Sales – ProSellus

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…

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

The Top 5 Tools for Medical Device Salespeople

No sales rep – medical device or otherwise – can live without their gadgets and tools. From your Android or Apple smartphone to the LinkedIn app, we all have things we use on a daily basis for our life and for work. Of course some of you may still be working using spreadsheets or worse: pen and paper. It’s time to step up your game with these top 5 tools for medical device sales reps.

1. Expense Tracking Tools

Tracking your expenses is a time honored sales rep tradition that, if you let it, can get out of hand very quickly. Instead of stockpiling receipts or tracking it all in your head, consider apps like Expensify.

These not only allow for digital receipt storage, they let you keep track of all of your business expenditures or otherwise. Expensify is free, but it’s pretty bare bones unless you splurge for the $5 or $9/month versions. Zoho Expense also offers a free option that supports multi-currency and features the added safety net of two-factor authentication.

For sales reps working for a small company or large corporation, you might consider Abacus or Freshbooks. But….that’ll cost you anywhere from $9 to $50/month per user for their host of features.

Credit: https://www.iphonetricks.org/iphone-voice-dictation-commands-and-punctuation/

2. Voice Dictation Software

We’ve talked a great deal about the importance of maintaining and cultivating relationships with your clients. Communication is just as big a part of your job as knowing your product and selling techniques. That’s where voice dictation software comes in.

While you can use Apple, Windows, or Google dictation software, they can be limiting or frustrating in the long-term. For a simpler solution, consider Dragon Anywhere from Nuance. This isn’t your average dictation software and it can translate for as long as you can speak.

Not only will you be more hands-free, you will more accurately be able to communicate anywhere at any time.

3. Social Media – Of course!

It’s a fact that sales reps who use social media outperform those who don’t, so why wouldn’t you leverage these treasure troves of connections and information to gain momentum in your territory? LinkedIn is now the gold standard for connecting with prospects, peers and potential customers. Twitter is the way to put your company (or your brand’s) voice out there quickly and seamlessly, with little effort – but you have to be proactive and consistent in order to benefit. Get up to speed on these platforms and you’ll not only make your sales outreach more effective, you’ll be a champ in your organization.

4.Web Conferencing Tools

Giving presentations, product tours and tutorials remotely has gotten much easier over the years. GoToMeeting continues to rule here but upstarts like Join.Me have grabbed some attention.

Google Hangouts is sure to become a sales tool as it enables group video conferencing and robust online conversations that include photo and document sharing.

Assemble a panel of thought leaders and stream the discussion for the world to see or conduct sales presentations one on one and share content right in the stream of the conversation.

5. The ONE tool EVERY Medical Device Sales Rep Needs is…..

The 5th and final tool that all medical device sales reps need is ProSellus. It’s not some dry, mechanical thing designed by people who have never lived the life of a sales rep before. It’s designed by people like me, Scott Walle, and others with more than 50 years of combined sales experience. You want this tool, I promise.

All of us wanted a way to better and more easily monitor and expand our territory, maintain and cultivate relationships, and use the latest sales techniques. Data management and manipulation, sales acceleration, and relationship management are integral parts of the sales process in the 21st century.

Are you getting left behind? Email me at scottwalle@prosellus.com and let’s catch you up.

Sales / Strategy - 11/14/2017

8 Tips to Market Your Sales Business Better

If you’re a medical device sales rep who’s been around the block a time or two, you are always looking for ways to better yourself and your business. Even sales reps who are part of a big company can find small ways to tweak performance for the better.

Start with the basics:

1. Identify, Clarify, & Segment

No one likes a muddled sales pitch. If you can’t communicate your product or services to others, there’s very little chance of you closing any deal. A quick and easy way to streamline your sales process is to cut the fat with three simple steps:

Identify your objective and overall message
Clarify your message and objective
Compartmentalize the message for easy digestion and understanding

These simple steps help to trim any excess fat (words) from your pitch to reduce time wasted. They also facilitate better and more comprehensive understanding on behalf of the client. Time is money, after all, isn’t it?

