For industry veteran Polly Van Slambrouck, standing still is not an option
By Laura Thill
Terri Wilt and Polly Van Slambrouck
Polly Van Slambrouck is always willing to go the extra mile. Whether she is finding the perfect solution for her hospital customers or participating in breast cancer walks to honor friends, the Tri-anim Health Services specialty distributor rep refuses to stand still.
Time for a change
Van Slambrouck joined the medical products sales industry in 1991. Her career in respiratory therapy had suited her well for many years, but the time was right for a change. “I was looking to utilize my respiratory therapy background in a new and different way,” she says. Initially, she joined a medical device manufacturer as a clinical specialist, and quickly became acquainted with the company’s distributor partner, Tri-anim Health Services. “I would interact with the Tri-anim sales force frequently, either in a training capacity or co-traveling on sales calls,” she says. In 2000, her career once again changed course with her decision to join Tri-anim’s sales team.
To a large degree, Van Slambrouck credits her smooth transition from hospital to manufacturer to specialty distributor to a handful of strong mentors. “When I left the hospital to join the medical device company, I worked with a product management team and sales force that really helped guide me in my new role,” she says. “I learned from all of them.”
Likewise, when she started at Tri-anim, “there was a customer service rep – Mike Sartain – who took me under his wing and spent an enormous amount of time teaching me the ins and outs of addressing my customers’ needs. Without Mike to guide me, I’m not sure I would have survived the first year. Additionally, regular regional sales meetings gave me the opportunity to build my product knowledge and learn from a very seasoned team of specialty distribution sales representatives. Those meetings – as well as that group of professionals who became my friends – are the foundation for my success with Tri-anim.”
A balancing act
Like many distributor sales reps, Van Slambrouck has faced many challenges inherent to the industry, from maintaining access to hospital customers to staying current with new products and technology. For instance, compared to years past, “access to the customer is very different today, and the clinician’s ability to make product decisions is limited by contracts, prime vendor affiliations and budget constraints,” she says. In addition, her job involves “juggling many balls,” she says, adding that this keeps her on her toes.
“I would say the continual change and the multi-faceted nature of the job of a specialty distribution rep is what makes it challenging, yet keeps it stimulating and fresh,” she says. “In any one day, you may be discussing contracts with a materials manager, in-servicing a ventilator to the respiratory staff, researching a product need for a biomed customer, and overseeing a new product evaluation in anesthesia. No day is the same as the previous. Juggling relationships, product knowledge, GPOs, prime vendors, IDNs and manufacturers is all part of the job. And, keeping the customer and the patient at the center helps to keep everything in perspective.”
Memorable to the customer
When distributor sales reps do their job well, it can be plenty rewarding – particularly with regard to the longtime relationships they develop with their customers and colleagues, Van Slambrouck says. “Some of my customers were my co-workers when I worked in the hospital,” she says. “Others I have called on since 2000, when I went to work for Tri-anim, and I have since maintained friendly, professional relationships. We know about each other’s families, pets, vacations, and more.
“Our Western sales team has built a very solid camaraderie and we have helped each other out in a variety of ways,” she continues. For her part, she has enjoyed sharing her clinical and training expertise with her colleagues. Furthermore, “I think all the Tri-anim reps can relate to situations where they have gone that extra-mile for their customer,” she says. “It’s what we do and what makes us a unique organization.” One customer in particular still talks about one Christmas Eve many years ago, when he called Van Slambrouck with an immediate need for a special nebulizer that one of his pediatricians demanded for a patient. “I was fortunate to have what he needed in my samples and was able to get it to him that day,” she recalls.
Indeed, providing her customers with the solutions they need is one of the best parts of her job, says Van Slambrouck. “I particularly like working with new, innovative products that improve patient care and outcomes,” she explains. “As a specialty distributor, I am in a unique position to be a consultant to my customers and introduce them to new technologies and therapies. I know them, I know how they operate, and I can provide options that best address their needs.
“It is becoming increasingly important to have not only a depth of knowledge about the products, but also a true understanding of how they are used,” she continues. “This is what allows reps to ask the right questions and get the customers what they really need. Doing so is what makes us memorable to our customers; it’s the reason they think to call us when they need something.”
Cross country
When she says she’s willing and ready to go that extra mile, Van Slambrouck refers to more than providing excellent service to her customers. She has traveled across the country to participate in annual walks to support breast cancer research, including the Susan G. Komen 3-day Walk, the Avon 39-mile walk, the Komen Race for the Cure, the City of Hope Walk (City of Hope is a research and treatment center for cancer and other diseases) and the Believe Walk in Redlands, Calif., where she lives.
Her first breast cancer walk – the Avon 39 – was in 2001. “I received an email from a friend asking if I would be interested in participating to honor our friend and colleague, Cindy, who had lost her 10-year battle with breast cancer that June,” she says. “Cindy was an avid walker and this sounded like a great way to honor her. Without much thought of what I was committing to, I said, ‘Sure.’ It wasn’t until a couple weeks later when I received my registration packet that the magnitude of what I committed to started to sink in! Walk 60 miles and raise $1,800!” In spite of her doubts, this walk proved to be “a life-changing decision.”
“Fast forward to 2009,” she continues. At the time, she was training for a breast cancer walk in San Francisco. During a Tri-anim sales manager meeting, her friend and colleague, Terri Wilt, went out of her way to encourage the management team to support Van Slambrouck’s walk. “There was a lot of joking and teasing, and the conversation ended with Terri saying, ‘You never know; it could be me one day.’ One month later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Van Slambrouck admits that, at the time, she was losing interest in continuing to participate in the breast cancer walks. “Terri’s diagnosis brought home how important it was to continue my efforts to fight breast cancer,” she says. “Terri and I talked about this, and I told her I would dedicate my next walk to her. She immediately said she would join me. In May of 2010, after going through chemo and in the midst of reconstructive surgery, Terri joined two mutual friends and myself, and we walked the Avon 39 in Boston.”
The entire company supported both Van Slambrouck and Wilt in their efforts to raise funding for breast cancer research. The Tri-anim sales management team agreed to participate in the City of Hope Walk for Hope in 2009 in various locations across the country, and in 2010, the entire sales team held a 5K walk in conjunction with the company’s national sales meeting. Their cumulative efforts raised over $12,000. “Terri was always so supportive of her colleagues and customers, and it seemed right to find a way to support her as she waged her personal war against breast cancer,” adds Van Slambrouck.
Despite the fact that Wilt’s treatment had been going well and she was able to sign up for the October 2012 Avon 39 in Philadelphia, that April her cancer returned, leading to more rounds of chemo and further surgery. “The day before the walk, she received her PET scan results showing that all was clear,” says Van Slambrouck. “The walk was a joyful experience, and she completed every single mile smiling all the way!
“Unfortunately, in April 2013 the cancer returned, attacking Terri’s lungs and brain,” Van Slambrouck continues. “Terri lost her battle in September. She fought this disease with such a giving spirit, enrolling in clinical trials and becoming a fundraiser for the cause, and she accepted the disease in the hopes that the medical field would learn and others wouldn’t have to go through what she went through. Terri often shared her philosophy for coping with cancer. She called it the Fs of fighting cancer: faith, family, friends and fun. Her courage and determination will forever remain with me as an inspiration.”
This fall Van Slambrouck will push herself those extra miles once again – this time joining Wilt’s family in Harrisburg, Pa., for the Making Strides walk in support of breast cancer research.