The Upside

The Perfect Ride-Along

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:40:00 +0000

Today I spoke with a candidate who went on a ride-along last week as part of the interview process. From the way he described it to me, I think it may have been the perfect ride-along. He got to see a good rep in action and four surgeries in one day of the same product.

Here are a few things he shared with me about his experience:

1. Although product was the same for all four cases (actually it was our new SRS system, so more than a single item), every surgery was different. In fact, he said the anatomy of each patient's shoulder appeared different, probably in part due to the individual variations of the injuries, but also because no one's anatomy is "textbook".

2. Because of these differences, each surgical procedure was unique. Each case called for some variation in the technique and instruments used for the repairs.

3. The rep played a crucial role in having different instruments and solutions ready for the surgeon and his team. The candidate commented that the rep "seemed part of the (surgical) team".

The reason I think it may have been a perfect ride-along, is because his observations highlight the learning curve inherent in becoming a successful surgical implant rep. He saw just how much surgical technique can vary from case to case, and how important it is for a rep to be on their game. Developing this level of skill as a sales rep takes study, dedication and what I like to call "time in the saddle". Being able to problem-solve in the operating room, while remaining confident and calm, is the hallmark of a seasoned rep who is an asset to his or her customers.

New Careers Website

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:40:00 +0000

ConMed Linvatec has launched a new careers website. Sales positions are highlighted through a series of videos of sales representatives sharing their personal perspectives on working for the company.

Another great part of the website is the page on Community Action. There is a long tradition of the company and employees giving back to the community.

More On 30-60-90 plans From Peggy McKee

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:46:00 +0000

Peggy writes a terrific blog call the Medical Sales Recruiter at http://www.phcconsulting.com/WordPress/

She has written quite a few posts on 30-60-90 day plans. She too thinks doing your homework to create a detailed 30-60-90 plan is a good idea. If you want to good laugh, watch her video: "This is not your daddy's job search."

30-60-90 day plans, as a Work In Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:18:00 +0000

Many of the managers I work with like to see 30-60-90 day plans. It gives them a sense of how you would go about developing yourself and your territory. Such a plan also conveys your professionalism and seriousness.

Many of the plans that candidates create are too vague and superficial. (Guess what- we know you will go to training if selected.) Such basic items should be included but they do not a meaty, serious, substantial 30-60-90 day plan make.

In the better plans I have seen, candidates dig in and do some real world research. For example:

1. Names of major hospitals in the territory

2. Key contacts at these hospitals- there is usually good information to be found on the hospital's websites

3. Profile a few key doctors- again the hospital website might be a good starting point, and then google up some additional information

4. Incorporate key products into your plan- how will you increase market share? who is the competition?

5. What is your gameplan for developing your territory- as in specific actionable items by week or month

I know, I know. You don't really know the products or the company or the territory just yet... but why not give it your best shot? If this is truly the job you want, why wait to start learning and investing in your own success?

Think of it as a Work In Progress. As you move through the interview process, you will learn more about the job. Refine your plan as you go along. Ask the hiring manager some pertinent questions to develop it further. If it seems appropriate, you might even ask a rep or manager to review it and give you feedback. By your final interview, you will have a roadmap for when you start in your new territory... hit the ground running, and become Rookie of the Year- right?

Developing and refining a 30-60-90 day plan is a great way to demonstrate your serious, professional commitment to success.

Help for Haiti

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:53:00 +0000

This past Tuesday, my sister left on a medical mission to Haiti. She is the one who is an ER nurse.

She arrived at the St. Damien's Hospital for Children and pitched her tent on the roof of the guest house. She has described difficult conditions and the valiant efforts to bring some order to the chaos. She has assisted a surgical team, started IV's and helped out in the adult clinic. Yesterday, she helped bury the bodies of 40 children and adults with Father Rick from St. Damien's.

As a result of the earthquake, there were many traumatic injuries resulting in broken bones and amputations. Father Rick describes the situation in a letter to Operation USA.

