Blog

26Aug 2022 by cesare ferrari

Why Are R&D Engineers Not Spending Time With Their Future Customers?

I'm deeply convinced that it's essential for R&D engineers and medical device customers like surgeons, nurses, and other HCPs to interact closely. If you'd like to know how I arrived at this conclusion, you'll only need to continue reading; perhaps you too will see reasons with me. I realized that today it is almost impossible to find someone who insists that close contact between medical device users and R&D staff is unnecessary. However, I've often wondered, "why then are R&D engineers not spending time with their future customers?" Although I still don't know the answer to this question, I will try to explain why R&D staff should visit customers in today's post. And what they should know beforehand. A MedTech Anecdote When I joined Medtronic, a colleague told me…

18Jul 2022 by cesare ferrari

4 Posts About MedTech Sales for Your Summer Holidays

Sales

It’s time for summer holidays, a chance to take some much-needed time on the beach or on the mountain with family and friends. This is the last post before my usual annual summer break, and I wanted to share four posts on MedTech sales that I consider relevant for every MedTech professionals. I will return to your inbox in August. Until then, enjoy this content. 4 Essential MedTech Sales Posts In my professional life, I found out that Marketing and Sales conflicts, are more the norms than the exception. Some tension between the 2 departments is normal but poor alignment between Marketing and Sales is deleterious and reduces the company’s performance. This post explores this hot topic and provides practical advice to increase integration between marketing and sales. Defining a…

28Jun 2022 by cesare ferrari

The Customer Is NOT Always Right!

Other, Sales

"The customer is NOT always right;" does that surprise you? The "customer is king" and "the customer is always right" are two well known sentences that are frequently used in the business community and not only. Although I have maximum respect for customers and advocate for customer centricity, customer focus, etc., I do not believe that the customer is always right and should always be treated like a king. Many think that the customer is, or should be the king and that the customer is always right in the business relationship. Some people in the medical device business consider surgeons as GOD, not just the KING. In the next paragraphs, I'll explain where these ideas come from and how they influence our business relationships. Furthermore, I'll touch on the risks…

17Jun 2022 by cesare ferrari

6 Ways To Keep Your Medical Device Distributor Engaged And Selling For You

Sales

As mentioned in this post, I think medical device distributors are not commodities; on the contrary, they are key assets on which a company's profitability is built, and this is the essence of medical device distributor management. For a medical device manufacturer, finding a valuable partner could be a challenge; it requires a rigorous process and a bit of luck. However, once you've found the right partner to sell your products in the assigned market, the job has just started; your next concern is how to keep the distributor engaged and selling your products. Well, that's the topic of this post. Below I've listed 6 ways to keep your distributor engaged and selling for you. #1 Focus on your most valuable distributors Develop a classification of your distributors based on…

03Jun 2022 by cesare ferrari

How To Qualify Sales Leads Pt2

Sales

Welcome back!!! If you have read my previous post, by now, you should have clear ideas about what a qualified sales lead is and the different tools available for sales lead qualification. In this second part, I will describe sales lead qualification (using BANT as a framework), and the sales rep's activities to qualify or disqualify the leads. Qualifying questions For proper sales leads qualification, you need to have a well-developed list of qualifying questions. These questions should help to obtain useful information to move the lead to the next stage of the sales funnel. I'd like to clarify that I'm not a fan of scoring systems where the sales rep has to rate, for example, from 0 to 5 the answer obtained. In my opinion, it is often too…

22May 2022 by cesare ferrari

How To Qualify Sales Leads Pt1

Sales

Suppose you want to grow your business as a medical device distributor or as a sales rep; you need to have a predictable sales pipeline. Likewise, if you are working in marketing or sales for a medical device company, one of your goals is to help your sales force build a strong pipeline. In my years in Medtech, I found out that Sales Lead Qualification is a vital process companies should use to determine which prospects are the best sales targets and is a critical part of a well-constructed sales strategy. Unfortunately, not everyone who expresses interest in your product or service is ready to purchase or will eventually purchase your product. In my opinion, lead qualification is a step that many sales organizations fail to perform effectively in the…

07May 2022 by cesare ferrari

Why Customer Centricity Is More Than Having A CRM And Using Few Customer Centric Metrics

Other, Sales

After publishing a couple of articles on what is customer centricity and how to increase customer centricity, I’ve been discussing the topic with some good friends and these conversations inspired me to write again on this subject. The subject of today's post is the difference between being a truly customer centric organization following the principles, the values of customer centricity. And using some tools like CRM (customer relationship management), to develop customer metrics and do some common practices. Is Customer Centricity Related To A CRM System? If you type in the words “customer centricity”, “customer-centric” or similar keywords in the Google search engine you will get a list of results predominantly related to CRM software systems. CRM is the software that manages data resulting from the interaction of the company…

22Apr 2022 by cesare ferrari

How To Increase Customer Centricity In A Medical Device Organization And Increase Profitability

Downstream marketing

This post is the third about customer centricity. I've already introduced the topic here and analyzed the issues and challenges here- you may want to refer to them shortly. In this article, I'll explore the critical steps necessary to become a customer-centric organization or at least to increase customer centricity. I'll also answer the question; "how to increase customer centricity." I acknowledge that the plan and changes necessary for achieving customer centricity will vary from company to company based on the unique challenges of the organization and its market. More so, a company needs to define why it wants to be more customer-centric, to what degree, and whether it requires an incremental or substantial change. Well, I believe the transformation to be successful MUST include the approaches below. Without further…

02Apr 2022 by cesare ferrari

Common Challenges To Adopting A Customer Centric Approach In A Medical Device Company

Downstream marketing, Upstream marketing

I have already examined and explained the meaning of customer centricity for medical device companies in this post. Here, I'll focus more on how to transition from existing product centricity and traditional structural models to new ones that deliver what customers want. Know that the first step toward a customer centric organization is understanding the difference between customer centricity & product centricity, and identifying issues & challenges. These topics will be discussed in-depth as you read on. Product Centricity Versus Customer Centricity In the table below, I’ve listed some distinctive characteristics of the product centric and customer centric strategies. Product centricityCustomer centricityBasic ideaWe sell product. Product push approach with little or no customer segmentation.We serve customer segments. Tailored product offering based on diverse customer segments. Customer insight supports the entire…

19Mar 2022 by cesare ferrari

5 Pitfalls To Avoid In The Relationship Between Medical Device Manufacturer And Distributor

Sales

Thankfully, in this post, I already addressed the key elements for a successful manufacturer/distributor relationship (If you haven't seen it, you will find it very useful when you refer to it). Unfortunately, missing one or more key ingredients will produce some trouble and even the evolution of the relationship toward a Lose-Lose. Moreover, I have seen 5 pitfalls in the manufacturer/distributor relationship that could endanger the partnership. Although every case is different, and there are many variables to consider; identifying these areas of concern early could save the partnership. Understanding The Counterpart Business The biggest mistake that the parties, i.e manufacturers/distributors can make is to not understand the business of the partner. Hence, the manufacturer should understand the distributor's business model. In this business model, the margin plays a key…