2. Sell the Benefit Instead of the Comparison

One of the biggest faux pas any sales rep can make is also one of the most common. Newbies to the game will often focus on comparing an old product or service to their new product or service. Now, this can be useful, but it’s an amateurish move.

Instead, focus on the benefits of the new product or service. Forget about the old one; the only one that matters is what you’re selling. Full stop.

3. Content is King

You’ve probably heard this phrase before and thought nothing of it. But if you’re an individual operating your own personal sales business, creating SEO blog content is a fantastic way to boost your ranking and increase visibility.

It doesn’t need to be super in-depth or crazy specific articles. It can be something as simple as explaining a case study or listing your personal tips for closing a deal. Research other thought leaders in your industry. Do what they do. It’s worked for ProSellus and it can work for you.

4. Sell to Customer Needs

This one seems like a no-brainer, but we all need to be reminded of it sometimes. Regardless of the product or service you’re representing, you have to keep client needs in mind.

You can’t sell a new heartbeat monitor to a Podiatrist. But take this one step further: anticipate the needs of your potential or current clients. How could this client best utilize a new product you’ve got? What could it do for their quality of life, their profits, their patients?

Addressing all of these questions will not only make you a better salesperson, but it will help immensely with number 8 on this list.

5. Fail Quickly, But Not Often

Failure is not the end of the world. It’s a necessary tool in order to grow and learn to do better. That said, you can also plan for failure in order to mitigate fallout and decrease recovery time needed.

In terms of marketing, this philosophy goes double. You can’t afford to waste hundreds or thousands of dollars on frivolous marketing ventures that produce zero results. Start with small tests, targeted ads, and specific PPC campaigns. Run them for 2 – 3 months, then measure the results. Do your own A/B split testing using your blog content (since it’s king and all).

Failure is a good thing in small doses. Remember that.

6. Share the Spotlight

Nobody likes a know-it-all, but everyone loves to network. In doing so, you can make connections with manufacturers or other sales reps with more presence than yours. Then, all you have to do is share the spotlight.

Go a guest blog post on their website or vice versa. Go in on a joint project together and collaborate. These connections should NOT go un-leveraged. You can benefit from each other’s audiences and grow together and respectively.

7. Have a Mobile Presence

Everyone practically eats and sleeps with their phones now. Admit it — you do, too. It’s important to maintain some non-digital marketing channels, but your biggest audiences are in the palm of your hand.

Leverage your LinkedIn contacts by posting regular articles or blogs and interacting with other people’s posts. Update your Facebook page. Learn to love and how to smartly use hashtags. Even text messages are a huge tool for marketing. Think about it: 95% of Americans have cell phones. And 98% of their text messages get opened.

That’s a pretty good ROI wouldn’t you say?

8. Build Relationships & Develop a Referral Network

Having a gregarious nature and making friends easily should come natural for all sales reps. You need to develop relationships in order to close deals. The trick to growth is maintaining and further cultivating those relationships. But again: this network should NOT go un-leveraged.

Ask for client referrals or recommendations. Build a network of potential clients based on your current list.

If any of this seems like a foreign concept to you, email me at scottwalle@prosellus.com and let’s enlighten each other. Share the spotlight, remember?

Blog Classic / Sales - 11/07/2017

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

5 Benefits of the “Agile Marketing” Approach for Sales Reps

What is this “agile marketing” thing?

If you’re a marketing professional who is part of a team, you’ve no doubt heard of the phrase “agile marketing” – however if you are in sales, you probably have not. So, what exactly is this buzzword? At its core, agile marketing is a tactical marketing approach in which teams identify and focus their collective efforts on high value projects, complete those projects cooperatively, measure their impact, and then continuously and incrementally improve the results over time. This buzzword took root in the tech startups of Silicon Valley and has gripped almost every industry with its jargon, efficiency, and sticky notes.

