ProSellus Archives

Do Millennials Get a Bad Rap?

Can They Make it in the Uber-Competitive Medical Device Industry?

Millennials.

They don’t buy American beer. They don’t play golf. They help others in need. They save more money than their predecessors. They aspire to a work-life balance.

Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but sometimes in the Med Device Industry, there is NO work-life balance.

Gen-Y, the upscale word for “millennials”, is impossible to ignore.

They are the largest population in the U.S. and get bashed, more so than other generations prior. “Millennials” or “Gen-Y” often equates to a slew of words including:

Arrogant
Narcissistic
Entitled

Let’s not forget “selfie”. There’s a constant debate whether these points are true, but what is true, is that millennials make up the majority of the U.S. work force. Which means, it’s just a matter of time before they make up the majority of your sales team, if they don’t already…

By 2025, they’ll make up 75% of it. It’s critical to understand who millennials are and how they think to recruit top talent to the medical device industry.

Which leaves two choices. You can continue to judge millennials, or you can focus on their strengths, of which they have many.

I know, I know… many of you sales managers out there have gotten very accustomed to the sales teams you’ve had in the past that had the mentality of kick a** and take names, but if you don’t embrace this group of up and comers you will find yourself on the outside looking in.

Think about it, these shapers of our culture are all millennials:

Mark Zuckerburg – Creator of FaceBook
Brian Chesky – Founder of Airbnb
Matthew Mullenweg – Creator of WordPress
Jessica Alba – Creator of the Honest Company
Adam D’ Angelo – Founder of Quora

And the list could go on.

There’s a power in not settling for the status quo of how things have been run in previous generations, for not accepting anything but a workplace meritocracy, a stimulating environment where la crème de la crème of ideas win.

Medical Sales is Ideal for the Millennial Lifestyle (to a degree…)

The medical device industry isn’t for everyone. You don’t get to hit snooze three times before dragging yourself to work to clock in at nine, just to stare at the clock for the next eight hours. You must be sharp, have self-motivation to devour the day and bring solutions to your clients, even before they know they need them.

It’s stressful and there’s a high chance of turnover. On the same token, it’s the ultimate meritocracy – a work environment where the talented are chosen and advanced based on achievement.

You can’t fake numbers. You can’t fake cultivating authentic relationships with medical staff. Nor can you fake bringing value to physicians and nurses with the newest technologies on the market that can help them and their patients.

For some, a lucrative and equally competitive industry serves as motivation to push the envelope. The reward is work autonomy, making great money {far more than their peers with the same level of education in other industries} and living an entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Status.
Freedom.
Money.

Who wouldn’t want that?

Not everyone makes it as a medical device sales rep. Most crack under pressure and fail to deliver. But, the ones that do, reap significant rewards.

Do millennials have what it takes to make it in the medical device industry?

Yes! I think they can thrive, as the med device industry is a culture and way of life that parallels what they are looking for in their work.

Here are eight reasons why:

1: THEIR PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES WITH A “FLEX” SCHEDULE

Gen-Y wants to slay the 9-5 mentality.

The argument is: flexible hours increases productivity, incentive and job satisfaction. It’s estimated that in the next decade, the 9-5 approach may be eradicated entirely.

Over 75% of millennials want flexible hours, something that is completely possible in the career of medical sales. Although a demanding industry, you have the power to dictate your hours. In fact, medical sales reps admit flexibility is one of the highest perks of their career.

You may have to get up at 5am and work throughout the day – on and off – until midnight, but the work autonomy is worth its weight in gold. You can make that yoga class and carve out time to catch up with an old friend over lunch.

Millennials know not to take work autonomy for granted, they know it’s okay for the lines that divide “life” and “work” to blend, and they feel comfortable when it happens because it’s up to their disposal when to shift from work back to personal time.

2: THEY SUFFER FROM WANDERLUST & TRAVELING A TERRITORY IS PART OF THE MEDICAL DEVICE INDUSTRY

As I’ve mentioned, millennials are allergic to cubicles, in fact, they travel more than any other generation. I’m kind of jealous to be honest…

Coincidentally, travel is fundamental in the medical device industry. Being out in the field is more common than being in the office. Truth be told, in all my years in the device business I don’t think I really had a ‘real’ office. The office is more of a place to check back in than to get the weight of your work done.

