The World of Marketing Is a New Wild West
You might have noticed a trend in all of those seemingly innocuous Facebook and Instagram ads you see every day: they relate to your recent searches. Marketing companies have been using curated ad campaigns for individuals for a few years now to better serve potential clients. Instead of seeing a random ad for something odd like the best preschool in your neighborhood, marketing algorithms will curate ads specifically for you. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. It’s the new gold mine for sales.
No Followers Allowed; Leading Is The Only Option
Here at ProSellus, we talk a great deal about the life of medical device sales reps, as well as the changing industry with which we have to keep pace. But we also talk about the future. The truth is, the future is now. This article, written by the founder of Shift Thinking, unpacks the reality that technology has catapulted the medical industry into the future.
Not only are we seeing extreme advancements in medical technology, but the way we, as sales reps, can harness data for our own business growth strategies. Again, we work ourselves ragged maintaining and expanding our territories and cultivating relationships. However, in order for us to be the badass, successful reps we know ourselves to be, we have to keep up with, if not anticipate, technological changes and how they sway the market. This also means – yep, you guessed it – we have to adapt our marketing & sales strategies along with this. I don’t mean keeping up with the latest demo of a product or marketing collateral on your mobile device type of advancements – I mean adapting your thinking to outside of the box. It’s not difficult, actually when you get it – it’s a light bulb moment. Keep reading.
What’s With the Sanctimonious Tech Talk?
You might be thinking, “My business runs mostly on relationships and my reputation. I don’t need to keep up with this Pokemon GO crap.” That’s where you’re wrong…again. Pokemon GO utilizes a budding technology in the medical industry: augmented reality. This is similar to virtual reality, but utilizes the user’s current world and adds virtual elements to it.
“…these virtual experiences can be delivery across a variety of platforms: on websites, sales laptops, mobile devices and high-definition touch screen appliances. Sales & Marketing teams can present any time and anywhere…”
The beauty of harnessing augmented and virtual reality technologies for medical sales reps is that you can make your business that much leaner, efficient, and effective.
Embracing Data Can be Quite Simple Actually
3D Technology, other interactive technology, and Big Data also play a vital role in this movement from products and services to mindsets. Changing the way people approach purchasing medical devices requires knowing what the focus of the industry is now: storytelling. Your clients care about things like: their patients, costs, emotional labor, etc. New technologies require new perspectives. Your job is to market these perspectives thereby instigating the correct value proposition which leads to a sale. Can you keep up? There is an entire world of data out there that can help you understand what your customer cares about. How do you access it?
(Let’s take a break here for a second, I need to vent… Data? Really? Me, as a sales rep, am supposed to use Data? Like Google? I Google docs all the time; the results usually leave me with more questions than I originally had. Sure, my company knows how many widgets my doctors implanted or prescribed and that’s helpful, but every time I get data from the Marketing team I can’t read ANY OF IT! Why can’t you get me this “so-called” valuable data in a format that I can actually do something with?!?! We typically just delete it. We don’t use Excel or CSV, especially in the field! It needs to be easy if you want me, or us, to use it. Why is that so hard to understand? Ok. I’m done with my tirade.)
Now, how do you access this data? We can show you how and we have the technology to help. The light bulb went off for me and now we are giving it to you.
Sales Strategy is a Mindset…Time to Giddy Up
Being a medical sales rep is a little like being a cowboy in the wild west: every day is a new adventure. You have to adapt to the unforgiving heat and the cold, cold nights. Technology is your best bet on thriving so says Mark Bonchek:
“…digital innovation and technology is revolutionizing this by equipping Sales & Marketing to create compelling experiences, increase audience engagement, and build credibility and context.”
Technology and data are the key to getting ahead as a sales rep and as a sales manager. What if you could have all of this in your pocket while you were out in the field? If you are ready to transition from cowpoke to bona fide cowboy, email me Scottwalle@prosellus.com. Let’s begin exploring how you can incorporate new technology and metrics to bolster and enhance your medical device sales business.
