In recent months, I wrote a series of posts spotlighting some of our great sales leaders at ConMed. These posts have been so well-received that I would like to do several more in the weeks ahead. Whether you are interested in working at ConMed, looking to improve your medical sales record, or simply hoping for new ideas on how to become more successful in general, my hope is that you will glean insights and helpful tips from reading about these hardworking and successful colleagues of mine. After all, we are on the journey to success together. Enjoy!
This leader at ConMed was hired in October of 2012, and he understood that he was entering a territory that had little activity for his new product. He took that challenge head on. If you observe this manager for any length of time, you can tell how much he values relationships. He did what many TMs overlook in their first few months of employment: he reached out to his counterparts in other divisions.
For example, this employee sat down for lunch to pick the brain of his endosurgery counterpart. He came away from this lunch with a solid target. From there, he worked the plan we preach at ConMed Electrosurgery: pitch your prospects and have them fight for you. The surgeons were sold on the idea after this industrious manager pitched them; they made a few phone calls, and we were working procedures in no time. In addition, my colleague also made sure not to leave out anybody when introducing himself in the operating room. So not only has he built relationships with the surgeons, but members of the staff also love him too.
This stellar TM worked the plan, building relationships internally and externally to put himself in the successful position he is in today. He is most certainly on the path to continued success!
Here are some additional insights into his strategies for medical sales:
What do you need to love in order to sell Altrus or be in medical sales? What would be an indication that someone would not fit well into the medical sales culture?
If you love clinical selling, you will love selling Altrus. If you hate selling clinical benefits and just want to sell on cost, you will hate medical sales and selling Altrus.
Have you ever had a surgeon that, at the beginning, 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?
I had a gynecologist that was not using energy in her hysterectomies but that evaluated Altrus for the first time. I pitched her on the ease of use and speed of Altrus. She operates with her practice partners, and the one who showed up for the first evaluation said he had no desire to use energy; he preferred using suture because “(he) wanted to sleep at night.” At the outset of the case, he kept saying he could tie faster than the Altrus. Since I had fully prepared the original surgeon during the meat demo the day before, she was able to coach him and sell Altrus for me throughout the case, thus giving the message more credence. By the end of the case, they had both gotten the hang of it and were able to see the benefits of using Altrus. I got both of them to agree to continue evaluating Altrus, and the doubting surgeon went on to become the biggest advocate in the facility and actually closed the hospital on signing the placement agreement.
What has been your most exciting moment in the OR?
Seeing the aforementioned reluctant surgeon go from doubting the benefits of Altrus to not wanting to operate without it!
What has been your most challenging moment in the OR?
The most challenging moment was when I had two surgeons wanting to evaluate Altrus at the same time. I had a scheduled case, and I pitched another surgeon before the case started, so he wanted to use it at the same time. It’s hard to pass up a case—but you have to do what is best for the long-term success of the account. I didn’t want to ruin two evaluations for an additional PO and cancel out the future opportunities at that account. The surgeon understood, and we scheduled another case for the following week. Both have agreed to continue evaluating Altrus because they see the clinical benefits over their current device.
How important is goal setting to your success? How do you go about determining your goals and achieving them?
I think goal setting is paramount to success. If you don’t have a plan, it is highly unlikely you will have success. I try to always challenge myself beyond the company’s expectations. Along with the help of my manager and teammates, I push myself to attain this stretch goal by putting in that extra effort.
How do you handle adversity in the field when things don’t go your way?
This is our biggest challenge as sales reps. It is so easy to get down and become negative, but you must keep a good attitude in order to achieve success. This is why goal setting and planning are so important. You must have a solid pipeline so that when an opportunity goes south, you have additional opportunities to fall back on. It is also important to talk to your peers and share best practices so that you can encourage one another.
How do you plan your day? How far in advance do you plan?
Ideally, I try to have cases scheduled out two weeks or more in advance—but as we all know, plans can change quickly in this line of work. I plan my weeks using my quarterly targets from my P&R. To be sure I am attaining my goals, I schedule meat demos, meetings, and evaluations in accordance with the upcoming weeks. Coming from a different medical device company where all our reporting was done retroactively, I appreciate ConMed’s proactive strategy of submitting our plan for the following week in advance. It forces you to make sure that you have a solid, productive upcoming week planned before the end of the previous week.
What is your best advice for a brand new salesperson?
Study, study, study. I cannot express enough the importance of product knowledge, anatomical knowledge, sales skills, and OR etiquette in your success as a medical device rep. Having that knowledge will give you the confidence to pitch doctors and close OR managers/materials managers while uncovering other opportunities with surgeons that the average rep may not notice.