Traveling is inevitable in the medical device industry, especially if you want to be a top performer.

The numbers speak for themselves, the more a medical sales rep travels, the more they make. The highest earning medical sales reps travel 75% of the time.

Whether it’s visiting local hospitals and doctor’s offices – or hopping on a plane to meet a client five states over – it’s not stagnant work. Reps can dictate how much they want to travel, ultimately finding their specific balance between “income” and being present at home with their families.

3: MONEY MATTERS, BUT HAPPINESS TAKES THE CAKE

Millennials need money. They want money. To pay bills. To travel. To buy organic food.

This is great, because the medical device industry is a lucrative field. A sales rep can earn $100,000 on average, and there are many that make far more than that.

Millennials value happiness more than money. We’ve all said we would “cut back on work” to be home more and value our happiness, but these people LIVE by that thought process.

Nearly 80% of millennials would rather enjoy what they do than receive a heftier paycheck. And in the realm of work, happiness and enjoyment comes in the form of work-life balance. When millennials have work-life balance, they feel satisfied.

When millennials feel satisfied, they are productive and innovative.

This also aligns with the industry, because the power of this industry is that you can control your input. You dictate your own equation of what work-life balance looks like to you.

What a medical device rep gets out is what they put in, it’s an entrepreneurial way of life.

If they want to work 18 hours a day for that fatter paycheck, it’s within their control and it’s their decision. They get to decide their individual balance that fosters their happiness.

4: THEY WANT TO MAKE AN IMPACT & CAN DO SO BY ADVANCING IN THE MEDICAL WORLD

Making an impact.

It made number 3 on the reasons why medical sales reps enjoy their work.

It’s also a top outcome that millennials desire from their work.

In the medical device industry, they can make an impact by allowing patients access to better technology for their treatments, from patients suffering from a headache to those suffering from stage four cancer, and all patients in between.

Medical sales reps believe in the products they represent because they:

Millennials want to make an impact and they can do so through the products and expertise they offer physicians.

Gen-Y wants to feel as if they have a purpose in the cutting edge, as well as give back. They want to know and feel that what they are doing matters in the world and is bettering at least one person.

What better way to do so than with medical technology?

5: THEY THOROUGHLY ENJOY COLLABORATING

Millennials are seeking out workplaces that honor collaboration. It’s on their list of top ten things they want in a work environment.

The medical device industry is built on collaboration with leading physicians, surgeons and nurses of all specialties. These medical leaders and medical sales reps are ultimately working together to improve the patient experience, surgery, etc.

In many sales and clinical positions in med device today, the reps play a critical role and are looked at as “part of the team” when treating patients. How about that for collaboration?

It’s about meeting with leading medical professionals and figuring out a way to enhance their practices and what they offer. It’s being part of a team that is offering cutting-edge equipment to progress the medical world.

6: THEY FOSTER WORK RELATIONSHIPS

It’s no coincidence that medical sales reps report that the relationships they cultivate with their clients and with the patients they serve is the number one reason they love what they do.

The need for relationships is in our DNA.

Millennials know the power of authenticity when it comes to working relationships. They won’t just take your material product and go sell it door to door at physician’s offices. Millennials are more likely to sell your mission and to believe in the product they are offering their customers.

Product knowledge and being informed prior to a purchase is key to Gen-Y. They will know your product, they will be prepared to answer any questions from potential prospects, not in an aggressive “greasy sales guy” type of way, but in an “I’m offering your practice value” way.

Millennials put the spotlight on people, not the cut on commission that is going to hit their account. Trust me, when it’s the other way around, meaning commission is first on your mind, it’s obvious to your customer and a big turn off to them.

The authenticity millenials cultivate in their working relationships and friendships has shown to increase their productivity.

It’s this type of mindset that leads to excelling in the medical device industry.

7: THEY WELCOME FEEDBACK FROM THEIR HIGHER UPS

As a medical sales rep, your manager will always give you feedback to how you are ranking in your territory.

This constant flux of feedback drives millennials to give their absolute best. Don’t confuse feedback for admiration, that’s not what it’s about. Gen-Y wants to keep tabs on the score, they want to know how they are doing and how to improve. Over 70% of millennials are satisfied with their work when they receive frequent feedback.