"After weeks of frenetic activity, we are returning to a state of equilibrium. Our hospital had become a trauma MASH unit, as had all other medical centers in Port au Prince that are still standing. We were able to offer about 30 surgeries a day at four sites (two in our hospital, one on our hospital grounds in a tent, and one at the St. Camillus Hospital, which we staffed for the emergency.) Many of these, sadly, were amputations – sometimes two for the same adult or child.   

To give an idea of the size of the problem, it is likely there are about 20,000 people now who have been amputated or who have orthopedic hardware screwed through their skin to the bone. Port au Prince has about 20 Haitian orthopedic surgeons, and visiting teams to Haiti will soon leave. All 20,000 need to be followed closely for removal of hardware, control of infection, reevaluation of the amputation, and of course for artificial limbs and rehabilitation. Obviously 20 surgeons will not be able to handle this load. We have worked closely with the St. Camillus Hospital so as to return our St. Damien Hospital to a pediatric center and to have a growing center for adults at St. Camillus. We hope together to be able to keep good tabs on the patients we have operated on, and hope to be able to provide well for them in the future.   "

I watched a few videos about St. Damien's. The level of poverty and hardship, even before the earthquake, was stunning. It is evident that Haiti's recovery from the earthquake will be difficult and require a lot of continued outside assistance.

National Sales Meeting or Pneumonia?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:38:00 +0000

I apparently chose pneumonia.

I thought it was the flu. When I could not get out of bed long enough to pack my bags for my trip to Orlando for Linvatec's National Sales Meeting, I had to cancel my flight.

Two days later, despite lots of Gatorade and Tylenol, I spent most of Saturday knotted in a fetal position on my couch, feverish and sweating. My sister, who is a nurse in the emergency department of Denver's level one trauma hospital, checked in on me throughout the day while she was working. I texted details of my symptoms to her and she consulted with her colleagues.

Finally, she called and said, "You've done everything you can for yourself. I don't think it's unreasonable for you to go to the emergency room." I didn't want to, but I had to admit I wasn't getting any better after 3 days. Probably worse.

When I arrived at the local hospital, the nurse in triage asked me a series of questions and took my pulse. It was the same hospital that Raquel and I had visited last summer, in fact. As I drooped in my chair, the nurse called back to the ER. I heard her tell someone I was tachycardic and she deemed me a "yellow".

Tacychardia was one of the new medical terms I picked up while at the hospital. It meant my heart was racing; in my case, at about 130 beats per minute.

In short order, she escorted me down the hall and coaxed me toward a wheelchair. "It's no trouble, really," she said. Pride was rather useless at that point, so I sank into the chair. She whisked me back to a room in the ER, where a doctor and nurse teamed up to evaluate my condition.

Some questions, tests and an x-ray or two later, they told me I had pneumonia. I was also told that my white blood count was through the roof.

The doctor showed me a cloudy mass in my right lung on the x-ray. "That should not be there," she said. "You are not exactly circling the drain, but my nurse tells me he thinks you are looking rather puny. I don't contradict my staff. I think we should at least keep you overnight for observation."

The staff doctor who came to visit me next was more stern. "You have raging pneumonia in your right lung. Expect to be here for several days."

I was just relieved to know the cause of my suffering.

After the doctors left, I laid there, quiet and exhausted, as the nurse began to rehydrate me through an IV and dose me with antibiotics. I was fortunate to have several great nurses looking over me that night.

By the next morning, I was not completely well, of course. However, I was amazed at how much better I felt than the night before. I had arrived at the hospital sick, miserable and rather frightened. Twelve hours later, I was relatively comfortable and on the mend. The turnaround was pretty miraculous.

I am truly grateful, for my return to health and for the great care I received while I was at the hospital. The staff throughout my stay was terrific in every way.

I sometimes interview people who are motivated to get into healthcare sales, because they or one of their loved ones have received great care through a trying illness or injury. My own appreciation for the great things that our healthcare providers do has grown immensely as a result of my own experience.

