel free to read Part I, Part II, and Part III. I hope you will enjoy reading about these remarkable people and their strategies for success in the medical sales industry.
This week’s post is focused on one of our newest Area Directors; in fact, she was promoted to this position at ConMed recently due to her stellar performance and is now a sales manager overseeing seven sales reps. This outstanding colleague is described as being dependable, effective, ambitious, honest, courageous, and goal- and results-oriented. She is a driven sales professional—customers appreciate how quickly she responds to their needs and how she always follows through on what she says she will do. She is clear about what she expects from her customers and peers, an approach that consistently delivers positive results. In addition, she takes a very active role in helping both young and tenured Territory Managers develop their professional skills while also seeking advice regarding her own growth as a sales professional. Finally, this hardworking leader is able to follow a sales process effectively every time a sales opportunity arises. This discipline to the process has garnered much success for her, and she is the type of person every leader wants on the team.
Below are her answers to some questions I asked regarding her experience and strategies:
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 interacting with people, love providing a product that offers clinical benefits to the patients and surgeons, and love engaging a challenge, you will love selling Altrus. If you hate hearing “no” and do not like the process of turning that “no” into a “yes,” you will not like medical sales.
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?
Yes. I got Altrus into a facility, and this one particular general surgeon showed no interest at first. After my initial “pitch” to the surgeon, I kept all other conversations on a more personal level to build rapport and trust with him. As a result, when I approached him again, he agreed to try Altrus. When he first used the device, he was pleasantly surprised at how well the device sealed, how fast the cycles were, and how well the device worked. He is now my biggest advocate and has played a vital role in getting the product into the sister facility.
What has been your most exciting moment in the OR?
My most exciting moment in the OR was to hear a surgeon say that he had it in his mind that he was not going to like my product, Altrus, because he was so used to his current vessel sealing device. When he turned to me and said, “This product is awesome—it’s fast, reliable, and I can really see a clinical benefit” that’s when I knew the product was better than our competition, and I took great satisfaction in sharing that third party story with other surgeons who questioned the device.
What has been your most challenging moment in the OR?
My most challenging moment in the OR is getting a new product in; however, it’s also the most rewarding when someone in the OR tells you “no,” but you have surgeons that fight to get the product in because they see the clinical benefits. You can’t be afraid of rejection; you can’t be fearful of hearing “no.”
You must continuously get the surgeons to see the clinical benefits of your product by coaching them, working procedures with them, providing meat demos, showing them videos, and inviting them to come and watch the cases of other surgeons who are using your device. If you are fearful of providing constructive criticism/coaching to your surgeons, it will work against you. They are looking at you to have the product knowledge and don’t want to be that “one surgeon” who doesn’t have success with that; the surgeons take that as a personal challenge for themselves and welcome the feedback.
How important is goal setting to your success? How do you go about determining your goals and achieving them?
Goal setting is extremely important to my success. Strategizing and coming up with a plan for the month, quarter, and year and then writing these goals down helps me to achieve and reach both my personal and professional goals. I try to always set short-term and long-term goals so that I constantly feel that I am accomplishing something and have another objective to reach for.
How do you handle adversity in the field when things don’t go your way?
I try to never let things get me down. I always look for different ways around roadblocks, and I also try to think of any potential objections ahead of time in order to be more prepared.
How do you plan your day? How far in advance do you plan?
I plan ahead several weeks to a month or so in advance. I base my planning on working Altrus cases in the OR and on finding a reason to be back there, whether it be additional cases, observing, capital sales, smoke opportunities, or a disposable conversion. I am constantly looking for opportunities while in the OR, and then I base my week and/or month around the potential opportunities so that it gives me a strategic plan to follow.
What is your best advice for a brand new salesperson?
Don’t take “no” for an answer until you truly, deep down inside, feel that you have exhausted all ideas and strategies for turning that “no” into a “yes.” Build the rapport with the surgeon and staff and find a surgeon that is an advocate who will push and fight for your product. Be overly prepared to handle any objection that may come your way—and don’t ever give up!