SALES MANAGERS! WE’RE TALKING DIRECTLY TO YOU: WHEN WE SAY FEEDBACK, WE’RE NOT TALKING MICRO-MANAGEMENT OR BELITTLING. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BEING A LEADER, A COACH, A MENTOR. MILLENNIALS ARE VERY COACH-ABLE.

What I mean is, Gen-Y is loyal to a place of work where a sense of rapport exists enough that there is that open sense of communication and transparency.

In medical sales, you won’t always see your boss in the office, it’s heavily built on text and email communication – because of the distance between management and sales reps. This e-feedback works for millennials as they are accustomed to check in and reply via text and email.

8: THEY HAVE TECHNOLOGICAL PROWESS & THEY KNOW THE POWER IT HOLDS

Millennials adapt to new technology twice as fast as others. That comes as little surprise, as they grew up with technology at their (literal) fingertips. They also know that data doesn’t lie. Selling to them is a science, with a specific working equation, evident in data.

Gen-Y knows that most emails are read at a specific time, under a specific word count, with a specific subject line and format to the message. The point is, they follow the research trends and apply what works to prospective leads – they aren’t picking processes out of a hat.

Before meeting with a potential customer, a millennial has seen their LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Quora, etc. and understands their personal vibe and philosophy.

Any millennial knows that before meeting with a client, the prospect has also checked them out online as well as the product they are interested in. And they’re right, greater than 50% of a prospective clients decision is made by hopping on google and scoping out the scene, before a face-to-face meeting.

Millennials understand the power of branding LinkedIn and Twitter consistently to further drive the value that they offer in terms of what they do and why they do it. Selling themselves socially comes as second nature to Gen-Y.

In the medical device industry, a physician has checked out the company, rep and whatever research there is on the new device, before the rep appears at their office with a suitcase and a dozen bagels.

It helps to have a consistently branded social media stream, as it strengthens first impressions even prior to the first face-to-face meeting. Social Media and information doesn’t intimidate Gen-Y. It’s clear that they use their technological savvy to their advantage.

The bottom line is this: all the tools you’ve been trying to get your reps to use for years… millennials will use them, but only if they are valuable to their business.

They understand data and crave more of it, but in the fast-paced world of med device, the company needs to catch up to the millennials. Companies cannot continue delivering data and expecting data in old, dinosaur-esque files like Excel and CSV.

Those tools are fine if you spend 90% of your work time behind a desk, but that isn’t the reality for most of your reps.

THE TAKEAWAY? URGE MILLENNIALS TO GET ON BOARD

Foster a work environment that appeals to the millennial mindset and they will be inspired to offer priceless ideas that can take your operation to the next level.

If you can offer Gen-Y the opportunity to make an impact, to find a sense of purpose, reasonable pay and the freedom for them find a healthy work-life balance, then you are on your way to attracting top millennial talent and thought leaders.

Talent that wants to live and experience the best of life, as well as create something impactful in their specific industry.

Loyalty is something that will have to be earned with Gen-Y, it isn’t accepted at face value.

How will you earn their loyalty at your company?

What are you or your company doing to create an environment for millennials to not just survive but THRIVE? Is there a way to merge the “old school” way of doing things with the analytical mind of the millennial?

If you are at a loss for answers, email me at scottwalle@prosellus.com and let’s talk about how ProSellus can help your team EMBRACE and EMPOWER the millennial generation.

Thought Leadership - 01/16/2018

sales-acceleration-software-e1456244475698

Your Sales Acceleration Formula: Pt. 1

ProSellus Debuts “The Sales Acceleration Formula…Part One”

We mentioned last month that we would be debuting a two part blog series on the ultimate sales acceleration formula. Since we are growth engineers of our word, we have the first part of the sales acceleration formula right here, right now.

Are you ready to hack your sales strategies?

Part One: Know Your Audience Like You Know Yourself

This may sound like a fluff phrase, but seriously: it’s one of the biggest parts of the sales acceleration formula. You cannot get to part two and part three without it. Period. So, how do we execute part one? You need contacts.

One of the biggest tenets of sales acceleration is having well-maintained and solid customer relationships. Now, if you are scratching your head at this, let’s recap some of our other blogs on how sales acceleration works.

Cultivate Relationships Based on Need & Demand

You might remember from one of your intro business classes the term “value proposition.” It is how you establish value in your sales pitches to customers. Of course, I’m tweaking the definition just a bit because I’m focused on medical device sales. But you get the idea.