Celebrating Success

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:45:00 +0000

Last night, I had the pleasure and honor of attending the Electrosurgery awards banquet. It was fantastic for me to meet in person many of people I've spoken to over the phone numerous times, both recruits and managers.

I sat next to one of the President's Club winners, who will be enjoying a trip to Palm Springs. You've heard the expression about selling ice to Eskimos? Well, I am pretty sure she can do that, and would drive through a blizzard to make the sale.

Another table-mate insisted on closing a sale between labor contractions. Her exasperated ob-gyn was heard to say, "For heaven's sake, you are having a baby- put the phone down!" She made President's Club too, despite being out on maternity leave for 2 months.

Being successful in 2009 required a lot of grit and determination from salespeople everywhere, and Electrosurgery was no exception. The theme of digging deep to come up with that little something extra- one more call, one more prospect, one more sale- kept resurfacing throughout the night.

The top three reps each shared what they felt had contributed to their success.

3- Don't be discouraged by where your territory is today. Any territory has the potential to be great, based on hardwork and determination. Learn from the best. Seek out top performers in your company- ask them how they do it and implement it in your own territory.

2- Build strong relationships with your surgeons and they will come through for you.

1- Stick to your plan and to the process, every day, day in and day out. Stay positive and focused.

The margin between the top three reps in the company was extremely small. Between #1 and #2: only .05%! Among the three top reps, they had some tremendous wins this past year, but also many small, ordinary ones along the way. Their success resulted from unwavering commitment, discipline and tenacity. No rocket science, no black magic- just a whole lot of hard work. Their advice was humble, simple... and in the end, it means their success is repeatable and attainable by everyone who was in the room.

Here's to a great year in 2010! Make it great.

Farewell 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Steve Porcaro asks a great question on his Linked In Group: What is the ONE thing you like best about Medical Device Sales?

As the answers show, it is hard to choose just ONE thing. There are many great things about being a part of a dynamic, challenging and exciting industry like this one. Medical device sales is rewarding on so many levels.

In 2009, many other industries were in a total free-fall. I saw some of the damage up close. As you might imagine, I talked to many people this year who had lost their jobs. In some cases, it was as though the industry they had been a part of had completely vanished.

Medical devices may have hit a few bumps, we may have had to rethink a few things, but on the whole the industry is weathering the storm far better than most. Although the financial rewards may not have been equal to prior years, in times like these it is no small thing to simply be able to provide for your family.

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Happy Holidays from a very special elf

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:13:00 +0000

This very merry video was created by one of the new hires. I hope you will enjoy it was much as I did. What a fun, creative way to get his customers' attention!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ccomp92

Seven Touches

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:57:00 +0000

One of the things I talk to candidates about when I am interviewing about is cold calling. Every sales position requires it to be successful. As you all know, persistence is crucial to winning a new customer.

I found an article about "seven touches", which is the idea that it takes a customer about seven contacts (or more) before they decide to do business with you. Touches are more than just cold calling on the phone or in-person, as this article suggests.

My Least Favorite Game

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:07:00 +0000

As a recruiter, phone tag is the bane of my existence. Like many salespeople, connecting and communicating with many people every day is an important part of my job. If I played much phone tag, it would be very inefficient, so I have figured out ways to short-circuit the game.

Here are a few things I do to ensure I connect as quickly as possible:

1. On my own voice mail message, I ask people to let me know the best time to return their call. Then I put them on my calendar at that time and ring them up.

2. When I leave a voicemail or email, I let the person I am trying to reach several possible times to reach me based on my schedule.

3. When I am trying to connect with someone, I often email them as well as leaving them a voice mail message, sometimes simultaneously. Just like my voice mails, I always ask people to let me know the best time and number to reach them at. When they provide me with this info, I acknowledge via e-mail to let them know I will call them at that time.

4. Text messaging is another great way to set up a time to connect live.

5. I return calls right away rather than waiting. If they just called me, then they are probably available. Quicker response conveys greater urgency, and people often respond accordingly.

6. I find that trying different methods (voicemail, email, texting) and different times works well. Some people respond better to email, others to calls.

