Why Is Better Training The Key To Success In New Medical Device Sales Model?

Rapid technological advances and an ever-shifting marketplace require a nimble and forward-thinking approach to medical device sales. Companies frequently are adopting new technologies in response to how selling in the industry is changing.

The most critical component of any implementation is the training that goes along with it. Product- or feature-based training no longer is enough. The key is to train everybody how to use the tool in relation to how they do their work. That means an end user would be trained differently than a manager.

An article on the Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry website lists three steps that can help ensure that the company’s first-line management (FLM) team is equipped for the work required and given every opportunity to thrive.

Define roles clearly from the top down, leaving no question about hierarchy and decision-making responsibility.

Select people whose skill sets fall into line with those required of managers, which does not necessarily mean promoting the best sales people into management positions.

Providing sufficient resources and ongoing skills development. This is particularly important for managers who lack experience or are relatively unfamiliar with the corporate culture.

One way to ensure that managers are sufficiently supported is to put the right customer relationship management (CRM) system in place. Managing by spreadsheets, phone calls and emails is considerably different with the right CRM system.

On the other hand, the shiny new system will only be effective if users are trained how to use it in the context of the way they work. Otherwise, they’ll simply fall back into their old habits and the company won’t gain the full value of the system.

One of the major oversights in training that we see is for managers — specifically, how to manage with these new tools and technologies. One of the greatest risks of failure is to roll out a new system but not teach the managers how to manage using the tools. After all, if an end user’s manager is not using the tool and encouraging use, then people tend to fall back on what they know. This all too often leads to a failed implementation of the CRM tool.

By following the steps above and integrating the sales force with a reliable, comprehensive CRM system, medical product manufacturers can take advantage of an under-leveraged opportunity in the industry — a well-trained, fully attuned FLM team nimble enough to adjust to the ever-shifting medical device industry.

Source: Medical Sales Jobs by Guided Solutions

Medical Sales Job Prospects in 2013

MedReps recently sat down with medical sales consultant Scott Moldenhauer, to discuss job prospects in 2013 and find out what sales professionals can do to become more successful this year. 

MedReps: Scott, one of the biggest challenges today must be for sales professionals looking to break into the medical sales field. What’s your advice for someone with a decent sales resume looking to make the transition into healthcare? 
Scott Moldenhauer: The number one thing for any salesperson is to have a good track record. Keep in mind that hiring managers see a lot of candidates so they want to know that this person can get results, can they make my daily existence better and will they be coachable. Candidate then needs to make sure they stand out by bringing something to the table that no other applicant has – literally bring a portfolio into an interview that contains articles they may have written, awards, letters of recommendation – anything that will show that they can knock it out of the park. 

MR: What kinds of specific skills are companies looking for in an applicant that might set them apart from other candidates? 
SM: Companies want to know that a candidate is a hard core sales person, whether they have worked in the industry before or not. A hiring manager also wants to know that an applicant will be able to get results, be polished in front of physicians and is a person that is overall pleasant to be around. 

MR: What about medical sales people already working in the field – what can they do to become more successful? 
SM: I would say that one of the most important things is business acumen, and by that I meant that a medical sales person has to keep up with changes to the industry. They have to know that because of those changes, the healthcare system is basically making the decisions – not physicians. So, it’s a balancing act. A good medical sales person will have to be able to make sure that they are not only selling the best possible product, but one that fits into new financial guidelines and is the most cost effective for patients, hospitals and insurers. 

MR: As far as establishing a rapport with clients, what can medical sales professionals do in terms of making the overall relationship better? 
SM: Well, it goes back to the last question. Medical sales people have to ask themselves what can they do to make sure the sale makes the most sense for the physician. But, they also have to make sure they are asking all the right questions to close the sale and evaluate if they are really working their territory in the most intelligent way possible. 

MR: Can you name some specific challenges facing healthcare sales representatives and what do you do to help motivate them? 
SM: One of the biggest challenges will be for a medical sales representative to make sure they are providing the best possible value and to show that they have a physician’s best interest in mind. The other challenge always is getting in the door – if they can show a doctor that their company’s product is of value then the client will be willing to see them more often. As far as motivation goes, no one can motivate a medical sales person, it has to come from them. A good salesperson will always want to learn more about the business. They want to strive to take it to the next level by practicing their pitch, reading more and listening to motivational tapes so that no matter what happens within the industry, they will always be an appealing candidate. 

MR: Do you have any predictions for the industry as a whole next year – are there any potential issues that you see that might hurt overall profits or stifle sales? 
SM: The key thing to remember is that every year we read negative headlines about doom and gloom and every year the world keeps moving forward. So as far as what’s happening in the industry, medical sales people need to look for opportunities. Sales people need to constantly change their message to fit the times and new challenges. For example, accountable care organizations (ACOs) will be something they will need to understand more of – so they need to ask doctors about their criteria then craft their message to fit those goals. 

MR: What can a medical sales person do that will help him/her sell more products? 
SM: Again, it goes back to the fundamentals; always make sure they give their clients the best possible value that’s the most cost-effective for patients and the system. 