As we have covered before, establishing value for repeat customers requires a deft hand and an open ear. You can’t just go in there throwing around free dinners and boring presentations. People don’t respond to traditional sales pitches like they used to. You have to establish REAL value by establishing a relationship first.

In an effort to increase the success rate of your customer relationship attempts, check out this blog on the type of sales rep NOT to be. People can debate all day long about the kind of sales rep you SHOULD be. But I’ve found that it is much easier to know what tactics and behaviors to avoid instead.

So, What’s the Trick? Where’s the “Easy Button”?

The “trick” to managing customer relationships isn’t really a trick either (by the way). You can build a referral network simply by being actively engaged in the lives and well-being of your customers.

One physician customer is overloaded with patients (or more realistically, doesn’t have enough patients). Do you know someone who can help? Do you know physicians that can either help with the overload or more importantly send patients to your customer? Make a recommendation. Set up a dinner, lunch or happy hour and watch your value increase 10x. You can leverage your contacts to further your success.

Try to avoid getting caught up in just the features and benefits of your products. Physicians can read; they know the features and benefits of all the products. Listen to what they NEED.

That’s what sales is about!

It might take an extra five minutes on a call or a few texts or emails here and there. But investing in your customers and the well-being of their patients means that they will invest in your medical device sales business. True Story.

More to Come….Stay Tuned

This is merely part one in a series of three parts to this sales acceleration formula. Parts two and three will be coming down the pipeline in the coming months. But if you are hungry for more now (which…if you are a sales rep always trying to dominate your market, you are always hungry), email me.

I’m available at Scottwalle@prosellus.com anytime for questions on sales acceleration, sales enablement, and our all-in-one tool for sales reps designed by sales reps.

Business / Sales Acceleration Tools / Strategy - 01/03/2018

Newly Launched “Desktop” Dashboard & Management Module for Sales Teams

ProSellus originally aimed our product at medical device sales reps, whether you were an independent rep or working for a large corporation. Being a veteran sales rep myself, I wanted to design a product for a vastly underserved market, the actual salespeople. In our last blog we covered why sales people loathe CRMs so much, so if you need a primer on why and how ProSellus came to be, there ya go!

While planning and developing our new functions and features, we wanted to expand our audience from individuals to teams and businesses. Every salesperson should have access to a tool specifically designed for their success, don’t you think? (And quite frankly, the big box CRM’s don’t really “fit” this market…)

From the Palm of Your Hand Right to Your Desktop

The best part of our desktop version: you can access ALL of the features from our original mobile app + streamlined analytics and reporting!

While it is helpful for your average sales rep to have a powerful all-in-one tool on-the-go, integration is the name of the game in 2018. With the added capability to track your individual territory or your entire team on a desktop, you can more aggressively approach new areas with a more strategic mindset.

The move to cross-platform also informs our expansion to include the “management module” for sales teams and their leaders.

The Best of CRMs, Social Media, & Data Management

One of the biggest headaches I had as a sales rep was how many damn programs and tools I needed on a daily basis. Even as part of a team, I had to use upwards of 10 things a day to track sales, project new sales, connect with clients, etc. (It was a nightmare!)

Interestingly enough, I spoke to a large biotech company just last week that used FIVE (yes FIVE) different software tools to do the following:

1) Track interactions with customers

2) Find new customers

3) Schedule (Calendar) events

4) Record & Track Revenue

5) Have Marketing Information or Clinical Cheat Sheets available and viewable

Seriously, why would you use and pay for FIVE tools when you can do all with just ONE?

The management dashboard of our ProSellus sales enablement tool employs everything from our base model, along with several additions:

Network views
Tracking team quotas, sales forecasts, and actuals on a month-month basis every year
Productivity tracking
Custom reporting (finally!)
Access to data to find the right physicians at the right time
Organization of and access to valuable relationship information

This is just a short list off the top of my head. Custom reporting has to be one of the most exciting parts though. No need to sift through mountains of data, spreadsheets, or sales reports. You can pull it up with a few quick clicks or short swipes.

