Senior Sales Representative
Sekisui Diagnostics
Laguna Niguel, California
Nine years in medical sales
Snapshot:
- Born/raised: San Francisco Bay Area in Danville
- Undergraduate degree: San Diego State University; major in communication, minor in psychology
- First “real” job: In 8th grade I applied for a worker’s permit, so I could get a “real job” at the age of 13. I worked at the local beauty supply store, which was walking distance from our house. Prior to Sekisui, I worked at Terumo Medical after graduating college.
- Favorite restaurant: Depends on the day … but it would be between Alessa in Laguna Beach for Italian food, or Bandera in Corona Del Mar.
- Family info: Married to my husband, Jeff, who has also been in the medical sales industry for over 12 years. Our favorite days are when we get to go on ride-days together!
- Hobbies/activities: Yoga, cooking, recently trying out golf, annual trips to Maui, spending time with our families.
Repertoire: What are the most important things you do for your distributor reps to enhance their sales?
Knudten: In my opinion, the most important thing I can do for my distributor reps is to make their job easier. Growing up in a family that has been in the medical sales industry, I have seen firsthand the directions reps get pulled in on a daily basis. As a manufacturing partner, if I can provide solutions that make their customers happy, take something off their plate, and increase their margin, it is a win-win for all parties.
To piggyback on this, I feel the most successful way to go about this is to have immediate response times. People want answers quick; I know I do. And if I’m not getting back to my reps and/or their accounts quickly, they can easily go elsewhere.
In addition to this, it’s very important that I have an understanding of my rep’s compensation model. By being familiar with this, I can help them see why selling my products will impact them positively from a financial standpoint, while gaining new business.
Repertoire: Name some ways distributor reps help you add value to their accounts and increase sales.
Knudten: Pre-call planning! When I am in front of my rep’s accounts, the prep work that goes into the meeting makes all the difference. Knowing their patient population, a good idea of the payer mix, why they’re considering in-house lab testing, what their concerns are and their biggest motivation for change allows us to have a successful meeting.
By having these discussions prior to going in, the rep and I are on the same page and we have our story customized to the customer’s needs. That way we can ensure the customer has a full understanding of what we’re presenting and we’ve covered any areas of concern.
Repertoire: What is the biggest change you anticipate in medical products sales in the next 5 years?
Knudten: Being on the tail end of the millennial generation, I frequently have conversations about how things are changing and what this generation wants. It’s all about access to knowledge. Before I try or go anywhere new, I do online research and have my answer within minutes from my phone. When it comes to anything in the medical industry, we question things and whether or not they are really necessary, what the best plan of care should be, who the best physician is – not just in our local area, but in the entire country. We can do research for days on end. All this being said, I think the direction we’ll see in the years to come is the increased importance of patient satisfaction and moving away from our current reimbursement model. It’s important that we’re tailoring our messaging to reflect this.
Repertoire: Ride-days with distributor reps: What do you like? What don’t you like?
Knudten: Going on ride-days with reps absolutely has some key benefits. First and foremost, ride-days allow us to build relationships. Although our time in front of a screen has increased dramatically in the last 20 years, face-to-face time with reps is the best way to enhance our relationships and for the reps to gain their trust in me. In addition to this, ride-days give the rep an opportunity to see how I present my product to the customer, overcome challenges and answer questions related to my products and how they’ll fit into their workflow and practice as a whole. This allows the rep to have confidence in the future when talking about my products when I’m not there.
Repertoire: Do you have a favorite ride-day story to share?
Knudten: Not exactly a ride day … but a distributor meeting was held in Reno, Nevada, and our team-building activity was going skeet shooting. This was my first time doing anything like this, and it was a total blast that had just enough of a competitive edge to keep things fun! It was definitely unlike any other work event I attended and was excellent for teamwork and relationship building. I always appreciate when managers think out of the box for their regional meetings.