MR: As a consultant, what do you tell managers about what they can do to tackle problems and help their teams perform better? 
SM: I find that a lot of teams are simply stuck on the basics of selling. Managers need to go beyond just the benefits of selling to ask specifics like how can my medical sales people get better access to physicians and how can I help my team overcome managed care and cost challenges. They need to look at the broader picture and change the message to fit 2013. 

MR: What about the so-called “patent-cliff” Scott? Take for instance Pfizer, which just announced it had to cut 20 percent of its sales force due to the patent loss of Lipitor – how are stories like this affecting morale? 
SM: Reps need to be keenly aware of their situation and if they feel there may not be enough growth where they are, to start looking for new opportunities. A good medical sales person can transition into a smaller medical device company, or say from pharma to medical device. It’s about knowing where those opportunities are. 

MR: If you could give one last piece of advice to people looking for medical sales jobs and those already working it the field what would it be? 
SM: Candidates should look at the job boards to find out who’s hiring, then make personal contact with people within those companies. A good medical sales person will never give up. There will always be opportunities for those with the right skills. 

As President of Persuasion Consultants, Scott works with top companies like Bayer, Teva, and Medtronic to help their medical sales teams be more effective.

Source: Medical Sales Jobs

Medical Sales Jobs by Guided Solutions

Guided Solutions is a top executive search agency specialising in recruiting medical sales representatives and marketing talent for the UK's top medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 2000, we are a dedicated healthcare recruitment company with over 50 years of combined experience within the medical devices industry. 

Guided Solutions is a Medical Devices Recruitment Company with a demonstrable track record of success over the past 12 years. Our list of clients is ever growing and we are working with blue-chip global medical devices companies as well as small local start-ups. Some of our clients include: Smith and Nephew, Arthrocare, Medtronic, Synthes, LeMaitre, DJO, 3M, Crawfrod Healthcare, Cook Medical, Coloplast, Baxter Healthcare, Eschman, GE Healthcare and many more. 

At Guided Solutions most of our recruitment consultants have been with us for over 8 years, so we have a wealth of experience within the company and a pool of knowledge about the medical devices industry, the client companies and our candidates.

If you are a Medical Sales Representative or you are looking for a job in medical sales, we invite you to view the job opportunities listed on our website. 

We are updating our website on regular basis with our latest medical sales jobs as well as latest medical device news. We encourage you to visit the Medical Device Sales section of our website for more detailed information. 

In addition, you can also join us on the social media networks, we are on Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter and Google Plus and we are regularly updating current vacancies in the Medical Device Sales Industry.

As a Medical Device Recruitment Company our main focus is on Medical Sales Jobs and we place over 400 candidates in the industry every year, however we place candidates in Scientific Sales and Pharmaceutical Sales as well so please check the respective divisions for more information.

The Medical Sales Representatives we place are selling a vast range of Medical Devices and Medical Equipment to Hospitals, General Practiotioners and Surgeons.

Medtronic's stent graft system for the endovascular repair of isolated lesions approved by the FDA - 14/11/2012

Medtronic, Inc. announced today that the FDA has approved the company's Valiant® Captivia® stent graft system for the endovascular repair of isolated lesions (excluding dissections) of the descending segment of the thoracic aorta. This expanded indication includes the treatment of transections, commonly known as blunt traumatic aortic injuries.

The second leading cause of traumatic death after head injuries, transection of the thoracic aorta represents a dire medical emergency in which the upper area of the body's main artery tears due to extreme force to the chest, usually the result of motor vehicle accidents, elevated falls or other high-impact deceleration episodes.

The Valiant stent graft, a tubular medical device consisting of a specially woven fabric sewn onto a flexible wire-mesh frame, can now be used in U.S. clinical practice to stabilize bleeding from descending thoracic aortic transections as an alternative to invasive surgery.

Previously approved by the FDA for the endovascular repair of aneurysms and penetrating ulcers of the descending thoracic aorta, the Valiant Captivia stent graft system has been widely available in the United States since May 2012.

The device is implanted in a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter inserted into the femoral artery, located in the groin. This technique requires only a small incision to access the aorta as opposed to larger incisions required for open surgery.

Medical Sales Jobs

Implantable Electronic Devices Powered By The Ear Itself - 12/11/2012

Deep in the inner ear of mammals is a natural battery - a chamber filled with ions that produces an electrical potential to drive neural signals. In the journal Nature Biotechnology, a team of researchers from MIT, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) demonstrate for the first time that this battery could power implantable electronic medical devices without impairing hearing.

The medical devices could monitor biological activity in the ears of people with hearing or balance impairments, or responses to therapies. Eventually, they might even deliver therapies themselves. 

In experiments, Konstantina Stankovic, an otologic surgeon at MEEI, and HST graduate student Andrew Lysaght implanted electrodes in the biological batteries in guinea pigs' ears. Attached to the electrodes were low-power electronic devices developed by MIT's Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL). After the implantation, the guinea pigs responded normally to hearing tests, and the medical devices were able to wirelessly transmit data about the chemical conditions of the ear to an external receiver. 

