The Thrill of Sales: An Interview

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Sean Moore | | 1 Comment

Thrill of the saleThis week’s post focuses on the ideas and strategies of an enthusiastic colleague of mine—you will be able to see very quickly that he loves medical sales and loves the thrill of the job, challenges and all. Read on to be inspired in your goal setting and achievement and to find strategies you can apply to your own life!

 

A little background:

This employee at ConMed was able to enter his territory and make an immediate impact for a number of reasons that have resulted in recurring success.  His persistence and ability to enter an operating room setting with confidence have allowed him to rekindle multiple accounts that were considered dead upon his arrival.  This colleague has been able to develop relationships with the operating room staff, has found new surgeon champions, and has not only retained previous users, but has also added multiple other surgeons that have made a major impact on the territory’s success.  This hardworking leader’s work ethic and persistence along with his experience controlling the operating room have translated into Q1 quota achievement for 2013, and he is currently well above pace for Q2 achievement.

I asked my colleague a few questions about his success:

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 enjoy medical sales?

If you love the thrill of the hunt, being the underdog, thinking two steps ahead of your competition, and being creative, you will love selling Altrus and medical sales in general. If you hate selling off contract, being told no and not having that inspire you, going all out/giving 110% every single day, you will hate selling Altrus and definitely medical sales as a whole.

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?  

Yes—two specific surgeons come to mind that were reluctant at first. What changed their minds was my relentless but professional followup—I took their disinterest as a challenge to my sales skills. For one of the surgeons, I ran through the parking lot in the middle of a thunderstorm during a case to get an extra Altrus handpiece that was needed. The surgeon was impressed. The other doctor had been a dedicated user of a competitor’s product, but I just constantly showed up at his cases and was not scared to ask him to use Altrus every time on every case. Finally, after five cases with Altrus, he began to come around!

I also follow up with every new surgeon the day after the case to ask how their patients did after using Altrus. I make sure the conversation is 100% about the patient and not about my agenda to move Altrus or get another case. This is something I have learned over the years, and it separates me from my competitor reps.

What has been your most exciting moment in the OR?  

I love every day I am in the OR. It’s like GAME DAY to me. And that is why I am a device rep and not a hedge fund manager or a lawyer. It’s funny—I was in a case with a rep from another company, and she was talking with the surgeon about how she (the rep) had wanted to be a doctor since she was in high school, but she settled for being a rep. The surgeon looked at me and asked what I wanted to be when I was in high school, and I said, “Exactly what I am today in the OR—a medical device rep.”

What has been your most challenging moment in the OR? 

The most challenging moment in the OR happens any time your device fails when the patient is on the table. When any device fails, it is not fun. I always have a backup device ready in the room. I stay calm and control the room. I check the machine and then replace the device. If still no luck, I continue to stay calm and confident that I will find the solution in order to keep the room and the doctor calm. I run through everything in my power I can do—then, if all else fails, I try to get an engineer on the phone. If there is no answer or solution to the issue within a reasonable amount of time, I let the surgeon know as soon as possible so he or she can start the backup plan; this is where I begin damage control within the account. The key is to stay calm, think rationally, and never lie. These things happen…and it’s how you handle them that defines you as a professional.

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

Without goals, you have no way to measure your business success—so goals are very important However, you need to separate personal and business goals. You can’t let your business goals define you as a person, or you will never be happy. This was a very hard thing for me to learn when I was in my 20s. I am getting better with it as I get older, but it is still a challenge.

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

I hate to lose. Let me say that again: I HATE TO LOSE. But I love to go for the NO because the only thing that bothers me more than losing is getting played, which leads to my precious time being wasted—time that I could be using to focus on winning somewhere else. So when I am up against the wall, I try to get as creative as possible to work around objections such as contracts and competition.

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

I plan my days by A, B, and C targets. Get the As first, then the Bs, and so on. I am huge on followup, so during all of my Altrus cases, I have my laptop open so I can spend time following up on capital deals, doctor emails, and all other business opportunities. I am on the surgeon’s hip while he is using Altrus, but as soon as the surgeon is closing or opening, I am back to my followup.  I plan my schedule about two or three weeks in advance when I can. But I also leave a lot of room for flexibility.