Basic? Probably. These are pretty simple things, but I have noticed a lot of people play a lot of phone tag. Since I do my fair share of cold calling, I have found using these approaches in combination helps boost my response rate.

Tax Write-Offs for Capital Equipment Purchases

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:36:00 +0000

A candidate I interviewed today in the copier industry said they are having success leveraging Section 179 to encourage their customers to move ahead with capital purchases this year.

There is an entire website devoted to this tax incentive, which is part of the Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

http://www.section179.org/

As the site explains: "Section 179 was designed with businesses in mind. That's why almost all types of 'business equipment' qualify for the Section 179 deduction."

Business equipment like copiers, video towers, powered instruments... probably worth exploring. May only apply to for-profit businesses (many hospitals are non-profit). As you know I am not a tax professional, but I am sharing this tidbit in the hopes you may find an opportunity to close more deals before the end of the year.

Happy Selling and Happy Thanksgiving!

The best and worst of my job

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Today was a great day, because I got to call someone up and tell them they got the job. I love that!

It was also tough, because I called someone who had done a terrific job throughout the interview process and let them know they didn't get the job.

I don't enjoy giving people such news, but I understand that at a minimum people appreciate closure, even if it is not what they want to hear.

There are times when we think a candidate is great in many ways, but not the right fit. There was one such candidate recently. I left them a message, with a brief explanation. In return, I got one of the nicest, classiest responses ever. Although it did not change the outcome (in fact the candidate agreed with the rationale), that person's stock shot way, way up in my eyes.

If I ever have or hear of something that is a great fit for that person- I will definitely call them right up.

My recommendation is always to be as gracious as possible if you are not the chosen candidate and ask to be considered for future opportunities. It's even appropriate to drop a line from time to time too, maybe a couple times a year. In time, it could lead to a positive outcome.

FutureMedica and on-line courses

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:58:00 +0000

A friendly blogger at FutureMedica contacted me with some free on-line courses that may be useful for readers of the Upside.

http://mritechnicianschools.net/2009/25-free-open-courseware-classes-about-sports-medicine /

I briefly looked at some of these courses. Some were more course outlines, but I think there could be useful information to be had here for the enterprising sales person looking for to increase their knowledge of anatomy and medical terminology.

As long as we are celebrating... Why not celebrate 3 years of blogging?

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:46:00 +0000

I realized today it has been about 3 years since I started this blog. My first post was in November 2006.

While I am not one of the prolific most bloggers, I try to make my posts useful and interesting. I hope that there has been some beneficial information shared here, for both those looking to break into medical device sales, as well as industry veterans. Thank you to those of you who have taken time to comment and contribute your perspectives.

Here are some of my favorite posts (if I may say so)...

For Neophytes:
1. How to Get Experience When You Don't Have Any 3/17/08

2. Becoming A Sales Associate - Fast Track Opportunity for Growth 10/23/08

3. A Day in the Life of an Electrosurgery Rep 7/15/09

For Everyone:
1. Ten Truths from Rookie of the Year 4/26/07

2. Pocket Guide to the O.R. 3/12/08

3. 212 Club 8/08/08

The Interviews:
1. Sonny Crockett's Great Year 12/14/07

2. Athletes in Medical Device Sales 5/30/07

3. The Rookie of the Year Interviews
NOM 3/13/08
2007 7/21/08
2008 7/17/09

If you have a favorite, or something you'd like me to consider writing about, let me know!

Reason to Celebrate

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:21:00 +0000

Sometimes its good to look for even small reasons to celebrate. So break out the champagne, I have surpassed 500 contacts on Linked-In!

Hitting the 500+ mark on Linked-In is considered the "big time". They stop counting individual connections after that point. Thank you to the many who have accepted my requests or reached out to me to join my network.

If you haven't yet connected to me, you can find me at
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamcglinvatecsalesrecruiter

Once in my network, you will be notified when I update what I am working on (like new positions), add new connections or join new groups. My blog is also uploaded to my Linked In page.