Interest in a more in-depth demo? Email Scottwalle@ProSellus.com and let’s talk all things medical device sales. Or we can just complain about CRMs some more…

P.S.: Coming soon (like… real soon)

Phone Integration… (Full utilization + Call, email, and text from the app)
Calendar Incorporation…
Actual and Scheduled Revenue including PO Management and much more…

CRMs / ProSellus / Sales Acceleration Tools - 12/12/2017

5 Reasons Why Salespeople Hate CRMs So Much

Why Do Salespeople Hate CRMs So Much?

CRMs (aka customer relationship management) is an integral part of any salesperson’s job, even though lots of us don’t think of it as a process or “something we do….”. After all, if you don’t maintain a relationship with your clients, you can’t close deals, you can’t build a referral network. Guess what? None of this happens – you are out of a job…

Most CRMs such as Salesforce, Zoho, or Insightly might work for some industries or marketing teams, and they are very effective for the job they are intended to do. But for field-based, always-on-the-go salespeople? It’s a totally different ball game. It isn’t even the same sport.

That’s why there are five reasons why salespeople hate CRMs.

Oh, and take it from me, as a former device salesperson, we had to limit to five. For many of my former colleagues as well as the sales reps I don’t know personally, the list doesn’t stop at five. If we missed your reason, let us know in the comments!

Reason #1: It’s Time-Consuming As All Get Out

Well, I don’t need to tell you how annoying and time consuming it is to fill in up to 98 required fields before moving on to a new task. 95 of those 98 required fields have absolutely nothing to do with the “relationship”.

When you have meetings all day, new products and services to learn inside and out, and any kind of personal life, data entry is not high on the list of priorities.

Data entry isn’t even on the list! Selling is top priority period.

image of George Orwell's Big Brother from 1984 for ProSellus blog 5 Reasons Why Salespeople Hate CRMs So Much

Getty Images/Larry Ellis

Reason #2: The “Big Brother” Effect

If working as a part of a team, CRMs are often used as a resource management system. But, salespeople with managers can often feel the “Big Brother” effect – that they are being unduly spied on or monitored. This can affect morale and performance in detrimental ways that can hinder overall career progress.

But let’s go ahead and totally unpack this. WHY is this a concern? And, let me be transparent, I was definitely one of those people.

I would say to myself, “I’ve worked here “X” number of years; I’ve won every award there is to win. Why on Earth do I need to fill out these 98 required fields?”

If my employer at the time had given me something that allowed me to collect beneficial information or streamlined workflows, I would have used it. I wouldn’t care if someone from corporate was looking at it if, at the end of the day, it helped me do my job better. But….it didn’t.

So, like receipts I don’t need and so many lost pens….to the floorboard of my car you go CRM!

P.S. This issue relates to reason #5 on this list.

Reason #3: I Shouldn’t Have to Share Information I Don’t Need To Share

Whether it’s because the size of the sale doesn’t necessitate the full gamut of info or the sales rep being protective of their leads, CRMs force information sharing. As Yesware contends, some companies even go so far as to claim that, because the sales rep is using software paid for by the company, the contact “belongs” to them.

Not only is that a flawed concept, it strips a sales rep of the “agency being” a sales rep requires.

While collaborative work environments are great for some jobs, sales is all about closing deals and making relationships. If someone on your team has competing goals with you, information becomes your biggest commodity.

After all, having information and knowledge is the same as having power. Right? The person who holds both, holds the cards in a given geography. It’s their leverage, right?

That’s one of the biggest reasons why CRMs fail salespeople: you can’t harness the power of the information in a substantial and practical way.

Reason #4: Forecasting Inaccuracies

This is a huge deal breaker for sales reps. Forecasting is essential to our line of work. Without tools to accurately project sales numbers, we can’t plan ahead. We can’t do our jobs.

But what’s worse — not being able to make sales projections or making INACCURATE sales projections? Arguably, incorrect forecasts are more harmful than a lack of them. Most CRMs use a linear function to predict the “Probability To Close”, as David Brock points out. This is flat out wrong.

The big box CRM wants me, the healthcare salesperson, to attach a percent probability of closing a “deal” as a result of the “step” of the selling process I’m in with the physician?

If I sold capital equipment or one-time deals, this would work, but these physicians do cases every day! This process makes NO SENSE in my line of work…So, tell me again how I am supposed to “forecast” appropriately when the software you give me doesn’t make sense for my industry?

Second or third meetings don’t guarantee a close just like current clients won’t buy everything you pitch them. But, all of these reasons are just symptoms of a greater cause. That’s reason #5.

