Recruiting

The medical device industry is less apparent to the general public than many other industries. Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, there is little direct-to-consumer advertising by device companies. Industry giants aside, the names of most medical device companies are not commonly known.

Ideally, going into college, you would know that medical device sales is something you want to pursue and plan your course of study accordingly. You would choose the best companies to gain the right type of sales experience, put up great numbers and three to five years into your sales career, you would get your big break in the industry and build your career from there.

The foundation of many medical device sales positions, especially those that involve surgery, is a strong knowledge of anatomy. People who have studied anatomy and physiology, biomechanics and the like in college often have a significant advantage in developing their product knowledge over those who have not.

I was copied on the following thank you note after an interview last week. Here are a few reasons I enjoy it so much:

Almost every candidate who applies for a medical device sales position says that they’ve always wanted to be in medical device sales. Over time, it’s possible to become rather skeptical of this statement.

One hiring manager said to me, “People sometimes get this idea that medical device sales is a glamorous job. This job is about pushing video carts across slushy parking lots in the middle of winter.”

Breaking into medical device sales is not like hitting the lottery. Don’t expect to coast. Expect to work hard and be challenged to grow professionally like never before.

If you really want to be in medical device sales, are you prepared to…

I’ve been reading “Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else” by Geoff Colvin. It’s a terrific read, engaging and chock full of great ideas for salespeople.

One of the central ideas of the book is that people who are great at what they do are not born with innate talent. Colvin suggests that great performers work very hard to develop their skills and abilities in a particular way, through “deliberate practice.” This type of improvement effort is specific, uncomfortable, tiring and requires a lot of repetition. In order to improve, an expert teacher is often required to design learning exercises to work on discrete skills and provide immediate feedback.

At a national sales meeting a few years ago, one very successful rep described how he’d grown his territory. He talked a lot about the importance of listening to his customers’ needs, rather that pushing products on them.

“Let your competitors be the ones to ‘Show up and throw up,'” he said. The room erupted in laughter. I’m sure it struck everyone as funny not only because of the image, but also because it’s something everyone in the room had been guilty of at one time or another.

Most sales reps grasp the idea of asking probing, open-ended questions pretty readily. It’s not too hard to figure out a good list of stock questions that will help to uncover a prospect’s needs and pain. But becoming a good listener — now there’s the real challenge.

Salespeople rely on conversation in many forms to advance their objectives: Build rapport with prospects, discover information and move the sales process forward. Although the gift of gab comes naturally to many who are drawn to sales, there are always areas for improvement.

Having a great conversation is really about listening. When you demonstrate that you are interested and engaged, rather than just waiting your turn to speak, the other person in the conversation opens up.

Here are 13 ideas for making your next conversation a great one:

As if 26.2 miles wasn’t enough. Now there are ultra-marathons of twice the distance. Or if an Ironman isn’t enough for you, why not take part in the Ultraman, a 3-day, 320-mile endurance event?

These days, the definition of competition keeps getting stretched farther and farther. In order to compete successfully, in sales or athletics, it often seems necessary to push through super-human limits of endurance.

A few years ago, my sister and I did a half-Ironman team triathlon. Fortunately, I was able to bamboozle my little sis into doing the bike and the swim. I only had to run a half-marathon.

The dynamics of closing a customer or closing an interview are very similar. If you are interviewing for a sales position, your ability to close well at the end of the interview is considered a strong indication of your sales ability.

I’ve seen many ways and reasons that people fail to close. It happens to both early career salespeople and veteran sales managers.