Repertoire: What two or three things do you offer your distributor rep partners to enhance their sales?
Gloria Lind: Dukal…offers a true consolidation model for all market segments. Distributor rep partners are afforded the opportunity to system sell, capture large orders and retain those sales with each purchase order cycle. They don’t have to hunt and paw through a sea of vendors and products in their system. A successful manufacturer rep will always position their distributor rep partner to be successful and confident in the products and solutions they represent.
Show up and be available! Not just the physical state of being, but in the cerebral state of mind share; smart planning; strategizing; being their advocate, the light bulb in the room, the product expert; doing the heavy lifting and supporting each opportunity – big or small.
LEADS, LEADS, LEADS and referrals. Qualify and quantify. Bring new ideas and sales opportunities to your distributor rep partner. Make the connections happen.
Repertoire: Name two or three ways your distributor rep partners help you add value to your accounts.
Lind:
- Transparency, trust, clear communication.
- We share and dig in to data. Data tells a story and is one of the best opportunity identifiers.
- Silence is acceptance; I expect a lot of questions and to be put to the task. Sometimes a perceived problem, hurdle or opportunity is a side effect or smaller piece of the bigger problem or opportunity.
Repertoire: What is the biggest change you anticipate in medical product sales in the next five years?
Lind:
- The field distributor rep will be forced to know more clinical information and will need to work with clinicians in addition to the buyer.
- More and more mergers and acquisitions will change the selling landscape.
- Competition from non-traditional healthcare product companies entering the healthcare market.
- The home health market will continue to grow exponentially, with new, innovative medical products and technology that offer ease of use, convenience and portability for the home patient/consumer.
Repertoire: Do you think distributor reps should embrace ride-days? If so, why? If not, why not?
Lind: Absolutely. Don’t just embrace it; give it a big bear hug. Pre-planning is key for me, but be spontaneous if needed. I recently enjoyed a “ride-week” with a national regional team, with their manager taking the lead. Both the regional manager and I brought appointments to the table. So much came out of our well-planned time together. If only one important thing came out of each day, it was that the national team realized how much business they are or might be leaving on the table.
Repertoire: Can you share a favorite ride-day story?
Lind: The rep was a second-source provider and didn’t know the clinical decision maker. My contact asked if I’d be interested in identifying a product for a large opportunity with a tight timeline. Unfortunately, the product is not something Dukal manufactures. We both turned to my distributor rep partner and asked if this was something they would be interested in. While I was driving to the next appointment, my distributor partner/co-pilot put the finishing touches on information and pricing. New doors were opened and relationships were made.