Reason #5: Square Pegs Can’t Fill Round Holes

CRMs were not designed for field sales reps. Period.

They are rarely user-friendly (more like never user-friendly), requiring demo session after demo session after demo session. You know the drill.

Your eyes get glazed and everyone on the call is falling asleep, saying to themselves, “I have no idea what these people are talking about. This is supposed to help me? Sound more like torture…” It all becomes another “let me just ‘check’ the box and move forward type thing.”

Combined with forecast inaccuracies, this can make any sales reps’ job and life 10,000% more difficult. This tool is supposed to make a sales rep’s job easier. So what’s the solution?

While some would suggest that it is just a matter of perspective, it’s 2017. We don’t have to settle for subpar and dated sales tech that never worked for us in the first place.

No CRMs Needed; ProSellus Growth Engineers Can Streamline Your Business

Don’t dive into confusing and overwhelming CRMs like Salesforce and a whole host of others. Here’s the big “secret”: you don’t need a CRM to maximize your success as a medical device sales rep. Maybe you need something that was actually designed FOR you by people LIKE you.

I say this with love: it is time to step away from the spreadsheet and come into the digital age.

Noted sales guru Geoffrey James said this in 2008: “If CRMs actually made it easier to sell, sales pros would be clamoring for it.” ProSellus is exactly the tool healthcare sales reps need to ditch the CRM forever. Not only does it combine the data management aspect of CRMs, it can track your territory, help you keep in touch with current clients, connect with new prospects.find the physicians you need to be talking to — the works. It’s a healthcare data “brain” with CRM features.

Interested in learning more? Email me at Scottwalle@ProSellus.com. Say goodbye to CRM and spreadsheets and hello to your all-in-one sales enablement tool. And lastly, for entertainment purposes, feel free to reply with your, “Top 5 Reasons for Hating CRM’s”. I’d love to hear them!

CRMs / ProSellus / Sales - 12/05/2017

Medical physician doctor woman over blue clinic background.

How Does Thought Leadership Work in Medical Device Sales?

What Makes A Thought Leader in the Medical Device Sales Industry?

Becoming a thought leader — regardless of industry — can be a tricky path to walk. You can’t just say what works for your brand and your business or practice. You have to consider the grander industry at-large, too.

Specifically in medical device sales, there are a few ways in which you can incorporate thought leadership into your current processes and shift your focus from micro to macro.

Start With Your Motivations

Photo Credit: https://www.ted.com/topics/motivation

We all want to be the best medical sales rep out there. Putting up strong numbers. Closing the most deals (aka ALL of them). Building the most robust relationships over a large territory. But becoming a thought leader requires a complete shift in focus and motivation.

Instead of considering the best ways to increase YOUR numbers, you have to think about how all sales reps can improve. Similarly, if you want to establish your voice as a “North Star” of medical device sales, you have to remove a bit of yourself from the message you want to convey.

But not too much; Steve Jobs didn’t become Steve Jobs by watering down his ambition and vision. Of course, people don’t respond too well to unfiltered and unfettered greed. That’s where item number two on the list comes into play.

Think About the “Ripple Effect”

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That’s one of the laws of physics, but it also applies to thought leadership strategies. If you interact with a fellow sales rep in a negative way, they might carry that energy into their next sales meeting. It could cost them a client.

This might not affect you, but if you are looking to become a leading voice in medical device sales, you NEED to care about how your actions affect others. Ultimately, your attitude and tone mean just as much as the words you use or the overall message you impart to other people in the industry.

How to Get People On Board

The biggest challenges for someone transitioning into thought leadership in medical device sales are visibility and engagement. Though normal brands struggle with getting enough shares on LinkedIn, thought leaders need even bigger ROIs to make the kinds of impact necessary.

When we here at ProSellus started seriously positioning ourselves as thought leaders, we didn’t want to half-ass it. We pushed ourselves with a robust content schedule, researching topics and articles, interviewing our own customers and talking to other sales reps in the industry. We knew it would take time to build up clout, but we can now say that we are — definitively — one of the top healthcare startups with a distinct voice and message.

I always close every blog telling people that they can email me, Scottwalle@prosellus.com, at any time with their questions. I mean that. One of the most important factors in the ProSellus journey to thought leadership has been our connection with medical device sales reps and professionals. We live and breathe the message of our brand and the services we offer, too.