What is your best advice for a brand new salesperson? 

Love the OR, hate to lose. Make sure you are the best teammate you can be—because if you have your teammates’ backs, they will have yours. Build long-lasting relationships with your surgeons; if you do, they will follow you wherever you go in your career.  Finally, never stop pushing your personal limits for how creative, relentless, and accountable you can be to get the WIN.

Share this post

Roger Bannister: Breaking Barriers

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Sean Moore | | 1 Comment

Roger Banister SII heard one of my Sales Directors tell a story some time ago at a regional meeting about the great runner, Roger Bannister.  My colleague told how Bannister cracked track and field’s most notorious barrier—the four-minute mile—and talked about how it relates to where we are and will always be with Altrus.  Selling Altrus is like breathing: although your last breath was important, it’s not nearly as important as the next. In other words, our efforts must continue even after we have achieved results if we would like to obtain even greater results. 

For many years, the four-minute mile seemed impossible. Many doctors and scientists said it was physically impossible for someone to run a mile in under four minutes. As one writer explained, the figure “seemed so perfectly round—four laps, four quarter-miles, four-point-oh-oh minutes—that it seemed God himself had established it as man’s limit.”

From the years 1931 to 1945, the record for the fastest mile was broken on ten different occasions. However, over the next nine years, the record remained unbeaten, standing at a time of 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds. For decades, the best middle-distance runners had tried and failed to break through the four-minute barrier. They had come within two seconds, but that was as close as they were able to get. Attempt after spirited attempt had proved unsuccessful. Each effort was as if a brick had been added to a wall that looked increasingly impossible to break through. The person to break the barrier would have to be fast, diligently trained, and supremely aware of his body so he would cross the finish line just at the point of complete exhaustion. 

On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister achieved the seemingly impossible.  When Bannister crossed the finish line, he could hardly see straight.  As soon as the first part of his score was announced: “three minutes…,” the crowd erupted in mayhem. Bannister completed the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had not only trimmed two seconds off the world record but had also run the world’s first sub four-minute mile.

Bannister was quoted as saying after the race, “Doctors and scientists said that breaking the four-minute mile was impossible, that one would die in the attempt. Thus, when I got up from the track after collapsing at the finish line, I figured I was dead.”  In an interview years later, Bannister went on to say, “It was a sense of relief. There was a mystique, a belief that it couldn’t be done, but I think it was more of a psychological barrier than a physical barrier.” 

Everyone believed a sub four-minute mile was impossible. Everyone except Roger Bannister. His pure, positive faith allowed him to do what others failed to do. Once he proved it possible to the nonbelievers, others began to see the light and believed they could do the impossible as well.

Later that same month, Australian runner John Landy broke Bannister’s record by less than a second. Within three years, 16 other runners also cracked the four-minute mile.  In fact, after some research, I found that during indoor and outdoor competition, over 5,500 runners have broken the four-minute mile since Bannister’s record-breaking race.

So what happened to the physical barrier that prevented humans from running a sub four-minute mile? There was not a sudden leap in human ability.  It was the change in thinking that made the difference; Bannister had shown that breaking four-minute mile was possible.

Often the barriers we perceive are only barriers in our own minds or, as I like to call it, “Head Trash.”  Previous runners had been held back by their self-limiting beliefs and mindsets. When the barrier was broken, other runners saw it was possible—and then 16 runners went on to accomplish the same feat.

Our beliefs and mindsets either limit or expand our world. Beliefs have power over us because we treat them as though they’re true. Beliefs influence what we attempt or don’t attempt in life and work.

Success and failure begin and end in what the mind believes is possible.

Roger Bannister understood this truth and exemplified it. To move past the barriers, we simply must keep moving, keep running, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Bannister repeated a famous saying, “Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must move faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be moving.”

