MEDICAL DEVICE
To ensure we were making an important contribution
to our evolving hospital customers, we had to make
some significant changes in our sales approach:
Hiring profile: Historically,;we;had;been;successful
with reps who had surgeon relationships, were clini-cally;astute,;and;could;sell;in;the;OR.;Now,;that’s;only
part of the equation. We also need people who speak
the language of supply chain, purchasing/procure-ment, and the C-suite. What is each decision-maker
interested in? With surgeons, our focus was primar-
ily;at;Levels;1;and;2;–;meeting;specs;and;delivering
high-quality products; but with procurement and
supply chain, we also have to demonstrate Level 3
value; for department heads, we need to address Level
4;-;business;goals;;and;for;the;C-suite,;we;have;to;ad-
dress;Level;5;–;institutional;goals.;Our;W2;reps;had
surgeon relationships but had difficulty speaking the
business;and;contracting;language.;So;we;added;1099s
that carried other products from other companies in
their sales bag. At first glance, one might think that
was a mistake, since we would only garner a percent-
age;of;their;selling;time.;However,;what;they;had;that
our;W2s;did;not;was;higher;level;business;influencer
relationships, experience selling to these call points,
and immediate access to the other key decision mak-
ers. They moved our products through the sales cycle
much quicker and had greater success with product
conversions.
Re-educating and training: Given the success many
of;our;1099s;were;having,;we;immediately;decided;to
revamp;our;training;programs.;Instead;of;focusing
our efforts solely on the clinical decision makers, we
created selling tools, models, and training programs
to address the needs of the other key influencers as
well. While reinventing our sales process took time,
consistent coaching, and continued reinforcement, it
eventually paid off and continues to do so today.
Strategic alliances: Given the increasing amount of
consolidation that continues to occur on a regular basis, it can be overwhelming to see large companies get
larger and have more contracting power than ever before. Therefore it’s important to also look at potential