Thought Leadership isn’t quite the opposite of business success; it just takes into account the “human” factor that we so often forget in our numbers-driven industry.

Thought Leadership - 11/29/2017

Dear Physicians, We Can Do Better

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.

Sales / Thought Leadership - 10/31/2017

Is There a Sales Acceleration Formula?

Is There REALLY a Holy Grail for Sales Techniques?

As early as 2014, sales acceleration generated buzz in the sales world. Many people thought it was yet another scam and fly-by-night concept. But others saw the potential in the fledgling sales strategy.

We have discussed sales acceleration here at ProSellus a few times. It’s a must-have all-in-one technique for any and every sales rep. But it requires the right tools and attitude (doesn’t everything?). It could be your “Holy Grail”, but only if you know which cup to look for — just like Indiana Jones.

One Size Fits Most….Right?

Mark Roberge penned the book “The Sales Acceleration Formula”. Fun fact: he also got his very own Google Talk thanks to this little book.

Roberge details how to go from $0 dollars to $100-million USD by using sales acceleration, data interpretation, and technology leverage. The former Hubspot Chief Revenue Officer elaborated on a few key facets of sales acceleration including the following:

Value of role-playing
Buyer experience
Effectiveness of competitive contests
New-hire onboarding

Along with a few other concepts, these lessons from Roberge’s philosophy translated very well into corporate and large company settings. And, truly, the profits of sales acceleration technology and software are in the billions now.

But does Hubspot’s Holy Grail work for your individual or small medical device sales business? Would it work better if there was a holy grail built specifically for your industry?

No Code Necessary: How to Hack Sales

A “One Size Fits All” approach is the antithesis of sales acceleration. What are some of the keys to developing value for customers? Connection, relatability, accessibility, and usability. So those facets of sales acceleration that work for Hubspot won’t necessarily work for your everyday medical device sales representative.

How do you translate these lucrative sales techniques into something tangible that works for YOU? Simple: you hack it with sales acceleration that works for your business specifically.

If you want faster sales cycles, bigger deals, increased revenue, and higher close rates, you need sales acceleration. But you can’t spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on software and data interpretation tools in order to do that.

That’s where ProSellus comes in. Our all-in-one data management and sales acceleration tool works right from your tablet or desktop when you need it. Connect with physicians, build networks based on specific healthcare data (aka knowledge!), manage your territory, explore new information and review old information; the works.

While we’ll be revealing more of the sales acceleration formula in November, you can always email me Scottwalle@Prosellus.com with any questions. I can teach you how to hack without a computer.

ProSellus / Sales Acceleration Tools - 10/24/2017

Handshake-business-deal-agreement-working-together-sales-rep-challenger-large

Relationship Management Basics for Sales Reps

As a sales rep, you know that your reputation revolves around your relationships with your clients, your industry contacts, your peers, and pretty much everyone you meet….ever. As a result, relationship management is one of the five keys to success as a medical device sales rep. So what are the basics?

ProSellus is on the case.

Keeping Up With the Ka-Social Platforms

No Kardashians this time around, but there’s plenty of Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. While some contacts are best left in your phonebook on your smart phone or in your Gmail account, others belong on the web, too.

You can work wonders on LinkedIn regarding networking and territory scouting/expansion. You can test out different pitch techniques with Facebook ads. Some of your clients might even be into Snapchat.

Use at your own risk kids.

Temperature Checks & Small Gestures

We’ve previously covered how establishing relationships can establish value. We even put together a handy list of the top 4 ways to establish value for clients. All of these revolve around relationship management.

Learning to pick up on nonverbal communication or incorporating small gestures into your routine with clients can instantly perk up any lackluster contact. Does one doctor really love Star Wars? Make a reference at your next meeting. See if you can parlay that into a discussion about that new medical device you just learned about. Even doctors are starting to do it with trust and transparency, changing ROI into IOR: “impact of relationships”.

Checking the temperature of your relationships seems like a pain, but it’s like tending a garden or doing the dishes. In order to set yourself up for success (i.e. a good harvest or a clean sink), you have to put in the work.

Some of you might have noticed that I said this is just one of five keys to success. Want to know more? Email me Scottwalle@prosellus.com.

Otherwise you’ll have to wait until we publish the second key next month.

