Today, selling medical devices or drugs requires a wide range of skills, which I identified and discussed in a previous post.
In this post, I’ll discuss the characteristics of modern medical sales, knowing fully well that sales leaders who do not understand the importance of these characteristics will not have a highly performant sales force. And a salesperson who ignores these themes will not be well equipped to tackle their jobs.
Here, I’ll examine some common elements that I consider essential in today’s medical sales for the pharma or medical device business. So ensure you follow along.
The characteristics of modern medical sales:
Customer retention and customer loyalty
I have already treated the topic of customer retention and loyalty. As a salesperson, it is vital to devote considerable resources to retain existing highly strategic customers.
The vital point is to identify key accounts correctly and only then develop effective initiatives to keep these highly profitable customers. As in many other businesses very often 80% of the sales come from 20% of the customers.
Key account management
Strictly related to the previous point comes the key account management philosophy. The key account management approach can be formally designed by the company or it can be implemented by the sales rep in the territory just by following its principles.
In any case, key account management has become an important form of sales organization because it means that the sales organization focuses its efforts on a few key customers.
To develop the highest stage of a commercial relationship, namely the strategic relationship; the company must invest resources into the account in order to reach a win-win status and consequently create high exit barriers.
Customer deletion
Customer deletion is not a very popular topic because nobody wants to lose customers.
However, as discussed in this previous post, not all customers are the same. Some customers contribute greatly to the business’s success, and some might be unprofitable.
The goal of an effective commercial organization is not only to identify the most profitable customers and develop a mutually beneficial relationship but to also identify the unprofitable customers.
For example, this can be some small customers, customers who want to take unfair advantage, untrustworthy customers, or customers having unrealistic expectations actually cost the organization money.
This is because servicing these customers pushes the costs beyond the total revenue generated.
As a solution, the sales force must make decisions and change the ways to service these customers to reduce the costs incurred or in some cases leave them for the competitors.
Use of technology
The modern salesforce needs to be trained in the use of technology needed to aid the sales task e.g. finding customers, using social media to engage with doctors, collecting competitor information, creating disease awareness, etc.
Customers are changing the way they seek information and their buying behavior. Moreover, technology is rapidly evolving offering new possibilities implying the sales force needs to adapt to the new environment.
Once, you could only customize the message according to the customer needs; today new opportunities arise, including communication channels with a mix of face-to-face, virtual, and digital interaction.
Successful reps require tailoring the different communication channels at each step of the buying process to the customers preference.
Bringing extra value to the customer
The modern medical sales rep must have a strong customer-centric approach. The ability to identify and satisfy customer needs is a must-have.
In some situations, customers might have latent needs especially when they don’t even recognize they have a need.
It is the salesperson’s job in such situations to stimulate problem recognition and suggest appropriate solutions.
For example, customers may not realize that they have inefficiency in the reprocessing of reusable flexible endoscopes yet they refuse to consider single-use endoscopes because they think it will increase the cost of the single procedure.
In such a situation, the salesperson’s job is to make customers aware of the reprocessing problem and related hidden costs.
The rep should produce compelling data about all the related costs of the single procedure in the customer account in order to convince customers that they have a need to modernize the endoscopic process.
In doing so, the salesperson will have added value to the customer’s business by reducing costs and creating a win-win situation for the company and the customer.
Customer relationship management
In my opinion, customer relationship management is independent of the tools. CRM is a business strategy that the whole company should implement to manage the interactions with the customers and prospects.
Fundamentally CRM requires a change of focus from short term to long term. The goal of a well-designed CRM is to create a win-win situation with customers so that both parties benefit and continue the relationship.
Problem-solving
Problem-solving and system selling is particularly important in account management where the salesperson works with a healthcare provider like hospitals, clinics, etc.
This approach requires the salesperson to act as a consultant working with different stakeholders to identify problems, determine needs, and propose and implement effective solutions.
This approach is fundamentally different from the traditional view of the medical sales rep who being selfish and pushy persuades the customer to buy and walks away.
Modern medical sales involve much more, for example, multiple calls, the use of multiple stakeholders approach, the development of business cases, and considerable analytical skills.
Further, healthcare providers are increasingly looking for a system solution rather than buying individual products.
Marketing
The modern medical rep must be involved in a much broader range of activities than simply planning visits, making sales presentations, and supporting the booth at congresses.
Indeed, face-to-face presentations can now sometimes be replaced by information provided on web pages giving the customer up-to-date information on many topics more quickly and comprehensively.
The role of the medical salesperson should expand to include the design and participation in downstream marketing activities, such as activities supporting product adoption or penetration.
As well as in upstream marketing such as product development or market development and the segmentation of markets.
In my opinion, medical sales reps should be involved in several tasks that support or complement marketing activities.
Conclusion
These themes are the results of my personal experience in selling to healthcare professionals; some may be more relevant to you than others according to your specific situation.
However, I’m firmly convinced that companies wanting to have highly performing sales organizations should consider them.
I hope you find the examples useful and you will start discussions around how to deliver growth in these ever-evolving times.
What are the characteristics of modern medical sales that you’ll like to add? Let me know in the space below, and if you find this blog useful subscribe and share with others.