The first step you can take in achieving your Altrus goals is to change how you think about them. Then just keep on moving forward, one step at a time. If Roger Bannister had accepted that the sub four-minute mile was a physical limitation, he would have never tried to break it. Just as for runners of times past, many of the barriers that hold us back today in our professional and personal lives exist only in our minds. 

Watch this modern day tribute to Roger Bannister below:

Share this post

Strategic Success

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Sean Moore | | 1 Comment

strategic success

Today’s post highlights another one of our inspiring leaders at ConMed. We have a terrific team, and it is my privilege to introduce you to this hardworking colleague. I trust you will find inspiration from his strategies and insights to apply to all of your personal and professional endeavors!

This particular colleague made an immediate impact on business thanks to a fearless effort. With little operating room experience, he achieved his Altrus quota in his first quarter. His territory consistently leads, and he has made significant progress in his overall quota.

These achievements were accomplished because of three specific traits:

First, this employee is very disciplined and focused. He does not accept put offs or delays. He effectively identifies a need and provides his customers a solution. He urges his customers to take action.

Next, this leader plans strategically. He always knows when and where his next Altrus order will come from. He knows when the surgeon will use the product and where his next trial will start. He has a plan and is focused on execution. 

Finally, this individual has a will to win. His goal is to be a top representative in the company, and he works towards that goal daily. Every week, he finds new procedures, new surgeons, and new opportunities, thanks to his relentless planning and consistent effort.

What do you need to love in order to sell Altrus or be in medical sales?

If you love a clinical sale rather than one based upon price, you will love selling Altrus. If you hate rejection and asking tough questions, you will hate 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?  

Yes. One particular surgeon blew me off the first few times I approached him, saying he had never had luck with the other vessel sealers he had used in the past, so he didn’t want to try Altrus. Knowing that he and his partner were very close, I began to really push this doctor’s partner to use Altrus. I knew if I could get the partner to like Altrus, the reluctant doctor would at least give it a shot.

The partner agreed to use Altrus on a colectomy, and the case went great. I told this doctor about my conversations with his partner, who was hesitant because of a lack of success with other comparable devices. I asked the partner—the one who used Altrus in the colectomy—to reach out to the original doctor and share his success story in order to build confidence in Altrus. The partner did exactly that, and now the once-reluctant doctor is one of my biggest users—he uses Altrus for all his cases needing vessel sealing. 

What has been your most exciting moment in the OR?  

My most exciting moment thus far has been working a clear plan and succeeding to bring Altrus into a new account. I found a champion who was willing to fight for Altrus, and we executed our plan to get Altrus in the door. Then, once Altrus was purchased, this surgeon was thrilled with the results he achieved in his cases.

What has been your most challenging moment in the OR? 

My most challenging moments have come when working with some doctors that find something new to complain about after every case. I also find it challenging when we experience setbacks such as a procedure that does not go well—but each of these challenges presents an opportunity to remind my surgeons of the benefits of Altrus.

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

Goals are very important to me. Without goals I am working towards, it would be easy to lose sight of my daily activities and my overall strategy and plan. I determine my goals based on my financial goals for the year. Once I have my yearly financial number, I determine exactly what I need to do to make this happen. I write down monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals to have something both short-term and long-term to work towards. 

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

Adversity is something I expect. I am adamant about not getting too high on my highs or too low on my lows. I know just one email, phone call, or conversation can change a bad day in a heartbeat. I know if I continue to work my plan, then I will succeed. 

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

My day is planned based on what I am looking to accomplish for the day—increasing my Altrus number. So, first I plan my day based on the Altrus cases I have scheduled and what I am trying to accomplish in each particular case. Then, while I am in a facility, I look at what other opportunities I have there, opportunities such as discussing Altrus with other surgeons or pitching our other products. I plan four to five days in advance. I know if I have a clear plan for the next four to five days, I am setting myself up to achieve my overall goals. 

What is your best advice for a brand new salesperson? 