Thought Leadership - 10/10/2017

How Can ProSellus Revolutionize your Healthcare Business?

If you are in healthcare sales, you might want to learn about ProSellus. If you aren’t familiar with the services that the ProSellus CRM offers, we can fix that right now. Spoiler alert: we talk the talk AND walk the walk, especially when it comes to healthcare sales and marketing.

Healthcare Data & Territory Management

Data and territory management are crucial for a healthcare rep. If you start losing track of your territory, you might as well pack it up and choose a new career. It’s a rep-eat-rep (or dog-eat-dog, whichever you prefer) world out there, so you have to think 12 steps ahead of everyone else. Luckily for you, the ProSellus CRM can help you do just that. Think of our tool as LinkedIn meets Salesforce with the ease of use of your favorite smartphone app – it hunts leads, makes connections and tracks sales activity & performance all in one mobile device – and is simple simple simple to use.. Whether you’re a lone wolf or part of a sales team, a streamlined data and territory management tool – that isn’t clunky and complicated – for sales reps is a bit of a unicorn.

Relationship Building, Management, & Leverage

Your physician customers are your gateways to success or your path to ruin. Establishing value of your product matters, but so does establishing a connection. In our previous blogs, we’ve talked about how to create a win/win environment for yourself and your physician. If there is a higher chance of the cost/benefit analysis weighing in the physician’s favor, you’re more likely to close the deal. On the flip side, you also have a higher chance of success if you’ve established a relationship with the physician by creating/providing value.

On top of that, you can leverage that physician’s professional network using an advanced sales technique known as sales acceleration. If you’re drawing blanks when we mention the term “sales acceleration”, you should do some reading on our blog. You might just learn a thing or two! We are giving away many secrets that will make any healthcare sales organization bust through the competitive ceiling. Let’s put it this way: if you had healthcare data built inside your CRM that delivered key intelligence for you to accelerate deals – would you use it?

Portability, Versatility, & Organization

In today’s exceedingly busy world, you have to do ten things at once, on one leg, while dribbling a basketball. Being able to tackle things on-the-go is paramount for a healthcare sales rep. Not only that, you have to be able to stay organized easily. If it takes you hours and hours to sift through information or data, that’s not very useful, is it? Time is money, reputation, and a precious few hours of sleep. But if you stay hungry, ProSellus can do more than put food on your metaphorical table; it will help you make a feast in no time.

Curious for more? Email me, Scottwalle@prosellus.com, and let’s talk all things healthcare sales. I can’t wait to see how ProSellus can transform your business. Pro-tip: individuals in healthcare sales, small healthcare businesses, or enterprise level healthcare companies can apply. We pride ourselves on accessibility (another important factor in establishing value and relationships).

Before you move onto your next big deal, do me a favor and ask yourself one thing: what are my goals for 2018? What about 2020? Think BIG. ProSellus is too!!!

ProSellus - 09/26/2017

Houston Heavy Hitters in Business Development

ProSellus is a toddler now in the startup world, but is still very much finding its niche. We have expanded our focus to be ProSellus Growth Engineers who offer insight, data management, relationship management, territory management, and advanced sales & marketing techniques. Those advanced techniques encompass sales acceleration guidance and oh yea, a tool for your current Tech Stack. Beyond that, we have a few more tricks up our sleeve. So you can imagine why the Redhouse Associates and ProSellus partnership still feels like yesterday.

Pioneers Together

As you know, ProSellus is one of the fastest growing healthcare technology startups in Houston. As such, we consider ourselves pioneers in our field for the medical device industry. The ProSellus Tool combines the networking aspect of a social media platform with the customer and data management features of a CRM. Oh, and all of it is available in the palm of your hand.

Redhouse Associates works on business development, providing solutions for business plans, product strategies, growth, investor interaction and more. This is one partnership fit that might be better than your favorite pair of sneakers. With their acumen and our tool, we founded our partnership in March of 2017 and looked forward to the heights we would reach together.

As we move from the last part of Q3 and into Q4 of 2017, many are asking, “What’s next for the fastest growing healthcare startup in Houston?” For that answer, you’ll have to check our blog in October! We have some big things coming down the pipeline — you won’t want to miss them! As always, you can email me, Scottwalle@prosellus.com, for more information or to swap sales battles stories any time.

ProSellus - 09/12/2017