If you haven't spent much time on Linked In, now is a great time to build your network in anticipation of new possibilities in 2010!

New! Jobs on Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:38:00 +0000

I am now on Twitter. You should follow me at:

http://twitter.com/MyJobScope

Get the inside "scope" and be the first to learn about new openings!

25 questions

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:15:00 +0000

No, this is not the list of questions you get tagged with on Facebook.

I referred to 25 questions I had prepared before going on a ride-along with the electrosurgery rep this summer. A candidate I spoke with today is preparing to go on a ride-along and wanted to know what these questions were.

The list of my actual questions on that day follows. I recommend anyone going on a ride-along prepare a list of questions before going with the rep to gain as much information from the rep as possible. The focus of the questions might be slightly different than mine, but not much. Basically, you want to understand the job as best you can from someone who does it, and to learn what it takes to be successful.

1. If you were a recruiter (like me), how would you explain this job to a candidate?
2. What does it take to be a successful rep for this company?
3. Who is your major competition (in this territory)? (follow-up by various second level questions to find out more)
4. Biggest day-to-day challenges? Toughest part of the job?
5. How often are you in surgery?
6. New products?
7. Average sales cycle?
8. Cost of (major products) and financing/purchase options?
9. What is the biggest challenge facing you in this economy?
10. Tell me about a typical/recent sale, and decision makers in the process.
11. How much influence does the surgeon/clinician have over the final purchase decision?
12. Why are our company's products better than the competition? What is our biggest competitive advantage?
13. What do you have for demo equipment? How do you run evaluations (samples etc)?
14. How much contact do you have with customers after the sale?
15. Do you do much selling to the C-Level, how when why?
16. What has been the biggest surprise to you about this job?
17. How much cold-calling do you do versus existing business?
18. What are the essential skills and attributes for success in this role?
19. What questions you ask if you were me? If you were me, what would you make sure I/candidate understood about this job?
20. What is your background?
21. How long have you been in this position?
22. How did you approach "starting up" your territory?
23. In retrospect, what would you do differently? What have you learned?
24. Tell me about the training and support you've received from the company.
25. How much travel do you do, how many overnights?

If you count the number of question marks, there are more than 25 questions here ;) This should be at least a starting point for anyone going on a ride-along. I am sure there are other people who have some great questions to ask, or if a rep, questions they wish someone would ask them.

Demand for Sports Medicine Products

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:41:00 +0000

When I talk to candidates, one reason they often mention for wanting to be in medical device sales is the demographics of the aging baby boomers. The reasoning goes that because baby boomers are staying active longer, by jogging, playing sports etc, they are putting more wear-and-tear on their joints. Hence, increased demand for Sports Medicin e repairs.

This is true, but there are several other factors driving demand for such products. Unfortunately, the so-called obesity epidemic also increases demand. Extra weight puts a lot of extra stress on joints.

Another contributor to increased demand is the intensity with which athletes engage in, specialize and train for sports from a younger and younger age. Thank you to the candidate who brought the following information and article to my attention:

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20091031/LIFE/910310321/1127/Health-Watch--Student-athletes-reap-benefits-from-conditioning--prevention

"As kids begin to specialize in their sport at a younger age, doctors are seeing an increase in the injuries associated with the sports that they choose."

Excerpt: By way of example, we are seeing more swimmers suffering from shoulder pain and rotator cuff injuries, more cross-country runners with knee pain from patella femoral problems, and more soccer players with ankle sprains and anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Rep Tracking in Hospitals

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:57:00 +0000

Most hospitals have instituted a system to track sales representatives and other vendors who visit their facilities on a regular basis. One of the main reasons is to protect the safety of patients. Requirements to register with the services usually include background checks and certain immunizations. There are several services out there, so it is likely a representative will have to register with more than one, and stay current through periodic renewals, in order to have access to the hospitals in their territory.

When I went on the ride-along with Raquel, you will remember that she signed-in at the first hospital we visited. That was with one of these credentialing services. Even though it was her first time in this particular hospital, she was already registered with the particular service they used.