Target surgeons who are willing to fight for your product…and then do whatever it takes to get your product in those surgeons’ hands. There are two main questions I ask a surgeon at the end of a pitching conversation: “If you feel that my product is a good fit for you, are you willing to go to bat and fight for this product? Are you willing to take the steps needed and contact key people in order to get this new product into the hospital?” Without a surgeon who is willing to do this, all I am doing is having conversations that won’t put me at the top of the totem pole. 

Share this post

Achieving the Extraordinary

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

Marathon bib and medalLast December, after evaluating the goals I accomplished in 2012 and putting together my goals for 2013, I decided to develop a goal I could incorporate into my blog writing.  I came up with the idea of running a marathon, as I thought this would surely generate a lot of writing ideas.  Little did I know what I was signing up for! I quickly realized I had to fully commit to the goal since I announced it on my blog, told every friend and colleague I was going to do it, and posted it on my Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts.  An interesting thing happened: I got a lot more out of my journey than just blog material.

You may be familiar with the basic psychological principles of Abraham Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs.  Self-actualization is located at the very top of the pyramid, representing the need to fulfill one’s individual potential. According to Maslow, peak experiences play an important role in self-actualization.  Self-actualization is actually considered quite rare, which means that peak experiences can be equally elusive. Not all people reach the peak of Maslow’s pyramid.

Peak experiences are often described as transcendent moments of pure joy and elation. These are moments that stand out from everyday events. A peak experience is profound and life-changing—it is often considered one’s finest moment.  Peak experiences can include weddings, births, and the occasional vacation.  High achievers seek out peak performances that will surpass ordinary events happening to us over a lifetime.  These individuals seek out performance achievements like President’s Club, advanced education, or personal physical challenges.

What is the one extraordinary thing either professionally and personally you have always wanted to achieve? 

Don’t worry about what it will take to accomplish the goal. I challenge you to just close your eyes for a moment, visualize your goal, and then write it down.  Now it’s time to get moving! To quote a Chinese proverb, “To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep stepping.” 

When preparing for my marathon, I decided to keep a log of my training.  As I wrote this post, I reviewed my logbook and realized I ran 77 runs totaling 657.82 miles for a duration of 107:50 hours. Looking back, those numbers represent a tremendous amount of time, miles, and effort—however, to get to where I was when I completed the race required multiple small steps completed one after another. 

The challenge of extraordinary results is this: they require you to not only think big, but then to also take the necessary steps to get there.  A big goal requires you to focus small and work backwards, as this crystallizes what you need to do to achieve your goal.  A great quote from a recent book I read by Gary Keller reminds us to take one step at a time: “Actions build on action, Habits build on habit.  Success builds on success.  The right domino knocks down another, and another and another.”

One of the greatest inhibitors of our success is FEAR.  Gary Keller quotes a famous Cherokee speaking to his grandson about the great battle in all of us.  The Cherokee said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us.  One is Fear.  It carries anxiety, concerns, uncertainty, hesitancy, indecision, and inaction.  The other is Faith.  It brings calm, conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, decisiveness, excitement, and action.”  The grandson thought for a moment and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”  The old and wise Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”  

People with extraordinary results don’t feed their fears, but instead, their fears fuel their fire within and drive them forward.

As a non-runner who had never run more than five miles four months ago, little did I know that a blog project would turn into a peak performance that will have a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life. 

Life is too short to pile up the “Should-ofs,” “Could-ofs,” and “Would-ofs.” 

What is stopping you from getting to President’s Club this year?  Or from achieving some other personal goal you may have?  To quote the great author Mark Twain, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore. Dream. Discover.” Have a big audacious goal, work backwards breaking it down, and commit to take one step after another until you reach your goal.  Don’t let your fears get in the way—embrace them and let them fuel your fire, driving you to victory. 

Watch the video below to get fired up!

Share this post

26.2 – Mission Complete!

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Sean Moore | | Leave a comment

Marathon

I never felt so bad and felt so good at the same time. Thanks to my wife and kids for cheering me on, and all the kind words of encouragement from my friends and colleages!  Sean

Share this post