A Long Time...

I did not intend to abandon my blog for three months, but a cross country move packs a little bit of a wallop. In July, we moved to Colorado. Here are a couple of things I learned in the process...

1. Don't bother to move all your stuff- just sell it. It's not like it's going to fit in your new place just right anyway. And by the time you've packed it, lugged it, hoisted it, shoved it, lifted it and unpacked it again, you'll hate it anyway.

2. Don't fret about your kids. They absolutely adapt better than adults. Worry about yourself. I think I've aged a year for every mile we moved, which would make me about 2,000 years old.

Despite these hard lessons, I am delighted to be in Colorado. What a beautiful state it is. Third sunniest state in the union, as my sister has told me many times. Now that we are settling into a more normal routine, I hope to begin writing again on a more consistent basis.

I am continuing my work for Linvatec, and there's been quite a bit of it lately. We are actively recruiting for a direct sales force in Florida, for both direct sales reps and management positions due to some recent changes. Local, qualified candidates welcome!

Athletes in Medical Device Sales

Former collegiate athletes are often considered good candidates for medical device sales. Obviously, having been involved in competitive athletics alone is not enough to qualify you for a sales role in our industry, but in combination with other relevant experience, it can contribute to the foundation of a solid career.

Last year I helped hire one such candidate. He competed for the University of Northern Colorado in track and field and was an NCAA All-American in the decathlon. In addition to his athletic achievements, he was a four-time NCAA Academic All American and completed both and undergraduate and master's degree in kinesiology. Today I'll chat with him about how his background as a competitive athlete has proven relevant to his success as a medical device rep.

Manpower Survey

For the second year in a row, Manpower's Survey of hardest jobs to hire ranks "sales representatives" as the toughest position to fill.

Manpower Survey On Hiring

I guess that explains my occasional urge to bang my head against the wall. It's not just in the US; apparently it's tough to find good reps anywhere in the world. According to the survey, employers find the positions difficult to fill due to "lack of available talent".

What I see as a recruiter is that too many people think that the fact that they "enjoy meeting new people" is enough to make them a good sales rep. I've written before how short-sighted I think this point of view is. I have to weed out a lot of totally unqualified candidates who have zero relevant experience.

Think of it this way, if you were applying to another position at Linvatec, say a mechanical engineer, would you even consider saying to the recruiter or hiring manager, "I know I have don't have any experience, formal training or degree in mechanical engineering, but I know I can do this job if you just give me a chance!" Sounds crazy, right? But that's the way people too often seem to think about sales jobs.

Maybe it's the dearth of professional designations that contributes to the idea that anyone can be a sales person. The fact is, sales is a profession.

I am encouraged by the fact more schools are starting to offer certificates and degrees in Professional Selling. I've interviewed candidates from Baylor in Texas, Weber State in Utah, William Patterson in New Jersey. These programs and others seem to offer a solid curriculum that teaches students about the steps of the sales process and offers them a chance to develop their skills through presentations, mock sales and competitions.

Considering the results of the Manpower survey, I think anyone who pursues such a degree will find themselves well positioned to succeed and in high demand upon graduation.

Ten Truths from Rookie of the Year

Well, I've been kinda busy lately, but I'm back with a good one. Last week, our 2006 Rookie of the Year made a presentation to our most recent training class. They were hanging on his every word, despite the fact that it was Thursday afternoon and they were starting to feel a little worse for wear at that point.

The new reps were in the "what-in-the-hell-have-I-gotten-myself-into" phase of their career with us that I've mentioned before, feeling just a little overwhelmed. I think it was reassuring for them to hear that even the Rookie of the Year felt like he was spinning his wheels when he first started. He had a lot of great ideas that he shared with the group about how he gained traction in his territory. Here are ten which contributed to his successful start.

1. 6:30 am to 4:00 pm you must be in the O.R. everyday with your customers. Get up and out, be ready to step into the O.R. at the start of the day and don't leave until the day is done. An "office day" is prime time lost. Nothing matters as much as being with your customers. If it's a beautiful Friday afternoon and you want to go play golf, you better take a couple of doctors along with you.

2. Get to know everyone on a first name basis. The nurses, the scrub techs, the guy who mops the floor, not just the docs.

3. Set up a regular, weekly call schedule which includes seeing your major accounts every single week. "If they aren't buying from you, it's because you aren't calling on them," he said. He makes it sounds pretty simple, doesn't he? Be consistent- apparently it works.

4. Make the most of your time. Stuck in the O.R. during a four hour case? Time to fire up your PDA and pack it with info on that account. For his 100 or so accounts, he has dozens of names and phone numbers, docs, biomeds, nurses, pricing and many other details for each account in his PDA. He bought a printer for his car so he can print out quotes on the spot or while he's driving.

5. Profile your targets. He has a profile for every doctor in his territory which includes background information such as where they went to school, organizations they belong to, how many kids they have, which products they are currently using, frequency of different types of procedures, etc., including pictures. These profiles are constantly evolving, more information being added all the time. When he pulls up to the account, he can review his binder for useful information.

6. Take care of your accounts. He has a check list that he uses to review equipment. If he finds anything wrong, he lets the biomeds know. A little preventative maintenance goes a long way to keep things running smoothly I'm sure, and it's another reason for him to show his face and prove to his accounts that he's looking out for their best interests.

7. Immediate follow-through. For examples, if a doctor agrees that s/he's interested in meeting with him to try out a new product on saw bones, as soon as he leaves the doctor's side, he'll put in a call to schedule a time with his office. In this and other scenarios, he made a point of saying "My next call..." to emphasize the importance of prompt follow-up.