I have added 2 of these services to my blogroll below. Reptrax and Vendor Credentialing Service (VCS). VCS offers on-line HIPPA, bloodborne pathogen & OR Protocol training for $60-125 each. Most medical device companies will offer this training to new sales reps themselves. However, this training might offer one way for an enterprising candidate to demonstrate their initiative and commitment to breaking into medical sales.

If there are other major rep tracking services you are aware of, please feel free to note in comments below...

Follow-up on foul language

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:28:00 +0000

Today I received an invite to attend a webinar entitled "Workplace Cursing and Off-Color Remarks: Policies that Stop Lawsuits". Although I will not be able to attend, I thought it was worth noting as a follow-up to my last post.

The first line of the description states: "Cursing and off-color remarks in the workplace are a lawsuit waiting to happen."

Cursing should not only be off-limits during the interview, but forever thereafter too. If you've considered cursing in the workplace acceptable, it is probably time to rethink this idea.

Interview Suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:14:00 +0000

No matter what, never ever ever curse in an interview.

As a recruiter, I work really hard to find the best qualified, smartest, most enthusiastic candidates I can. When one of them goes to an interview and drops the "bomb", it is enough to make me want to jump off a bridge. Or worse yet, curse- but I don't. Because it's simply not professional.

(Please note: I even omitted the sixth letter of the alphabet above. That is how serious I am about absolutely no cursing.)

Most often, cursing seems to occur when a candidate is relating a story about a certain situation. They may actually be quoting someone who cursed at them. Not a good idea, however colorful or dramatic it may seem. It does not convey how tough, intense, determined or assertive you are.

The only thing it communicates is that you have poor judgment.

Not only should you avoid the "bomb", you should avoid any version of a curse word that a fourth-grader would be reprimanded for saying. I don't even like to hear my fourth grader call anyone stupid or say "shut up". Your safest bet is to keep it totally G-rated.

We all come across people in this world who are "difficult". Situations that are "challenging". You could also say they are jerks, and that the situation sucks- but I would think twice about saying even that in an interview.

I guarantee, the hiring manager will understand you, even if you do not use foul language.

Terms in Electrosurgery

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:20:00 +0000

While I was on my ride-along a few weeks ago, there were quite a few new terms I learned about electrosurgery. Here is an explanation of electrosurgery on Wikipedia. As noted here, "electrosurgery is usually used to refer to a quite different method than electrocautery".

I myself have made the mistake of describing electrosurgery as "cauterizing", but no more! Raquel said it is common for hospital staff to refer to electrosurgical units as the "cautery" or "bovie" unit. Since she was properly trained in the correct terms, when she refers to the "electrosurgical unit", it sometimes results in looks of confusion from the staff.

Essentially, electrosurgery is the use of energy to cut (like a scalpel) and coagulate. Electrosurgery helps limit blood loss while making precise cuts, as described on the Wikipedia page. For this reason, electrosurgery has a very wide range of applications in many different specialties. On Conmed units, a higher "blend" means more coagulation.

Another new term I learned was thermal necrosis. Some tissue may become necrotic (dead) at the electrosurgical site, evidenced by black spots. Although the goal should be to minimize this as much as possible, Raquel said that she has spoken to some doctors that think the black spots are good because it tells them that "it's done". Woo.

Before Raquel espouses her product's ability to reduce thermal necrosis compared to competitive products, she is sure to find out what matters to the doctor and what the doctor interprets as a good result. She also noted the importance of finding the right surgeon who cares about electrosurgery and will champion her product.

2008 Rookie of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Today, I'll have an opportunity to interview the latest Rookie of the Year. He is someone who from his first interview showed that he was "hungry". It's a quality that people talk a lot about, but what exactly does it mean? I hope that our conversation today will shed some light on it.

From my perspective, true hunger for success includes the willingness to take responsibility for preparing yourself for the next step in your career, not just asking someone to "give you a shot."

(Read comments below for the interview...)

