Yee Haw Fun!

I shot the Western Director of the United States. Stone cold dead. Twice.

Then he shot me.

Obviously, we were just using blanks. All the same, I was pretty proud of my gunslinging ability.

Friday night we all shared a wonderful western adventure. I won't make any claim as to the authenticity of our experience, but it sure was fun.

It was a beautiful outdoor setting atop a mesa. It was a great opportunity for us all to express our inner cowboy or cowgirl- gunslinging, pitching horseshoes and lassoing. Doc Holiday, Pocohontas and a crazy bunch of urban cowboys contributed to the lively evening. There was even some line dancing involved, though not strictly of the country-western kind.

One of the highlights of the night was the 212 club, roaring up on the back of Harley Davidsons, special treatment in honor of their superb performance in 2007. Though the fireworks have faded, it's a night we'll all remember fondly for some time to come.

Training

Gophers, godfathers and great products made for a very interesting day.

Rather than simply subject reps to hours of Power Point presentations, the marketing group worked hard and succeeded today in keeping the training sessions lively and interactive. Here are a few highlights of my fun day...

• I drilled a tunnel in a saw bone with our Badger drill bit and wiredriver.
• I was shot at by gangsters multiple times, but emerged unscathed thanks to my skillful Matrix-like evasive maneuvers.
• I practiced using our new MVP suture passer on an Alex model and discovered it's a lot like sewing.
• I played St Andrew's and finished -8 par. Pretty good for a girl playing golf for the first time, wouldn't you say?
• Heard from our new president, Joseph Darling, about his management philosophy and direction for the company.
• Saw pictures of JT's beautiful baby girl.
  
• Counted my blessings many times over that I get to work with such a generous, creative and wonderful group of people.

2008 National Sales Training Meeting

Today is the beginning of Linvatec's National Sales Training meeting.

Since so much of what I do is over the phone, I look forward to opportunities like this to meet face to face for the first time many of the people I've had a hand in hiring. If I listen carefully, I can sometimes come up with the name that matches the voice I heard during the interview process. I'm usually not good with names, but when I already know someone's biography, it usually sticks.

The training sessions get underway tomorrow. It's a great opportunity for me to learn more about the company's products, initiatives and successes so that I can speak intelligently to candidates about what Linvatec has to offer. There are also the intangibles that are so important- like the pervasive, upbeat feeling among the sales force, their excitement about the direction of the company- that I soak up from being here.

Stay tuned for more over the next few days.

Industry Newsletter

Someone brought to my attention the AdvaMed Smart Brief. It's a newsletter centered on medical technology, and covers current news of many medical device manufacturers. It looks like it could be an interesting read to learn more about the goings-on in the medical device industry.

Strong Quarterly Results

ConMed today announced first quarter results. The details are on the website.

A few highlights:

• Sales grew 11.6% in the first quarter, a new record, and strong growth is anticipated for the remainder of the year
• The Arthroscopy line, in particular the HD video systems, led the way with significant growth of 17.6%
• Sales outside the US grew 21% overall

What this means:

• The TrueHD camera is a huge success. It offers reps a tremendous opportunity to grow business and market share with a best-in-class offering. This is only one of many outstanding innovative products in Linvatec's expansive portfolio. Representing phenomenal products like TrueHD helps breaking into new accounts and making sales that much easier- a sales person's dream.
• It's a great time to join Linvatec.

Here are some of current openings:

• Tampa, FL
• Miami, FL
• Westchester, NY
• Boston, MA
• South Houston, TX
• Augusta, GA

If you are interested, or know someone who would be a great match for any of these openings, please e-mail me at LMcCalllister@Linvatec.com

Outpatient Surgery

Outpatient Surgery a publication and site which offers information on products and business practices in the outpatient or ambulatory surgery center market. Centers like these are a growing source of business for Linvatec. Surgery centers may be owned by a group of doctors, rather than a hospital system, which only increased the decision making power of the surgeons in these instances, since they have a direct stake in the center's profitability.

One particularly relevant recent article was titled "How to get what you need from HD". Reading up on resources like these is advantageous for current reps and prospective candidates alike.

Healthcare for 1099's

In orthopedics, many reps are hired as 1099 independent contractors thru distributors. Linvatec does, as well as companies such as Zimmer, Arthrex, Smith & Nephew and others.

As a 1099, reps are responsible for buying their own insurance. I came across a site that provides quotes from multiple companies that could be a good source of information.

http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/