Leverage technology, yes. But don’t forget it’s all about relationships
November 2021 – Repertoire Magazine
With limited access to customers and transportation/logistics disruptions, sales professionals face all kinds of challenges these days. The challenges become more formidable for those selling healthcare equipment, because more dollars are involved. Repertoire asked equipment sales experts how they meet these challenges, and how they plan to keep doing so in the future. Their message? Leverage technology, but don’t forget, it’s still all about relationships. The experts are:
- Cindy Juhas, chief strategy officer, CME Corp., supplier of healthcare equipment, logistics and services.
- Jack Moran, managing partner, MTMC, an outsourced sales firm.
- Ben Powers, director of distribution sales, Sysmex America, diagnostics manufacturer.
Repertoire: What’s the latest on access to equipment customers?
Cindy Juhas: Customers have become very accommodating when it comes to scheduling virtual calls. It is harder to read people on these calls, but we have found that customers include more people on the calls, as do we, since no travel is involved … and that makes for higher quality calls.
More and more customers are asking our installers, biomed technicians and account managers to comply with their mandated vaccinations policy. Anyone entering their buildings needs to be vaccinated by a certain date. Most of the hospital systems on the West Coast, in the Northeast and in the middle of the country have sent out notices to us.
Ben Powers: During the pandemic, access initially disappeared as everyone raced to get their immediate needs (i.e., PPE, testing) met. Access eventually migrated toward virtual meetings and sales calls. Typical in-person meetings with distributors became [Microsoft] Teams calls. As an organization that sells to labs via distributors, we faced a significant challenge with forecasting and funnel development.
Repertoire: What are customers’ expectations of their suppliers in terms of equipment demos, installation and inservicing?
Cindy Juhas: CME has invested in making videos of some demos on strategic products. More and more manufacturers have demo videos available as well. We have also sent equipment to customers for them to try. All of these tactics have been effective.
Our direct-to-site delivery and installation services are very popular. There was a brief time early in the pandemic when we were asked to just drop things off at the dock, but all of our installers are equipped with PPE, and they comply with CDC or customer guidelines, so very little has changed. If anything, hospital customers are using these services even more due to lack of resources on their part. Our biomed technicians’ group has been very busy, again, due to lack of resources at the hospitals.
We also use videos for inservicing. Many of our manufacturer partners do so as well.
We face continuing issues with equipment manufacturing and shipments. Because of COVID, raw materials that are needed in the manufacturing of most healthcare equipment are scarce. Some come from out of the country and are affected by the back-up of vessels in major harbors and the shortage of containers. You also need to take into account the shortage of truck drivers domestically. Because all we sell is equipment, these issues have affected delivery timelines to the customer. Add to that the fact that most manufacturers had major price increases mid-year, and shipping costs went through the roof. We expect more price increases in January. How this will ultimately affect our customers’ purchasing patterns has not been realized yet.
Jack Moran: Access for sales reps remains limited, and we are doing more demo-ing virtually. Inservicing is the one area where access is much less limited. Customers still rely heavily on in-person inservicing of equipment.
Ben Powers: We created virtual demos for distributors and customers, which give them an opportunity to experience our analyzers. The live events give viewers an interactive experience where they can ask questions. We leverage our “Center for Learning” – our customer training facility and production studios – as much as possible to create customer and/or distributor interactions. (Editor’s note: Sysmex opened its 98,000-square-foot Center for Learning in August 2018.)
Many of our installations require that support staff fly to the customer’s site. The changes in travel have affected the lives of the installation and service engineers.
Repertoire: What are some of the most effective ways you and your reps have been meeting these challenges?
Cindy Juhas: Our account managers and internal staff have had to increase communications between us and manufacturers, and us and customers. Customers used to order equipment four weeks before they needed it, but now they order 12 or more weeks ahead. Manufacturers often cannot give us accurate ship dates, so we have to pass that bad news along to customers. They are mostly understanding but their patience is running thin, for sure. Most experts think the raw materials and logistics issues will continue well into next year.
We make sure to connect with customers regularly with emails and calls. We also post pertinent blogs and timely content on social media – just one more way we connect with customers routinely.
Ben Powers: Teams, Teams and Teams. We are fortunate to have great relationships with our distributor partners. Their long-lasting relationships with customers have created a true teamwork environment for learning and adapting.
Repertoire: What lasting effects will the pandemic have on the way equipment is sold?
Cindy Juhas: Quite a few of our customers have said they appreciate the virtual meeting format. I think it is here to stay, even after we get back to some kind of normalcy.
Jack Moran: I think there will be fewer in-person opportunities to demo equipment. Customers expect the sales rep to be in and out for a specific purpose. I am not sure this will change after the health emergency ends. Also, while our team has traditionally been able to create new leads when inservicing, this is very difficult to do in the current market.
Our team will need to continue to master virtual selling skills. In addition, making good use of data and strategically creating leads will be very important. The lack of access makes it difficult to create leads transactionally. We need to be data-driven on how we target customers for lead generation and develop messaging that engages them, so they want an in-person or virtual demo.
Ben Powers: Moving forward, I can see customers requiring proof of vaccination to avoid complications for immunocompromised patients.
Silver lining
Limited customer contact due to COVID-19 has tested inside sales reps as well as their counterparts in the field, says Joanne Wills, partner, MTMC Inside Sales, which develops and creates custom call campaigns for the outsourced sales firm MTMC and other medical device and healthcare clients. But the pandemic has strengthened the sales skills of both.
Inside reps who have traditionally contacted customers by phone to present product features and benefits before passing the lead to a field rep may find themselves becoming more adept at “soup-to-nuts” sales, particularly among lower-to-medium-revenue customers and markets, she says. Meanwhile, field reps who traditionally have avoided using the phone or other digital media to sell products, have become savvier at doing so, leading to more creative ways to reach customers. In fact, the development of more and better sales skills by inside reps and field reps “is probably the only silver lining” of COVID-19, she says.
“Given the obstacles we’re trying to overcome with the pandemic, we can never lose sight of the importance of the customer relationship. We need to keep in mind the importance of staying in touch, whether it’s through social media or simply checking in every once in a while.”