"In the past, people have thought that the space where the high potential is located is inaccessible for implantable devices, because potentially it's very dangerous if you encroach on it," Stankovic says. "We have known for 60 years that this battery exists and that it's really important for normal hearing, but nobody has attempted to use this battery to power useful electronics." 

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Smith & Nephew introduces pioneering new fixation devices and techniques for hip arthroscopy - 08/11/2012

Smith & Nephew, global medical technology business, announced that it has received FDA clearance to expand the indications within the hip for its innovative HEALICOIL™ PK Suture Anchor and OSTEORAPTOR™ Suture Anchor. Indications for the HEALICOIL PK Suture Anchor have been expanded to include abductor repair while those for the OSTEORAPTOR™ Suture Anchor now include labral reconstruction. Both products and new techniques will be showcased at this week’s ISHA (International Society for Hip Arthroscopy) Annual meeting in Boston.

“Hip arthroscopy is not only one of the newest and most exciting frontiers in sports medicine, it’s an area we’ve proudly helped to pioneer,” says Alain Tranchemontagne, Senior Vice President within Smith & Nephew’s Advanced Surgical Devices Division. “By bringing first-to-market devices such as the HEALICOIL PK Suture Anchor and the OSTEORAPTOR Suture Anchor to these emerging techniques, we further strengthen our position as the innovation leaders in hip arthroscopy.”

HEALICOIL™ PK Suture Anchor

“HEALICOIL PK is a truly unique suture anchor and is ideal for abductor repair,” explains Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd of Nashville TN. “Besides being easily inserted into both hard and osteoporotic bone, it leaves behind a minimal amount of material. Smith & Nephew has always supported emerging techniques for hip arthroscopy and this is yet another example of why I consider them to be the leaders in this space.”

Often referred to as the “rotator cuff of the hip,” tears of the hip abductor tendon are a common cause of lateral hip pain. In fact, estimates show that nearly 25% of middle-aged women and 10% of middle-aged men will develop a tear of the gluteus medius tendon.1 The HEALICOIL PK Suture Anchor was launched earlier this year for use in shoulder repair. It features a unique open-architecture design that uses less material than traditional, solid-core anchors while still providing significantly more thread engagement and greater pullout strength than its competitors.

Also cleared for use by the FDA for abductor repair are the TWINFIX™ Ultra and FOOTPRINT™ Ultra Suture Anchors; giving Smith & Nephew a full range of anchor constructs, materials, sizes and suture configurations for either double or single row fixation techniques.

OSTEORAPTOR™ Suture Anchor

With the OSTEORAPTOR Suture Anchor, surgeons now have a FDA-cleared device and technique for reconstructing a torn or detached labrum. Labral tears in the hip, often associated with a traumatic injury like dislocation, can be a source of chronic hip pain and may even contribute to the development of osteoarthritis.

In standard labral repair, the labrum, a fibrous cartilage ring that rims the hip socket, is reattached to the bony socket of the joint using small anchors and sutures. In cases when the labrum is too degenerated to be repaired, leading hip surgeon, Dr. Marc J Philippon of the Steadman Philippon Research Institute, has pioneered a procedure to reconstruct the soft tissue using the naturally bioabsorbable OSTEORAPTOR Suture Anchor.

“The OSTEORAPTOR has always been my gold standard for hip labral repairs, and now I trust it to deliver the same reliable fixation when doing a reconstruction procedure,” explains Dr. Philippon.

With its combination small size and reliable and strong fixation, The OSTEORAPTOR Suture Anchor allows surgeons to use multiple anchors in a small joint space for a precise and secure repair. These naturally biocompatible suture anchors are made of hydroxyapapatite, a calcium phosphate similar to the mineral found in bone. Also cleared by the FDA for this procedure are the BIORAPTOR Suture Anchor and BIORAPTOR Knotless Suture Anchor.

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping improve people’s lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma, Smith & Nephew has almost 11,000 employees and a presence in more than 90 countries. Annual sales in 2011 were nearly $4.3 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).

Medical Sales Jobs

Introduction to Trainee Medical Sales Jobs

Joining a medical devices or pharmaceutical company as a medical sales graduate can be very stressful and at the same time rewarding career. You will be employed by the company to promote their medical devices, consumables, equipment or pharmaceuticals to key decision makers, doctors or pharmacists.

These positions usually require great communication, presentation and negotiation skills, as you will be working with people trying to sell, so a flare for sales is necessary. In most cases the positions are field based, you don’t have a base but your company car is your office, you will be spending a lot of time in hospitals, doctor’s waiting rooms. In return, most medical devices companies are offering company cars, laptop, lunch allowance and other benefits plus bonus, based on your sales.

As a Medical Sales Representative you will be visiting doctors, nurses, midwives and other key decision makers in the healthcare industry to make presentations on the medical devices, consumables, theatre products or equipment development by your medical sales company.
In most cases you will receive an initial training course lasting 6 – 8 weeks, covering training about the products that you will be selling as well as different selling techniques.

Depending on the medical devices company any degree subject is acceptable, however life sciences, medically-related degree, or healthcare industry experience can help you go a long way.

Guided Solutions Ltd