Confused? Keep reading.

Photo credit: https://thecyphersagency.com/blog/2016/05/02/learn-to-benefit-from-agile-marketing/

Benefits 1 & 2: Optimization & Improved Targeting

Two of the biggest tenets of the agile marketing philosophy are responding to change and valuing “testing and data” over “opinion and conventions.” That one word “DATA” – is where this approach should make sense to a sales rep. Why? Both marketing and sales have one goal: increased revenue. Revenues are optimized when data is used to make smarter decisions, either with marketing tactics or with sales strategies. Just like a marketer would leverage data to optimize their work, a sales rep would benefit greatly if they were to take their own data and actually USE it to their advantage. When I was in medtech sales, I did this manually – it was long and arduous but it helped shine the light on where my focus should be and always kept me on top of my game.

Pro tip for the sales rep: get your data, form your strategy, test out the strategy, evaluate, pivot, rinse and repeat.

Benefits 3 & 4: Performance & Scaling

Consider a company trying to push a medical device to market. It’s a tough process involving the FDA, premarket requirements, classification…the list goes on. In order to tackle something like this, medtech companies can adopt agile marketing for improved performance and scalability. In addition, a medtech sales rep can adopt the practice of utilizing the data to further hone in on the hottest opportunities for growth and market penetration/retention.

Benefit 5: Efficiency

So let’s recap: agile marketing offers optimization, improved targeting, scalability, and increased performance. The final benefit to agile marketing over old school approaches: efficiency. There are only so many hours in the day, so improvements (even milliseconds) add up. As a result of this, it is in your best interest — as a medtech sales rep (or any sales rep) — to understand this new marketing style and leverage pieces of it to improve your own strategy. You don’t want to fall behind do you?

If you already feel like you are, email me Scottwalle@prosellus.com. Let’s catch you up.

Sales - 10/17/2017

6 Medtech Blogs ALL Sales Reps Should Read

As a seasoned medical device sales rep, you know your general routine. You KNOW that if you don’t keep up every single day, you’ll fall behind even your farthest competitor. You also know, as a badass sales rep, that you always need to be looking for better, faster, more efficient ways to do things. ProSellus shares this philosophy, so we thought we’d save you some time.

Here are the top 6 blogs for medical device sales reps:

Hardware, Medtech, & Gadgets — Oh My!

One of the biggest aspects of being a sales rep is knowing your product. You also need to scout all of the latest advancements in medical technology to find potential new avenues for yourself and your customers. Then, you can leverage these advancements to produce profits and grow your business. But that’s another blog (coming soon…) For now, let’s focus on Medgadget. It’s a key source for all things medtech such as this new device that increases the number of minimally invasive surgery offerings.

Medcity News also offers fantastic coverage of all the latest news in the medical device world. Don’t forget Fierce MedTech with honorable mention to Fierce Pharma (for the pharma folks out there…) either. These discuss bigger implications of innovations and events from data encryption to finances.

Pro-Tip: if you haven’t set up Reader or RSS feed to manage your interests and article sources – do it.

Familiar Faces & Total Newbies

Mass Device shouldn’t be an unfamiliar site for any sales rep who’s been around the block a time or two. If it’s new to you — don’t worry. The world of sales might be a safe space, but the ProSellus blog is designed for pros and newbies alike. Speaking of intersectionality, Informa PLC’s Knect365 is another unique blog site for sales reps. It focuses on a plethora of subjects including the intersection of tech and all things medical (even mental health).

MD+DI from QMed continues this trend with articles like How Artificial Intelligence Could Save Healthcare. They also raise global questions of technological advancement and economic implications. Remember the terms “micro” and “macro” all the way back from high school economics class? Boy do those terms matter even more when you’re an adult.

