Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Another Great Surgical Site

One of The Upside's readers suggested checking out this site to see videos of surgeries:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/surgeryvideos.html

Thanks for the tip!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Strong Second Quarter Results

Today ConMed announced second quarter results, posting a 13.9% sales growth compared to the second quarter of 2007. It continues to be a great year for the company.

Arthroscopy and Powered Instruments are the two categories which reflect the growth of the Linvatec division. As noted in the press release, "The Company's sports medicine Arthroscopy line grew 18.0% over second quarter 2007 on strong sales of single-use surgical devices and placements of integrated operating room systems."

Although it is not something that I've touched on extensively, the Linvatec sales force has an opportunity to be directly involved in selling and earning commissions from the installation of integrated operating rooms. These can be multi-million dollar sales which result in a tremendous amount of pull-through business in endoscopy systems and other products. Click here to learn more about ConMed Integrated Systems.

Arthroscopy+Endoscopy+Powered Instruments+Integrated Suites= One Giant Opportunity


Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Video Sale in the News

I came across this local newspaper article on a facility who recently purchased Linvatec products. The language used to describe the equipment is a little different that I would expect to hear than if it had been written by an industry expert.
All the same, I think it's an interesting story told from the customer's perspective about why the facility decided to make the investment.

Monday, July 21, 2008

2007 Rookie of the Year

The competition for the 2007 Rookie of the Year was stiff. Many of those nominated, including reps I've interviewed here previously, doubled the business in their territory.

For me, it's exciting to think back on my initial interview with these people. They were standouts, even then: in addition to have great sales skills, they also showed desire, drive, and a hunger for an opportunity to prove themselves.

The opportunity is what they focused on, and when they got it, they did not waste a moment. They threw themselves into it wholeheartedly and made the most of it.

Today I will be interviewing the rep who won Rookie of the Year.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Opening in Fort Myers Florida

If you live in sunny Ft. Myers Florida, we have an opening for an experience representative with superior selling skills. You'll have an opportunity to work closely with one of our key surgeons.

You must be a local candidate, and if you are, you know the tremendous grown potential in this area. Our product line has never been stronger.

This is a great opportunity to work directly for ConMed Linvatec. Full benefits- including a company paid pension. If local, qualified and interested- please send your resume to LMcCalllister@Linvatec.com (that's me!) Referrals also appreciated!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

O.R. Experience- The Next Best Thing

In an interview today, a candidate made me aware of a fantastic website called O.R. Live.

The site offers live webcasts of surgeries. Recent webcasts have included a partial knee replacement surgery and an arthroscopic rotator cuff surgery. The webcasts cover a wide range of surgical specialties, not just orthopedics, but also ob-gyn, cardiac, neurosurgery and general surgery, among others. I think this site could be a great resource in many ways.

For those looking to break into the industry, it's the closest many can probably get to first hand experience.

I can imagine those already in the industry may find it a great resource in many ways:
  • to prepare for a case that falls outside of the typical scope of procedures the rep is familiar with
  • to learn more about competitive products- the rotator cuff surgery features Mitek products
  • to watch and learn more about a surgeon who may be a prospective customer. What could be a better conversation starter than... "Doctor, I saw you on O.R. Live yesterday."

On Linvatec's website, we have a great education section that is not to be missed. As I've noted before, it offers numerous videos of surgical techniques using our products.

The chance to observe a surgery live thru a webcast seems like a really unique opportunity. If you have a chance to tune into any future webcasts- I'd love to hear about your experience.