8. Leverage your relationships with key surgeons. He has partnered with an influential doctor in his area to put on labs for other surgeons who want to learn new techniques. It's a great way for the Rookie to introduce himself and Linvatec's products to an interested audience. An added benefit is that he's helping his key surgeon grow his own business, which only serves to make their relationship stronger.

9. Develop strong relationships with everyone else in the company. Distributor, product managers, customer service- you need everyone on your team. Don't be afraid to ask. One hallmark of a successful rep seems to be that they ask more questions and make more calls to marketing and their distributors, which may be the direct result of activity level. They are constantly learning and fully engage the resources available to them in a positive way. If he wants samples, he makes his case, offers a reason why it will be beneficial or how it's going to help him gain more business. He asks rather than demands.

10. Treat it like your own business. The Rookie has a sales coach. He's hired an intern who helps him with his profiles. He invests time, money and effort to continuing growing and improving. It's obvious he enjoys what he does, but he also takes it very seriously. He takes total ownership.

Perspective from a Senior Rep

Today one of our experienced reps gave me a call and I took the opportunity to ask him his opinion about what it takes to succeed in medical device sales. In his opinion, success comes down to the ability to develop strong, solid relationships.

In his day, he's seen companies hire according to two basic models. Companies look for "achievers" who know how to sell and have a strong track record of accomplishment to show for their efforts. Folks from this background need to be inquisitive and must have a willingness to learn, constantly, about medical products and procedures.

The other model, one which I think is falling by the wayside, is to hire surgical techs who already a strong knowledge of surgical procedures and teach them to sell. I say it's falling by the wayside because it has been observed that surgical techs may be successful managing an existing account base but aren't necessarily driven to grow the business. While there certainly are exceptions out there, it may be because someone from this background may not as competitive as a career salesperson.


So, to recap, essential qualities according to one of our "frontline" reps, are...
1.Willingness to learn, continually, constantly, about your own products and everyone else's. He says his customer's call asking his advice about products that have nothing to do with Linvatec's product line. He uses his time in the OR to learn a little bit about everything, anethesiology, bracing, patient outcomes, and the surgeons appreciate his inquisitiveness.
2. Competitiveness, a desire to win. Pretty self-explanatory, so I won't elaborate any further.
3. Ability to Develop Relationships The ability to make connections frequently, easily, sincerely is pretty much essential. Without it, the other two don't matter too much in this business.

Award Winners

Last week I caught up with one of the newbie reps who was honored with an award at the AAOS. In his first year, he was up 48%! I felt kinda proud because he was one of the folks I helped hire.

It seems like every time I checked up on this rep over the past year, he had just closed another video deal. He is delightfully humble, saying that our products are so good they "speak for themselves". Well, I think there's a lot more to it than that, especially when someone has to sign off on a purchase order worth nearly $200k. To win those kinds of capital sales, you not only have to have good products, but you also need a rep who knows how to conduct a successful evaluation, handle objections and win the confidence of the OR staff.

This rep is well recognized by his accounts for his conscientiousness. The distributor he works for tells me that all his accounts rave about him. "It's not just one account," his distributor says. "It's all of them." So, since I can't reveal his name lest his phone start ringing off the hook with job offers, that's just what I'll call him here...
Mr. Conscientious.

con'sci'en'tious adj. 1. Guided by or in accordance with the dictates of conscience; principled. 2. Thorough and assiduous.

Mr. Conscientious tells me that when he started in his territory, he began to make the rounds to meet his accounts and listened politely "hat in hand" to their concerns. Not all were happy with the amount of attention and service which they had previously experienced.I think new reps in any territory, in any industry can expect to encounter similar sentiments... hence the need for additional representation and expansion.

Mr. Conscientious, who says he's never has a bad day yet, took these concerns in stride and set about to remedy them by going "overboard" on service. He was polite, nice, and did exactly what his accounts asked and needed, even if it was a small thing that made him little or no money. Sometimes he would just drop by to ask if they needed any help and got to know his accounts by showing up regularly. (If you've read my earlier article called "A Doctor's Perspective", you'll notice a lot of overlap.)

Mr. Conscientious is himself from a clinical, rather than sales background, so he knew from his own experience that hard-nosed sales people who show up only when they can make a buck wear out their welcome pretty fast.

"There's a fine line between being a butt kisser and being a professional," he says. "I'm friendly and professional, but not oozing, fake or contrived. I try to be a nice guy and I'm concerned with good service."

He strives to take care of things before he's asked. One of the ways he does this is by checking the boards where the surgeries are scheduled so that he can anticipate the accounts' needs. By the sound of the feedback, they've noticed and appreciate his efforts to make their lives easier.

"My goal is to be prepared in advance, never to be behind the eight-ball," he says. He's friendly, prompt and doesn't b.s. anybody.

He's noticed that although reps may be in fierce competition trying to win deals, the hospital staff has their own struggles and day-to-day battles they are fighting. He believes that a rep who helps them solve their problems, rather than focusing solely on personal gain, can earn their loyalty and their business as a result.

After his first year, he's thrilled with the growth in his territory and is looking for ways to improve his skills and expand his business. He loves the daily challenges of being a medical device rep for Linvatec and the constant learning that is required for him to be his best. I think we can only expect his success to continue.

Valentine's Day Launch

This week is the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' annual meeting in sunny San Diego. It's one of the big shows that Linvatec, and many other orthopaedic companies, attend each year. Today, Linvatec is officially releasing several major new products, including the much-anticipated  TrueHD - High Definition Camera System.

To read the press release about this product, plus the new 24k arthroscopy pump and our new hip arthroscopy set, follow this link...


2007 AAOS Product Launches