See a blog you love that’s missing? Leave it in a comment below. Don’t forget to visit our LinkedIn page for more info and thought leadership articles. Another pro-tip: you can always email Scottwalle@prosellus.com if you want to talk shop about medical device sales.

Happy hunting sales reps!

Sales - 10/03/2017

Sales & Marketing 3.0: The Basics + A Few Tricks

In earlier blogs, we detailed Sales and Marketing 101 — the basic stuff. The stuff that everyone already knows (or at least they should…). We also covered several concepts called: Sales Intelligence 3.0. In our next installment of our Sales & Marketing Blog Series, we cover Sales & Marketing 3.0 – what most people think they know about these subjects and a few tricks they probably don’t know.

How do you think you’ll stack up to the competition?

Keep reading to find out.

Do You Remember Sales & Marketing 101?

Reviewing the basics never hurts anyone. Practice makes permanent, after all, and that goes double when it comes to things you do every single day in your career. As we have covered in previous blogs, marketing does matter in sales and vice versa. Increasingly, transparency and relationship building are becoming equally important for both sales and marketing. ProSellus focuses on ways to streamline these basic processes to maximize your effort and minimize your work. Well….as minimal of work as you can do as a medical device sales rep.

Actionable Intelligence Meets a Smile

No one likes to feel like they’re being sold something. No one likes it when they’re just a series of check marks on a target audience checklist. People want to feel listened to and appreciated, as well as intelligent because, let’s face it, your average person is significantly more clued-in these days than you might think.

Consider a buzz-phrase we throw around a reasonable amount at ProSellus: Actionable Intelligence. What is this? It’s the point where data and metrics meet application and results. Essentially, it’s the culmination of sales training and target marketing too. The prep work that the marketing team does in regards to audiences, ads, and brand development crash together with data, statistics, as well as that tried and true “Can Do” attitude from a sales rep. These merge to form the perfect opportunity to close a deal. The tricky part is sifting through data, finding the right market, and honing your message.

Skip the expensive CRM’s or complicated software. The ProSellus Tool puts the power of data in the palm of your hand with ease of use only rivaled by the “easy” button. We’ll be covering more about Sales & Marketing 3.0 in the coming months because we have only scratched the surface for now. Hungry for more? You can always email me, Scottwalle@prosellus.com, if you want to get ahead and empower your hunters with actionable data.

Sales - 09/19/2017

5 Ways to Succeed as a Medical Device Sales Rep

Medical device sales is the Wild West and Game of Thrones combined. The competition is fierce even for the most well-equipped and savvy of reps. The best of the best are always on the lookout for tips, tricks and new strategies to help them up their game and stay on top. ProSellus is dedicated to providing accessible resources for medical device sales reps and improving their sales business. If you are one, let’s see if one of your go-to techniques makes our list of 5 ways to succeed as a medical device sales rep.

Time Management & Value Propositions

The first key to succeeding as a sales rep is crucial: time management. You cannot bounce from meeting to meeting, keep up with emails, read news about medical technology and thought leadership, and look like a boss without it. Pro-tip: watches are great. Setting them to be fast is better. Bonus — remember that old proverb about what “being on time” actually means? Time to redefine your understanding of what “being early” is.

Our second tip is to be completely versed in what a value proposition is and how to implement one. Establishing value for a client is a main part of being a sales rep. If you flounder at this step, you’ll probably (definitely) struggle to become a successful sales rep regardless of industry. For more info on establishing value, check out some of our other blog posts.

Measured Expectations & Balance

You always want to close the deal and convert that competitive customer when you make even the shortest of pitches, but…sometimes even the best sales reps fail. In an industry so heavily focused on profits and numbers, it can be disheartening sometimes to see yourself as just a percentage. Prepare yourself mentally for the negatives or the “no’s”. Another old adage about “missing all the shots you never take” applies here, but you probably already knew that.

