As we reflect on the recent Super Bowl game, there’s a profound lesson for medical sales professionals. The game of football, much like medical sales, is a zero-sum game where every move counts and every opportunity seized or missed can make all the difference between victory and defeat.   Consider the scenario: The Chiefs and The 49ers were both well-prepared and played exceptionally well. San Francisco led for most of the game, and it looked like Brock Purdy, San Francisco’s underrated rookie quarterback, would lead his team to victory. Then Kansas City tied things up, sending the gam ..read more

The familiar adage of being a “problem solver” for your accounts is well known in medical sales. While it’s impossible to fix every issue that arises, the goal is to tackle the challenges within your realm of influence, especially those that concern your role in the process. Picture the intricate web of players involved in acquiring and utilizing a medical product. Take, for instance, a surgical implant. Securing the green light for its usage can entail approvals from an Operating Room (O.R.) products committee, a value analysis committee, a nod from Materials Management, and perhaps even a ..read more

In the dynamic world of medical sales, the landscape is evolving faster than ever. As technology continues to advance, the arsenal of tools available to medical sales professionals is expanding, and many view these tools as ways to make their jobs easier or even fill in any gaps in their knowledge or experience.  It’s important to remember that while these tools, like AI, are powerful, they won’t replace the essential human touch required for successful selling. Let’s delve into why AI has good potential for medical salespeople but also why it won’t do the selling for you. Sales Tools A ..read more

Picture a medical sales representative striding into a doctor’s office, armed with a suitcase full of shiny brochures, impeccable knowledge about their product, and an intense desire to make a sale. But wait…something’s missing. Empathy! In the hustle and bustle of the medical sales world, it’s time we address the need for representatives to focus more on showing how much they care about their customers’ practices and patients rather than just flaunting their product knowledge. If you were an early fan of American Idol, you might recall the judge Randy Jackson, whose term of endearment for a ..read more

Medical sales is difficult enough without the redundant mistakes that work against the sale. What am I talking about? Imagine this: you’re a medical sales representative, strolling confidently through the O.R. or hospital corridor, gleaming with ambition. When you catch sight of a doctor at the scrub sink or in the hallway, you get excited and feel the need to act. It’s sales time! You’re going for it. But hold on a second! Before you eagerly approach the doctor with your “I have something to show you” line, let’s take a step back and consider why this approach is really a rookie sales mista ..read more

Step-up Your Game From Sales Cliché To Doctor Whisperer Doctors and other HCPs have to deal with medical sales representatives who seem to have an uncanny ability to ask the most ridiculous or even stupid questions. It’s like they’ve mastered the art of sounding like every other sales rep out there. The saddest thing is that due to a lack of any real sales knowledge, these reps tend to blame the prospect for not showing interest. Everyone knows you’re a sales rep and it’s your job to sell. No problem there. The problem is that busy HCPs don’t wake up thinking, “I hope a sales rep interrupts ..read more

Is there a medical sales success secret? When seeking advice on excelling in medical sales, the usual response is to work hard, put in long hours, outshine your competitors, and always be accessible to clients. However, a critical aspect of success often goes unmentioned: learning how to detach from work. While this may sound simple, it can be challenging to put into practice.  Why Medical Sales Representatives Suffer Burnout Medical sales representatives face numerous factors that contribute to burnout. These include: High Pressure and Stress: Meeting sales targets, building professi ..read more

There is a fundamental issue underlying most of the daily challenges faced by medical sales representatives. Here’s the core of it: Medical sales representatives tend to focus on the sale rather than thinking like the doctor, nurse, materials manager, hospital CFO, or any other stakeholder they sell to. For example, imagine approaching a doctor by thinking like a doctor instead of a sales rep. I’m not suggesting you should pretend to be a doctor. I’m referring to examining your sales approach from a doctor’s point of view. If you were the doctor, would the focus of the sales call align with ..read more

One of the most frequently asked questions from medical reps is, “How often should I call on an account or prospect?” To illustrate the importance of having a sales conversation strategy, I’m going to ask you to be the sales prospect for a moment. Let’s say you’re shopping for a common consumer purchase—a car. You visit a dealership, test-drive a car and sit through an entire sales presentation. You even meet with the business manager, the finance manager, the social media manager, and the customer experience manager—the full-court press, if you will. There’s lots of sales pressure, but you ..read more

If you’re a medical sales professional who has worked a territory for more than just a few months, you’ll eventually lose an account to a competitor. You probably don’t want to think about it any more than you want to think about having a car accident or needing a root canal, but it literally comes with the territory. While losing an account can feel like getting punched in the gut (especially after bending over backward for the account), it is essential to handle the situation with grace and professionalism. The purpose of this article is to help you realize that it’s not the end of the wo ..read more