Are You Letting Down Your Clients or Costing Yourself Business?
As sales reps, we have to be 10,000% confident, but that can sometimes work against our favor. When we focus so much on being the top seller, we lose focus of our own clients — the people we are supposed to serve. In doing that, we might be eating away at our own customer relationships.
This means that we could cost ourselves business. Or maybe….we already are. But the best way to avoid this is to know what kind of sales rep NOT to be.
Don’t Be Just a Pretty Face
Sales reps often take pride in how we present ourselves: sharp clothes, a great smile — you know the life. While it’s great to stay in shape and take care of yourself, this isn’t enough for your clients.
Healthy teeth don’t explain what the benefits of this new device are to the small practice of a local physician. And designer clothes certainly can’t establish a value proposition for switching from one product to another. You have to know your products AND look the part. Sorry, not sorry; that’s the gig you signed up for when you became a sales rep.
Read the Room
Sometimes, a physician just isn’t interested in what you’re selling. It’s a sad truth (and one that shouldn’t occur often), but it happens, and it always happens more than any of us would like. Many of them will be nice and let you do your whole pitch, just to reject you at the end. That wastes your time AND theirs.
Save both of you the trouble and perform an expert cost/benefit analysis before you commit to pitching something to a new or current client.
Don’t Be a One-Trick Pony
Nobody likes a magician with only one trick. Similarly, while doctors and physicians might like a free lunch or dinner, they generally don’t have the time…oh and did I mention that they are getting entertainment offers from 15 other reps that week as well. Think of it from their perspective: why are they taking time out of their day to listen to your talk if they are only going to walk away with a full belly?
Don’t get me wrong, they take up those offers quite a bit – but is it establishing true connection and loyalty to your business? Did you really show them something over that dinner that changed the way they saw your company or product? In fact, what differentiated you from those other 15 reps?
Free food and drinks doesn’t establish value; it’s only a severely overused tactic to get a foot in the door with a potential client. Establishing true value for a new or potential client requires knowledge, meaningful connection (not just a meal convo), and actionable data. That’s where ProSellus comes in.
Ditch the “I Just Happened to Stop By” Bit
You want to establish a rapport with your clients because it increases the chance of closing a deal, right? Duh. But what you want to avoid is becoming too “buddy buddy”. You are there for business, after all. Trust me, the buddy thing will fizzle once that next rep comes in with that meaningful data and actually shares something that impacts the physician’s’ business.
Beyond that, you really need to avoid things like the “casual” visit. You know the sales rep I’m talking about. “I was just in the neighborhood and…” “I happened to find something just for you….” Any number of phrases to establish context for this random visit to a physician. It can come off as a selfish act that devalues the time of the physician.
Do NOT be that rep.
Got any other medical device sales rep types to avoid? Send them to me Scottwalle@prosellus.com and we will expand our list just for you.