A Day in the Life of a ConMed Electrosurgery Rep

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa McCallister) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:03:00 +0000

This morning, I met the Conmed Electrosurgery sales representative at a local hospital. Raquel* (not her real name, but you knew that already) has been representing Conmed Electrosurgery for about a year. She had prior medical sales experience, including some O.R. sales experience. In her first quarter with the company, she catapulted her underperforming territory into the top echelon of the company.

When we originally began talking about this day, she said, "Everyone wants to be in the O.R.. That's the glamorous part of this job. But there is a lot of work that goes into getting to that point. That's what I really want to show you." So today, she showed me just that- the cold calling and prospecting that goes into uncovering opportunities.

Before we went into the first hospital, she explained some of the things she does as part of her pre-call planning. She reviews the rolling history report, which shows what the facility has been purchasing over the last 18 months. In this case, even though it was not a major ConMed Electrosurgery customer, the facility was buying pencils used in the electrosurgical generators. She also checks which GPO the facility is under. In this case, it was a contract that Electrosurgery is not on; however, the particular GPO does not generally require a high level of compliance. She also established a few goals for the call: finding out the types of equipment in the facility and seeking out a key contact who might be able to facilitate a CE course.

Before today, I did not realize that the ConMed Electrosurgery reps offered CE (or continuing education) courses to their customers. They have a number of topics they teach to hospital, such as a course on the importance of smoke evacuation. The hospital personal benefit by gaining CE points, necessary as health professionals. The rep gains a suitable audience.

When we entered the facility, we headed to sign in on RepTrax. Once Raquel had signed in to the RepTrax computer, it printed off a sticker for her to wear while in the facility. Most hospitals now have a similar vendor management system, which requires that all reps register and sign-in when visiting the facility. Those who don't may find themselves escorted to the exit. When you are done in the facility, you must sign out. If you overstay the time period you've specified, then you get a black mark on your record.

From there, we headed to biomed. This was a mid-sized hospital, but the windowless halls were labyrinthine. At every intersection, there were signs indicating different directions for different departments. The thought occurred to me that as a new rep, one might have to allow almost as much time for navigating an unfamiliar hospital's hallways as the roads to get there.

The first thing we saw when walking into the biomed office was a dismantled System 5000, the workhorse of the Conmed Electrosurgery product line. After introducing ourselves to the two friendly biomedical engineers, Raquel began examining the unit and asked the head biomed engineer what was wrong with it. She knew her product well and identified a possible need for an in-service to prevent a recurrence of the issue that had sidelined that particular unit. She also asked what I thought was a pretty good question, "Who yells when these are broken?"

The biomeds were quite willing to share information about ConMed Electrosurgery's history and equipment in the account, as well as competitive equipment and status. They also gave her an overview of how many operating rooms there were in the facility. One of the biomeds mentioned that he was on the committee for new product evaluations. She also found out the names of several key contacts in the account.

Raquel had noted that biomedical engineering was a great place to gather information when first calling on a new account, and I could see why. When we left biomed, we had a pretty good initial overview of the status of the account.

From there, we called on several other departments in the hospital, including the O.R., GI Suite and Labor and Delivery. At each point, she gathered more information, and more contact names and numbers. Later, she shared her point of view on approaching gatekeepers with me. She said that when she begins talking to people, she shares information with everyone she speaks to about who and what she represents. She is careful to wait until she has a conversation underway before asking, "Who's in charge (of making the particular decision)?" Asking this question upfront can sometime offend people, because they might think she's implying the are not important enough. She also said because she makes sure everyone knows who she is and what she has to offer, that sometimes these gatekeepers will spread the word on her behalf if a need arises.

Before the end of the day, we made similar calls on a couple of other facilities. In these other facilities, she had more established relationships, so she followed up on specific opportunities. We did not go into the O.R., but she said on average she is in surgery a couple of times per week.

Between calls, I had a chance to ask her my 26 questions, and was able to get answers to pretty much all of them. That is more that I can write about in one post, but I promise to write more in the coming days. I learned so much today and can't wait to share.