Another thing many sales reps forget about is establishing work/life balance. In order to be at your utmost successful level, you need to recharge. You’re no good in a business meeting if you’re running on two hours of sleep in a wrinkled suit (or scrubs) and a far-off look on your face. Whether you miss out on those critical 6 – 8 hours of sleep because of work or “recreation”, you’re setting yourself up for lackluster performance in your chosen career. Be flexible with regards to your clients and schedule, but also with yourself. (Folks, I was guilty of this 100% of the time. I remember burning the candle at both ends with a blowtorch! I would literally end a Friday forgetting that it was Friday. When you’re young in this business you’re expected to hustle in order to make an impact. And don’t kid yourself, you’ll always hustle, but you need to have some sort of balance. I know, I know, sometimes it seems impossible, but no surgeon or physician wants a rep who makes errors because they’ve only slept 10 hours all week! That would be the quickest way to lose business!!!!!)

The Final Way to Succeed in Sales (With or Without Really Trying)

Make good on your word. That’s it. No, really — it is that simple. As a sales representative, your reputation is an integral part of your brand and your business. The minute someone drags your good name through the mud, you could be toast (and not avocado or butter; just burnt). Tired of the crispiness in your life?

Email me at Scottwalle@prosellus.com and let’s see if ProSellus can transform your fire hazard into the ability to control fire.

Sales - 08/21/2017

Sales Acceleration is Your Turnkey Sales & Marketing Strategy…But What Is It?

Turnkey solutions are fantastic for enterprise and small sales businesses. They’re lean, often affordable, and — ideally — extremely effective. ProSellus offers such an all-in-one-tool in the form of a service that combines the capabilities of LinkedIn (hunting) and Salesforce (contact and revenue management). It also utilizes a little known sales strategy that could be the one thing you need to boost your sales numbers and improve your medical device sales business.

Customer Management Meets Inter-connectivity

As a medical device sales rep, if you could do more with leads, you would jump at the opportunity right? As a medical device marketing person what if you could find the hottest opportunities to feed to your reps in a matter of seconds? Sales acceleration offers the unique fusion of customer management with the inter-connectivity of the 21st century. You can house and access client information, manage relationships, find new opportunities in your territory, and more all from the palm of your hand with ProSellus. The trick to sales acceleration: you.

One of the best weapons a sales rep has in their arsenal is their ability to establish value of a product/service based on personal interactions. Establishing a rapport with a client or prospect is just as important as understanding the product/service you are selling. Sales acceleration is a combination of tactics and approaches that utilize your best tool and extrapolate sales skills into actionable intelligence.

One of the best weapons a marketing person has in their arsenal is data intelligence. Having access to valuable healthcare data within an easy-to-acquire solution is a medical device marketing person’s dream. Finally, something that marketing can DO to effectively help sales – find quality leads and fast. No more wide-net fishing.

Don’t Get Bamboozled

Many companies offer sales acceleration tool packages, but at a cost or with confusing and difficult-to-understand interfaces. (Trust me, I’ve been where you guys and girls are. My former companies would provide “great” software platforms that quite frankly my sales counterparts and myself would give up on rather quickly. They were simply un-intuitive and impossible to use.) It’s understandable as the business of sales acceleration has reached more than $12-billion. It’s hard to ignore the numbers — especially when they indicate that you could be doing something better, but you don’t have to spend beau coup bucks to do it. ProSellus offers this turnkey solution right from your mobile device. Imagine it: having all the information you need on-the-go and more organized than any cabinet could ever be.

Optimize or Fall Behind

If you want to learn more about how sales acceleration can improve your sales & marketing business (and I know you do), email me. Scottwalle@prosellus.com. I want to personally help your business grow using my expertise and knowledge of medical sales gained over more than a decade of experience in the industry. So what’s it going to be — are you going to adapt to the modern age or stick with the dinosaurs?

Sales / Sales Acceleration Tools / Strategy - 08/14/2017