This past weekend, I finished my last “Long Run” of my training regiment, pushing myself to complete 20 miles! Over the next two weeks, I will taper down my training as I finish preparing for the big race on May 19. I started reflecting on how training for an athletic event like a marathon has many similarities to the way some of ConMed’s sales reps are approaching their success with Altrus. Success with Altrus (much like running a marathon) is not a sprint—but it is the ability to achieve extraordinary results by stringing together powerful accomplishments, one after the other.
Here are a few observations from my marathon training that relate to selling Altrus:
Preparation
I didn’t just get up one day and decide that I was ready to run a marathon. I have been training five days a week since the middle of December. When talking to successful Altrus sales reps, they too discuss how important it is to prepare. These reps are continuously training themselves on our products, our competitive products, clinical anatomy, and surgical procedures. These reps did not just complete our three-week training program and then stop learning. Instead, they continuously push themselves to learn everything they can to better position Altrus and themselves for success.
Patience
When I decided to run a marathon, I knew it was going to be a long haul in front of me, and I had to have a game plan. I knew there would be ups and downs with my training, and I needed to be patient and follow the plan. Sales reps that are having success with Altrus are able to get up every day and exhibit the standard behaviors that push for model results as outlined in ConMed’s “Standard/Model Day” sales process. These reps don’t get discouraged when every day doesn’t happen the way they would like it to go. They are patient and trust the process, as they realize success is about consistently stringing together good behaviors that will eventually lead to model outcomes.
Perseverance
Before I decided to run a marathon, the longest distance I had ever run was five miles. During my training, I had to deal with injuries, bad weather, and other setbacks. After completing my 20-mile run, I realized that what got me to this point was the ability to keep going and push forward. Many of us can relate to setbacks in our sales careers and with Altrus. One of our top-producing Altrus reps faced tremendous setbacks when she first started selling Altrus. Her unwavering belief in her manager and her commitment to keep working the plan allowed her to string together small daily successes that led to great results. She truly demonstrated what it takes to persevere to the top of the Altrus rankings.
Vision
One thing that has helped me through my training has been the ability to visualize the training regimen in front of me. The only way I was able to get from five miles to 20 miles was my ability to visualize that every new “Saturday Long Run” was only one mile longer than the previous week’s run. I had a plan and envisioned successfully completing the plan in front of me. Successful Altrus reps tell me that every activity in their day has a visualized successful business outcome. When they are scrubbing an Altrus procedure, there is a specific outcome they are envisioning, such as changing a preference card, obtaining a procedure, or gaining a commitment to bring Altrus to another facility that the surgeon may work at. These successful Altrus TMs are always thinking a few steps ahead of themselves with the goal of growing their business.
Coaching
Successfully completing a marathon as a previous non-runner could not happen without coaching. In my situation, the coaching I sought out was from other marathon runners, marathon training books, and other media sources such as marathon bloggers. Interestingly enough, many of our top-producing Altrus reps credit their successes to what they learned from other successful Altrus reps and to the mentoring they received from their managers. These reps are always on the phone talking to other top-producing Altrus reps, and they’re always reaching out to their managers, brainstorming ways to grow their business.
As a soon to be “marathoner,” I am very familiar with the difficulties and the challenges of this race and am looking forward to the satisfaction of finishing. As a future top-producing Altrus sales rep, you also will be tested many times. Most importantly, you will never really cross the “finish line” because you’ll always have new goals you’ll be working towards. That said, by emulating the traits it takes to complete a marathon, you can continue working towards your sales and financial goals. I hope all of you will continue to push yourselves for the remainder of 2013 and will run your way to President’s Club in Punta Cana!
Congratulations son just keep visualizing crossing that finish line you can do it.
Dad
Way to go Sean! I’m pumped to hear about your Marathon results once you finish the race! I pushed through a major personal challenge this weekend. Yesterday morning I completed my first Metric Century bike ride. That’s 100 miles in the saddle! It felt so good to cross that finish line after all that hard pedaling. You are right, it definitely takes preparation, patients, perseverance, coaching and vision.
I went out there yesterday alone, but as luck would have it, I bumped into a group of nurses from one of my hospitals during this 5 hour ride. They recognized me and I certainly recognized them. We collectively decided to “draft” off of one another the entire race. In case you don’t know what drafting is, just picture a flock of ducks flying in a V formation. That’s drafting in a nutshell. The front leader exerts the most effort, and those behind him/her are able to achieve the same speed yet only use approximately 70% of the power (or watts), because they are in the leaders “slip stream”. We all took turns rotating to the front and literally pulled one another to the finish as a team. My average speed during this ride was 19mph! But alone, I would have certainly been in the 10-15 mph range, if I was even able to finish the race at all. When a large group ride together in a tight formation like this it’s referred to as a Peloton in the cycling world.
This process, to me, is much like being a TM. I know I can’t do this all on my own, so I will need the help of my colleagues – You, Matt, Zak, and my fellow TM’s- to reach the finish successfully. And, of course, it takes steady, consistent, and organized effort. If I were to take off on my own without my team I might end up in the front for a while, but eventually they would catch up and pass me. I would likely not finish the race at all.
“The Power is in the Peloton!”
Micah Barbato
Territory Manager, ConMed Electrosurgery